EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued under the Authority of the Assistant Minister for the Environment)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth)
Instrument under section 517(1)
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, especially matters of national environmental significance, and conservation of biodiversity, including the protection and conservation of threatened species.
Section 517(1) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that a population of biological entities is a species for the purposes of that Act.
The purpose of this Instrument is determine that the following population of biological entities is a species for the purposes of that Act as set out below:
Galaxias truttaceus (Western Australian population)
Background
The Western Australian population of Galaxias truttaceus is geographically isolated to the south coast of Western Australia. The species also occurs as a disjunct population in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Western populations have a unique ecology (potamodromous life cycle) compared to eastern populations (diadromous life cycle) which is a signal of evolutionary divergence and regional adaptation and, as such, western populations are considered a discrete population.
Consultation
Advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee was sought and considered prior to the making of the Instrument. The Committee recommended that Galaxias truttaceus (Western Australian population) be declared a species for the purposes of the Act the as set out above.
Advice was also provided by the Australian Biological Resources Study.
Section 17(1)(a) of the Legislation Act 2003 states that before the legislative instrument is made, the rule-maker must be satisfied that there has been undertaken any consultation that is considered by the rule-maker to be appropriate. As this Instrument only determines a population of biological entities as a species for the purposes of the Act, public consultation was not undertaken.
The Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (Cth).
The Instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Authority: Section 517(1) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the
Determination that a distinct population of biological entities is a species under section 517 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (208) This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument The purpose of this Legislative Instrument is to determine that the population of biological entities; Galaxias truttaceus (Western Australian population) is a species for the purposes of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) under section 517(1).
The Western Australian population of Galaxias truttaceus is geographically isolated to the south coast of Western Australia. The species also occurs as a disjunct population in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Western populations have a unique ecology (potamodromous life cycle) compared to eastern populations (diadromous life cycle) which is a signal of evolutionary divergence and regional adaptation and, as such, western populations are considered discrete population.
Human rights implications This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Melissa Price Assistant Minister for the Environment
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