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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 3048 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

I move to the important features of the Heritage Bill. The bill is stand-alone legislation but with links to the land act so that consideration of heritage issues is integrated into the development assessment and approvals processes. It also replaces the Heritage Objects Act 1991. A separate Heritage Act will strengthen the profile of heritage in keeping with community expectations and interest in heritage issues.

The bill allows for the appointment of a Heritage Council and defines its functions as to identify, assess, protect, conserve and promote places and objects in the ACT with heritage significance. The Heritage Council will be composed of experts in heritage disciplines and community and industry representatives.

The proposed ACT Heritage Register provides a better basis for recognition and registration of the full range of ACT heritage places and objects through a simple, accessible registration process.

The most significant change is that the Heritage Council will now be responsible for, and have carriage of, processes for changes to the Heritage Register, rather than the territory Planning Authority.

The other major change is removal of the separate process for interim registration with its separate consultation and appeal processes. Registration of heritage places and objects will now take place on the same basis as variations to the Territory Plan, with a single stream of consultation and final review in the Legislative Assembly.

In outline, the process will have the following features. Nomination of places or objects for entry to, or removal from, the Heritage Register will be open to anyone, including the Heritage Council. Nominations are made to the Heritage Council, which is required to undertake an assessment of heritage significance according to specified criteria.

If the Heritage Council considers the nominated place or object has heritage significance, they may declare it to be provisionally registered, which provides it with the full protection of a registered object or place. There then follows a process of notifying interested persons, calling for public submissions and providing a report to the minister. The minister then refers the matter to the relevant committee of the Assembly.

Once the committee reports, the minister seeks the views of the Heritage Council and makes the final decision. The final decision to declare that the place or object does have heritage significance, and for it to be registered, is a disallowable instrument.

For Aboriginal places, the process is similar, except that there is no provision for referral to an Assembly committee, as there is no sensible role for the committee in determining significance of Aboriginal places and objects. This also recognises that Aboriginal places and objects are protected even when unregistered, and registration simply provides for confirmation of values and consideration of these in the planning and development context.

The Heritage Council may prepare detailed conservation requirements at the time of registration as a basis for assessing development applications and their impact on heritage values. However, where these are not required, the council may develop more generic guidelines on the range of development activities likely to be consistent with

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