Proponents for change say the"last claim standing" clause puts Aboriginal cultural heritage at risk of mismanagement through confusion over who can speak for the land.
Construction company Ostwald Construction Materials was ordered to pay for the restoration of the land after being found to have destroyed stone tools and removed sacred Gumby Gumby trees without appropriate consultation with the Karingbal people. He said it denied Aboriginal people the ability to carry out their traditional responsibilities where activity proponents could pick and choose who they dealt with.
OCM was ordered to pay a series of fines, including a $250,000 penalty, to the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships , for the site to be restored.