Page 3519 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 September 1991
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also worthy of note that there are provisions in the Bill to assist in the protection of unregistered Aboriginal objects. There are monetary penalties associated with a failure to comply with these provisions.
You will have noted that I have been referring to objects in the public domain. During the development of the legislation there was considerable debate on issues relating to the care of moveable heritage in both the private and the public domain. It was widely accepted by experts in the field that moveable heritage items held by government departments and their instrumentalities should be identified and given special protection. This is the area where moveable heritage is at greatest risk. This Bill provides for proper conservation management processes as part of the Government's overall responsibilities for safeguarding the ACT's heritage.
The Government has taken proper account of public concerns that the same measures and sanctions should not be applied to objects held in private collections. Nevertheless, to assist the objective of building up a comprehensive picture of the ACT's moveable heritage over time we will encourage private collectors to have their collections recorded. I would stress that the heritage objects in this category would be recorded separately from items on the register and that ownership and locational details would be confidential.
It may be that private collectors would be willing to make items in their collections available for periodic public displays or for research purposes. To assist in this awareness process, conservation advice and grants would continue to be available to private individuals and incorporated community organisations.
As I mentioned earlier, the development of the heritage objects register relating to public domain objects will be done in consultation with the community. There are processes for the ministerial approval of the register and Assembly disallowance. Appeal opportunities are provided to concerned parties in appropriate circumstances. The Bill also requires any person proposing to undertake any activity that is inconsistent with an entry in the objects register to seek approval in the first instance.
This Bill is an important component of the ACT's strategy to protect its heritage for the present and future generations and provides a model for the rest of Australia. I commend it to the house and I present the explanatory memorandum.
Debate (on motion by Mr Jensen) adjourned.
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