EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for the Environment and Energy)

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Instrument under section 209(6)

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, especially matters of national environmental significance, and conservation of biodiversity, including the protection and conservation of listed migratory species.

Section 209 of the Act provides for a list of migratory species (the List) that are included in Appendices to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), and in the Annexes to the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA), the China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) or other agreements approved by the Minister (Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (ROKAMBA).

Section 209(6) of the Act provides that the Minister or delegate may, by legislative instrument, amend the List as necessary to correct an inaccuracy or update the name of a listed migratory species.

The purpose of this Instrument is to amend the List by correcting and updating the scientific names of migratory species included in the List as set out below:

Diomedea immutabilis to Phoebastria immutabilis

Diomedea cauta to Thalassarche cauta

Diomedea bulleri to Thalassarche bulleri

Diomedea chrysostoma to Thalassarche chrysostoma

Diomedea melanophris to Thalassarche melanophris

Diomedea chlororhynchos to Thalassarche chlororhynchos

Procellaria aequinoctialis conspicillata to Procellaria conspicillata

Background

The scientific names of these species have been updated so that the List includes all species required to be included under section 209(3)(a)(ii) of the Act. These name changes result from taxonomic revisions to the Appendices to the Bonn Convention that have not altered the concept or description of the relevant species.

Consultation

Section 17(1)(a) of the Legislation Act 2003 states that before the legislative instrument is made, the rule-maker must be satisfied that there has been undertaken any consultation that is considered by the rule-maker to be appropriate. As this Instrument only updates the names of migratory species and does not make any substantial changes to the List, public consultation was not undertaken.

Pursuant to section 209(7) of the Act, the Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act) but section 42 (disallowance) of the Legislation Act does not apply to the Instrument.

The Instrument commenced on the day after it was registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Authority: Section 209(6) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.