The Burial and Cremation Bill will be withdrawn from Parliamentin response to concerns of Territorians on how it relates to customarydecision making on Aboriginal land.
The Labor Government governs for all Territorians and withlegislation of this nature it is important that all Territorians understand andaccept it.
The current Cemeteries Act 1952 predates the Aboriginal LandRights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and does not recognise the right ofAboriginal Territorians to conduct traditional burials on Aboriginal land.
The intent of the planned Bill included supporting traditionalburials, allowing Aboriginal organisations and landowners to manage their owncemeteries, formalising kinship and cultural decision making and ensuringrecord keeping for future generations.
Penalties would only have applied in cases where burialsoccurred without a death certificate, permission from the next of kin andpermission from the landowner.
The Labor Government would not have supported legislation that weakenedthe rights of Aboriginal Territorians and the Bill was intended to moderniselegislation drafted around 70 years ago.
The current Act is old and no longer suitable. While thisBill will not proceed, it is important that all parties work towards newlegislation that:
– is acceptable and understood by all Territorians;
– recognises and supports traditional funeral practices;
– supports landowners to make decisions about what happens on their land;
– recognises the correct decision makers about burials;
– shows respect by recording burial locations; and
– manages burials outside of cemeteries so that graves are not disturbed byhousing works, road works and other infrastructure.
The timing of new legislation will take as long as necessaryto ensure the public understands and is comfortable with the way forward.
As stated by Minister for Local Government, Housingand Community Development, Gerry McCarthy:
The new legislation was intended to better reflect the currentpractices and wishes of the Northern Territory community in relation to burialsand cremations, including recognising the rights of Aboriginal people to makedecisions about Aboriginal land.
However, the burial of loved ones is a sensitive issue and aslong as there are people in the community who have concerns about the changes,Government will not proceed with the legislation.
Government will continue to work with those who have concernstoward contemporary legislation, supporting their ability to conduct burials onAboriginal land.
