Chapter 1

Introduction

Conduct of the inquiry

1.1        The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Great Barrier Reef) Bill 2013 (the bill) was introduced on 20 March 2013 by Senator Waters (Australian Greens) as a private Senator's bill.[1]

1.2        On 21 March 2013 the Senate referred the bill for inquiry and report by 16 May 2013 on the recommendation of the Senate Selection of Bills Committee. The Selection of Bills Committee's report stated that the reason for the referral was to provide an important opportunity for the Australian community and relevant experts and industry representatives to give input on the bill's provisions.[2]

1.3        On 14 May 2013, the Senate granted an extension of time for reporting until 13 June 2013.

1.4        In accordance with its usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry on its website and in The Australian newspaper. The committee also contacted a number of organisations and individuals and invited them to make submissions.

1.5        The committee received 45 submissions to this inquiry, as shown in Appendix 1. Details of additional information received during the course of the inquiry are also contained in the appendix.

1.6        The committee held a public hearing in Brisbane on 23 May 2013. A list of witnesses who appeared at the hearing may be found at Appendix 2. A copy of the proof Hansard transcript of the hearing was posted to the committee's website. The references to the pages of the Hansard transcript in this report are to the proof Hansard, which may be different from those in the official transcript.

Purpose of the bill

1.7                  The purpose of the bill is to amend the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) to implement recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee to ensure the Great Barrier Reef is not included in the World Heritage in Danger list. To achieve this, the bill proposes to:

• prohibit development of new ports outside existing port areas and in a number of designated areas along the Great Barrier Reef coastline;
• prohibit developments within existing ports if these developments impact on the world heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef;
• implement a moratorium from 20 March 2013 on approval of developments impacting on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area until a strategic assessment is completed and deemed adequate by the World Heritage Committee; and
• prohibit approval of any developments that do not deliver a net benefit to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Structure of the report

1.8        In the following chapters of this report the committee:

• provides some background to the bill, a summary of relevant Commonwealth legislation, and summaries of relevant reports (Chapter 2); and
• discusses key issues raised during the inquiry (Chapter 3).

Acknowledgements

1.9        The committee thanks those individuals and organisations who made submissions, and those who gave oral evidence at the committee's hearing. Their input greatly assisted the work of the committee.

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