Appendix F: Summary of consultation phases

Background

In accordance with Section 324S of the EPBC Act, the Minister responsible for the Act must make a management plan for a National Heritage place that is entirely within one or more Commonwealth areas. Old Parliament House is a National Heritage place within a Commonwealth area. Therefore, the Minister must make a management plan for Old Parliament House and Curtilage and consult with the Australian Heritage Council before finalising the plan.

As Old Parliament House and Curtilage is also on the Commonwealth Heritage List, under Section 341S of the EPBC Act, the Commonwealth agency who own or controls the place must make a written Heritage Management Plan to protect and manage the Commonwealth Heritage values of the place. The Commonwealth agency must consult with the Minister responsible for the Act, and the Minister must consult with the Australian Heritage Council.

After management plans for both Commonwealth and National Heritage plans are made, they must be reviewed every five years (Section 324W and Section 341X of the EPBC Act). This review must include a public consultation process.

In 2008, the former Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) prepared a single plan to cover both the Commonwealth and National Heritage List obligations. The completed plan was Version 1 of the Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan. The consultation undertaken for each version is summarised below.

Summary of consultation

2008: Version 1.0

Prior to the formal submission to the former Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, an exposure draft was prepared for informal public consultation in November 2006 in accordance with s. 341S(6) for Commonwealth Heritage places. The methodology and analysis of this process is outlined below. Comments from this process assisted in the development of the final draft.

Upon submission of the final draft of the Heritage Management Plan, the formal statutory public comments process was undertaken in accordance with s.324S(6).

Consultation method:

Two Old Parliament House staff meetings were held.
Two volunteer meetings were held.
A consultation notice was sent to the DCITA executive and the Minister for the Arts and Sport.
Promotional activities were undertaken, including:

    promotional flyers distributed in-house and to stakeholders, tenants and public incorporating information on the consultation and a comments section
    advertisements in The Canberra Times on 4 November 2006 and The Australian on 11 November 2006
    promotional banners in King’s Hall
    direct contact with associated organisations for posting information on their websites
    posting on the Old Parliament House website with the details of the consultation phase, and a PDF of the Heritage Management Plan and National Nomination document for downloading, including a dedicated email address for responses.