Murray cultural heritage win – and new case
Today’s win is bittersweet.
Wadi Wadi man Vince Kirby has won an important legal victory for cultural heritage along the Murray– just days after we filed a second case on his behalf over a similar project only four kilometres upstream.
"I'm glad the government has admitted it got this wrong. But we shouldn't have had to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to make the government follow its own laws and listen to Traditional Owners.
Vince Kirby
The Supreme Court ordered that the flawed Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the Nyah artificial floodplain engineering project be redone. The project cannot proceed under its current plan after the Victorian Government accepted that Traditional Owners were not properly consulted and the approval was made in error.
"This isn't just about Nyah.
Vince Kirby
This isn't just about Nyah, either. The same thing's happening up and down the Murray. That's why we've filed another case in court. My brothers and I want our Wadi Wadi Country, our waterways and wetlands, respected and cared for properly, so we can pass them on to our kids and great grandkids."
A second case filed upstream
Vince argues the cultural heritage management plan for a related project at Vinifera failed to properly assess Aboriginal cultural heritage and is seeking to have its approval overturned as well.
He argues that the Cultural Heritage Management Plan for works at Vinifera failed to properly identify, assess and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. He says that cultural heritage includes waterways like the Murray River and Vinifera Creek but the Vinifera Cultural Heritage Management Plan does not take this precious cultural heritage into account.
These projects form part of a broader plan for eight artificial floodplain engineering projects along the Murray.
Traditional Owners and other community members have challenged the plan at almost every stage, raising serious concerns about cultural heritage, Country and the future of the river and its wetlands.
