Why Review the Heritage Conservation Act?
Although the Heritage Conservation Act is theoretically broad in scope, in practice it has proven unable to protect some important heritage places. Territory icons such as Hotel Darwin, the old Supreme Court building and some WWII sites have met with a bulldozer despite opposition from the community. Furthermore, the current Act limits Indigenous heritage to archaeological sites ‘pertaining to the past occupation by Aboriginal people’, despite the fact that Aboriginal history did not end with the coming of Europeans. It is a continuing story that large numbers of Indigenous people live in the major towns, have a history and have other stories to tell. Few places that reflect a concern for the protection of natural heritage have been listed. In a landscape still supporting an ancient culture that emphasises the inseparability of place and people, the manner in which culture and the natural environment have shaped and continue to shape each other has not been captured in criteria for lis
