Water and Waterways: the law, pathways to protection, and the anthropological lens

This symposium will address practical issues of recording and protecting inland waterways, with a focus on rivers and sub-surface water bodies. We review the legal provisions relating to water and ways to consider their cultural value. We will learn how the State manages water, how miners use water, and share successful outcomes gained in native title negotiations process for protecting and sustaining waterways. We will contemplate best-practice anthropological methodology, as used in Western Australia and internationally.

It will be of interest to those negotiating protections for water, as well as to anthropologists and cultural heritage agencies that report on the cultural values and boundaries of water sites.

If you cannot attend in person, you can purchase an online ticket! We will send a Teams link the day before the event.

Photo: by Lisette Kaleveld.

John Southalan, Barrister and Advanced Mediator, will provide the legal context of water as sites and what rights in water are recognised under these laws, and what avenues are available to negotiate water protections.

Les Schultz is a Ngadju cultural leader who has worked to protect Ngadju Country through his roles on the Ngadju PBC and the Ngadju Bunna Ranger Program. Les presents on cultural heritage protection at international forums, including at the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and will talk about types of water sites and the work needed to protect them.

Mike Hollett is a former Chair of the Water Corporation, and has worked with native title groups, including Tjiwarl, Yamatji and Yindjibarndi, on water protection strategies.  Mike will share his expertise on water management processes and leverage points in negotiations, especially with miners, and focus on ways of retaining water on Country.

Associate Professor Sally Babidge is a sociocultural anthropologist and teaches at the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland. Sally will discuss the potential and conceptual approaches to anthropological analyses of water in extractive contexts, in Australian and international contexts.

Dr Eddie McDonald, anthropologist, will draw on his research into the Gnangara Mound artesian basin and on rivers. He will share his successes in satisfying section 5(b) of the Aboriginal Heritage Act and refer to anthropological research relevant to the protection of inland waterways in Western Australia.