EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
MINISTER FOR THE ARTS. SPORT. THE ENVIRONMENT TOURISM AND TERRITORIES
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations (Amendment)
1989 No. 368
The prime purpose of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations (Amendment) is to enable the introduction of permit assessment fees from 1 January 1990 and to increase the limit of a contract that the Authority can enter into without requiring the approval of the responsible Minister.
Details of the amendments follow:
Regulation 19D is amended to include a reference to the circumstances in which applications for a permit lapse, such as when further information is sought by the Authority and not provided by the applicant (regulations 10(2), 13AE(2), and 13E (2)) or where the applicant fails to pay the required fee (regulation 32).
Regulation 22 is amended to provide permit applicants with the means to have the Authority reconsider a decision to require a fee and if dissatisfied by the outcome of the Authority’s reconsideration then to have the matter considered by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Paragraph 56(a) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act provides for the prescription by regulation of the value of a contract the Authority can enter into without seeking the approval of the Minister. The limit prescribed by regulation 25 is $150,000. The current limit, set in 1975, is $50,000.
Regulation 26 requires the Authority not to issue a permit unless an assessment has been made of the impact an activity will have on the Marine Park and the Great Barrier Reef.
Regulation 27(1) describes the types of permits for which assessment fees will be required to be paid. Traditional fishing, hunting and gathering and the taking of animals and plants which pose a threat to human life or safety, or to marine or island ecosystems are excluded.
Regulation 27(2) provides that in relation to Part V of the regulations and Schedule 4, a reference to an activity includes entering and using the Marine Park.
Regulation 27(3) defines the meaning of a continuation (renewal) of a permit.
Regulation 27(4)(a) defines a Public Environment Report as that prepared
under the provisions of the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act (1974) and 27(4)(b) provides that an assessment report prepared under any other circumstances which the Authority requires an equivalent level of work on the part of the Authority is to be treated as if it were a Public Environment Report under paragraph 27(5)(a).
Regulation 27(5)(a) describes an Environmental Impact Statement prepared under the provisions of the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act (1974) and 27(5)(b) describes an equivalent assessment report prepared under any other circumstances which the Authority considers fulfils the requirements of an Environmental Impact Statement under that legislation.
Regulation 28 describes the circumstances where the Authority will impose a fee for an application for permission. Fees are to be imposed in the first instance, where the applicant for permit seeks to carry on an activity in the Marine Park for tourism or a purpose associated with tourism. The fees to be charged are set out in Schedule 4.
Regulation 29 provides a formula for the fees to be increased annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (All Groups) applying to Brisbane. Fees will be rounded down to the nearest $10.
Regulation 31(1) requires the Authority to notify an applicant for a permit of the date of the notice and the amount of the fee to be imposed. Payment of the full amount set out in the notice is required within 21 days unless the activity proposed in the application requires the preparation of an assessment report, the fee for which may be paid in part.
Regulation 31 (2) provides for an application for a permit to be withdrawn within 21 days without the imposition of a fee and for the refund of any fee already paid if the application is withdrawn within the 21 day period.
Regulation 31(3) requires an applicant for a permit that requires the preparation of an assessment report as described in Schedule 4 and who has paid $10,000 as part payment, to pay the balance of the amount due within 21 days of the release of the assessment report for public comment.
Regulation 32 describes the circumstances in which an application lapses where the fee in Schedule 4 has not been paid.
Authorised by
the Minister for the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories