EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for the Environment)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
List of CITES Species Amendment (Conference 18) (Correction) Instrument 2020
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) provides for the protection of the environment, including wildlife that may be adversely affected by trade, and the implementation of Australia’s international environmental responsibilities.
Section 303CA of the Act provides for a list of species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Convention) for the purposes of the Act (the list). Under subsection 303CA(3) of the Act, the list must include all species from time to time included in any of Appendices I, II and III to the Convention. Subsections 303CA(9)(b) and (9)(c) of the Act provide that the Minister may amend the list, as necessary, so that it includes all species required to be included in the list under subsection 303CA(3) and so that the notations in the list are consistent with the Convention.
Under Article XVI, paragraph 1 of the Convention, a Party may propose amendments to Appendix I or Appendix II at a meeting of the Conferences of the Parties (the Conference). Amendments generally enter into force for all Parties 90 days after the conclusion of the Conference at which they were adopted, unless the Parties agree to delay implementation.
The 18th Conference of Parties of the Convention (Conference 18) (Switzerland, 17-28 August 2019) agreed to 46 amendments to Appendices I and II. The Convention’s Notification to the Parties 2019/052 (dated 3 October 2019) has advised of the species amendments adopted at Conference 18. The Conference also agreed to a number of nomenclatural changes for species already included on the Appendices. These changes were made in F2019L01492, however the Convention Secretariat subsequently notified Parties of further required amendments in Notification to the Parties 2019/067 (dated 26 November 2019).
The purpose of this amendment is to:
- rectify a misdescribed amendment in the List of CITES Species Amendment (Conference 18) Instrument 2019, by transferring the listing of Western Bristlebird (Dasyornis longirostris) from Appendix I to Appendix II as agreed at Conference 18; and to
- correctly apply the amendments agreed at Conference 18 as specified in Notification to the Parties 2019/067. This notification makes a small number of changes to the text circulated in Notification to the Parties 2019/052.
The commencement date for this instrument is 26 November 2019 to align with the original Notification to the Parties 2019/052. The retrospective commencement is necessary to ensure that the changes occur at the same time as the international list is updated.
The retrospective application of this instrument is in accordance with subsection 12(2) of the Legislation Act 2003. Subsection 12(2) of the Legislation Act 2003 provides that if a legislative instrument is registered, the instrument does not apply in relation to a person (other than the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth) to the extent that as a result of that commencement (a) the person’s rights as at the time the instrument is registered would be affected so as to disadvantage the person; or (b) liabilities would be imposed on the person in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the instrument is registered.
The Instrument contains additional amendments reflecting changes to the official name of the Kingdom of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. One of these changes is reflected in Notification to the Parties 2019/067 (for Siphonochilus aethiopicus); another (for Ceratotherium simum simum) is made for consistency throughout the list. The Instrument makes further minor amendments in line with those provided by the Convention Secretariat in Notification 2019/067 to wording of the listing notation in relation to Ceratophora aspera, Ceratophora stoddartii and Lyriocephalus scutatus, to change ‘zero quota’ for these species to ‘zero export quota’.
The Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Section 42 of the Legislation Act 2003 (disallowance of legislative instruments) does not apply to this Instrument (see Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 10, item 15).
This Instrument commences on 26 November 2019.
Authority: Section 303CA of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.