Heritage Places (Protection of State Heritage Places) Amendment Bill
28 August 2024
I rise to speak on this bill, not just because it covers an issue I am personally passionate about but because I know, more importantly, how passionate many people in the electorate of Dunstan feel about the heritage places not just in our area but right across greater Adelaide. Indeed, I spoke in my very first speech in this place about how I was so deeply affected by the buildings and streetscapes of Norwood and St Peters and Marden and Kensington, and all of the suburbs in between, that I knew then I wanted to make my home amongst them. It did not take long to find that many members of my community share this passion with me.
To this day, when I am out doorknocking in my community I am likely to end up in conversation with someone living in a historic house about a shared admiration of their house or the story of that house's history. These historic State Heritage Places tell the story of our state's history. They are important to people—people in my community who want development to occur alongside the protection of our historic buildings—and we only need to look at other states to see that this is not just entirely possible but it is happening.
That is why I am so pleased this government made a commitment to legislate to better protect State Heritage Places. Currently, the Heritage Places Act 1993 contains stop orders, no-development orders and protection orders, but we have seen that those orders alone are not sufficient to provide positive conservation outcomes for State Heritage Places. There are currently no subsidiary enforcement measures, which means there is nothing to prevent, for example, demolition by neglect.
This bill not only provides an updated enforcement mechanism but also registers enforcement orders to the title of the land, which ensures that if the property is sold the purchaser is aware of the obligations that come with the property and that those obligations are enforceable. But perhaps most importantly, this bill also ensures greater consultation, leading to greater community engagement and procedural fairness.
We know that people are stakeholders in their community, and this government recognises that. I want to thank the many people in my community who continue to raise with me their concern for protecting these beautiful, historic examples of our built environment, and assure them that I am passionate about protecting these parts of our state and our community's story and will continue to be their voice.
I want to acknowledge the tireless advocacy of many people in my community and others—such as the city of Norwood Payneham & St Peters, the Department for Environment and Water, and the Hon. Robert Simms MLC in the other place—for their hard work and commitment to protecting the historic buildings we so love. This is an example of the government working with a range of stakeholder groups to ensure an outcome that is meaningful to people where they live, and means the beautiful buildings that, in many cases, define our suburbs will not just remain standing but will be preserved for us all to enjoy into the future.