State Heritage Convention

Bruce Leaver
Executive Director, Australian Heritage Commission
"The National Context - Future Regimes For Heritage Planning"

Over 25 years the Register of the National Estate has grown to 13,500 places. Listings are now often duplicated in state heritage registers. Unlike state listing, RNE entry provides little protection, relating only to actions of the Commonwealth. Effective national heritage protection has been confined to the 14 World Heritage listings.

The 1997 COAG Agreement on Commonwealth Roles and Responsibilities for the Environment formed the basis for the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The agreement aimed to develop a National Heritage Places Strategy. There was no agreement on the strategy from the States so the Commonwealth has now proceeded with national heritage protection through the introduction of amendments to the EPBC Act.