Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia needs a national heritage and arts lottery. I raised this idea last week and, frankly, the response from the broader community—especially from those organisations involved in heritage restoration, conservation and maintenance, as well as from the arts community—has been overwhelmingly positive. Tasmania, like many places in Australia, is struggling to maintain and preserve its built, natural and Indigenous heritage.

My electorate of Lyons is home to many of Tasmania's most valuable heritage sites. I do not think there would be another electorate in the country that has, for example, five built World Heritage sites related to our convict history. I refer to the Woolmers Estate, the Brickendon Estate, Darlington on Maria Island, the coalmines on the Tasman Peninsula and—the site most recognisable to most Australians—Port Arthur. But many of these sites are on private land or are the responsibility of local councils or community groups that do not have access to the funds needed to care for these precious sites.

Tasmania's heritage, both built and natural, has huge, still-untapped tourism potential whilst needing to be maintained in its own right. My particular interest, though, in terms of this lottery in respect of heritage is our built heritage. Like many special art projects, this also falls outside the usual guidelines for government funding and it is difficult to know where to go to raise the money needed. I refer specifically to special projects. Jane Harrington is the Director of Conservation Infrastructure at the Port Arthur historic site, as well as President of Australia's World Heritage Reference Group. She has a deep knowledge not only of Tasmania's heritage needs but also of our national heritage needs. I was really interested to note Jane's thoughts around this idea that has been floated—really, for a conversation within the community—because at the end of the day the community will need to drive these sorts of things.

I am looking for input from both the Tasmanian community and at a national level of what people think about the idea of a national lottery for built heritage and the arts. My thoughts are that a lottery, established with the proper governance, could be the source of much-needed funds for heritage and the arts—for special projects; things that fall outside the guidelines. Indeed, Jane Harrington talked at length about the kinds of projects that might be possible given such an additional funding source. I think, for example, of Willow Court in the town of New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley in my own electorate. It is considered one of the very best examples of an asylum—a mental institution—in Australia. I mentioned Willow Court in my maiden speech. Many of the buildings there actually predate Port Arthur. It is an important historic site, but it is not on the National Heritage List. At the moment with some of the issues, particularly around the Williams' case, sourcing funding has been problematic, particularly from the Commonwealth. We are seeking to have that site registered on the National Heritage List at the moment. The Derwent Valley Council had done an amazing job in starting this massive job, restoring and maintaining this huge site which has so much potential to be a fascinating visitor destination.

But there are minimal resources to deal with such projects on such a scale. There are many properties on private land. I think, for example, of the probation stations on the Tasman Peninsula. I think of the many historic buildings around the state of Tasmania. In terms of Georgian architecture, Tasmania has more registered properties than the rest of Australia combined. I think, for example, of the Deal Island Lighthouse that sits in Bass Strait. There was a wonderful article by Dallas Baker, who is the president of the Friends of Deal Island Wildcare, in The Australian a few weeks ago—I encourage everybody to source it—talking about the opportunity there is to see that part of Australia's maritime history restored and to be enjoyed by future generations. In many places across my state, for example, on the Tasman, there is an urgent need for a local heritage study to identify what there is. How can you protect that local heritage without an appropriate audit of what is at risk?

I am looking for a serious conversation about a national heritage and arts lottery, because I think it could be the answer for the funding of these projects that fall outside the current guidelines. I know that Nicholas Heyward, who is Managing Director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, is very supportive of the concept. But I stress and I emphasise that this would be in addition to the funding that is provided by the state and the Commonwealth. We are not looking to replace that, but we are looking for opportunities to enhance that funding. I think of the Derwent Valley Concert Band, a wonderful community band, which self funds irregularly to go overseas because of the challenges that they face. I think, for example, of the Festival of Golden Words—soon to be renamed the West Tamar Writers Festival—as the sort of project that could very well seek funding from such a lottery.

I have the in-principle support of the Minister for the Environment, Minister Hunt, and I thank him for that. I have also discussed the idea with Minister George Brandis, who has supported my efforts to start a community discussion on this matter.

Lottery money would not replace government heritage and arts money; it would be additional funding. I imagine it would be used for special projects. The United Kingdom has run successful lotteries for the arts, heritage and sports for more than 20 years. Western Australia also has its own lottery that supports mostly the film sector. We should also remember that the Sydney Opera House was funded through a lottery. Since 1994, the UK has raised on average 370 million pounds, $700 million, each year. Since that time, they have restored 17,000 properties and 900 parks and they have been done up 70 railway engines.

I particularly think about the heritage that this nation has in rail and the opportunity for tourism rail. In my home state, we think of the West Coast Wilderness Railway. My father was a life member of the Don River Railway. Whilst he was a GP, this was his biggest passion. His proudest moment was qualifying as a boiler welder so that he could drive steam engines. Only this week we were discussing with Mary Knowles, a councillor on the Northern Midlands Council, the idea of having running steam trains again. These are the sorts of things that capture people's imagination. Without the engines being done up to the necessary standard to run on public infrastructure, these things just will not happen. This comes at a cost, and so I am looking for a vehicle to support this idea. There are, of course, sensitive issues around gambling. I am not an expert in this area, but I trust that lotteries are not the most addictive form of gambling. This is an important discussion, and there are issues here which I think can be resolved.

In summary, I want to hear the views and ideas of communities and organisations from around Australia and from within my state and my electorate as to whether or not they would support this idea. Built heritage is an important part of our nation's history. The arts form part of the fabric of what is the very complex tapestry that makes our nation such a great place. I call on all members in this place and all senators in the other place to have this conversation with their electorates. If there is broad support for this idea in the country then I would encourage people to support me in my endeavour to see a national heritage arts lottery established in Australia.