EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 33

Issued by Authority of the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

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. Without limiting the generality of subsection 66(1) of the Act, paragraph 66(2)(e) of the Act provides that regulations may be made regulating or prohibiting acts (whether in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park or elsewhere) that may pollute water in a manner harmful to animals and plants in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Regulations 2000 (the Principal Regulations) commenced on 23 February 2000. Currently the Principal Regulations are ‘turned off’ as Queensland law has been accredited under the Principal Regulations. The accreditation of Queensland law proceeded on the basis that it provides the requisite degree of protection for the Marine Park environment. The accreditation of Queensland law will be reviewed after a specified number of new aquaculture facilities are permitted by Queensland. As a consequence of a review, the accreditation may remain, may be revoked in full or may be limited as it applies to particular premises. If the accreditation were to be revoked or limited, the Principal Regulations would be ‘turned on’.

The purpose of the Principal Regulations is to regulate the discharge of waste from aquaculture facilities, which may affect animals and plants in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Principal Regulations prohibit the discharge of aquaculture waste within an area defined as the ‘controlled area’. However in relation to facilities existing prior to 1 October 1999, permission is only required if there is a significant increase in the volume of aquaculture waste discharged or in the nature or composition of that waste. Administrative Guidelines developed in conjunction with the development of the Principal Regulations provide that a significant increase involves an increase of 10% or more.

The purpose of the Regulations is to set out the definition and formulas for determining whether there has been a ‘significant increase’ in the Regulations themselves, rather than in Administrative Guidelines.

The Regulations also amend subregulation 26(2) to provide that a decision on an application for permission to discharge aquaculture waste must be made within a reasonable time.

The Great Barrier Marine Park Authority undertook consultation on the proposed amendments with the Queensland Environment Protection Authority, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fishing and the Australian Prawn Farmer’s Association. In relation to the amendments however, the Office of Best Practice  Regulation has confirmed that a Regulation Impact Statement is likely not required as the amendments are of a minor or machinery nature. A copy of that advice is at Attachment A.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment B.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

Attachment A

Attachment B

Details of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1)

Regulation 1 provides that the name of the Regulations is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Regulations 2000 (the Principal Regulations).

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Item [1] – Subregulation 11(1)

Item 1 amends subregulation 11(1) by inserting the phrase ‘the existing facility’ to aid the reading of the legislation.

Item [2] – Subregulations 11(2), (3), (4) and (5)

Regulation 11 provides that the prohibition on the discharge of aquaculture waste does not apply in relation to aquaculture facilities operating prior to 1 October 1999. However the prohibition does apply to these facilities if there is a significant increase in the volume of waste discharged or in its nature or composition following the enactment of the Principal Regulations. Item 2 amends regulation 11 by providing a means for the operator of a facility to determine whether there has been a significant increase in the volume of waste discharged or a significant alteration in the nature or composition of the waste.

The new subregulation 11(3) provides that the volume of waste discharged is significantly increased if it is more than 10% greater than the facility’s pre-1999 volume.

The new subregulation 11(4) provides the steps to determine the pre-1999 volume for the purposes of subregulation 11(3).

The new subregulation 11(5) provides that the composition of aquaculture waste discharged by an existing facility alters in a significant way if the annual mass for a constituent is more than 10% greater that the pre-1999 mass for the constituent.

The new subregulation 11(6) provides the steps to determine the pre-1999 mass for the purposes of subregulation 11(5).

The new subregulation 11(7) provides definitions for the purposes of regulation 11.

Item 2 deletes the current subregulations 11(4) and (5) which provided a mechanism whereby the operator of a facility could obtain advice from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority as to whether a proposed increase in volume or a proposed change in the composition of waste is significant for the purposes of regulation 11. They are no longer required due to the above amendments.

Item [3] – Paragraph 26(2)(a)

Item 3 amends paragraph 26(2)(a) by providing that a decision on an application for permission to discharge waste must be made within a reasonable time.