Bills Digest No. 15 2002-03
Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions)
Bill 2002
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
Passage History
Australian
Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2002
Date Introduced:
27 June 2002
House:
House of Representatives
Portfolio:
Environment and Heritage
Commencement:
The operational aspects of the Bill commence at the same time as schedule
1 to the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2002.
To repeal the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975
and establish transitional arrangements in relation to the proposed
new Commonwealth heritage regime.
Background
The Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional
Provisions) Bill 2002 (the Bill) is part of a package of three Bills (the
Heritage Bills) designed to replace the Australian Heritage Commission
Act 1975.
Further background is contained in the Bills Digest to
the main Bill of the three, Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment
Bill (No.1) 2002.
Item 1 repeals the Australian Heritage Commission
Act 1975.
Item 2 repeals existing subsection 9(3) of the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBCA).
Subsection 9(3) provides that a decision or a granting of an approval
under the EPBCA does not constitute an action under section 30
of the Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975.(1)
Item 1 makes subsection 9(3) redundant.
Item 7 removes reference to the Australian
Heritage Commission Act 1975 in subsection 6(3) of the Regional
Forests Agreements Act 2002. Again, item 1 makes the subsection
6(3) reference redundant.
Item 8 amends paragraph 14(b) of the Resource
Assessment Commission Act 1989. Paragraph 14(b) currently requires
certain persons - namely the presiding members of the Australian Heritage
Commission (the Commission) the Australian Science, Technology and Engineering
Council and the Industries Assistance Commission - to be consulted about
who should be appointed as a Special Commissioner for Resource Assessment
Commission (RAC) inquiries. Item 8 deletes the reference
to the Commission, since this body will be effectively be abolished by
item 1. Interestingly, the body that is to replace the Commission
- the similarly sounding Australian Heritage Council - is not substituted.
Rather, it is proposed that it will be the Secretary of the Commonwealth
Department administering the EPBCA that will have to be consulted. The
question may however be somewhat moot as there has been no RAC inquiry
for ten years.
Item 11 substitutes a new version of existing
section 31 Resource Assessment Commission Act 1989. Section 31
currently requires the (Australian Heritage) Commission to give evidence
to any Resource Assessment Commission inquiry on a matter relating to
the Register of the National Estate. The effect of item 11 is that
it will be the Secretary of the Department administering the EPBCA, or
a Departmental employee authorised by the Secretary, that is required
to give evidence on heritage values. As for item 8, it is notable
that Australian Heritage Council, is given no statutory role.
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 duty 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 is a standard item allowing regulations
to be made, including to provide for 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
23 September 2002
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
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