Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4) 2004 No. 143
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 2004 NO. 143
ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4)
Subsection 66(1) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act or with a zoning plan, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Further regulation-making provisions, relevant to the Regulations, are outlined in Attachment A.
The purpose of the Regulations is to make several corrections and technical amendments to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment
Regulations 2004 (No. 2), which were made on 23 March 2004. The provisions that have been amended do not commence until 1 July 2004. The Regulations:
• amend column 3 of item 14 of Table 8U to remove a comma between loggerhead and turtle;
• amend regulation 11KA to ensure that the special management provision for the Species Conservation (Dugong Protection) Special Management Area is consistent with the Dugong Protection Areas declared under the Fisheries Regulation 1995 of Queensland;
• amend Part 1 of Table 11N to correct the boundary description for the MacLennan Cay Reef (11-070) Restricted Access Special Management Area;
• substitute the words "managed vessel, or an aircraft" with the defined term "managed vessel or aircraft" in regulation 11NB; and
• insert other minor consequential amendments arising as a result of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2).
Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment B.
The Regulations commence on 30 June 2004.
Attachment A
Regulation-making powers relevant to the Regulations
Without limiting the generality of subsection 66(1) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, regulations may be made:
• providing for giving effect to, and enforcing the observance of, zoning plans (paragraph 66(2)(b));
• regulating the conduct of persons in the Marine Park (paragraph 66(2)(i));
• enabling a person who is alleged to have contravened a provision of the regulations to pay to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (the Authority), as an alternative to prosecution, a stated penalty that is not more than one-fifth of the maximum penalty by which a contravention of that provision is otherwise punishable (paragraph 66(2)(n)); and
• regulating the use of vessels in, and the passage of vessels through, the Marine Park and the landing and use of aircraft in, and the flying of aircraft over, the Marine Park (paragraph 66(2)(o)).
Attachment B
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4)
Details of the Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides that the name of the Regulations is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 4).
Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on 30 June 2004.
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2).
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Amendment 1 substitutes column 3 of item 14 of Table 8U, in Item 8 of Schedule 1 to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2). Schedule 1 to those regulations does not commence until 1 July 2004. This amendment is of a technical nature only to remove the comma between "loggerhead" and "turtle".
Amendment 2 substitutes regulation 11KA (not including the table or note), in Item 8 of Schedule 1 to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2), with a new regulation 11KA.
Regulation 11KA prescribes the special management provisions that apply to the Species Conservation (Dugong Protection) Special Management Areas (SMA) for the purposes of section 4.2.3 of the Zoning Plan.
This amendment specifies that netting and bait netting in the area must be carried on in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Fisheries Regulation 1995 of Queensland as set out in the table to new subregulation (3).
New subregulation 11KA(2) specifies, for the purposes of new
subregulation 11KA(1), what bait netting does not include. Bait netting is defined by regulation 6R of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2).
New subregulation 11KA(3) specifies, for the purposes of new subregulation 11KA(1), the provisions of the Fisheries Regulation 1995 of Queensland that are relevant for each of the Species Conservation (Dugong Protection) SMAs.
Amendment 3 substitutes Part 1 of Table 11N, in Item 8 of Schedule 1 to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2). The existing table erroneously describes the boundary of the MacLennan Cay Reef (11-070) Restricted Access Special Management Area. The purpose of this amendment is to correct the boundary description.
Amendment 4 replaces the words "except a ship or managed vessel, or an aircraft" in regulation 11NB with "except a ship, or managed vessel or aircraft". This amendment is of a technical nature only and reflects the correct defined term "managed vessel or aircraft".
Amendment 5 inserts a new item 12A into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2). This amendment is required as a consequence of the amendments to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983 (the Principal Regulations) by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2) and replaces subregulation 32A(3) of the Principal Regulations with a new subregulation 32A(3).
New subregulation 32A(3) has the effect of replacing the references to subregulations 18(1) and (4) (which are to be omitted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2)) with a reference to the equivalent provisions following the commencement of those regulations.
Amendment 6 inserts a new item 41A into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2). This amendment is required as a consequence of the amendments to the Principal Regulations by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2) and replaces the note at the end of subregulation 76(2) of the Principal Regulations with a new note.
The new note has the effect of replacing the references to regulations 10, 18 and 33 (regulations 10 and 18 are being omitted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2)) with a reference to the equivalent provision following the commencement of those regulations.
Amendment 7 substitutes Table 122AA (Infringement notice offences and penalties) with a new Table 122AA. The purpose of this amendment is to correct the incorrect reference to regulation 19 (Commercial activities on Low Island) at item 1 of the Table with the correct reference to regulation 12Y (Commercial activities on Low Island).