Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian majority Liberal Government is committed to resetting our relationship with Aboriginal communities in Tasmania, and today we are taking a major step to increase recognition of the more than 40,000 years of Tasmanian Aboriginal history, culture and language by inviting the community to help shape the new Aboriginal and Dual Naming Reference Group.
The Aboriginal and Dual Naming Policy was developed to provide a consistent guide to how we approach naming places that have significance to Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
The Government recognises the importance of Aboriginal and Dual Naming as an effective contribution to the broader community’s understanding of Aboriginal history and culture in Tasmania.
The Nomenclature Board of Tasmania has opened an Expressions of Interest process for members of a new Aboriginal and Dual Naming Reference Group.
A review of the Tasmanian Government’s Aboriginal and Dual Naming Policy was completed last year and the establishment of the Reference Group was provided for as part of the revisions.
The five member Reference Group’s role is to provide advice to the Nomenclature Board on all Aboriginal and dual naming submissions, and is intended to be majority Aboriginal people.
Expressions of Interest for membership of the Reference Group open on 1 February.
The Nomenclature Board is seeking candidates for five positions that collectively fulfil the following criteria:
- Expertise in Tasmanian Aboriginal languages and linguistics,
- Expertise in the delivery of intellectually rigorous processes,
- Knowledge of Tasmanian Aboriginal history, and
- Awareness of cultural sensitivities.
The Reference Group will have a wide ranging authority to make enquiry, engage in correspondence, seek independent views and conduct localised research as it sees fit.
The Aboriginal and Dual Naming Policy is accommodated by the new Place Names Bill tabled in State Parliament late last year.
Appointments to the Aboriginal and Dual Naming Reference Group are for three years.
The EOI process has been advertised in all three Tasmanian regional newspapers and will be open from today Saturday 1 February until Friday 13 March 2020.
