Scott Ludlam (WA, 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 20 November 2012:

(1) Can a status update be provided of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process for the Perth and Peel region in Western Australia.

(2) With reference to offsets for land clearing required in accordance with the conditions attached to Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) approvals, can a list be provided of all offsets requested since 2000 for the Perth and Peel region, using the following headings:

(a) name and details of project, EPBC reference and decision date;

(b) location of development;

(c) vegetation type and ecological community impacted, and their declared status under the EPBC Act;

(d) area cleared, in both hectares and as a percentage of the total remaining habitat and vegetation of equivalent or better quality;

(e) dates/​times when the land was cleared and when the offset was secured, including a description of the offset detailing its size, vegetation type, ecological community, tenure and management status prior to becoming an offset;

(f) location of the offset, including its distance from the original site and, if applicable, the name of the site;

(g) current management, tenure and protection status of the offset; and

(h) description of steps taken by the department to ensure the establishment and/or adequate maintenance of the site, including dates on which reports have been received by the proponent on the status of the offset (if required), and dates and details of any audits undertaken by the department relating to the establishment and/​or maintenance of the offset.

(3) For the same region, can a list of all approvals refused under the EPBC Act since 2000 be provided, indicating the proportion this represents against the total number of applications.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) 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) In August 2011 the Commonwealth and Western Australian governments agreed to undertake a strategic assessment of the Perth and Peel regions of Western Australia. The terms of reference for the strategic assessment were finalised in May 2012, following public consultation. The strategic assessment will identify the impacts on matters of national environmental significance from the future development of the Perth and Peel regions to accommodate a population of 3.5 million people. As part of this process, the Western Australian Government is developing a plan to manage matters of national environmental significance and an accompanying Impact Assessment Report. It is expected that Western Australia will release these documents, as well as related planning documents and policies for public comment in mid 2013.

(2) Given the broad scope of the question placed on notice in terms of time period, the large number of projects involved and the detailed analysis of data required, I consider that the preparation of answers would involve a significant diversion of resources. In the circumstances I do not consider that the additional work can be justified.

Information regarding the department's offset policy can be found on the department's website. The department has recently developed an offsets mapping tool which will allow future offsets to be entered into a spatial database to improve data available for decision-making, monitoring and compliance.

(3) Since the commencement of the EPBC Act, no projects referred in Western Australia have been deemed either clearly unacceptable or not approved.