Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 - section 269A - Instrument Adopting and Revoking Recovery Plans (01/03/2010) (QLD, VIC, WA)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Revoking and Adoption of State or Territory Plans as Recovery Plans

(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) places certain obligations on the Commonwealth to protect and conserve threatened species and ecological communities.

Subsection 269A(7) of the Act enables the Minister, by instrument in writing, to adopt as a recovery plan, a plan made by a State, a self-governing Territory or an agency of a State or self-governing Territory. 

Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument (including rules, regulations or by-laws) the power shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.

The purpose of this instrument is to:

(a) Revoke the following recovery plans (the superseded plans):

1. Wongan Gully Wattle (Acacia pharangites) Interim Recovery Plan 1999-2002, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia, April 1999 (adopted on 16 July 2000);

2. Southern Shepherds Purse (Ballantinia antipoda) Recovery Plan, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria, 1999 (adopted on 9 March 2001);

3. National Recovery Plan for the Bald-tip Beard Orchid (Calochilus richiae Nicholls), Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria, March 2000 (adopted on 14 July 2001);

4. Cunderlin Daviesia (Daviesia cunderdin) Recovery Plan 1999-2002, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia, June 1999 (adopted on 9 March 2001);

5. Milky Emu Bush (Eremophila lactea) Recovery Plan 1999-2002, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia, June 1999 (adopted on 9 March 2001);

6. Salt Pipewort (Eriocaulon carsonii) Recovery Plan, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, NSW, December 2002 (adopted on 13 October 2003);

7. Stiff Groundsel (Senecio behrianus) Recovery Plan 1999-2001, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria, December 1999 (adopted on 9 March 2001); and

8. National Recovery Plan for the Whipstick Westringia (Westringia crassifolia) 1999-2001, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, 1999 (adopted on 9 March 2001).

(b) Adopt the following recovery plans (the adopted plans):

1.                  Prepared by Queensland:

1.       The community of native species dependent on natural discharge of groundwater from the Great Artesian Basin recovery plan
2.       Semi-evergreen vine thickets of the Brigalow Belt (North and South) and Nandewar Bioregions recovery plan

1.                Prepared by Victoria:

1.       Galaxiella pusilla Dwarf Galaxias recovery plan
2.       Nannoperca obscura Yarra Pygmy Perch recovery plan
3.       Nannoperca variegata Variegated Pygmy Perch recovery plan
4.       Fifteen threatened orchids in South-eastern Australia recovery plan
5.       Ballantinia antipoda Southern Shepherd's Purse recovery plan
6.       Callistemon forresterae Forrester's Bottlebrush recovery plan
7.       Calochilus richiae Bald-tip Beard-orchid recovery plan
8.   Carex tasmanica Curly Sedge recovery plan
9.   Correa lawrenceana var. genoensis Mountain Correa recovery plan
10.   Eriocaulon australasicum Southern Pipewort recovery plan
11.   Pomaderris sericea Bent Pomaderris recovery plan
12.   Rulingia prostrata Dwarf Kerrawang recovery plan
13.   Senecio behrianus Stiff Groundsel recovery plan
14.   Taraxacum cygnorum Coast Dandelion recovery plan
15.   Westringia crassifolia Whipstick Westringia recovery plan

1.             Prepared by the Western Australia:

1.   Acacia insolita subsp. recurva Yornaning Wattle recovery plan
2.   Acacia lanuginophylla Woolly Wattle recovery plan
3.   Acacia lobulata Chiddarcooping Wattle recovery plan
4.   Acacia pharangites Wongan Gully Wattle recovery plan
5.   Adenanthos eyrei Toolinna Adenanthos recovery plan
6.   Banksia nivea subsp. uliginosa Swamp Honeypot recovery plan
7.   Calectasia cyanea Blue Tinsel Lily recovery plan
8.   Darwinia apiculata Scarp Darwinia recovery plan
9.   Darwinia carnea Mogumber Bell recovery plan
10.   Daviesia cunderdin Cunderdin Daviesia recovery plan
11.   Drakaea elastica Glossy-leaved Hammer-orchid recovery plan
12.   Eremophila lactea Milky Emu Bush recovery plan
13.   Frankenia conferta Silky Frankenia recovery plan
14.   Gastrolobium glaucum Spike Poison recovery plan
15.   Grevillea involucrata Lake Varley Grevillea recovery plan
16.   Grevillea rara Rare Grevillea recovery plan
17.   Gyrostemon reticulatus Net-veined Gyrostemon recovery plan
18.   Haloragis platycarpa Broad-fruited Haloragis recovery plan
19.   Leucopogon marginatus Thick-margined Leucopogon recovery plan
20.   Macarthuria keigheryi Keighery's Macarthuria recovery plan
21.   Pityrodia scabra Wyalkatchem Foxglove recovery plan

The adopted plans provide for the research and management actions necessary to stop the decline of, and support the recovery of, the listed threatened species and ecological communities in order to maximise their chances of long-term survival in nature.

Before the Minister may adopt a recovery plan under subsection 269A(7) of the Act, subsection 277(1) of the Act provides that the Minister must be satisfied that an appropriate level of consultation has been undertaken in making the plan and that the plan meets the requirements of section 270 of the Act.  In addition subsection 277(2) of the Act requires the Minister to obtain and consider advice from the Scientific Committee on the content of the plan. 

The adopted plans have been assessed and comply with section 270 of the Act and regulation 7.11 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000.  In addition, the adopted plans were placed on public exhibition and comments were invited from the public.  All comments were taken into account in making the decision to adopt the recovery plans under the Act. 

In accordance with subsection 277(2) of the Act, the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee was also obtained on the content of the recovery plans.  The Committee advised that it recommends the plans for adoption by the Minister.

The adopted plans are available from the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts website: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-list-scientific.html

or from the Community Information Unit, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 or by phoning on 1800 803 772. 

The instrument revoking and adopting the recovery plans is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The adopted plans commenced on the day after this instrument was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. The revoking of the superseded plans took effect on the day after this instrument was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.