E&OE….
Topics: Consideration of Queen Victoria Markets for National Heritage List, wind farms, funding for the orange-bellied parrot.
GREG HUNT:
Good morning. I am delighted to be here with the Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, and it’s a joint announcement and today, on behalf of the Australian Government, I am officially declaring that the magnificent Queen Victoria Markets will be put on the work plan for inclusion in the National Heritage List. There are currently 103 sites on the National Heritage List and around the country this is the best of the best. These markets, this incredible site, is home to more than 700 traders.
It’s also the site of Melbourne’s first cemetery. It’s also an important and significant Indigenous heritage site and I want to acknowledge the presence of Lyndon Ormond-Parker from the Australian Heritage Council. So this is the first step, not just the National Heritage Listing, again this is the first step not just for National Heritage Listing but to a potential World Heritage Listing for the Queen Victoria Markets. So it’s a good day for Melbourne, it’s a good day for Victoria and it’s a good day for Australian heritage. Rob – over to you.
ROBERT DOYLE:
Thanks Greg. I want to thank Minister Greg Hunt for his personal interest and his drive in making sure this happens. We love this market. We recognise it as a world icon, not just an Australian or a Melbourne icon and this is the very necessary first step to move towards that world status. It would not have happened without Greg Hunt and I want to personally thank him. This market has been here operating as a market since 1878.
Before that it was of course our first cemetery, as the Minister said. And once we had a number of these markets. They’re now all gone. The Hay Market has gone, the Western Market is gone, the Eastern Market which stood on the site of the old Southern Cross is gone, the magnificent fish market which stood appropriately where the aquarium is now is gone. All of those were a vibrant part of this city’s history. The Queen Victoria Market is the last of the markets of Melbourne and one of the great markets of the world. We always said as we embarked upon the renewal of the Queen Victoria Market that part of that process would be to assure people of Melbourne that their market was protected.
We’ve moved to do that through re-zoning it to Public Use Zone, but the much more important step was to get the support of the Federal Minister Greg Hunt and I can say right from the outset when I raised it with Greg, he has been a most enthusiastic supporter and today he has delivered on that enthusiasm with this wonderful announcement to protect the future of the Queen Victoria Market.
GREG HUNT:
Alright. Look, we’d be delighted to take any questions about the market and other matters after that.
JOURNALIST:
So Minister, what is the actual process now? How quickly will it take to get on the national listing and then go on to the world listing?
GREG HUNT:
So what happens here is it’s a two year assessment by the Australian Heritage Council. We’re really privileged – we have Lyndon Ormond-Parker. He’s one of the great Indigenous heritage leaders in the country and he’s part of this process. He’s specifically appointed to the Council and from there, presuming that it passes and I am very, very, very confident on all of the heritage advice that I have that Queen Victoria Markets should and will be considered as a National Heritage List matter. From there, the possibility is that we take it forward to the World Heritage Committee and I am hopeful that they will include this one day – that may take a few years – but one day, as one of the world’s great nineteenth century continuing market sites.
JOURNALIST:
When will we know if this has made the National Heritage List?
GREG HUNT:
Two years.
JOURNALIST:
Ok is it about the buildings or the site itself?
GREG HUNT:
It’s about being a continuous site. So it’s a mixture of both the architecture and of course you have a range of different architectural sites. But it’s more than that. It’s about the mix of cultural practices here. The Indigenous heritage, the first cemetery, but the continuing market site and frankly, without Rob’s suggestion, I just wouldn’t have thought of it. You know, you come across many people and I have responsibility for the Bureau of Meteorology and we are probably also going to list Robert Doyle as a known natural phenomena in terms of incredible intense energy. So thank you Rob for the idea.
JOURNALIST:
So technically, what does it actually mean though? If it makes the National Heritage and ultimately the World Heritage, what does that mean in terms of the future and (inaudible)?
GREG HUNT:
So National Heritage List means two things. Firstly, the Federal Environment Act applies and protects the site in perpetuity. Secondly, it’s a recognition that this is the best of the best in terms of our history.
