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.
The purpose of this instrument is to adopt the Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan (2007) (the adopted plan) prepared by the State of New South Wales.
The Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan is adopted as the recovery plan for the following listed threatened taxa located on Lord Howe Island:
- Calystegia affinis
- Elymus multiflorus var. kingianus
- Strepera graculina crissalis (Lord Howe Island Currawong)
- Dryococelus australis (Lord Howe Island Phasmid)
- Placostylus bivaricosus (Lord Howe Placostylus)
- Christinus guentheri (Lord Howe Island Gecko)
- Pseudemoia lichenigera (Lord Howe Island Skink)
- Pterodroma neglecta neglecta (Kermadec Petrel (western))
- Fregetta grallaria grallaria (White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Australasian))
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 the plan meets the requirements of section 270 of the Act and that 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 plan has been assessed and complies with section 270 of the Act and regulation 7.11 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000.
The adopted plan provides 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 plan was placed on public exhibition for two months and comments were invited from the public. All comments were taken into account in finalising the adopted plan.
The advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee on the content of the plan was obtained under section 274 of the Act. The Committee advised that it recommends the plan for adoption by the Minister.
The adopted plan is 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 plan is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
In accordance with subsection 273(1A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the adopted plan comes into force on the date specified in the instrument.
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 plan.