This article examines the extent to which a recent law reform initiative in New South Wales (NSW), Australia—the draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2018 (NSW)—advances the general principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The examination reveals some improvements on the current legal framework and some concerning proposals that distance the NSW government from the UNDRIP principles. Key concerns include a proposed transfer of administrative responsibility to Aboriginal bodies with no corresponding guarantee of funding; the continued vesting of key decision-making powers in government; inept provisions for the protection of secret knowledge; and lower penalties for harming cultural heritage than for related offences in existing environmental and planning legislation. Given the bill’s weaknesses, the article explores pragmatic alternatives to better advance the UNDRIP principles.

中文翻译：

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我们到了吗？澳大利亚新南威尔士州拟议的土著文化遗产法的审查

本文探讨了澳大利亚新南威尔士州（NSW）最近的一项法律改革倡议——2018 年原住民文化遗产法案草案（NSW）——在多大程度上推进了《联合国土著人民权利宣言》中概述的一般原则（ UNDRIP）。审查揭示了当前法律框架的一些改进，以及一些使新南威尔士州政府远离 UNDRIP 原则的提案。主要问题包括拟将行政责任转移给没有相应资金保证的土著机构；继续赋予政府关键决策权；保密知识保护规定不力；与现有环境和规划立法中的相关罪行相比，对损害文化遗产的处罚更低。