Heritage is the story of our past and the evidence of our history.

Places, buildings, artefacts, landscapes, objects and memories all tell a story and help us understand our past.

The stories of our past - some tangible, some intangible - are invaluable in painting a detailed and fascinating picture of our shared history.

By understanding the story of our past we gain a better understanding of the present and our future aspirations.

We can more readily appreciate the reasons why our country and our community exist and function the way they do today.

Heritage means different things to different groups in our community - we need to recognise that the story of the past has very different meanings for indigenous Australians and some of our ethnic communities.

Their stories are deeply affected by Government policies of the past, such as assimilation and the White Australia policy which caused immense sorrow and suffering.

The Australia of the twenty-first century is a country of great cultural and social diversity. But we need to understand the past that has shaped modern Australia - both the good and bad.

For this reason I will be devoting a lot of attention to indigenous and multicultural heritage over the next three years.

I would now like to discuss the key directions I will be taking in heritage over the next three years.

The issues I will be focussing on are:

• Indigenous Heritage
• Multicultural Heritage
• Rural and Regional heritage
• Heritage Tourism
• Education and Training
• Partnerships with Owners
• Heritage and Development
• State Government Heritage.