News and updates

FEBRUARY 14 2011

ABORIGINAL protesters have vowed to target Premier Lara Giddings until the Government reverses its decision on the Brighton bypass.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre legal director Michael Mansell said Aboriginal groups had gained the support of key unions and environmentalists and would step up their campaign this week.

Mr Mansell said demonstrators would be selectively picketing government buildings until there was some sign of dialogue or a satisfactory compromise could be reached.

The Jordan River levee bank contains Aboriginal artefacts which are among the oldest ever found.

The State Government says the $187 million Brighton bypass must go over the site but a 70m bridge will ensure it will not be disturbed.

"We plan to make noisy but peaceful demonstrations at government buildings, to rally at the site itself and launch legal action to save the heritage area," Mr Mansell said.

"Don't think for one moment the State Government's plan to destroy 40,000 years of history at Brighton means they will get away with it.

"Our campaign to stop them has only just begun.

"This is a Labor Party low in talent, clinging to unearned power with Greens support, and one that is indifferent to the memory of those who created unique history.

"There are none so blind as those who cannot see."

Mr Mansell dismissed the State Government's offer to reform the Aboriginal Relics Act as a "cynical exercise" to distract attention from the Brighton bypass decision.

"If the Government can destroy a 40,000-year-old heritage area, no new legislation will make any difference," he said.

"The Government wants us to forget Brighton while drawn-out bureaucratic processes take place."

AUGUST 25 2010

A FORMER prime minister has waded into the Brighton bypass heritage debate as the Aboriginal community puts pressure on the Greens to support them if the impasse goes to State Cabinet.

Malcolm Fraser wrote to Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre legal director Michael Mansell this month saying it appeared heritage concerns had not been properly considered in the face of the bypass development.

"If this kind of development goes ahead without paying due regard to Aboriginal views and sentiment, especially concerning sacred sites, it seems clear that the Aboriginal concerns have not been adequately considered," the former Liberal prime minister said in the letter.

Mr Fraser said the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre's research was thorough and well-documented and Tasmanian authorities needed to show that all options had been carefully considered before any final decision was made to dismiss heritage claims.

A court case aimed at stopping the Brighton bypass has been set down for next month and both the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and the State Opposition are pressuring the Greens to stand alone in Cabinet on Aboriginal heritage.

Mr Mansell has challenged the Greens to be brave enough to threaten to dissolve the state's minority government accord over the dispute.

On Monday, Greens leader Nick McKim and his fellow Cabinet member Cassy O'Connor exempted themselves from a vote regarding proposed legislation to give Betfair tax cuts.

Mr Mansell said Mr McKim would betray the Aboriginal community if he refused to sit in Cabinet when the Brighton issue was discussed.

"We urge Nick McKim to go to Mr Bartlett to ask if he is willing to risk losing government over the Brighton site."

In Parliament yesterday, Mr McKim said if the Greens were unable to support a matter which was likely to be approved by Cabinet, there were provisions within the model for the Greens to exempt themselves from that decision.

But Mr Mansell said: "Without the Greens propping up the Government, the site would be saved."

Mr Mansell has also written to the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources asking for the archaeological pits at the site to be covered to stop further deterioration.

AUGUST 15 2010

ABORIGINAL relics in the path of the Brighton bypass deserved better protection from the State Government, Liberal Senator Guy Barnett said yesterday.

Senator Barnett joined Michael Mansell, from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, for an inspection of the threatened site yesterday.

He called on the State Government to do more to preserve the artefacts on the site, which are believed to be more than 40,000 years old.

"The Bartlett Government has mismanaged the Brighton bypass development and bungled the planning process for this federally funded project," he said.

"This road development has been in the pipeline for years there are no excuses.

"Based on the evidence available, there is little doubt that this unique Aboriginal heritage site is of historic significance to all Tasmanians.

"Balancing development with heritage concerns is central to good planning, and primarily a responsibility of the State Government.

"State Labor must now engage in meaningful consultation with key stakeholders and members of the public to ensure better protection for this unique Aboriginal heritage site."

Senator Guy Barnett, Aaron Everett & Michael Mansell on site at Brighton.

A STUNNING archaeological discovery at Brighton could change scientific understanding of human occupation.
The discovery of artefacts that could be among the oldest in the world has prompted the State Government to consider adding a multi-million-dollar bridge to its Brighton bypass plans.

In a new development set to rock the scientific world, the artefacts found in the path of the proposed bypass could be twice as old as previously thought.

The discovery of the remains, that preliminary estimates show could be at least 40,000 years old, would give the scientific world a unique glimpse of a previously unknown period of human occupation this far south on the planet.

The remains found in the contentious Jordan River valley section of the $176 million bypass have forced the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources back to the drawing board this week.

Plans have been redrawn to include a 70m elevated bridge span over the site, costing an extra $10 million to $15 million.

With a University of Melbourne report expected to be finalised this week, principal archaeologist Rob Paton has estimated the findings of stone tools and evidence of everyday life could be anywhere up to 40,000 years old. The previous estimate was about 18,000.

It has been estimated that anywhere up to three million artefacts could be uncovered in the 600m by 60m riverbank area.

The estimate places settlement of the area at about the time of Mungo Man, a discovery that challenged human evolutionary theory.

In 1974, scientists discovered the skeletal remains of a man near Lake Mungo in south-western NSW dated about 40,000 years old.

Previously, the oldest researched human DNA came from a Croatian Neanderthal who died about 28,000 years ago.

Mungo Man brought about a complete rethink on mainstream evolutionary theory, referred to as the "Out of Africa" theory that all humans were descended from modern homo sapiens who left Africa about 100,000 years ago.

"If the ages for the site prove to be correct, this is the oldest site in Tasmania and among the oldest in Australia," Mr Paton told the Mercury.

"Moreover, it would be the oldest most southern site on the planet, giving us a glimpse into an unknown part of world history and the spread of homo sapiens across the Earth.

"Our readings of the sediments also seem to be telling us that the part of the levee that contains the archaeological material is mostly undisturbed.

"This is almost unheard of from an open-air site, anywhere in the world.

"Most events of this kind come from cave deposits that often reflect only a very small and specialised part of the lives of people.

"Our work so far certainly indicates this is a scientifically important and exciting site. It will be an important place for interpreting the deep history of Tasmania, but also of archaeology on a worldwide scale."

Department secretary Norm McIlfatrick has said the Government will do all it can to protect the significant site.

"If it is 28,000 years old or 40,000 years old, it doesn't matter, this is a significant find and we will be protecting it," Mr McIlfatrick said.

"We believe we can take a management plan to Environment Minister Michelle O'Byrne that protects this levee and allows this important bypass to go ahead.

"We are not going to be draconian here, we want to see this protected."

The new management plan that will include the extended bridge span is also expected to include a covenant to protect and conserve the area.

To test the potential importance of the site, Mr Paton was engaged as archaeological director to work alongside heritage officers Aaron Everett, Bob Hughes and Leigh Maynard, geomorphologist Dr Tim Stone and archaeologist Cornelia de Rochefort.

The method used to date the river levee site is known as optically stimulated luminescence, OSL.

Mr Paton said while this was a complex form of dating, it told researchers the last time sunlight fell on the sandy deposits before they were covered, encasing the stone artefacts.

Pictures courtesy The Mercury