Bills Digest No. 117 2000-01
Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions)
Bill 2000
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as introduced
and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does not have
any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted to determine
the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional
Provisions) Bill 2000
Date Introduced: 7 December
2000
House: Senate
Portfolio: Environment
and Heritage
Commencement: At the same time as the Environment
and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.2) receives Royal assent.
To repeal the Australian Heritage
Commission Act 1975 and establish transitional arrangements in relation
to the proposed new Commonwealth heritage regime.
The Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional
Provisions) Bill 2000 (the Bill) is part of a package of three Bills designed
to replace the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975.
The major Bill of the package is the Environment and
Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.2) 2000 and readers are referred
to Bills Digest No.105 2000-01 for discussion of the proposed new Commonwealth
heritage regime.
Schedule 1 - Repeals and Amendments
Item 1 repeals the Australian Heritage Commission
Act 1975.
Item 2 repeals subsection 9(3) of the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Subsection 9(3)
provides that a decision or a granting of an approval under the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 does not constitute
an action under section 30 of the Australian Heritage Commission Act
1975.(1) Item 1 makes subsection 9(3) redundant.
Schedule 2 - Transitional provisions
Item 3 provides that any rights, properties, assets,
debts, liabilities or obligations of the Australian Heritage Commission
become vested in the Commonwealth upon the Bill coming into force.
Item 4 allows for the registration by the relevant
State or Territory's land titles office of the Commonwealth's right, title
or interest in any land vested in it as a result of item 3. The
Minister must provide written certification of the vesting in order for
Commonwealth's right, title or interest to be registered.
Item 5 is similar to item 4 but deals with
assets other than land. In this case, registration would be by an 'assets
official'. An 'assets official' is defined in item 5 as the 'person
or authority who, under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory,
under a trust instrument or otherwise, has responsibility for keeping
a register in relation to assets of the kind concerned'.
Item 6 provides that the Lands Acquisition
Act 1989 does not apply to anything done under Schedule 2.
Such a provision commonly appears in legislation dealing with the sale
of Commonwealth assets or the winding up of Commonwealth statutory authorities.(2)
Item 7 exempts the Commonwealth from having to
pay any State or Territory stamp or other tax as a result of the vesting
or transfer of an asset or liability under Schedule 2.
Item 8 relates to any Court proceedings involving
the Australian Heritage Commission at the time the Commission is
abolished by item 1. In such cases, the Commonwealth is substituted
as the relevant party in place of the Australian Heritage Commission.
Section 516 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 requires the Environment Secretary to prepare
an annual report on the operation of that Act. Item 9 provides
that this report must include a report on the Australian Heritage Commission
for the period from the last July 1 before the Bill commences to the
date the Bill commences.
Item 10 allows for regulations to prescribe arrangements
to deal 'with any issues of a transitional nature arising as a result
of the repeal of the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975'.
- The effect of subsection 9(3) is that a decision or a granting of
an approval under the EPBCA would not trigger the Commonwealth's
obligation under the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 to
avoid adversely affecting a place on the Register of the National Estate
unless there is 'no reasonable or prudent alternative'.
- For example, the Airports (Transitional) Act 1996 which deals
in part with the transfer of assets from the old Federal Airports Corporation
to the Commonwealth.
Angus Martyn
30 March 2001
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2000
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library, 2000.
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