EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Instrument Removing Commonwealth Heritage values from the Commonwealth Heritage List for five Commonwealth Heritage places
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection and conservation of heritage, including places with Commonwealth heritage values.
Section 341C of the Act requires the Minister to keep a written record of places and their heritage values, called the Commonwealth Heritage List (the List). The Minister may only include a place in the List if:
- the place is either entirely within a Commonwealth area, or outside the Australian jurisdiction and owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth Authority; and
- the Minister is satisfied the place has one or more Commonwealth Heritage values.
Section 341L of the Act provides that the Minister may remove one or more Commonwealth Heritage values included in the List for a Commonwealth Heritage place if the Minister is satisfied that the place no longer has the Commonwealth Heritage value or values.
The purpose of this Instrument is to remove one or more Commonwealth Heritage values from the List for the following five Commonwealth Heritage places:
- Forbes Post Office;
- Hobart General Post Office;
- Leongatha Post Office;
- Queenstown Post Office; and
- Sorrento Post Office.
The values to be removed are identified in Attachment A.
Section 341M of the Act provides that before the Minister removes one or more of a place’s Commonwealth heritage values from the List, the Minister must:
- obtain and consider advice from the Australian Heritage Council; and
- publish on the Internet and in a daily newspaper circulating in each State and self-governing Territory, a notice describing the proposed removal and inviting anyone to give the Minister comments.
- A notice was published on the website of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities A notice was also advertised in The Australian on 30 December 2010. The period for public comment was 20 business days from 30 December 2010 to 28 January 2011. No comments were received.
The Australian Heritage Council advised the Minister that the five post offices do not have the Commonwealth Heritage value or values identified in Attachment A. The reasons for the removal are given in Attachment A.
The Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Instrument takes effect on the first day after the last day on which it could be disallowed, or taken to have been disallowed under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Authority: Section 341L of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Attachment A
The following Post Offices are not considered to meet the Commonwealth Heritage criteria for the values indicated for the reasons given below (noting the places have other Commonwealth Heritage values for which they will remain in the Commonwealth Heritage List):
Places | CH# value | Reason for removing from each identified place the CH value from the Commonwealth Heritage List |
Forbes Post Office | f | The fanciful component of France Renaissance, in the mansarded clock tower was unusual, but in step with the employment by James Barnet (Colonial Architect for NSW, 1862-1890) of related motifs in his major new government buildings in central Sydney. The inset arches on the windowed bays facing Lachlan Street, though a Barnet motif, may be later in their formation, as do the scrolled brackets under the lintel on that side, which are a Queen Anne element of which Barnet would probably have disapproved. |
Hobart General Post Office | f | The equipment referred to is no longer extant and the area of building in which it was located has been altered and refurbished. The building has lost the ability to ‘demonstrate’ this aspect of technological significance. |
Leongatha Post Office | d | There is scant evidence of the key planning elements associated with the type, particularly the relationship between the main postal hall, the residence and telegraph function. Internally, little or nothing remains of the original's plan form, decorative detail or finishes. Much of the post office’s characteristic period details has been removed including roof vents, roof sheeting and rainwater guttering, lead lighting and articulated side entry for the postmaster. Subsequently, the picturesque and aesthetic quality of the original building is also largely diminished. |
Queenstown Post Office | f | Architecturally, the building lacks creative refinement or invention. The original internal planning configuration has been impacted by accumulative alteration to the ground and first floor interior spaces. |
Sorrento Post Office | d | The original planning of the Sorrento Post Office and quarters remains evident, but there have been consideable changes to the building exterior, particularly the principal elevation and front section, as well as the former residential component to the rear. |
#Commonwealth Heritage Criteria corresponding to the value being removed:
(d) the place has significant heritage value because of the place's importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of:
(i) a class of Australia's natural or cultural places; or
(ii) a class of Australia's natural or cultural environments
(f) the place has significant heritage value because of the place's importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period
Overview
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was enacted to provide for the protection and conservation of biodiversity and heritage, including Commonwealth heritage places. This Act was introduced to address the need for a legal framework that ensures the protection of places with significant heritage value, including those owned or leased by the Commonwealth or Commonwealth Authorities. The Act establishes the Commonwealth Heritage List, which records places and their heritage values, and allows for the inclusion and exclusion of values based on specific criteria. The legislative instrument F2011L00856, issued under the authority of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, implements the removal of certain Commonwealth heritage values for five post offices from the Commonwealth Heritage List. The policy objective is to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the List by removing values that no longer meet the criteria, as advised by the Australian Heritage Council.
