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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To promote a culture of care for historic heritage.

Recommendation

It is recommended that:

• the Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and Arts investigates means to assist historic heritage property owners;
   
• State Government agencies identify heritage places within their portfolio responsibilities, explore opportunities to fully utilise heritage buildings, and incorporate heritage conservation and management procedures when undertaking Strategic Asset Management Plans;
   
• planning instruments, such as planning directives and State Policies, are investigated as instruments for the management and protection of cultural heritage; and
   
• heritage advice and communication are provided within the framework of the Historical Cultural Heritage Act 1995 and the planning system in order to inform developers and local government about the practical operation of heritage regulations, and provide conservation advice to building owners and developers.
   

Key issues

Historic heritage has been created in the two hundred years since the arrival of Europeans in Tasmania. Some of the key points arising from the Cultural Heritage Chapter (with links to relevant Issue Reports) include the following:

• Heritage Places and Features: The Tasmanian Heritage Council and Heritage Fund provide free professional advice and some financial assistance to heritage property owners, respectively. However, there is uncertainty in the long-term financial support for the Fund and in the funding processes for heritage properties in major centres (Hobart and Launceston) versus other parts of the State (Tasmanian Government 2000).
  
  The State Government is a significant custodian of historic cultural heritage in Tasmania, through its various agencies. Many agencies, however, are not fully aware of their heritage property holdings, do not properly maintain those properties, and have limited management strategies for them (Tasmanian Government 2000).
  
  There has been very little progress made in historic heritage research since the last SoE Report. In particular, there have been few studies to mitigate impacts on cultural heritage from development, and little consultation with the community to identify and assess their cultural heritage on an ongoing basis.
   
• Heritage Objects: There is no policy for museums, museum development and heritage collections in Tasmania.
  
  There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that significant heritage objects are moving out of Tasmania because of a limited capacity to support their management within the State.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Examples of areas of progress in the period since the first SoE Report for Tasmania include the following.

• The Tasmanian Heritage Council has been formed under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. Support for the Council was initially provided by the Tasmanian Heritage Council Secretariat and is now given by the Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and Arts (DTPHA). The Council functions as a heritage advisory group to State and local government, and private individuals in the appropriate care of Tasmania's historic heritage. The Council is pursuing a program of registering significant 20th century buildings. This program should help arrest the loss of many items of significance from the 20th century.
   
• The Tasmanian Heritage Register, under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act, provides a State inventory of significant heritage buildings. Places registered on the Heritage Register provide the foundation of heritage schedules in all planning schemes. The State Government has indicated that continued expansion of the Heritage Register under the Act is a priority action.
   
• The Heritage Fund, established under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995, provides a significant resource for the proper care, conservation and maintenance of the community's heritage.
   
• DTPHA maintains an electronic database for managing historic heritage values on-reserve and as a management tool for other Government and non-government agencies.
   
• The Heritage Review 2000 has been conducted, providing several recommendations on cultural heritage in Tasmania to the State Government. For example, DTPHA has been requested by Government to link all registers applicable to the State and provide a one-stop-shop for accessing those registers.
   
• A review of the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995 has recently been announced by the State Government. The Act was developed in the early 1990s and was promulgated in 1996. The review is to consider how the Act presently operates and identify any problems there might be in administering the legislation. It will also recommend to the Government what might be done to improve the legislation and its administration. A review committee has been established and its terms of reference defined. These terms of reference include specific reference to consideration of built heritage (item 6).
   
• There have been some improvements in the heritage provisions within many planning schemes held by local councils around the State, through the inclusion and/or improvement of: heritage sections, development standards, heritage lists, controls on use and development in surrounding areas, and provision for heritage advisory committees (see Planning Scheme Provisions Issue Report). There are still many planning schemes, however, that lack adequate heritage provisions.
   
• Audits of properties administered by the State have been undertaken with a view to identifying sites of historic heritage significance.
   
• Heritage audits have been undertaken of local government areas to identify and include historic heritage sites of significance in planning schemes.
   
• Cultural heritage management has benefited from the development of Practice Notes provided by the Tasmanian Heritage Council, which outline the preferred approach to cultural heritage management.
   
• The Resource Management and Planning System and current best planning practice (such as performance-based planning measures) offer potential mechanisms to improve cultural heritage protection in Tasmania. Local Government strategic plans and project initiatives are also important mechanisms to support cultural heritage management.
   
• The adoption of consistent approaches and provisions in planning schemes, including a uniform approach to language and schedules, has been developed by the Tasmanian Heritage Council, in delivering the aims of the Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995. This approach has enhanced public understanding of issues and processes and provided clarity for potential developers.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Cultural Heritage' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Related Issue Reports