The Government urgently needs to provide answers on what will happen to thousands of natural, cultural and Indigenous heritage places when the Register of the National Estate expires next week, the Greens said.

“The Government has had five years to oversee the process of transferring these places onto other appropriate heritage registers, but our inquiries suggest the process is far from complete”, Greens spokesperson for cultural heritage, Senator Penny Wright, said.

“It is highly likely that many important heritage places will be left without any legislative protection as of February 19.  This is not good enough.

 “I have written two letters to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Tony Burke seeking clarification on these important matters, but the Minister is either unable or unwilling to answer my questions.

“This matter is becoming more urgent by the day.

“Today, I will move a motion in the Senate calling on the Government to extend the transition period for phasing out the Register by one year.

“We need to act now because once our heritage is gone, it cannot be brought back.”

The transcript of the motion can be found here.