Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   notes that:

     (i)   the Register of the National Estate (RNE) is a list of more than 13 000 natural, Indigenous and historic heritage places throughout Australia, created in 1975 and currently maintained by the Australian Heritage Council, and

     (ii)   as of 19 February 2012, all references to the RNE will be removed from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) and the Australian Heritage Council Act 2003;

  (b)   recognises that:

     (i)   Australia's historic heritage makes a critical contribution to our national identity, community and economy,

     (ii)   the RNE was frozen on 1 January 2007, and a 5 year transition period was given for the Commonwealth, states and territories to assess and enter eligible places within their respective jurisdictions onto the appropriate heritage registers, and

     (iii)   if the transition process is not completed by 19 February 2012, thousands of heritage places will potentially be left without legislative protection; and

  (c)   calls on the Government to:

     (i)   extend the 5 year transition period for phasing out the RNE as a statutory list by a further 12 months, from 19 February 2012 to 19 February 2013, as recommended by the Hawke Review of the EPBC Act, and

     (ii)   collaborate with the states and territories to ensure that the transition process is completed within that 12 month period.