EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued under the authority of the delegate for the Minister for the Environment)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Old Parliament House and Curtilage National Heritage) Management Plan 2021
Legislative Authority
Subsection 324S(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) provides that the Minister for the Environment must make a written plan to protect and manage the National Heritage values of each National Heritage place that is entirely within one or more Commonwealth areas. The Minister must do so as soon as practicable after the place is included in the National Heritage List. Subsection 324S(2) provides that the Minister may, in writing, amend a plan or revoke and replace a plan.
A heritage management plan made under subsection 324S(2) of the EPBC Act is a legislative instrument pursuant to subsection 324S(7) of the EPBC Act.
Purpose of Instrument
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Old Parliament House and Curtilage National Heritage) Management Plan 2021 (2021 Heritage Management Plan) is made under subsection 324S(2) of the EPBC Act. The 2021 Heritage Management Plan provides for the future management of the Old Parliament House and Curtilage with the objective of identifying, protecting, conserving, presenting and transmitting the National Heritage listed values of the place. The plan contains a detailed description of the history and cultural significance of Old Parliament House and Curtilage as well as its physical elements and condition. The plan sets out the operational requirements for the management of the place with policies to guide the management and protection of the National Heritage values of the Old Parliament House and Curtilage.
As an updated version of the Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2015-2020 (2015 Heritage Management Plan), the 2021 Heritage Management Plan will revoke and replace the 2015 Heritage Management Plan.
The 2021 Heritage Management Plan meets the requirements under subsection 324S(4) of the EPBC Act. Specifically, it addresses all matters prescribed by regulations 10.01C and Schedule 5A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 (EPBC Regulations). The 2021 Heritage Management Plan is consistent with the National Heritage management principles set out in Schedule 5B of the EPBC Regulations.
Background
Old Parliament House was opened in 1927. It was designed by John Smith Murdoch, the first Commonwealth Government architect, as the first purpose-built home of Australia’s federal Parliament. It is one of the foundation government buildings from the early development of the national capital. Old Parliament House is a substantial building containing some 500 rooms; it houses formal parliamentary Chambers with associated executive offices, parliamentarians’ rooms and functional support spaces. Its complex overlay of National and Commonwealth heritage values are manifested in its fabric, collections, history and intangible associations.
On 20 June 2006 the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon John Howard MP, announced the addition of Old Parliament House and Curtilage to Australia’s National Heritage List. The assessment of the heritage values demonstrated that Old Parliament House and Curtilage had met eight of the nine National Heritage List criteria. Old Parliament House and Curtilage was also included in the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2004 and is a significant feature of the Parliament House Vista which is also on the Commonwealth Heritage List.
Old Parliament House and Curtilage is a heritage site and the home of the Museum of Australian Democracy. The heritage values of the site and the museum’s strategic vision are expressed through an array of interpretation, exhibition, online, learning, research and commercial activities and events available to the public 364 days a year.
Consultation
Consistent with the requirements of subsections 324S(6) and 324W(3) of the EPBC Act and regulation 10.01D of the EPBC Regulations, the 2021 Heritage Management Plan as a replacement plan is a result of a review, including a public consultation process. In accordance with subsection 324W(3) of the EPBC Act and regulation 10.01D of the EPBC regulations, notices were published in the national press, the website for the Museum of Australian Democracy and the Australian Government gazette for public comment between Thursday 10 September to Wednesday 7 October 2020. Submissions could be sent to either the Museum of Australian Democracy or the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
No public submissions were received in response to this invitation. Comments were gathered from Old Parliament House staff. These comments informed the improvements in the replacement 2021 Heritage Management Plan. These changes allow for more effective implementation of the plan’s policies.
Subsection 324S(6) provides that before making, amending or revoking and replacing a plan under section 324S, the Minister must seek and consider comments from the Australian Heritage Council about the matters to be addressed by the proposed plan, amendment or replacement. Advice on the matters to be addressed by the plan was sought from the Australian Heritage Council and was provided by the Council to the delegate for the Minister for the Environment. That advice was considered before making the decision to revoke and replace the 2015 Heritage Management Plan with the 2021 Heritage Management Plan under subsection 324S(2).
Details and Operation
The 2021 Heritage Management Plan is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. The Plan commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
In accordance with section 324W of the EPBC Act, a review must be carried out within five years of the Heritage Management Plan being made.
Based on the information provided, as this update contains no substantive change to the guidance provided in earlier plans, the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the impact as no more than minor. As such, a regulation impact statement is not required. The OBPR reference number is 43673.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Old Parliament House and Curtilage National Heritage) Management Plan 2021
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The purpose of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Old Parliament House and Curtilage National Heritage) Management Plan 2021 (2021 Heritage Management Plan) is to provide for the protection and management of Old Parliament House and Curtilage pursuant to section 324S of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The 2021 Heritage Management Plan contains a detailed description of the history and cultural significance of Old Parliament House and Curtilage as well as its physical elements and condition. The 2021 Heritage Management Plan sets out the operational requirements for the management of the place with policies to guide the management and protection of its National Heritage values.
The 2021 Heritage Management Plan meets the requirements for management plans for National Heritage places, pursuant to the EPBC Act and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2000.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
The Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
James Barker
Delegate for the Minister for the Environment
Note: The name of this instrument was amended on registration as the instrument as lodged did not have a unique name (see subsection 10(2), Legislation Rule 2016).