Heritage Advisory Committee

The Heritage Advisory Committee was established in 2000. Its objectives are to:

support Council to advance the aims of the Eurobodalla Heritage Strategy and to develop and implement strategies, policies and programs related to heritage conservation

Heritage Strategy 2017-2021 (746 KB)

promote Eurobodalla's natural, cultural and historic heritage and ensure our Shire continues to develop a strong sense of place and identity.

The Committee has a three-year term and consists of councillors, representatives of Eurobodalla's three historical societies, a representative from the Eurobodalla Aboriginal Advisory Committee and independent community members.

Purpose of the Heritage Advisory Committee

The key terms of reference for the Eurobodalla Heritage Advisory Committee are:

Assist Council in the development of policies and strategies in response to Council's adopted Heritage Strategy and the management of natural and cultural heritage generally in the Eurobodalla local government area.
Advise Council staff, the Heritage Adviser and the Council on matters relating to the ongoing implementation of the Heritage Strategy.
Assist Council to procure and allocate funding assistance and to recommend projects for which funding should be sought in line with the Heritage Strategy.
Provide access to the general community to distribute information and for public input into heritage management, eg, to nominate additional properties for assessment of heritage significance.
Advise Council on a range of heritage-related matters which are of interest to the community, in particular, by providing expertise, local knowledge and guidance on heritage matters and in relation to heritage assessments.

Title and Delegations

The Committee shall be referred to as the Eurobodalla Heritage Advisory Committee.

The Committee shall function as a non-delegated advisory committee.

Objectives

To support Council in advancing the aims of the Heritage Strategy and in the development and implementation of strategies, policies and programs related to heritage conservation.
Promote the natural, cultural and historic heritage of the Eurobodalla and to ensure it continues to develop a strong sense of place and identity.

Membership

The Committee shall consist of the following voting representatives:

Two councillors
Three delegates representing each of the three district historical societies
The chairperson of the Eurobodalla Aboriginal Advisory Committee
Three community representatives preferably from the north, central and southern areas of the shire

Staff from Council and Council's Heritage Advisor will attend to provide technical advice and guidance but will not have voting rights on the committee.

Tenure to the Committee

In the case of a Councillor, as determined by Council in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1993;

In the case of community representatives, the tenure of membership will be three years. Members may renominate for further terms;

A member absent from three consecutive meetings without acceptable apology will be replaced.

Recruitment process

Expressions of Interest to participate on the Heritage Advisory Committee will be called for through the Council notices posted in the local media and Council's web site.

Nominations must be received in writing before the due date nominated within the Expression of Interest.

Nominations for membership of the Heritage Advisory Committee will be assessed according to their ability to meet the objectives and Terms of Reference of the Heritage Advisory Committee as adopted by Council and against the following selection criteria:

Historical society representatives must be nominated by the relevant society;
members must reside full-time in the Eurobodalla Shire;
residence within the Eurobodalla Shire is also preferred for members of working groups; and
Nominees must be willing to abide by the terms of reference of the Committee.
Final determination for appointment to the Committee shall be made by Council.

Contact Officer

The contact officer for the Heritage Advisory Committee is Council's Strategy Planner (Heritage).

Reporting Hierarchy

Recommendations of the Heritage Advisory Committee shall be conveyed to Council in a report prepared by the Strategy Planner (Heritage).

Responsibility of Committee Members

Give advice to the best of their knowledge and ability that will help achieve the objectives of the Committee.
Facilitate in a timely way any tasks allocated to and accepted by them.
Behave in a manner that respects the interests and viewpoints of other members.
Declare any potential or actual conflicts of interests on matters that are brought before the Committee.
All Committee members will abide by Council's Policy for Code of Meeting Practice.

Responsibilities of the Chairperson

To chair the meeting and exercise functions, as determined by the committee
To be the spokesperson for the committee

Responsibilities of Council

Council will provide secretarial support, including minute taking and professional officer support as appropriate;
Pertinent matters will be referred to the Committee for its consideration and information will be provided on actions arising from adopted Committee recommendations;
The Committee's ongoing role will be reviewed annually in June;
Council has the discretion to review the role, re-organise or disband the Committee.

General meetings

A councillor is elected chairperson. A deputy chairperson is elected from the Committee.
The Committee will meet a minimum of three (3) times per year;
Council's Strategy Planner (Heritage) will be able to call special meetings of the Committee as necessary for the effective conduct of the Committee and establish limited working parties as required;
A quorum of the Committee shall be half plus one of the members with voting rights;
Replacement of members through resignation, expulsion or failure to attend meetings will be determined by the process outlined in (6.0);
If a historical society representative is no longer associated with their representative society they must resign from the Committee and be replaced by the process outlined in these terms of reference;
In the event of death, illness or unavoidable circumstances visited upon a member, the historical society may forward another representative;
Each member is entitled to appoint another member of their society as proxy by notice given to the Chair no later than 24 hours before the time of the meeting to which the proxy is to be appointed;
Pursuant to Section 10(2) of the Local Government Act 1993, the Chairperson of the Committee can exercise the power of expulsion of persons not recognised as being entitled to be present at a meeting of the Committee.

Variation to the Terms Of Reference

The 'Key Terms of Reference' may be added to, repealed or amended by resolution of the Council in consultation with the Committee.

Media

Media releases are prepared by Strategy Planner (Heritage) with Council's Media Officer and approved by the Director - Planning and Sustainability Services before being issued.

Individual Committee members may not issue a media release on behalf of the Committee without prior approval of the Committee and the Director.

The following protocol details how members of the Heritage Advisory Committee deal with the media in other circumstances:

If the media approaches a member of the Committee for comment, the member should refer them to Council's Media Officer.
If a member wants to express an opinion publicly, the member should not identify themselves as a member of the Committee.
Whenever a member expresses a view, it must be made clear that they are not expressing a view of Eurobodalla Shire Council.

Resources

Download these Terms of Reference

Eurobodalla Heritage Advisory Committee Terms of Reference (444 KB)