Heritage list Broome bid under fire

Written on the 1 December 2016

Shadow aboriginal affairs minister Ben Wyatt has lashed the Department of Aboriginal Affairs over its handling of a divisive heritage assessment of Broome, calling the process deliberately provocative.

It comes as Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier refuses to be drawn on whether he believes the push to list Broome has merit, arguing he cannot interfere.

Mr Wyatt said protecting and managing heritage should be a matter for local agreement between the recognised Yawuru native title holders, other Aboriginal interests and the Shire of Broome.

"Protection arrangements should not be left to a bureaucracy based more than 2000km to the south whose intervention has been ham-fisted and caused community conflict and anxiety and economic insecurity," he said.

The department angered many Broome locals after it took out a newspaper advertisement last month to declare the zone LSC11 was being assessed for listing under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

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Source: The West Australian