Australian Government Heritage Reports
The two major recent Australian government reports on heritage issues are:
- the 2006 Federal government Productivity Commission Report into Conservation of Historic Heritage [overview and chapters can be found below - the full report, all submissions, all hearing transcripts of evidence, their draft report and the Federal government's response to it can be located on the Australian government's Productivity Commission web page ]; and
- the 2007 Expert Panel Review of the NSW Heritage Act, which was made publicly available in March 2008.
The Federal report was commissioned by a conservative Liberal government and the NSW report by a Labor government. So the contents represent the deliberations and conclusions of the two major political parties in Australia that jointly account for more than 85% of the Australia voting public.
Interestingly, both reports emanating from the two major political parties in Australia contain strong criticism about heritage practice and malpractices over the past 30 years , and recommendations for heritage reform in general including seeking greater rights for owners of private property that has been heritage listed in particuliar.
Fanatical pro heritage organisations and unsurprisingly, individuals [often members and deeply involved with the former] who make their living off the existing too easy or bogus heritage listing system - particularly misadvising owners about their extremely expensive but mostly illusory appeal 'rights' or adaptive re-use - are opposing these reforms tooth and nail. After all, they have personally hugely benefitted from the discredited current system of bogus heritage listings and few if any genuine rights for owners. They do not want this cosy situation that delivers then what they want in spadeloads changed.
These same individuals and organiations are invariably the first to finger point to owners and/or developers, tut tutting about their greed or craven financial motives, meanwhile managing to avoid being asked any hard hitting questions from the credulous media about their own financial stake in retaining and defending this rotton to the core current heritage listing system. They are also the first to accuse others of lack of transparency, conflicts of interest and other breaches of natural justice provisions expected to be obeyed in a modern western democracy. The heritage fanatics however have absolutely no problem when they, their heritage hobby or their heritage consulting business benefits hugely from those same breaches. Interesting wilful blindness here and application of double stanards.
You will also find startling and substantial material about wide spread heritage abuses, most particularly at the local government level. The PC Report chapter 5 is an excellent description of the deep and abiding problems at the local government level under our current heritage listing system that the fanatics and those with their snout in the lucrative heritage industry trough seek to maintain. Chapters 7, 9 and 10 detail methods to remedy these long standing heritage abuses.
The 2007 NSW Report [publicly released in March 2008] is the critical report for owners of NSW private property that is heritage nominated or listed properties. This is because its contents are what is shaping the current NSW government's approach to heritage and planning reform. These are also the reforms being opposed by eg., the NSW National Trust, the NSW Local Government and Shire Association and other individuals, often with their own heritage consultancy companies, who have been prominent in creating, benefitting from and running the current rotten heritage listing system in NSW.
SoHONSW strongly supports the efforts by the immediate past NSW Minister for Planning Mr Frank Sartor to reform NSW's heritage laws, policy and practice. Given the serious heritage abuses and misuse identified in both the Federal and state reports, especially at the local government level, it would have been negligent if the Planning Minister ignored their findings and made no attempt to clean up these heritage malpractices.
SoHONSW hopes that the current NSW Planning Minister Ms Keneally is equally robust in her efforts to end heritage rorts and malpractice in NSW particularly at the local government level. However, we note the usual heritage organisations are doing their utmost to woo her into dropping the heritage reforms identified as necessary by both sides of politics. She is alternatively being wooed and then monstered by these organisation, who invite her to speak at their functions, pressure her to turn and blind eye to heritaghe malpractices and corruption to keep them 'on side', but influence and manipulate the content of NSW Opposition heritage policy as their back up plan in the event they fail with NSW Labor.
SoHONSW is disappointed but not surprised that many established heritage organisations and individuals, who have perhaps have benefitted too well from the abusive heritage system for the past 30 years, have mounted a campaign to stop the NSW Planning Minister from implementing these herritage reforms. They have actively misrepresenting the reforms, claiming there is no need for them when the facts speak profoundly to the opposite conclusion and even going so far as to allege the reforms are are not in property owner's interests. Not only is this untrue, it is more than presumptuous of these organisations to claim to speak on behalf of owners of heritage listed properties., given their appalling track record of harassment of such owners, contemptuous disregard for the massive financial burden owners face and participation in creating and defending the system that so mistreats owners.
These same fanatical heritage organisations and individuals have a long-standing hostile attitude towards owners of heritage listed properties, are part of their campaign opposing heritage reforms in NSW has been fighting to ensure affected property owners have no decent, cost effective and/or fair appeal rights over heritage listings they dispute the validity of. The heritage orgnaisations and heritage fanatics are long standing supportors of the well documented heritage malpractices and rorts that adversely affect all rate payers. Some are in fact the architects of this iniquitous heritage listing system and proud of their role in ripping off owners and the commununity. SoHONSW calls for an end to heritage malpractices and fraud, particularly acts such as the use of 'deemed' heritage and heritage zones or precincts.
Former NSW Planning Minister Frank Sartor is to be commended for standing up to the bullying tactics of these heritage fundanmentalists and working to bring about a fair, balanced and improved system of heritage listing for NSW.
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