This instrument follows the required process under Section 341L of the Act, which mandates public consultation and consideration of advice from the Australian Heritage Council before any removal from the List. A public notice was published on the Department’s website and in The Australian, with no comments received during the specified period. The Australian Heritage Council advised that the five post offices in question do not meet the criteria for the specific Commonwealth heritage values identified, and these values have consequently been removed from the List. The reasons for each removal are detailed in the accompanying attachment. This legislative instrument ensures compliance with the legislative requirements and aims to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the Commonwealth Heritage List.
Scope and Application
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) applies to the protection and conservation of heritage, including places with Commonwealth heritage values. The Act mandates the Minister to maintain a Commonwealth Heritage List, which includes places with identified heritage values, subject to certain criteria. Specifically, a place must either be entirely within a Commonwealth area or be outside Australian jurisdiction but owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth Authority, and the Minister must be satisfied that the place possesses one or more Commonwealth Heritage values. The Act allows for the removal of one or more Commonwealth Heritage values from the List if the Minister is satisfied that a place no longer holds the specified values. This legislative framework applies nationally across Australia and encompasses entities and places owned or leased by the Commonwealth. The Act’s provisions are supplemented by subordinate instruments, which may further define the criteria and processes for listing and delisting heritage places. This particular legislative instrument focuses on the removal of specific heritage values from five post offices: Forbes, Hobart General, Leongatha, Queenstown, and Sorrento Post Offices. The decision to remove these values followed consultations with the Australian Heritage Council and public notice, as required by the Act.
Key Provisions
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection and conservation of heritage, including places with Commonwealth heritage values. Specifically, Section 341C of the Act requires the Minister to keep a written record of places and their heritage values, known as the Commonwealth Heritage List (the List). A place can only be included in the List if it is either entirely within a Commonwealth area, or outside the Australian jurisdiction and owned or leased by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth Authority, and the Minister is satisfied that the place has one or more Commonwealth Heritage values. Section 341L of the Act allows the Minister to remove one or more Commonwealth Heritage values from the List for a Commonwealth Heritage place if satisfied that the place no longer has the relevant heritage value or values.
The obligations imposed on the Minister under the Act include obtaining and considering advice from the Australian Heritage Council before removing any Commonwealth Heritage values from the List (Section 341M). Additionally, the Minister must publish a notice describing the proposed removal on the Internet and in a daily newspaper circulating in each State and self-governing Territory, inviting comments from the public. This process ensures transparency and provides an opportunity for public input. In the case of the five post offices in question, a notice was published on the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities website and in The Australian on 30 December 2010, with a 20-business-day public comment period ending on 28 January 2011. No comments were received.
The Instrument removing Commonwealth Heritage values from the List for the five post offices takes effect on the first day after the last day on which it could be disallowed, or taken to have been disallowed under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The Australian Heritage Council advised the Minister that the five post offices no longer have the Commonwealth Heritage values identified in Attachment A of the Instrument. The reasons for the removal are detailed in Attachment A, which provides specific explanations for each post office and the Commonwealth Heritage values being removed. For example, the Forbes Post Office lost its Commonwealth Heritage value due to the removal of key architectural elements, while the Hobart General Post Office lost its value because the equipment referred to is no longer extant and the area of the building in which it was located has been altered and refurbished.
The Act does not specify any offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches related to the removal of Commonwealth Heritage values from the List. However, the failure to comply with the requirements of the Act, such as not obtaining advice from the Australian Heritage Council or not publishing the required notice, could potentially lead to legal challenges or other consequences under the general provisions of the Act or other relevant legislation.