TARL seminar 10 May 2024

Managing Cultural Heritage within the Queensland Department of Transport & Main Roads

Dr Nick Roberts,
Senior Advisor (Indigenous Strategy), Cultural Heritage Officer, Department of Transport & Main Roads Far North District, Cairns Office

The presentation will provide an overview of the work that Cultural Heritage Officers (CHOs) undertake within the Queensland Government, specifically the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR). TMR is one of the more strongly resourced Queensland Government Departments in supporting the management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage, and historic cultural heritage. TMR includes 12 Districts across the State that are resourced with up to 20 CHOs, including Graduate CHOs.

Much of the work we do as CHOs is to provide cultural heritage advice and support in the delivery of linear infrastructure projects, ranging from maintenance activity to major multi-year projects. Heritage management, advice, and support are based on both the review and application of legislation and regulatory frameworks, and the results of desktop and field-based heritage assessments. Importantly our work regularly includes engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, legal-administrative bodies, and communities.

To illustrate the work CHOs undertake in this presentation, I will provide an overview of the legal and administrative environment we work within, the type of activities we undertake, where we work and what we find in the management of cultural heritage on linear infrastructure projects. I also aim to provide some broader context for managing cultural heritage through the Queensland Government’s Path to Treaty and Reframing the Relationship process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities across the State.