Gawaimbanna: Gu Wiradjuri Nhurranbang (Welcome to Wiradjuri Country)

For too long Indigenous Australian communities have been labelled ‘Aboriginal,’ lumped together and treated as one indiscriminate population. Yet before the onset of European administration, there was no collective concept for the original custodians of this continent, and each community, culturally divergent from its neighbours, had its own identity. This paper addresses some of the issues and argues for the need to establish separate, and culturally specific and localised consultation protocols to ensure that proper consultation occurs wherever the culture and heritage of local Indigenous communities is concerned. For too long, Indigenous peoples cultural heritage has been impacted upon without their knowledge and without the protocols of participation, communication, negotiation and compromise being followed. This paper refers to the need for a consultation ‘model’ that is applicable to country and in so doing looks at the issues from a Wiradjuri perspective. The perspective taken alludes to the need for all those who would undertake development of any kind, to consult with the appropriate peoples; to sit at the consultation table so that all thoughts, concerns, ideas, knowledge and skills of all, be heard and acted upon in an honest and open manner to preserve what is left of our (Wiradjuri) heritage.