Report No. 13, 55th Parliament - Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

Committee's Report

The committee's report on the Bill was tabled on 5 February 2016. The Queensland Government response to the Bill was tabled on 5 May 2016. The Bill passed with amendment on 10 May 2016.

View: Report No. 13, 55th Parliament, Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
View: The Queensland Government’s response to the report

About the Bill

On 27 October 2015 Hon Dr Steven Miles MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef, introduced the Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 to the Queensland Parliament.

In accordance with Standing Order 131, the Bill has been referred to the Agriculture and Environment Committee for consideration.

The committee tabled its report to the House by 5 February 2016 (Standing Order 136).The Bill:

  • reinstates ‘the conservation of nature’ as the sole object of the Nature Conservation Act 1992 so that the preservation of the natural condition of national parks will take precedence over other objectives
  • removes redundant provisions that allowed the chief executive to grant stock grazing permits for emergency drought relief on six prescribed national parks up until the end of 2013
  • reinstates the former national park (scientific), conservation park and resources reserve classes of protected area, and their associated management principles
  • excludes leases used for agriculture, grazing or pastoral purposes on protected areas from the rolling term lease provisions under the Land Act 1994. This change will allow the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to consider the appropriateness of the use when leases expire
  • amends the Nature Conservation Act 1992 to remove an exemption that allows management plans for protected areas to be amended without public consultation, if the amendments relate to a change in State government policy
  • amends the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 to streamline the process to convert regional parks on Cape York Peninsula to jointly managed national park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal land), otherwise known as national park (CYPAL), and
  • amends the Environmental Protection Act 1994 to defer the sunset clause for the expiry of the existing eligibility criteria for mining activities.

The Bill amends the Aboriginal Land Act 1991, the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Land Act 1994, the Marine Parks Act 2004, the Nature Conservation Act 1992 and the Recreation Areas Management Act 2006.

The Bill, at Schedule 1, also makes minor and consequential amendments to the Aboriginal Land Act 1991, the Biodiscovery Act 2004, the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Forestry Act 1959, the Fossicking Act 1994, the Geothermal Act 2010, the Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2009, the Land Act 1994, the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002, the Liquor Act 1992, the Mineral and Energy Resources (Common Provisions) Act 2014, the Mineral Resources Act 1989, the Petroleum Act 1923,the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 and the Vegetation Management Act 1999.

View: Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 
View: Explanatory Notes 
View: Explanatory Speech

submissions

Submissions closed on 30 November 2015

Timeline

Public departmental briefing    11 November 2015 - transcript
Public hearing                              2 December 2015 - transcript
Report tabled                               5 February 2016

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