Cultural rights at sea are far less recognised than those on land, leaving Traditional Owners without a voice in offshore development, a new study has found.
Published in Heritage and led by the Sea Country Alliance with Charles Darwin University (CDU), the research says offshore energy projects—whether oil, gas, or renewables—often sideline Indigenous rights, despite obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The study argues the push for new energy sources has come at the expense of Indigenous rights, calling for the integration of both UNDRIP and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) into offshore law.
It notes "cultural heritage and the associated rights for care and use" exist in marine environments just as they do on land, but in a "less regulated way".
While protections such as the Native Title Act offer some recognition, the paper says the realisation of rights offshore is usually only achieved after lengthy legal battles.
"First Nations' rights are generally not recognised as comprehensively as they are defined in UNDRIP," the paper says.
"Contributing to this is a loose understanding of FPIC and an even more sparse implementation of it within regularity and legislative regimes. In this regard, the new energy regimes are no different to the old regimes regarding recognition of First Nations' rights."
Sea Country Alliance Co-Chair and co-lead author Rhett Hoskins warned without reform, offshore wind and gas could become "the next frontier of dispossession".
"For over 65,000 years Traditional Owners have cared for Sea Country, ensuring that the ecosystems thrived, and cultural connections remained strong," Ms Hoskins said.
"Our connection to Sea Country is as important as it is to land, and yet, the protections that recognise our rights aren't the same."
Co-Chair Gareth Ogilvie said Australia needed to show leadership.
"Australia must not just meet but lead international best practice in approaching Sea Country as a holistic environment that includes cultural significance, plants and animals and minerals," Mr Ogilvie said.
"Our Songlines connect the heart of Australia to the Australian coastline as it once was, now far out at sea - we understand Sea Country and terrestrial Country as one."
The study calls for UNDRIP to be embedded in offshore legislation and for the creation of a national Economic Empowerment Fund. Such a fund would ensure communities directly affected by projects—as well as those in spill zones—share in benefits from resource development.
It also urges proponents and government agencies to establish "rigorous processes to support communities to understand projects," and to guarantee that consultation is conducted through self-determined representative bodies, undertaken early and "with the understanding that consent is both a respected outcome and a process".
The paper concludes with a call for Australia to take a global lead.
"In exploring an international perspective and shared concerns, it is hoped that work undertaken in Australia to ensure First Nations' rights and responsibilities are recognised in energy projects and can be strengthened and secured," it says.
