Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, upon notice, on 31 August 2012:

With reference to the advice provided on 22 May 2012, that Government responses to the 5 yearly review of Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) in Victoria and New South Wales were being finalised and that discussions were continuing about whether changes to state laws met the required standards:

(1) Are the responses now complete; if not, why not and when will they be complete.

(2) When will the responses be made public.

(3) Given that a function of RFAs is to deliver equivalent protection to that provided under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, what process is used to assess changes to state forest management systems accredited under RFAs.

(4) What specific standards are applied when assessing changes to state forest management systems accredited under RFAs, including the: (a) information required; and (b) methodology used.

(5) Since 2007, what changes to state forest management systems accredited under RFAs have been assessed and, for each case, can details be provided of the: (a) change; (b) date on which it was proposed or made; and (c) date on which the Commonwealth agreed to the change.

(6) For each state and each RFA, what is the process for deciding whether the agreement should be extended.

(7) Has any consultation been undertaken with each state about extending RFAs; if so, for each state and each RFA, on what dates did consultation take place and what issues were discussed.

(8) What steps are required to extend an RFA, at what point does the process begin and what is the timeline.