Page 3578 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 25 August 2009
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Council for decision. Of those 32, nine places were rejected from inclusion in the provisional register, five places are currently at provisional registration status, and 18 places have progressed to full registration. A further 48 nominations on national land, and therefore under the National Capital Authority’s control, are in the process of being removed from the register and moved across to a non-statutory list which includes places of interest to Canberra’s story but which are not on territory land. Sixteen places nominated to the heritage register for their national value for the Conservation Council of the ACT under various rounds of the ACT heritage grants program are also currently being assessed, with decisions, I am advised, likely on those 16 in this year.
The significant progress on the backlog—and there has been significant progress but it is a large backlog as well—was only able to occur due to dedicated financial resources in the administration budget, and a consultant has been engaged to undertake some of the assessment work that is necessary to deal with that backlog. Ms Le Couteur, that is all the information I have available that is relevant to your question. There is a significant backlog. The Heritage Council has sought to prioritise, to identify, and over the last two years, while the backlog remains significant, significant progress has been made.
MR SPEAKER: Ms Le Couteur, a supplementary question?
MS LE COUTEUR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, it appears that a nominee, or in fact possibly anybody, can pay a fee of $3,000 to have their heritage nomination treated as urgent and have that process within 20 days. How often does that happen and are there any other criteria to be considered urgent other than the ability to pay $3,000?
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Ms Le Couteur. Ms Le Couteur, I do not have that information available to me. I am more than happy to obtain it and to provide it to you.
Department of Territory and Municipal Services—strategic budget review
MR COE: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. It is in relation to the strategic budget review of the Department of Territory and Municipal Services of 9 December 2008 by Ernst and Young. The report raises the possibility of charging for domestic waste collecting. Minister, will you rule out the introduction of such charges for domestic waste collection?
MR STANHOPE: I thank Mr Coe for the question. As I indicated in an earlier answer, the government faces a significant issue in relation to the global financial crisis and its impact on receipts and revenues in the territory and faces a very significant issue over the next five to six years.
We have a significant deficit. The Treasurer has outlined a long-term plan to bring the government back into surplus. We as a community, we as a government, we as an assembly, face a very significant challenge in relation to bringing our budget back
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