TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CENTRE SEEKS ANSWERS FROM THE CORONERS OFFICE OVER THE TREATMENT OF ANCESTRAL REMAINS

Nala Manell at a protest in TAS,Credit: Nala Mansell/FACEBOOK

BY ASAD KHAN AND MARION CHEEDY

The Tasmanian Coroner's Office is under increasing fire after it dumped Aboriginal remains at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in brown paper bags.

 The ancestral remains, believed to date back to the eighth century, had been part of two separate coronial investigations for about six years with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre not being informed.

According to the Coroner's Act of 1995, if the coroner suspects the human remains are Aboriginal then by law Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre was to be notified.

A snap protest was organised by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre outside Parliament to hold decision-makers accountable.

 Campaign Manager for Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Nala Mansell says the remains were returned in four evidence bags, by a police officer who arrived unannounced.

She said she is disgusted by the treatment of remains by the Coroner's office.

“Well, you know you go from being heartbroken and saddened to think completely angered to then really not being too surprised as all our people right across the country have had to deal with when it comes to the human remains of our old people,

“White institutions such as the coroner's office haven't changed since you know, they first started invading our country and digging up our old people and disrespecting our remains. 

“We wrote to the attorney general whose job it is to make sure that these types of laws are upheld but we haven't heard back,” she said.

Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Marion Cheedy speak to Nala Mansell