Chair's foreword
The question posed by this inquiry is: `Is access to heritage - defined
as the things we want to keep - so fundamentally important to our
cultural identity and our emotional wellbeing that it should be able to
be shared, fairly and equitably, by all Australians, now and in the future?'
The inquiry was triggered by the Federal Government's decision to increase
the entry fees for visiting the Great Barrier Reef. Those who manage our
cultural institutions and national parks are under increasing pressure
to charge visitors to publicly owned places, and this need for raising
money can be at odds with the desire to make our heritage accessible.
This report challenges notions of government as opposed to community
ownership, examines economic arguments and is persuaded that, for our
cultural institutions at least, on the whole entry charges do discourage
would-be visitors. The report discourages commercial development in national
parks, warning against the resultant cycle of economic dependence.
The recommendations also invite further research into the history and
trends of user charges and their correlation with accessibility and with
management emphases.
I thank all those who made submissions or gave evidence; those who helped
the Committee with further information (particularly State museums and
national park agencies, the Australia Council and Museums Australia);
staff of the Parliamentary Library; and the Committee's staff (particularly
Geoff Dawson). I particularly thank Senator Lees, former chair of the
Committee for most of the period of this inquiry, for her interest and
support in progressing the inquiry.
Senator Lyn Allison, Chair
Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications
and the Arts References Committee
July 1998
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