New Zealand Historic Places Trust
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New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Commonly known as HPT or the Trust the Historic Places Trust is the premier regulatory body for the protection of New Zealand Archaeology.
The Trust has a broad mandate for advocacy and for the protection of historic heritage. It owns some properties but has not been active recently in acquiring new ones. It has a membership base but is largely funded by the Government which appoints most of the Trust Board.
It maintains a register of historic places, some of which are archaeological sites. Its powers in respect of buildings are mainly those of persuasion and in some cases of delay, but it usually cannot prevent the demolition of buildings.
Its powers in respect of archaeological sites are greater. Archaeological sites - generally restricted to those older than 1900 AD - have blanket protection and cannot be investigated or destroyed other than with the permission of the Trust. They can prosecute acts in defiance of these provisions. Sites do not have to be registered under the Trust Act to be protected. The NZAA Site Recording Scheme often acts as a defacto register for the Trust in respect of archaeological sites.
The broad history of heritage legislation can be seen here.
Organisation
The Trust has its central office in Wellington. There are a series of regional and area offices. Both the central and the other offices have archaeological staff, who typicality are involved in the administration of the regulatory role, advocacy and occasionally in fieldwork related to the Trust's role.
Typically heritage assessments and rescue archaeology is undertaken by private contractors working for the developers but the adequacy of these is regulated by the Trust.
The Trust has an important guidance document for those undertaking work originating from the Trust's powers - Its National Research Framework
Reform
Late in the 2011 Parliamentary session a bill was introduced to reform the Trust. It will not be considered until after the 2011 election. The Bill can be seen here.
Other Government Agencies
Other agencies are listed [here].
