EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Instrument under section 270B(2)
(Issued under the Authority of the Minister for the Environment and Heritage)
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the Act) places certain obligations on the Commonwealth to protect and conserve threatened species and ecological communities, and to ensure threat abatement plans are in force under the Act.
The purpose of this instrument is to ensure the following threat abatement plan is in force in accordance with s270B of the Act:
- Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs.
The threat abatement plan has been assessed and complies with s. 271 of the Act and r. 7.12 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000.
Stakeholders were consulted during the drafting of the threat abatement plan. A workshop was held with 25 representatives from: Australian, State, Territory and Local Governments; agricultural industry, environment, animal welfare and indigenous groups. The plan was placed on public exhibition for three months and the views of environment and agriculture state and territory ministers sought as required under ss. 270B and 275 of the Act. Eighteen submissions were received from government agencies, agricultural industry, environment and animal welfare groups. Valuable comments were provided on current control techniques, exotic disease and economic effects, integration of environmental and economic impacts and other useful input. A thorough analysis of the submissions and issues was undertaken and substantial rewriting of the plan undertaken in response to comments.
The information in the threat abatement plan enabled the Threatened Species Scientific Committee to recommend the making of the plan as required under s. 274 of the Act.
The plan provides for the research, management and other actions necessary to reduce the key threatening process concerned to an acceptable level in order to maximise the chances of the long-term survival in nature of native species and ecological communities affected by the process.
The threat abatement plan is available electronically from the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage at http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/pig/
or from the Community Information Unit, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage, GPO Box 787, Canberra ACT 2601, or on 1800 803 772.
This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
In accordance with section 273 (1A) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 the threat abatement plan came into force on the day on which the Minister made the Plan (18 July 2005).
For the purpose of subsection 12 (2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, the rights and liabilities of a person other than the Commonwealth have not been adversely affected by the retrospective commencement of the plan.