'All our sites are of high significance': Reflections from recent work in the Hunter Valley - Archaeological and Indigenous perspectives

As part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, the Hunter Valley has been subject to decades of archaeological investigations involving many Aboriginal stakeholder groups. This paper critically discusses the EIA process, specifically the Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment (ACHA) process and the Aboriginal consultation requirements (ACHRs) for New South Wales (NSW) drawing on our collective experience of cultural heritage management (CHM) in the Hunter Valley. We examine the definition of 'values' and the identification of heritage within the history of relevant legislation in NSW to critique the ACHA process in the Hunter Valley. We introduce the relevance of the concept 'solastalgia', relating concerns for heritage to effects of 'environmental distress' from the cumulative impacts of mining and its relevance to the ACHA process. CHM legislation and practice is currently under review by the NSW State government, we hope to stimulate constructive dialogue on these issues based on our collective experience.