Page 4084 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 September 2017
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We understand the need to remain vigilant about how the heritage values of these buildings are protected and maintained through this process, but the ACT government supports adaptive re-use that can bring life and new uses to heritage places so that future generations of Canberrans and Australians can access and enjoy them. Adaptive re-use can add new layers without erasing old layers. It becomes part of the long history of the site. It is another stage, not the final outcome. The sensitive adaptation of heritage buildings can create vibrant and visually exciting spaces that people want to make use of.
I think the worst alternative would be that by trying to freeze properties at a point in time we end up seeing them left vacant and abandoned, and abandoned for decades, as the Anzac Park East building has been. On the other hand, the Hotel Acton is a great example of adaptive re-use of a heritage place in an area, I note, controlled by the National Capital Authority. Hotel Acton, a once-derelict building in an under-utilised part of the city, is now at the heart of a thriving precinct. Its heritage values add character and a sense of place to the New Acton precinct, and the building has been beautifully conserved.
Another example is the Hotel Kurrajong, an Art Deco building located in the designated land just outside the parliamentary precinct. It was built by John Smith-Murdoch in the late 1920s, just like the East and West Block buildings and Old Parliament House. It was sold and transformed into a wonderfully restored and sensitively designed piece of Canberra’s architectural heritage. From the successful adaptive re-use of these two previously government-owned heritage assets we can see that adaptive re-use, when done well, can enhance heritage values and bring new life to a building or place for future generations.
Of course, ensuring that this happens requires active engagement by those who care about heritage values. That is why the ACT government will engage with the National Capital Authority and the commonwealth to the full extent of our jurisdiction as this process proceeds. The territory government maintains a strong and ongoing relationship with both of the stakeholders in the project, and I am confident that we will be able to work together to take an active role in the discussions about the future use of these important heritage buildings. In particular, I wish to explore with the commonwealth whether their objectives could be better met through some kind of long-term leaseback arrangement. We will seek more information on specific plans to protect the heritage values of the buildings in question under any change of use.
We agree that the parliamentary precinct is a significant national place and that any proposals for development or change of use within it need to be carefully considered on that basis. We also want to see the precinct continue to be a place that draws people from across Canberra, across Australia and across the world, a place where people come together in accessible and high quality public spaces. So we will actively engage with the National Capital Authority and the commonwealth on how best to achieve these objectives in the case of the East and West Block buildings, as we do on all significant changes within the parliamentary precinct.
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