Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, upon notice, on 27 February 2012:

With reference to the ‘State Party Report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Australia)’:

(1) Given that the Australian Government’s report, presented to the World Heritage Committee on 1 February 2012, stated that Queensland’s State Coastal Plan ‘prevents new development footprints in coastal areas of high ecological significance’ (p. iv), can details be provided outlining exactly how the State Coastal Plan achieves this.

(2) Is the department’s definition of ‘prevent’ different from the commonly accepted understanding, that prevent means stopping something from happening.

(3) What is meant by ‘new development footprints’.

(4) In coastal areas of high ecological significance, how does the Queensland State Coastal Plan prevent:

  (a) residential or tourism developments;

  (b) port developments; and

  (c) industrial and infrastructure developments.

(5) Is it more accurate to state that the Queensland State Coastal Plan does not prevent any development, but rather that the plan needs merely to be considered by an assessment manager (usually the local council) when applications for particular types of development are under assessment.

(6) Given that the report states that the Queensland Government’s Wetlands State Planning Policy protects high value wetlands, can details be provided outlining exactly how this policy delivers genuine protection of high value wetlands from the impacts of residential, commercial, industrial, port and infrastructure developments.

(7) Can a list be provided detailing which wetlands in Queensland are not of ‘high value’ and therefore are not afforded protection by the Wetlands State Planning Policy.

(8) Does the Wetlands State Planning Policy have to be complied with by decision-makers; do decisions have to be consistent with the policy or does the policy only have to be considered by decision-makers.

(9) Is it more accurate to state that the Queensland Wetlands State Planning Policy gives guidance on wetlands protection and only needs to be considered (but not adhered to) by decision-makers in regard to high value wetlands.

(10) In regard to the ‘Disclaimer’ at the beginning of the report, whose views and opinions are expressed in the publication if not those of the Australian Government.

(11) Who is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of a State Party Report compiled in fulfilment of Australia’s obligations to the World Heritage Committee.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) advised that Queensland’s Sustainable Planning Act 2009 establishes a hierarchy of State and Local planning instruments. If there is an inconsistency between a lower order and a higher order plan, the higher order plan prevails.

DERM advised the Queensland Coastal Plan incorporates a State Planning Policy which is a higher order plan than a local planning instrument.

DERM advised the Queensland Coastal Plan State Planning Policy 1.9 requires that planning instruments are to allocate land for urban development outside areas of high ecological significance, or ensure urban development avoids areas of high ecological significance within urban localities after the commencement of the State Planning Policy. Aside from policy 1.9, under the Queensland Coastal Plan policy 3.1, development is to be located outside, and not impact on, areas of high ecological significance unless the development is of a certain type as listed. For listed exceptions such as urban development within an existing urban area, development within an aquaculture or maritime development area; or development associated with a port or airport, development can have an impact on areas of high ecological significance on an ‘avoid, minimise, and offset residual impacts’ basis

(refer to policy 3.2).

(2) No.

(3) The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management advised that new development footprints refer to new urban footprint areas that have not previously been included within an urban footprint under a Regional Plan prepared under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, or where a Regional Plan has not yet been prepared under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009.

(4) See response to question 1 above.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management advised that industrial areas, except for State Development Areas, occur within urban localities and so are captured under the definition of ‘urban development’ above. State Development Areas are established, planned and developed under separate legislation.

(5) No, refer to answer to Question 4, above.

(6) The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) advised that the Wetlands State Planning Policy applies to wetlands of high ecological significance in catchments of the Great Barrier Reef between the Mary and Daintree catchments, including the catchments draining into Tin Can Bay.

DERM advised the Great Barrier Reef Wetlands Protection State Planning Policy works in conjunction with other statutory planning and development regimes, in particular the Queensland Coastal Plan and the Vegetation Management Act 1999.

DERM advised that because other planning regimes address vegetation clearing and protection of threatened species habitat, the focus of the Great Barrier Reef Wetlands Protection State Planning Policy is to ensure high impact earthworks arising from either rural or urban development do not impact on the wetlands, as is outlined in the State Party Report on page 28.

(7) The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) advised that a list as requested is not available. There are many hundreds of thousands of wetlands in Queensland.

DERM advised their website contains a database called the ‘Map of Referrable Wetlands’ which classifies natural wetlands between wetlands of high and general ecological significance. This database supports the statutory requirement for certain types of development proposals within or within proximity of natural wetlands to be referred to DERM for assessment.

Another mapping tool accessible from DERM’s WetlandInfo webpage provides a

non-statutory interactive wetland mapping tool which identifies all wetlands in Queensland and provides information about them.

(8) The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management advised that the Wetlands State Planning Policy has the same statutory status as the Queensland Coastal Plan State Planning Policy, as outlined in the answer to Question 1, above.

(9) No.

(10) The disclaimer is of a generic format which is used on Australian Government publications. The report includes information from a range of sources including expert peer reviewed articles, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority with regard to its management activities and Queensland Government agencies with regard to policies and programs that are within their jurisdiction.

(11) The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.