Inquiry into the operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Terms of Reference
(1) The Senate notes the continuing decline and extinction of a
significant proportion of Australia's unique plants and animals, and the
likelihood that accelerating climate change will exacerbate challenges
faced by Australian species.
(2) The following matters be referred to the Senate Environment,
Communications and the Arts Committee:
The operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and other natural resource protection
programmes, with particular reference to:
- the findings of the National Audit Office Audit 38 Referrals,
Assessments and Approvals under the Environment Protection and
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
- lessons learnt from the first 10 years of operation of the EPBC Act
in relation to the protection of critical habitats of threatened species
and ecological communities, and potential for measures to improve their
recovery;
- the cumulative impacts of EPBC Act approvals on threatened species
and ecological communities, for example on Cumberland Plain Woodland,
Cassowary habitat, Grassy White Box Woodlands and the Paradise Dam;
- the effectiveness of responses to key threats identified within the
EPBC Act, including land-clearing, climate change and invasive species,
and potential for future measures to build environmental resilience and
facilitate adaptation within a changing climate;
- the effectiveness of Regional Forest Agreements, in protecting
forest species and forest habitats where the EPBC Act does not directly
apply;
- the impacts of other environmental programmes, eg EnviroFund,
GreenCorps, Caring for our Country, Environmental Stewardship Programme
and Landcare in dealing with the decline and extinction of certain flora
and fauna; and
- the impact of programme changes and cuts in funding on the decline
or extinction of flora and fauna.
On 14 October 2008, the Senate granted an extension of time to
report until 26 February 2009.
On 11 February 2009, the Senate granted a further extension of time
to report. The Committee will deliver a first report on 11 March
2009 (on 11 March 2009 the Senate granted a further extension of time to
report until 18 March 2009) and a final report on 24 April 2009.
The Committee invites written submissions from interested individuals and organisations, preferably in electronic form sent by email, to
eca.sen@aph.gov.au. The email
must include full postal address and contact details.
The closing date for submissions is 5 September 2008.
On the 21 August 2008, the committee agreed to an extension of time to
lodge submissions until Monday, 22 September 2008.
Alternatively, submissions may be sent to The Secretary, Senate
Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts, PO Box 6100 Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600, or faxed to 02 6277 5818.
Submissions become committee documents and are made public only after a decision by the Committee. Persons making submissions must not release them without the approval of the Committee. Submissions are covered by parliamentary privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02) 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Environment, Communications and the Arts
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
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