Riverlea Park Development

CONSULTATION OPEN UNTIL 25 JANUARY 2024 - SEE UPDATE BELOW

We want to hear from Traditional Owners, interested Aboriginal people and Aboriginal organisations about a request for authorisations under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act) to enable the construction of a large residential, retail, commercial and recreational development at Riverlea Park (formerly Buckland Park), some 30 km north of Adelaide (the Project).

What's being decided?

If you are a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in the matter, we want to hear your views about the Project.

Your views will help the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Minister), who is responsible for the Act, decide whether to grant the authorisations sought to enable the Project.

Background

The Minister has received an application for authorisations under sections 21, 23 and 29(1)(b) of the Act from Walker Buckland Park Developments Pty Ltd (Applicant).

Under the Act, section 21 makes it an offence to excavate land to uncover any Aboriginal site, object or ancestral remains (together, heritage) without authorisation, while section 23 makes it an offence to damage, disturb or interfere with heritage without authorisation. Section 29(1)(b) makes it an offence to remove an Aboriginal object from the state, without authorisation.

The Project would involve excavation and preparation of land across the Overall Application Areas to enable the construction of residential housing and associated infrastructure, as well as excavation works to enable storm water infrastructure installation. See the map of the Overall Applications Areas featuring the 'Riverlea Project Masterplan'.

Aboriginal heritage

The Overall Application Areas contain extensive Aboriginal heritage, including:

• multiple Aboriginal ancestral burials
• archaeological sites
• culturally modified trees.

New information about discovered Aboriginal objects

The Applicant recently provided Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) with new information about its discoveries of Aboriginal objects during project works between 2021 and 2023. Information about these discoveries, as well as additional information about nearby Aboriginal sites, is now included in AAR's amended consultation materials. Additional information about these objects following an inspection by AAR archaeologists is included in a new attachment to AAR's Consultation Information Pack.

Upcoming Aboriginal Community consultation meetings

AAR's 8 December Consultation Information Pack provided details for an Aboriginal Community consultation meeting for Traditional Owners and other interested Aboriginal parties:

Thursday 11 January 2024, 5:30pm
Mawson Lakes Hotel
10 Main Street, Mawson Lakes

A light supper will be provided.

In response to requests from Aboriginal Community members, an additional meeting will be held:

Saturday 13 January 2024, 10:30am
Tauondi Aboriginal Community College
1 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide

A light lunch will be provided.

If you would like to attend one or both of these meetings, please RSVP to AAR as soon as possible.

An Aboriginal Community consultation meeting about the application was held for Traditional Owners and other Aboriginal parties on Monday 14 August 2023 at the Riverlea Sales and Discovery Centre, Riverlea Park.

Get involved

Prior to considering whether to grant the authorisations sought, section 13 of the Act requires the Minister to consult with the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee (Committee), relevant Traditional Owners and any other Aboriginal people or Aboriginal organisations that he considers may have an interest in this matter.

If you are a Traditional Owner or an Aboriginal party with an interest in the matter, please read the Consultation Information Pack (amended 22 December 2023) and the Consultation Notice (amended 22 December 2023) and consider the following three questions:

1. Should the authorisations sought be granted to the Applicant? Why or why not? 
2. If the authorisations are granted, what conditions (if any) should be imposed on them? 
3. What should the Minister consider when deciding this application? 

If you wish to attend one or both of the upcoming meetings, learn more, to lodge a submission and/or be notified of the Minister’s decision in this matter, please:

• Call us on (08) 8429 9401
• Email your feedback to AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au
• Post your feedback to:

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation

Attorney-General’s Department

GPO Box 464, ADELAIDE SA 5001

To allow Aboriginal consultees to consider and comment on this additional information, as well as the Project generally, the consultation end date has been extended. Additional Aboriginal Community consultation meetings will be held. Submissions, or updates to existing submissions, can be lodged until Thursday 25 January 2024.

What are the next steps?

Unless otherwise requested, consultee submissions will be forwarded to the Applicant for comment. Once the public consultation period has closed, submissions and the Applicant’s comments about them will be forwarded to the Committee. The Committee’s own views about the application will then be sought.

AAR will collate all feedback and provide its own recommendations to the Minister within a single brief to assist him to make a final decision about the application.

If you are a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in this matter, please consider making a submission.