Question On Notice No. 2534 asked in the Legislative Council on 17 February 2015 by Hon Lynn Maclaren
Question Directed to the: Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Heritage
Parliament: 39 Session: 1
Question
I refer to question on notice No. 3054 of 18 November 2014, and question on notice No. 3059 of 12 November 2014 in the other place, and ask:
(a) why does the response from the Minister for Heritage differ from the response by the Minister for Lands on whether the Minister for Heritage was consulted prior to the announcement of the sale of government assets; and
(b) does the Minister for Heritage have difficulty coordinating the management of heritage assets with the Minister for Lands?
Answered on 12 March 2015
(a) The Minister's response was correct at the time of responding. Whilst aware of the Government's proposal to sell surplus property, the Minister was not consulted on the individual properties announced by the Minister for Lands for disposal on 25 September 2014.
(b) No. The Minister for Heritage does not own any heritage properties identified for sale, nor have a statutory role or need to be consulted in regard to any other owner's decision to sell a heritage property. As noted in the response to Question on Notice No 3054, appropriate arrangements to ensure the future protection of any heritage property offered for sale will be established prior to disposal through the Government Heritage Property Disposal Process Policy. The Department of Lands and the State Heritage Office are working closely in this regard.