JOURNALIST:
Why has it been such a, I guess, a passion for you to get it listed? What’s the – why?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Well I think there are two things. I mean I’m very proud that the role this market and before that the cemetery have played in the life of this city. This is living history for us, not just of white settlement, but also for our First Peoples as well. So it’s a very important site at the heart of what Melbourne is and that’s why it’s important to me.
The other part is though, as we redevelop this market, people want to be assured that this is not just a commercial redevelopment of just another retail and wholesale outlet and it is not. It is also protection of one of the great treasures of Melbourne and that’s one of the two things to go ahead doesn’t…
JOURNALIST:
But you’ve obviously got this development plan now, but does it protect it from other types of less favourable development down the track as well?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Yes it protects this site. That’s the whole point – that this site becomes sacrosanct. It becomes protected, as the Minister said, in perpetuity and that’s exactly what I think it should be. But it doesn’t…
JOURNALIST:
But it won’t affect development though, will it?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Well on the market it will, yes. But around it, no.
JOURNALIST:
Does it affect your plans then for the current redevelopment?
ROBERT DOYLE:
No it fits our plans absolutely perfectly and we’re very happy to work with the assessment process. These two things go together. What people have to be assured is although we will spend $240 million rejuvenating this market, it will be protected and it will be the Queen Victoria Market that people know and love.
JOURNALIST:
But wouldn’t it put extra pressure on the Melbourne City Council to make sure the development around the market site, the protected site, fits in with this development and what you want to do?
ROBERT DOYLE:
But we would always do that anyway. I mean, if you look at how this market has developed, there’s no real sense of entry to it and that’s not to criticise our forbearers, but the market kind of sits in a shallow saucer. If you look at the great markets around the world, they have a clearly defined footprint where the city comes up and then stops and the market itself nestles in that like the jewel that the Queen Victoria Market is.
And that’s how we would see this site being developed. That, by the way, is why we purchased the Munro site just down the street here for $76 million. Partly, it was to help us with the development of the market, but partly it was to inoculate us from the wrong sort of development. So we now own the two large development sites that will frame this market and that will also be taken in consideration to protect the market.
JOURNALIST:
Under Matthew Guy that area down there that is the entrance to the market and is basically what you’re talking about became one of the highest density area in the world. That corner down there is that something that when you say you’re looking to stop that, is that what you mean?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Well I mean you need to look the other way to see the face between the market and the city and that’s the important part. When the city stops then we need to frame it and I think we do need to be very careful about what sort of development you allow around this market so that it complements what the Minister and I want to do here.
JOURNALIST:
If this was to get the World Heritage Listing status, what would that mean for Melbourne? Are there any other sites in Melbourne with that kind of status?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Oh, let me get this one through first. You know, I’m really – this is an enormous process. Don’t underestimate the resources that the Minister has had to put into this in order to get us to this point. So let’s marshall this one through very carefully. Remember, this would only be our second site after the Exhibition Buildings and the Carlton Gardens. So this, I think, is a very important site for us and I’m going to focus on it completely and work with the Minister particularly over the next two years.
JOURNALIST:
Now I know you don’t care about Sydney – sorry.
GREG HUNT:
Well I what I would just add on that is we do have the Royal Exhibition Buildings and the Carlton Gardens. The way we do this is add it as an example of historic architecture with a continuing use. The great thing about it is this is living history, exactly as Rob says and it’s something which would add to Melbourne’s lustre in the eyes of the world.
JOURNALIST:
On the World Heritage List at the moment, I know we’re talking down the track, but we’ve got things like the Taj Mahal and Stonehenge and the Statue of Liberty. Does this Queen Victoria Market deserve to be in that category?
GREG HUNT:
In my view, absolutely.
JOURNALIST:
And yours, Lord Mayor?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Oh absolutely. If you think about those other structures, magnificent though they are, they are a little different and separated from everyday life. But the beauty of this market is it is woven into the everyday fabric of Melbourne life and has been since 1878. That’s why this is a different and a living world heritage site.
