PRESS STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER Press Statement No. 191
Sunday 24 February 1974
NATIONAL ESTATE PROJECTS FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Government has offered Western Australia $ 330,000
this financial year for projects to preserve the National Estate.
The grants are being made to help a wide variety of projects
put forward by the Western Australian Government on behalf of
Government authorities, the National Trust and local government bodies.
In my policy speech in 1972 I stated that in relation to land,
an over-riding objective of a Labor Government would be " to preserve
and enhance the quality of the national estate". In May 1973 we
established a Committee of Inquiry which will soon present its report.
Both the inquiry and the concept itself have been welcomed
throughout Australia. There is clearly a rapidly growing concern over
the pressures that threaten what is best and most valuable in our
surroundings. Equally there is a growing sense of the value and beauty
of our natural and cultural inheritance.
The Australian Government's introduction of the concept of the
National Estate, and its assumption of responsibilities in preserving
and enhancing it, represent a turning-point in our national sense of
values and in our cultural maturity.
We have a great and varied inheritance to protect and care for.
Australia is in many ways unique in her wildlife and her many natural
beauties. Further we are now beginning to recognise the value of the
often excellent buildings and historic towns left us by early
Australians. All these things, and many more, comprise the National Estate,
and to conserve and enhance them will increase our own sense of pride
and responsibility as a nation and extend the respect of other peoples.
I want to pay special tribute to the help and co-operation that
my Government has received from the Western Australian Government in
developing the idea of the National Estate.
The Western Australian Government arranged for a State Policy
Group to be established and this has provided a most useful contact point.
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Actions taken by the State in this way show how the States and
the Australian Government can work together in a joint effort to
preserve our heritage.
In some cases the funds to be provided to Western Australia
this year are by way of assistance towards large projects which have
been planned and will be executed by the Western Australian Government.
A large sum is being provided to help with the acquisition
of land for park purposes on the south-west coast. Many Perth people
use this area for recreation. The Western Australian Government
hopes to see a system of parks developed for the benefit of city dwellers.
$ 40,000 is being made available, through the Environmental
Protection Authority, for estuarine management studies and associated
urgent measures in the Peel Inlet and Hardy Inlet areas.
Several historic towns form part of the man-made heritage of
Western Australia. Help will be given to the town of York for
development of its special characteristics, to Cossack in the
north-west, and Greenough near Geraldton. Funds will be provided
to the Esperance Bay Historical Society to establish a local historic
museum. Fremantle will receive special attention as it is one of the
few towns in Australia that retain its historic character and is at
the same time a thriving community.
The Australian Government has arranged, through the Cities
Commission, to finance an action plan for the preservation of
Fremantle. $ 30,000 has been allocated for this project.
Funds will also be provided to the National Trust for help
in restoration of a number of important projects planned by the
Trust.