EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
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 adopt the following recovery plans (the adopted plans):
- Prepared by Northern Territory:
1. Threatened Acacias and Ricinocarpos gloria-medii recovery plan
2. Gove Crow Butterfly (Euploea alcathoe enastri) recovery plan
- Prepared by Queensland:
3. Cycas megacarpa, Cycas ophiolitica, Macrozamia cranei, Macrozamia lomandroides, Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi and Macrozamia platyrhachis recovery plan
4. Acacia attenuata recovery plan
5. Chingia australis recovery plan
6. Graptophyllum reticulatum recovery plan
7. Bare-rumped Sheathtail Bat (Saccolaimus saccolaimus nudicluniatus) recovery plan
8. Black-throated Finch Southern subspecies (Poephila cincta cincta) recovery plan
9. White-bellied subspecies of the Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton evangelinae) recovery plan
- Prepared by New South Wales:
10. Hastings River Mouse (Pseudomys oralis) recovery plan
11. Gould’s Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera leucoptera) recovery plan
Before the Minister may adopt a recovery plan under subsection 269A(7) of the Act, the Minister must be satisfied that the plan meets the requirements of section 270 of the Act, and that, under subsection 277(1), an appropriate level of consultation has been undertaken in making the plan. In addition subsection 277(2) requires that the Minister 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.
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 so that their chances of long-term survival in nature are maximised. The adopted plans were placed on public exhibition and comments were invited from the public. All comments were taken into account in finalising the adopted plans.
The advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee on the content of the plans was obtained under section 274 of the Act. 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. Further information about the Department can be found at www.environment.gov.au.
The instrument adopting the Recovery Plans is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
For the purposes of subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the rights and liabilities of a person other than the Commonwealth have not been adversely affected by the retrospective commencement of the Plans.