❓ Mr Britza asks the Minister for Heritage how the new heritage bill will improve conservation. The Minister outlines key features including streamlined listing processes, strong penalties, and repair orders to address demolition by neglect, replacing a 25-year-old act.
AnsweredQoN 549Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HERITAGE BILL — INTRODUCTION
549. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Heritage:
I understand the minister will be
introducing the new heritage bill in this house tomorrow. Could he explain to
the house how this new legislation will improve the conservation of our state's
heritage places?
549. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for
Heritage:
I understand the minister will be
introducing the new heritage bill in this house tomorrow. Could he explain to
the house how this new legislation will improve the conservation of our state's
heritage places?
AnswerView source ↗
Absolutely, and I thank the member
for Morley for that question. This government is incredibly proud of our track record
in the heritage portfolio and of what has been achieved in our time in
government in heritage. Heritage has undergone a renaissance in recent years,
and I point to projects not too far away from where we stand right now, such as
Brookfield Place —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, do you want the good news? Nobody has been
called to order. Do you want the bad news? You are the first one. I call you to
order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : If the member for Girrawheen keeps interjecting, we might even
get to the Guildford Hotel—a project that again proved that this
government's approach to heritage has been the right way, as it fast
becomes a heritage icon in this state. Indeed, if I could just use one more
small example —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : — but a significant example and, again, an election
commitment: the new heritage revolving fund, which is repairing and restoring
the warders' cottages in Fremantle. This government finds innovative
solutions to our heritage problems, and I stand proudly on our record. Indeed,
at the last election we committed to introducing a new heritage bill into this
Parliament. I introduced a green bill into this Parliament last year, and we have
received a number of submissions on that bill. We have considered them in
detail and I am very proud to announce to the house that tomorrow I will
introduce a new heritage bill into this place. The new heritage bill builds on
the green bill process and retains many of the key new measures that were
proposed in that green bill. Importantly, it puts forward a less convoluted
process for the assisting and listing of significant places of state heritage.
It retains the strength of penalties that were brought in by this government
under my predecessor, the member for Bunbury, to ensure that significant places
of heritage are retained and that hefty penalties are in place for those who
infringe the legislation. Very importantly, I refer to something that has been
called for for a long time, and something that I hope members of the opposition
will support: this bill proposes, for the first time, to include repair orders.
A repair order is a mechanism by which the government of the day will be able
to address issues of so-called —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Mandurah, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : Repair orders will provide a legislative mechanism for the
government of the day to address issues of demolition by neglect. These are
often the issues that cause the most angst for heritage concerns within the
government.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : I do not think that has anything to do with heritage, member
for Cockburn.
This bill will replace a 25-year-old
act. Community attitudes to and, indeed, appreciation of, heritage has changed
significantly over the past 25 years. This will be a modern piece of
legislation that picks up on that community appreciation of heritage and will
provide for a modern approach to heritage management in this state. I look
forward to debate on this bill.
for Morley for that question. This government is incredibly proud of our track record
in the heritage portfolio and of what has been achieved in our time in
government in heritage. Heritage has undergone a renaissance in recent years,
and I point to projects not too far away from where we stand right now, such as
Brookfield Place —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, do you want the good news? Nobody has been
called to order. Do you want the bad news? You are the first one. I call you to
order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : If the member for Girrawheen keeps interjecting, we might even
get to the Guildford Hotel—a project that again proved that this
government's approach to heritage has been the right way, as it fast
becomes a heritage icon in this state. Indeed, if I could just use one more
small example —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Members!
Mr
A.P. JACOB : — but a significant example and, again, an election
commitment: the new heritage revolving fund, which is repairing and restoring
the warders' cottages in Fremantle. This government finds innovative
solutions to our heritage problems, and I stand proudly on our record. Indeed,
at the last election we committed to introducing a new heritage bill into this
Parliament. I introduced a green bill into this Parliament last year, and we have
received a number of submissions on that bill. We have considered them in
detail and I am very proud to announce to the house that tomorrow I will
introduce a new heritage bill into this place. The new heritage bill builds on
the green bill process and retains many of the key new measures that were
proposed in that green bill. Importantly, it puts forward a less convoluted
process for the assisting and listing of significant places of state heritage.
It retains the strength of penalties that were brought in by this government
under my predecessor, the member for Bunbury, to ensure that significant places
of heritage are retained and that hefty penalties are in place for those who
infringe the legislation. Very importantly, I refer to something that has been
called for for a long time, and something that I hope members of the opposition
will support: this bill proposes, for the first time, to include repair orders.
A repair order is a mechanism by which the government of the day will be able
to address issues of so-called —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Mandurah, I call you to order for the first time.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : Repair orders will provide a legislative mechanism for the
government of the day to address issues of demolition by neglect. These are
often the issues that cause the most angst for heritage concerns within the
government.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
A.P. JACOB : I do not think that has anything to do with heritage, member
for Cockburn.
This bill will replace a 25-year-old
act. Community attitudes to and, indeed, appreciation of, heritage has changed
significantly over the past 25 years. This will be a modern piece of
legislation that picks up on that community appreciation of heritage and will
provide for a modern approach to heritage management in this state. I look
forward to debate on this bill.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.