Wadi Wadi Traditional Owner Vince Kirby has successfully challenged a second cultural heritage approval for artificial floodplain engineering works at Vinifera on the Murray River. 

The Victorian government has once again conceded that Traditional Owners were not properly consulted on the Vinifera project and that its approval was made in error. The Supreme Court ordered the approval to be set aside, meaning the project cannot proceed under its existing Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP). 

The decision follows Vince’s successful challenge to the related Nyah project in July, where the cultural heritage approval was also set aside after the Victorian government similarly conceded Traditional Owners had not been properly consulted.  

Both cases raise broader questions about how Traditional Owners are consulted and Aboriginal cultural heritage is protected when major works are proposed on the Murray River floodplains. 

Wadi Wadi Traditional Owner Vince Kirby said:   

“The river can’t survive without its floodplains, and the floodplains can’t survive without the river. Our people have understood that connection and cared for these places for thousands of years. 

“Floodplains, wetlands, lakes and creeks are part of the river’s natural filtering system. You can’t treat them as separate from the river. Whole intricate ecosystems are working in harmony here and have been for thousands of years. 

“This is my mother’s and my grandmother’s Country. Their rights and knowledge should be respected, and Traditional Owners should be genuinely listened to from the beginning. 

“My brothers and I want our Wadi Wadi Country, waterways and wetlands cared for properly so we can pass them on to our kids and great grandkids. If our Country, wetlands and floodplains aren’t respected, then we will have to go to court.” 

Environmental Justice Australia lawyer Mera Sivanesan said: 

“This is the second time in three months the Victorian Government has conceded it got a cultural heritage approval wrong. Traditional Owners should not have to go to court, at great risk to themselves, to make sure the government follows the law and consults with them properly. 

“Without Vince’s challenges, the Nyah and Vinifera projects could have proceeded under unlawfully approved plans, putting irreplaceable Wadi Wadi cultural heritage at risk of harm, or worse, destruction.  

“Two plans have been challenged, and both approvals were made in error. That raises serious questions about other cultural heritage approvals made by the Victorian government, including those made for the Murray floodplain projects.” 

Case background:  

• The case decided today challenged the Victorian government’s approval of a Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) for the Vinifera artificial floodplain engineering project.   
• Vince Kirby argued that the approval process did not properly assess risks of harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage. 
• Traditional Owners were given only a brief consultation window of 14 days to respond during the consultation process.  
• The project is proposed by Lower Murray Water, on behalf of the Victorian government and funded by the federal government.    
• In July, the Victorian government conceded that the CHMP for the floodplains engineering project at Nyah had been approved in error because Traditional Owners had not been properly consulted. The Supreme Court ordered that the approval be set aside. 
• The Nyah and Vinifera projects are part of a broader Murray-Darling Basin “water offset” scheme, and involve major infrastructure works on Wadi Wadi Country, clearing floodplain forests to install levees, and pumps and regulators to divert water to select floodplains. 

ENDS 

Images: High resolution images of Vince Kirby and the Nyah floodplains available here 

Contact: Jessa Latona, 03 8341 3110, media@envirojustice.org.au