EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Amendment to List of CITES Species
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, including wildlife that may be adversely affected by trade, and the implementation of Australia’s international environmental responsibilities.
Section 303CA of the Act provides for a list of species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Convention) for the purposes of the Act (the list). Under subsection 303CA (3) of the Act, the list must include all species from time to time included in any of Appendices I, II and III to the Convention. Subsections 303CA (9)(b) and (9)(c) of the Act provide that the Minister may amend the list, as necessary, so that it includes all species required to be included in the list under subsection 303CA (3) and so that the notations in the list are consistent with the Convention.
Under Article XVI, paragraph 1 of the Convention, a Party may at any time include a species which is subject to regulation within its jurisdiction in Appendix III of the Convention. Inclusions in Appendix III enter into force for all Parties 90 days after the Convention’s Secretariat has communicated the amendment. The Convention’s Notification to the Parties 2013/010 (dated 14 March 2013) has advised of the inclusion in Appendix III of Hynobius amjiensis (Amji’s salamander) by China.
Under Article XV, paragraph 1 of the Convention, Parties may propose amendments to Appendix I or Appendix II at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties (the Conference). Amendments to Appendices I and II generally enter into force for all Parties 90 days after the Conference at which they were adopted. The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (Conference 16) (Bangkok, 3-14 March 2013) agreed to 55 amendments to Appendices I and II. The Convention’s Notification to the Parties 2013/012 (dated 19 April 2013) has advised of the species amendments adopted at Conference 16. Note: seven of the amendments (sharks and manta rays) have a delayed entry into force of 18 months, that is, 14 September 2014, to enable implementation issues to be resolved. As such, the list under the Act will be amended for these seven marine species closer to the date of effect.
The amendment of Platysternon megacephalum (big-headed turtle) to Platystenidae spp. was agreed by Conference 16, as P. megacephalum is the only species in this family, and therefore all species of this family were agreed to be included in Appendix I.
Rheobatrachus silus (southern gastric-brooding frog) and Rheobatrachus vitellinus (northern gastric brooding frog) were deleted from the Appendices at Conference 16 on the basis that they are considered to be extinct. As R. silus and R. vitellinus are the only species in the Rheobatrachus genus, and their Convention listing was at the genus level, Rheobatrachus spp. (gastric-brooding frogs) will be deleted from the list under the Act.
At the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, all Pristidae species were included in Appendix I. The only exception to this was Pristis microdon (the freshwater sawfish), which was included in Appendix II to allow limited trade to appropriate aquaria. At Conference 16, Pristis microdon was transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I. Therefore, the Appendix I Pristidae family listing is now considered to include Pristis microdon.
As Australia does not propose to lodge a reservation to the amendments, the Appendix I, II and III amendments will enter into force for Australia on 12 June 2013. As a consequence of these Notifications, it is necessary to amend the list under the Act. The purpose of this Instrument is to effect these amendments.
The action is consistent with Australia’s strong commitment to the Convention and to international cooperation for the protection and conservation of wildlife more generally. The amendments put into effect by this Instrument are also considered to have minimal impact because Australia is not a range State for the majority of the species covered by the listing proposals (that is, they do not occur naturally in Australia). Also for most of the species, there is either no trade or very minimal trade, with no known Australian industries. As such, it is considered that there will be no, or extremely minor, ramifications for Australia of the listing amendments for these species. Exporters of these species will be affected to the extent that they will require Convention export permits, but the cost of these is minimal (approximately $75 for a permit valid for multiple use over a six-month period). Shipments without appropriate permits risk rejection by importing countries.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation, Department of Finance and Deregulation, have advised that they consider the proposed changes to be machinery-of-government in nature and that a Regulatory Impact Statement is not required for these amendments.
The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities wrote to the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (the Committee) on 19 February 2013 providing details of the proposed amendments to Appendices I and II. A National Interest Analysis of the Conference 16 amendments to Appendices I and II was also tabled in Parliament on 14 May 2013 for consideration by the Committee.
The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities sought the views of all relevant state/territory and Commonwealth agencies, non-government organisations, as well as industry and members of the public in relation to listing proposals considered at Conference 16.
The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Instrument will commence on 12 June 2013.
Authority: sections 303CA (9) (b) and (c) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY FOR A BILL OR LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT THAT DOES NOT RAISE ANY HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES