Heritage issues under scrutiny

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

The Parliament’s National Capital and External Territories Committee will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday 21 September, at 12.30pm, as part of its inquiry into the National Memorials Ordinance 1928.

The public hearing will be held in Committee Room 2S3, Parliament House Canberra.

Appearing before the Committee will be the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (Submission 34) and the ACT Heritage Council (Submission 25).

Committee chair Senator Louise Pratt said the Committee was keen to examine the environment and heritage issues surrounding proposals for national memorials to gain a better sense of how they are assessed and how they should be managed as part of the approvals process.

“We have received a number of submissions that have raised heritage and conservation issues. These are key matters for the Committee to address,” she said.

In its submission, the ACT Heritage Council stated that proposals for memorials, including the location, content and character of memorials, should be subject to public consultation and comment, including with heritage stakeholders, prior to memorials receiving final approval by the Canberra National Memorials Committee.

In its Submission, the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities recommended including reference to statutory compliance requirements, such as under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, within the Ordinance.

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