OUR HERITAGE AT RISK -  AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY - 2008

Place:    Register of the National Estate

Threat:   Destruction through program termination and withdrawl of resources

Map - National scope of the Register of the National Estate

Significance:

 The RNE, created by the former Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 is a list of heritage places of local, regional and national significance.  The Commonwealth’s heritage amendments in 2003 provided for the continuance and maintenance of the RNE through the AHC Act and required the Commonwealth Minister to have regard to information it contained when making any decision under the EPBC Act to which the RNE information was relevant.

The Register of the National Estate is Australia’s most comprehensive national inventory of natural, Indigenous and historic places considered worthy of conservation and protection for current and future generations.  Compiled and maintained by the Commonwealth’s independent advisor, it identifies over 13,000 places of aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or other special value. 

The Register of the National Estate contains information about places that:

• are important in the course of Australia’s natural or cultural history
• possess uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Australia’s natural or cultural history
• have potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Australia’s  natural or cultural history
• are import in demonstrating the principal characteristics of:
• a class of Australia’s natural or cultural places, or
• a class of Australia’s natural or cultural environments
• are import in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics valued by a community or cultural group
• are import in demonstrating a high degree or creative or technical achievement at a particular period
• have strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons
• have special association with the life or work of a person or group of persons of importance in Australia’s natural or cultural history.

Statement of Risk:

The 2006 amendments to EPBC Act and the AHC Act 2003 provide for the eventual disbandment of the Register of the National Estate.  From February 2007 no more places may be entered in or removed from the RNE.  In five years time all reference to the RNE will be removed from the AHC Act and the EPBC Act.

The loss of the RNE puts at high risk hundreds of heritage listed sites Australia wide that do not have legislative protection from any Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government legislative protection. 

Degree of Risk:       Imminent risk - no solution agreed
           

Threats/Risks:        Destruction

Fate/outcome:*       Stuffed (shattered or smashed – Lost, ruined or destroyed)!

Desired Outcome / Vision:

The continued maintenance and operation of the RNE as Australia’s most comprehensive list of local, regional and national heritage places, to ensure that the Australian community continues to understand, recognise and appreciate places of heritage significance and their importance to and the contribution they make to Australian values.

In anticipation of the eventual disbandment of the RNE by the Commonwealth, it is essential that another agency or interested expert body continues to manage, review, revise, update and maintain this valuable heritage database.   The National Trust of Australia successfully nominated over 5,500 places directly from the lists of places maintained by the Trusts for entry in the RNE from 1976 to 1980 inclusive.  In subsequent years the National Trusts continued to nominate places for the RNE and was the nominator of the vast majority of places included in the RNE. 

It is recommended that, with a view to gradually taking over the management and maintenance of the RNE once it is removed from Commonwealth legislation: the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT) commence negotiations with the Australian Government,the management and maintenance of the RNE to be co-ordinated by the ACNT and day to day listings and heritage advice to be the responsibility of the respective State and Territory Trusts. 

Australian Government         http://www.ahc.gov.au/register/

Australian Government         http://www.deh.gov.au

Australian Government         Environmental Protection and Biodiverstiy  Conservation Act  1999,     http://www.deh.gov.au/epbc/index.html

View Nomination Form

(Our Heritage At Risk Nomination 2007)

Places at risk when RNE is withdrawn – not on Commonwealth or National list