JOURNALIST:
Now I know you don’t care about Sydney, but would Sydney be really jealous of this?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Oh look I do care about Sydney. It’s the seventh most liveable city in the world – we’re number one. But look, it’s not a competition, but if it were, well I’ll leave that conclusion to you.
JOURNALIST:
Minister, do you agree with the Prime Minister that wind farms are causing health problems in the community?
GREG HUNT:
Oh look, there’s a Senate assessment and I won’t try to pre-empt that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
JOURNALIST:
Is there medical evidence though?
GREG HUNT:
Sorry?
JOURNALIST:
Is there medical evidence that they’re a health risk?
GREG HUNT:
The National Health and Medical Research Council is commissioning an assessment so the last thing that I would want to do is pre-empt that. There’s also a Senate inquiry. I’ll let both of those processes run their course.
JOURNALIST:
But how much damage has the Prime Minister’s comments made to the wind farm industry?
GREG HUNT:
None.
JOURNALIST:
Was the purpose of winding back the RET to stop the roll-out of wind farms, as the Prime Minister (inaudible) yesterday?
GREG HUNT:
Look, we inherited a catastrophic mess from the ALP. They created something called phantom credits. We have 23 million phantom credits sloshing around the scheme for renewable energy which was never created. So they issued credits for renewable energy that was never created. We said this would create chaos in the industry. The ALP ignored our warnings just like pink batts, just like green loans, just like cash for clunkers.
They came up with a wacky idea for phantom credits and it led to chaos in the industry and if we had not taken steps what we would have seen was the industry go to penalty price and for Australians, for people here, that would have meant an effective $93 per tonne carbon tax. So we took steps to clean up Labor’s mess, we took steps to clean up Labor’s mess. They got their policy wrong, they got their projections wrong on electricity, they created phantom credits for renewable energy which was never actually generated.
JOURNALIST:
But you said you wouldn’t pre-empt the enquiry but it appears as though the Prime Minister did?
GREG HUNT:
No I don’t accept that.
JOURNALIST:
Why not?
GREG HUNT:
I don’t think that’s an accurate representation. Ok we are off to buy some oranges and some apples.
JOURNALIST:
Can I just ask an orange-bellied parrot question?
GREG HUNT:
Yes, yes, yes.
JOURNALIST:
Why are you putting half a million dollars into that programme and can it help save them from extinction?
GREG HUNT:
Yes. Look we’ve announced over half a million dollars for the orange-bellied parrot. It’s one of our critical threatened species. It’s part of a broader pattern of helping threatened species throughout the country. We’ve invested more than $3 million in the Tassie devil, we have a Threatened Species Summit here in Melbourne.
Melbourne Zoo will be hosting the Australian Threatened Species Summit, the first ever, on the 16th July and one of the things we’re doing is working through twenty critically endangered species where we want to turn around their futures. So we can make a difference. Whether it’s bilbies or quolls, whether it’s bettongs or orange-bellied parrots, whether its Tassie devils, we can turn around the trajectories that were inherited and if we can do that, that’s something for children and grandchildren which is really significant.
JOURNALIST:
Just quickly, what do you hope the meeting of scientists today on the orange-bellied parrot will achieve given the stress its facing?
GREG HUNT:
So what we want is an emergency work plan which we will fund to help remove predators and to encourage breeding programmes. So an emergency work plan to help remove predators and to encourage breeding programmes that’s about protecting the population that we have and improving the population. It’s one of numerous species that we’re working on and at the end of the day, if we can protect each one of these species and to help change the trajectory, then we leave a better, not a worse environment.
JOURNALIST:
Can I ask the Lord Mayor, just the proposal for a new expressway to serve (inaudible). Do you think it’s a good idea?
ROBERT DOYLE:
Well look, I’ve always been an advocate for a rail link to the airport, I remain so. I think we’re about the only city of our size and sophistication that doesn’t have a rail link to the airport. I think it just has to be on our agenda until we get it and I hope that is it inevitable.
GREG HUNT:
Alright, thanks very much.
(ENDS)