Page 2111 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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In 2010 heritage consultant Mr Duncan Marshall was engaged to lead a review of the act. The review process is part of the government’s commitment to creating regulatory processes that are effective and efficient. Wide-ranging consultation was undertaken as part of the review, followed by the finalisation of the report which contained 111 recommendations. From these, the government has identified a range of actions to strengthen and improve the current heritage system. This includes a suite of amendments to the act which will be complemented by a more strategic and proactive approach to heritage matters.
At the centre of this will be the development of a five-year heritage strategy to guide the assessment, conservation and promotion of the ACT’s heritage. The proposed approach will ensure that reforms implemented from the review have a lasting, tangible and positive effect on the territory’s heritage system and assets. The approach and framework for reform seek to foster a collaborative culture that balances conserving our heritage assets while also meeting the needs of a growing and changing community.
I will now highlight some of the key reforms in the bill. The amendments address two key policy issues and provide for a range of other technical and administrative arrangements. The first key policy issue is that which relates to the minister’s involvement in heritage registration decisions. Under the current act there is a limited role for the minister to be involved in these decisions. A range of options was considered for the most appropriate registration model and the most appropriate roles and responsibilities for both the Heritage Council and the minister. The options include keeping the status quo, providing a ministerial call-in provision or enabling the minister to have responsibility for all registration decisions.
Of the nine jurisdictions in Australia, the Heritage Council is the decision maker in three: the ACT, Tasmania and Queensland. In four jurisdictions, the minister is the sole decision maker: New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and the commonwealth. In two jurisdictions, the minister holds a veto or call-in power: South Australia and Victoria.
The government has considered that in the ACT the minister should not be responsible for all decisions. In many cases, there is benefit for the minister to distance himself or herself from heritage registration decisions, with an independent statutory body responsible for the decision-making process, to remove public and community scrutiny, pressure and lobbying.
The majority of registration decisions are uncontroversial and therefore do not require ministerial involvement. The government’s view is that the most appropriate role for the minister, in the vast majority of cases, is to ensure that all matters have been appropriately considered prior to the Heritage Council making a decision on whether or not to proceed to registration. Reporting requirements in the current act, and also contained in the new bill, ensure that the minister is fully briefed on such matters by the council prior to them making a decision.
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