Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill 1998 & Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1998
Table of Contents

Recommendations

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill 1998

Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1998

The Committee has examined the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill 1998 and the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1998. The Committee has made 26 recommendations in relation to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill 1998, as listed below. The Committee has not made any recommendations in relation to the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1998.

The Committee recommends that the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Bill 1998 be passed with the recommended amendments.

The Committee recommends that the Environmental Reform (Consequential Provisions) Bill 1998 be passed without amendment.

Recommendations

Chapter 3 – Overview of the Bill Process

1. The Committee recommends that summary clauses be inserted for all chapters and parts of the Bill and a consolidated outline be included in Part 1 of the Bill.
2. The Committee recommends that the parts of the Bill be renumbered so that their parent chapter can be identified. For example, Parts 2 and 3 should be renumbered as either Parts 2A and 2B or Parts 2.01 and 2.02.
3. Chapter 6 – Protecting the Environment
4. The Committee recommends that clause 25(3) be amended to strengthen the obligation to consult with the States and Territories before regulations are made to prescribe an additional matter of national environmental significance.
5. The Committee recommends that clause 523(2) be amended to clarify that an enlargement, expansion or intensification of a use of land, sea or seabed which had been authorised by law immediately before the commencement of the Act is not an `action'.
6. The Committee recommends that clause 14(1)(b)(ii) be amended so that the Minister must be satisfied that some or all of the World Heritage values of the property are under significant threat before declaring a property to be a declared World Heritage property. The Committee recommends that clause 17(3)(b) relating to declared Ramsar wetlands should be similarly amended.
7. The Committee recommends that the Minister and/or the Department of the Environment and Heritage confirm the boundaries of Ramsar wetlands prior to the commencement of the Act.
8. The Committee recommends that consideration be given to including a definition of `mining and milling of uranium ore' or of `uranium ore' to ensure that the mining and milling of non-uranium ores are not misinterpreted as a nuclear action.
9. The Committee recommends that the authorisation under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 of an action which has, will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on the environment should be prescribed as an action under clause 160(2)(d) of the Bill.
10. Chapter 7 – Bilateral Agreements and Other Accreditation Mechanisms
11. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to apply prerequisites, which are equivalent to those set out in clauses 50 to 56 for bilateral agreements, to the making of declarations.
12. Chapter 8 – Environmental Assessments and Approvals
13. The Committee recommends that the Minister consider whether clause 131 is sufficient to ensure that all relevant Ministers are consulted or whether an amendment is needed to achieve this.
14. The Committee recommends that consideration be given to providing for approval conditions which are expressed, where appropriate, in terms of objectives and outcomes, and criteria for assessing the achievement of those objectives and outcomes.
15. The Committee recommends that clause 145(2) of the Bill be amended to require that where an unforeseen environmental impact arises from an approved action, the Minister may not revoke the approval unless satisfied that conditions attached to the approval cannot be revoked, varied or added in such a way as to mitigate that impact. The Committee further recommends that the Minister be required to consult with the proponent regarding any revocation, variation or addition of conditions.
16. The Committee recommends that the Bill provide for a simple and secure system for the transfer of an approval where a project changes ownership or management.
17. The Committee recommends that the Bill specify appropriate timelines for the development of guidelines for the content of public environment reports and environmental impact statements.
18. Chapter 9 – Conservation of Biodiversity, Part 1
19. The Committee recommends that the Bill include a definition of a bioregion.
20. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to provide for public consultation during the creation of bioregional plans over both Commonwealth and State areas.
21. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to enable the re-nomination of a key threatening process initially rejected for the reason of it not being practicable and feasible to prepare and implement a nationally coordinated threat abatement plan, when new information makes it practicable and feasible to develop a plan for abating the key threatening process.
22. The Committee recommends that clause 191(2) of the Bill be amended to provide that the Minister must forward a nomination of a threatened species, threatened ecological community, or key threatening process to the Scientific Committee within a reasonable period of time from receipt of the nomination.
23. The Committee recommends that the Minister gives consideration to amending the Bill to provide for the protection of all species on Commonwealth land unless the protection has been deliberately exempted by a Schedule attached to the Bill.
24. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to provide that the Minister can order further reasonable action to be taken in the case of notification of a humane action that has occurred, such as returning the animal to the wild or seeking professional care for it.
25. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to provide for public notification of permits relating to cetaceans and to provide the opportunity for public scrutiny by way of comments, similar to the current section 18 under the Whale Protection Act 1980.
26. The Committee recommends that the Minister consider including in regulations made under clause 301, a mechanism to provide for appropriate consultation with the traditional owners where a person seeks access to biological resources in a Commonwealth area, involving indigenous land or knowledge.
27. Chapter 10 – Conservation of Biodiversity, Part 2
28. The Committee recommends that the Minister continue to consult with relevant indigenous groups in relation to the implementation of the provisions of the Bill dealing with jointly managed National Parks.
29. Chapter 11 - Administration
30. The Committee recommends that existing provisions in the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 relating to merits review for permits be reintroduced into the Bill.
31. The Committee recommends that in relation to environment protection consideration be given to amending the Bill to provide for the prosecuting authority to have a choice between civil and criminal proceedings in consideration of the seriousness of the offence.
32. The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended to make provision for the inclusion of an indigenous representative on the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee in recognition of the significant contribution made by indigenous people to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.