The ACT's heritage system needs more resources to operate proactively and better recognise and protect First Nations heritage, two former chairs of the heritage council have said.
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Duncan Marshall and Dr Michael Pearson have told a parliamentary inquiry into heritage arrangements one of the most important challenges is the need to reset the conversation in Canberra about heritage.
"There is a lingering and powerful view that heritage is a problem, not an opportunity, and that heritage is for the elite few rather than the broad community," the pair's submission said.
The pair said despite Canberra's community being generally well educated, there continued to be an "impoverished dialogue about the value of our heritage, its conservation and sympathetic integration with a modern society".
The submission to the Legislative Assembly's standing committee on environment, climate change and biodiversity said the current heritage register was not fit for purpose, and the government needed to clarify the role and direction of the heritage council and heritage unit.
Mr Marshall and Dr Pearson said they were not aware the current Heritage Act needed a major overhaul.
The pair noted that updated heritage legislation in other jurisdictions has not necessarily led to constant improvement in heritage outcomes.
"There are certainly aspects which appear to need updating, such as regarding First Nations' heritage, but much of the act seems generally adequate," the pair wrote.
"On the other hand, the resourcing of the heritage system which operates under the act is clearly inadequate. There are also a range of subsidiary processes and systems which have also not worked well given recent events. It is in these areas that reform and improvement are needed."
Mr Marshall and Dr Pearson said the government should develop an ACT heritage strategy, which had been flagged in 2016 but has never appeared.
The ACT Heritage Library should also be enhanced to become a heritage resource centre, while the territory should also investigate listing important collections of ACT documents on the UNESCO Memory of the World register, their submission said.
ACT Heritage Minister Rebecca Vassarotti told the Legislative Assembly in late November she had lost confidence in the heritage council after an independent review found evidence of unprofessional behaviour and a stressful working environment.
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The review found the strained relationships between the council and inefficient heritage systems presented an "imminent risk to ACT heritage sites".
All members were stood down and the government is currently working to appoint an interim heritage council while the government reviews the system.
The self-referred parliamentary inquiry was announced in December.
Submissions to the parliamentary heritage inquiry close on March 31.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
