Tuesday 3 June 2014

Hansard of the Legislative Council

ENTALLY ESTATE - FUTURE MANAGEMENT

Mr FINCH to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

[2.37 p.m.]

I am asking this question on behalf of one of my constituents who is a volunteer at Entally House. At present, the Entally Estate is administered by Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania, but the previous government decided to drop the estate from their portfolio. There has again been an advertisement for expressions of interest from the public to lease the property. Whilst the Tasmanian Government is in the process of considering a proposal, no official announcement has been made, so:

(1) Can the Government give an assurance over the future of the Entally Estate, established in 1819, which is a very important part of Tasmania's heritage and a strong tourist attraction in Northern Tasmania?

(2) Can the Government:

(a) Guarantee that the Entally Estate will be managed in accordance with heritage best practice?

(b) Use its best endeavours to ensure that there is sufficient financial input to maintain and improve this historic icon and ensure that it remains freely accessible to the public, as has been the case for the last 64 years?

ANSWER

Mr President, I thank the honourable member for Rosevears for his question. I note that in answering it I may well be answering the question of the honourable member for Launceston as well.

(1) Entally Estate is entered on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. As such, it will continue to be afforded statutory protection, regardless of who owns or manages the property. An independent audit of the Entally House operations was completed by the Parks and Wildlife Service and the best option for Entally was thought to be a long-term lease to a third party. This lease arrangement could then act as a partnership for the care of this important historic site.

An expression of interest process seeking private‑sector interest for the management of the Entally Estate historic site was commenced in October 2013. The minister, Mr Groom, has considered the recommendation from the stage 2 assessment report from the Parks and Wildlife Service and has approved proceeding to the lease negotiation stage with the preferred proponent from that EOI process. The lease negotiation phase will take some months to complete. During that time, Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to oversee management of the site. A formal announcement on the preferred component will be made once the negotiations on the fundamental terms of the lease are complete.

(2) (a) As Entally is permanently registered on the Tasmanian Heritage Register, it will continue to be afforded statutory protection under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act 1995.

Entally is an identified place of significance for Tasmania under this act and it will be managed accordingly.

(b) The Tasmanian Government is keen to ensure that the sustainable management arrangement for Entally is put in place. That will ideally provide for the public to access the site and ongoing roles for volunteers and not‑for‑profit groups at the site.