Invitation to Comment on Draft Management Plans Christmas Island Marine Park and Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park

Overview

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) is a comprehensive piece of legislation enacted by the Australian Parliament to address the protection of the environment, particularly with regard to matters of national environmental significance. This Act was introduced to fill the gap in existing environmental protection laws by providing a unified framework for the conservation of biodiversity and the management of environmental impacts. The EPBC Act aims to ensure that environmental considerations are integrated into decision-making processes that may affect the environment, particularly in relation to matters such as listed threatened species and ecological communities, world heritage properties, and listed marine and coastal environments. The Director of National Parks, under the authority of the EPBC Act, has prepared draft management plans for the Christmas Island Marine Park and Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park to guide their management for the next decade. The public is invited to provide feedback on these draft plans, which will be taken into consideration before the final plans are submitted to the Minister for Environment for approval.

Scope and Application

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) mandates the Director of National Parks to develop draft management plans for the Christmas Island Marine Park and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park, which will serve as the blueprint for managing these marine parks over the next decade. This legislation applies to the Director of National Parks and any members of the public who wish to provide feedback on the draft management plans. The geographic scope of the Act includes the territorial waters of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Comments on the draft plans are sought under section 368(5) of the EPBC Act and should be submitted by 11.30pm AEST on 19 September 2024 via the 'Have your Say' portal or by hand delivery to specified locations on the islands. Submissions must clearly indicate which marine park and part(s) of the draft plan they relate to, and any personal information will be handled according to the Director's privacy policy. Exclusions and exemptions from the Act's application, if any, are not detailed in the notice, but it is noted that submissions must adhere to the specified time and method to be considered.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of this legislation (section 368(5) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, or EPBC Act) call for public consultation on draft management plans for two marine parks: the Christmas Island Marine Park and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park. The Director of National Parks has prepared these plans, which will guide the management of the parks for the next decade. Section 368(1)(e) of the EPBC Act mandates that the Director consider public comments, which are to be submitted by 11.30pm AEST on 19 September 2024. The public is invited to submit feedback on the draft plans via the ‘Have your Say’ portal or by hand delivery to specified locations on Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The obligations imposed by this legislation on the parties or entities it governs primarily involve the Director of National Parks. They are required to prepare draft management plans for the marine parks, facilitate public consultation by inviting comments and considering them, and subsequently provide the Minister for the Environment with the Director's views on the comments, along with the proposed final management plans. Section 370 of the EPBC Act requires that these final plans be submitted to the Minister for approval, which may include revisions based on the public feedback received. In terms of consequences for breach, the legislation does not explicitly outline offences, penalties, or specific civil or criminal consequences for failing to comply with the public consultation process. However, failure to adhere to the stipulated submission deadlines and methods could render any comments ineligible for consideration by the Director, as stipulated in section 368(1)(e) of the EPBC Act. This means that any comments submitted after the specified deadline or via unapproved means will not be taken into account in the final decision-making process.