Recommendations

Recommendation 1

3.120      The committee recommends that port development in the Great Barrier Reef region should be confined to existing (already developed) major port areas, pending the outcomes of the strategic assessments currently being conducted by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments.

Recommendation 2

3.121      The committee recommends that, if the minister decides to approve any port developments or port-related activities in existing (already developed) major port areas in the Great Barrier Reef region, these developments and activities should be subject to stringent conditions under the EPBC Act, including robust monitoring and reporting requirements.

Recommendation 3

3.124      The committee recommends that the Commonwealth government review the regulatory regime surrounding sea dumping in the Great Barrier Reef region, with a view to ensuring that dumping of any dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is subject to the highest scientific and environmental analysis and taken only as an option of last resort.

Recommendation 4

3.127      The committee recommends that the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities publish the report of the Independent Review of the Port of Gladstone as soon as it is made available to him.

Recommendation 5

3.130      The committee recommends the bill not be passed in its current form and calls on the government to closely examine any additional safeguards arising from the strategic assessments and independent review with a view to developing robust regulatory and legslative safeguards to protect the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

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