sec.5Principles underlying Act’s main purpose

### sec.5 Principles underlying Act’s main purpose The following fundamental principles underlie this Act’s main purpose— the recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage should be based on respect for Aboriginal knowledge, culture and traditional practices; Aboriginal people should be recognised as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage; it is important to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of Aboriginal communities and to promote understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage; activities involved in recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage are important because they allow Aboriginal people to reaffirm their obligations to ‘law and country’; there is a need to establish timely and efficient processes for the management of activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage. - (a) the recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage should be based on respect for Aboriginal knowledge, culture and traditional practices; - (b) Aboriginal people should be recognised as the primary guardians, keepers and knowledge holders of Aboriginal cultural heritage; - (c) it is important to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of Aboriginal communities and to promote understanding of Aboriginal cultural heritage; - (d) activities involved in recognition, protection and conservation of Aboriginal cultural heritage are important because they allow Aboriginal people to reaffirm their obligations to ‘law and country’; - (e) there is a need to establish timely and efficient processes for the management of activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.