Nature Conservation Amendment (Threatened Native Vegetation Communities) Act 2006
An Act to amend the Nature Conservation Act 2002
[Royal Assent 18 December 2006]
Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:
1Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Nature Conservation Amendment (Threatened Native Vegetation Communities) Act 2006 . 2CommencementThis Act commences on the day on which the Forest Practices Amendment (Threatened Native Vegetation Communities) Act 2006 commences. 3Principal ActIn this Act, the Nature Conservation Act 2002 is referred to as the Principal Act. 4Section 25 amended (Management agreement for private land) Section 25(2) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting "in respect of a private nature reserve or private sanctuary"; (b) by omitting from paragraph (a) "that reserved land" and substituting "the private land"; (c) by omitting from paragraph (b) "that" first occurring and substituting "the private land and it is"; (d) by omitting from paragraph (b) "met." and substituting "met; and"; (e) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b) : (c) any conservation objectives for the private land are met. 5Section 33 amended (Interpretation of Part) Section 33 of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by inserting ", unless the contrary intention appears" after "In this Part"; (b) by omitting "rare or endangered species of flora or fauna" from paragraph (a) of the definition of affected owner and substituting "threatened species or protecting a threatened native vegetation community from clearance and conversion"; (c) by omitting "rare or endangered species of flora or fauna" from paragraph (b) of the definition of affected owner and substituting "threatened species or protecting a threatened native vegetation community from clearance and conversion"; (d) by omitting "rare or endangered species of flora or fauna" from paragraph (c) of the definition of affected owner and substituting "threatened species or involve the clearance and conversion of a threatened native vegetation community"; (e) by inserting the following definition after the definition of conservation covenant : conservation determination means a determination made by the Forest Practices Authority under section 19 of the Forest Practices Act 1985 to – (a) certify a forest practices plan subject to amendments made for the purpose of protecting a threatened species or maintaining a threatened native vegetation community; or (b) refuse to certify a forest practices plan application wholly or partially on the ground that implementation of the proposed forest practices plan would threaten a threatened species or involve the clearance and conversion of a threatened native vegetation community; (f) by omitting the definition of Forest Practices Code, 1987 and substituting the following definition: Forest Practices Code means the code of that name issued under section 30 of the Forest Practices Act 1985 ; (g) by inserting the following definition after the definition of registered : relevant conservation determination, in relation to a landowner, means the conservation determination that makes the landowner an affected owner; (h) by inserting the following definition after the definition of taxon : threatened native vegetation community means a community of native vegetation specified in Schedule 3A ; 6Section 41 amended (Affected owner entitled to apply for compensation) Section 41(3) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting ", subject to section 41A ," after "must". 7Section 41A insertedAfter section 41 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Division 4: 41ARestrictions on entitlement to compensation (1) A landowner is not entitled to compensation pursuant to section 41 unless the Minister is satisfied that – (a) the relevant conservation determination has the effect of requiring the landowner to exercise a higher duty of care for the conservation of natural and cultural values on the relevant land than is required under the Forest Practices Code as in force on the date of the determination; and (b) the landowner is not entitled to any, or adequate, financial consideration from other sources (including voluntary, public or private, conservation funds) for the financial loss referred to in that section. (2) Also, without limiting the generality of subsection (1) , a landowner is not entitled to compensation pursuant to section 41 in so far as the relevant conservation determination prevents the complete or partial clearance and conversion of a threatened native vegetation community unless the Minister is satisfied that – (a) at the date of the determination, the proposed clearance and conversion was not prohibited under – (i) a law of the State other than this Act or the Forest Practices Act 1985 ; or (ii) a law of the Commonwealth; and (b) for at least 2 years before the date of the determination, the landowner was actively managing the relevant land with the reasonable intention of undertaking the proposed clearance and conversion; and (c) the landowner has undertaken to manage the threatened native vegetation community under a conservation covenant or management agreement. 8Section 42 amended (Assessment of compensation) Section 42(2)(c) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by omitting from subparagraph (ii) "any" and substituting "if the relevant land is forested, any"; (b) by inserting the following subparagraphs after subparagraph (v) : (va) any government restrictions relating to the clearance and conversion of threatened native vegetation communities, including restrictions under the Forest Practices Code as from time to time in force; (vb) in respect of the conservation of natural and cultural values on the relevant land, the extent to which the duty of care that the landowner is being required to exercise regarding those values exceeds the duty of care required under the Forest Practices Code as in force on the date of the relevant conservation determination; 9Section 44 amended (Effect of failure to pay compensation) Section 44(8) of the Principal Act is amended as follows: (a) by inserting in paragraph (a) "or a threatened native vegetation community" after "fauna"; (b) by inserting in paragraph (b) "or a threatened native vegetation community" after "fauna"; (c) by inserting in paragraph (c) "or a threatened native vegetation community" after "fauna"; (d) by inserting in paragraph (d) "or a threatened native vegetation community" after "fauna". 10Section 76A insertedAfter section 76 of the Principal Act , the following section is inserted in Part 8: 76AAmendment of Schedule 3A (1) The Minister, by order, may amend Schedule 3A by doing one or more of the following: (a) inserting an item in the Schedule; (b) omitting an item from the Schedule; (c) omitting an item from the Schedule and substituting a new item. (2) The provisions of section 47(3) , (3A) , (4) , (5) , (6) and (7) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 apply to an order under subsection (1) as if the order were regulations within the meaning of that Act. (3) An order under this section is not an instrument of a legislative character for the purpose of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1992 . 11Schedule 3A insertedAfter Schedule 3 to the Principal Act , the following Schedule is inserted: Schedule 3AThreatened native vegetation communities Section 33
1. Alkaline pans 2. Allocasuarina littoralis forest 3. Athrotaxis cupressoides/Nothofagus gunnii short rainforest 4. Athrotaxis cupressoides open woodland 5. Athrotaxis cupressoides rainforest 6. Athrotaxis selaginoides/Nothofagus gunni short rainforest 7. Athrotaxis selaginoides rainforest 8. Athrotaxis selaginoides subalpine scrub 9. Banksia marginata wet scrub 10. Banksia serrata woodland 11. Callitris rhomboidea forest 12. Coastal complex on King Island 13. Cushion moorland 14. Eucalyptus amygdalina forest and woodland on sandstone 15. Eucalyptus amygdalina inland forest and woodland on cainozoic deposits 16. Eucalyptus brookeriana wet forest 17. Eucalyptus globulus dry forest and woodland 18. Eucalyptus globulus King Island forest 19. Eucalyptus morrisbyi forest and woodland 20. Eucalyptus ovata forest and woodland 21. Eucalyptus risdonii forest and woodland 22. Eucalyptus tenuiramis forest and woodland on sediments 23. Eucalyptus viminalis - Eucalyptus globulus coastal forest and woodland 24. Eucalyptus viminalis Furneaux forest and woodland 25. Eucalyptus viminalis wet forest 26. Heathland on calcarenite 27. Heathland scrub complex at Wingaroo 28. Highland grassy sedgeland 29. Highland Poa grassland 30. Melaleuca ericifolia swamp forest 31. Melaleuca pustulata scrub 32. Notelaea - Pomaderris - Beyeria forest 33. Rainforest fernland 34. Riparian scrub 35. Seabird rookery complex 36. Sphagnum peatland 37. Subalpine Diplarrena latifolia rushland 38. Subalpine Leptospermum nitidum woodland 39. Wetlands [Second reading presentation speech made in:
House of Assembly on 13 JULY 2006
Legislative Council on 18 OCTOBER 2006]