Ayers House Bill
Thursday 8 February 2024
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (12:56): I rise today in support of the Ayers House Bill 2023 to reverse the previous state Liberal government's decision to remove the National Trust of South Australia from Ayers House and fulfil our promise to grant ongoing rights in relation to Ayers House to the National Trust of South Australia, including its use for commercial operations to generate revenue for the National Trust.
The National Trust of South Australia was established as an independent community advocate for the protection and preservation of our built, natural and cultural heritage. The trust works to educate the public on the value of conserving our heritage buildings, the benefits of conservation and restoration works and how this preservation can have environmental and economic benefits to the state as a whole.
In keeping with these values, the National Trust of SA campaigned successfully to prevent the demolition of Ayers House in the 1960s, restored the house in the 1970s at the behest of then Premier Don Dunstan and has maintained, cared for and kept it open to the public ever since, all with very little government support.
Over its 50 years of its stewardship of Ayers House, the trust has worked to deliver engaging experiences, events, tours and performances for people of all ages, even the occasional excellent wedding. At the opening of Ayers House in 1973, then Premier Dunstan said:
A civilised community is one which values both the achievements of the past and of the present…the work of the National Trust…has over the past decade or so educated, in a real sense, both the public, and its governments, in a proper respect for architectural standards and achievement… I am also pleased to say that in…Ayers House, we have achieved an ideal balance between restoration and function…the house will have a life of its own.
A private chamber music concert will be held in the ball room tomorrow night. I expect the Festival of Arts Writers' Week will have its headquarters at Ayers House. The government intends to entertain here. In all these things, and in others, we will have in Ayers House a state reception centre of distinction and high value, but one to which the public will have continuing access.
That was Don Dunstan. When then minister responsible for heritage, now SA Liberal leader, the member for Black announced the eviction of South Australia's National Trust from Ayers House on North Terrace, he signalled to those of us who are passionate about heritage and the preservation of our state's built form that the Liberal Party is not interested in maintaining our state's cultural history, nor in continuing decades-long public access to Ayers House. I seek leave to continue my remarks.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
Adjourned debate on second reading (resumed on motion).
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:40): Despite Liberal Party promises made prior to the 2018 election to support the National Trust master plan for Ayers House and promises to provide government investment, the member for Black made the decision to evict one of the state's most respected public charities that has faithfully served the community at Ayers House for 50 years.
The National Trust has 6,000 members across 45 local branches and over 1,000 registered volunteers across South Australia who keep its properties maintained and open to the public. These numbers are an indication of how much the South Australian public value the preservation of their heritage. It was no surprise when the eviction was announced to see a broad cross-section of the community rise up in opposition to the member for Black's plan.
Despite Liberal Party claims to the contrary, the plan was not to restore Ayers House to its 'former glory' with a $6.6 million renovation. Rather, the plan was to transform South Australia's largest and most intact Victorian mansion into a government office building, thereby removing community access and public participation in its maintenance and restoration works. And despite comments made at the time by the former Liberal government, Ayers House did not sit passively on North Terrace—just ask the dance floor when there has been a wedding there that I have attended—in disrepair, awaiting regeneration in the form of increased business usage and bureaucratic work cubicles but provided access to school and community groups each and every week, year after year, decade after decade, to a public with a strong desire to experience and learn about the heritage of this Victorian gem.
This bill expands upon Don Dunstan's vision by granting Ayers House to the National Trust as a permanent home, ensuring the trust is safe from the reactionary whim of any future minister. An Ayers House act will maintain the minister as the registered owner of Ayers House on the certificate of title; give the National Trust permanent care, control and management of Ayers House; and allow the National Trust to generate income to further support its operations.
A visit to Ayers House is a rite of passage for school students in South Australia, offering hands-on learning activities and the chance to experience a unique historic place unlike any other. I, and the rest of the Malinauskas Labor government, proudly welcome the opportunity to restore the National Trust to Ayers House and ensure it is once again opened for the next generation of South Australian children to visit and for all South Australians to enjoy. I commend this bill to the house.
