The Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council has called for legislative reform of the Place Names Act after a "breakdown" in the system allowed an offensive racial slur to be printed on state maps.
Official Parks and Wildlife Service maps, which are produced by the government, have the name of a small landmass off titima (Trefoil Island) marked as "N***erhead Rock".
Chairman of the council Michael Mansell said it was an "absolute shock" to discover the epithet being used in official documents.
"To read, in this day and age, the word n***er being used to describe landmarks as a form of mocking of Aboriginal people, by white people... [is] just unacceptable."
Mr Mansell has urged the government to recall and destroy the maps and said the Land Council had raised the issue as far back as 2017.
Michael Mansell, chairman of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council, says the Place Names Act should be reformed. Source: Sarah Maunder
"They acknowledged the complaint. They felt it was offensive and should be removed," he said.
"The premier of the day interfered with that... and as a consequence, the Place Names Organisation sat on it for the last five years, because they had a political direction not to act on it."
Mr Mansell lambasted the state government and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Roger Jaensch for failing to address issues within the Place Names Act which he says allowed the slur to be printed.
"The Tasmanian government put a process in place from 2017... that was originally designed to give Aboriginal people an avenue to prevent this sort of result."
"[However] the... government hand-picked a group of people to make sure that the Aboriginal community was isolated in the process."
Mr Mansell said a reform of the act was necessary to actively involve First Nations people in the process.
"Any dual naming that involves Aboriginal people must have the approval of the Aboriginal people."
"That gives us protection of who uses our language."
'Done nothing about it'
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Jaensch, today struck a conciliatory tone, apologising for the offensive term.
"It shouldn't have happened," he said.
"I've asked for explanations about how it has happened and I've also asked for these maps to be withdrawn from sale."
However, Mr Mansell said more needed to be done.
"[Mr] Jaensch has inherited that politically corrupt and politically biased system."
"But he's done absolutely nothing about it."
