EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Instrument Adopting Recovery Plans
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment and conservation of biodiversity, including the protection and conservation of threatened species and ecological communities.
Part 13, Division 5, Subdivision A of the Act provides for the making, or adoption, of recovery plans for listed threatened species or ecological communities, which bind the Commonwealth and Commonwealth agencies.
Subsection 269A(7) of the Act enables the Minister, by instrument in writing, to adopt as a recovery plan for a listed threatened species or ecological community, 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 various recovery plans (the adopted plans) prepared respectively by New South Wales and Western Australia, as the recovery plans for the following listed threatened species and ecological communities:
Acacia rhamphophylla (Kundip wattle) Adenanthos dobagii (Fitzgerald woollybush) Adenanthos ellipticus (oval-leaf adenanthos) Banksia pseudoplumosa (false plumed-banksia) Coopernookia georgei (mauve coopernookia) Dasyurus geoffroii (chuditch, western quoll) Daviesia megacalyx (long-sepalled daviesia) Egernia stokesii aethiops (Baudin Island spiny-tailed skink) Egernia stokesii badia (western spiny-tailed skink) Eucalyptus burdettiana (Burdett gum) Eucalyptus coronata (crowned mallee) | Grevillea brachystylis subsp. grandis (large-flowered short-styled grevillea) Grevillea infundibularis (fan-leaf grevillea) Persoonia pauciflora (North Rothbury persoonia) Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides (button wrinklewort) Schoenia filifolia subsp. subulifolia (Mingenew everlasting) Stylidium galioides (yellow mountain triggerplant) Verticordia crebra Verticordia pityrhops White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland (ecological community) |
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 set out in the table, in order to maximise their chances of long-term survival in nature.
The adopted recovery plans of:
- Western Australia, in respect of:
- Acacia rhamphophylla (Kundip wattle)
- Daviesia megacalyx (long-sepalled daviesia)
- Dasyurus geoffroii (chuditch, western quoll)
supersede recovery plans previously adopted under the Act. The Instrument revokes the adoption of the superseded recovery plans.
Subsection 277(1) of the Act provides that the Minister must not adopt a recovery plan under subsection 269A(7) unless:
- the Minister is satisfied that an appropriate level of consultation has been undertaken in making the plan; and
- the plan meets the requirements of section 270 of the Act.
In addition subsection 277(2) of the Act requires the Minister to obtain and consider advice from the Threatened Species 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. Details of how the adopted plans comply with section 270 of the Act are set out in Attachment A.
The adopted plans have been endorsed by the States and/or Territories in which the relevant species occur/s. Potentially affected Australian Government agencies have also been consulted.
All of the adopted plans were placed on public exhibition at various times for periods of 2-3 months each and comments were invited from the public. All plans were advertised in the Commonwealth of Australia Government Notices Gazette, The Australian newspaper and the website of the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. One submission was received on the draft recovery plan for Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides (button wrinklewort), and all comments in this submission were considered in finalising the plan.
In accordance with subsection 277(2) of the Act, the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee was also obtained on the content of the recovery plans. The Committee advised that it recommends the plans for adoption by the Minister.
The adopted plans are available from the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities website: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-list-scientific.html
or from the Community Information Unit, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601 or by phoning on 1800 803 772.
The Instrument adopting the recovery plans is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The adopted plans commenced on the day after the Instrument was registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Authority: Section 269A(7) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth). This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.