Media release
12 March 2013
The Gillard Government is implementing greater
environmental protection for water resources
impacted by coal seam gas and large coal
mining developments.
Environment Minister
Tony Burke will introduce amendments to
Australia’s national environment law, the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 that will require
federal assessment and approval of coal
seam gas and large coal mining developments
which have a significant impact on a water
resource.
“Australia’s water resources
are among our most vital natural resources
and it is important that we ensure they
are protected,” Mr Burke said.
“The proposed amendments
will ensure that coal seam gas and large
coal mining developments must be assessed
and approved under national environment
law, if they are likely to have a significant
impact on a water resource.
“The community expectation
has always been that we would take this
into account. But up until now, we have
only been able to take account of water
to the extent there has been an impact on
issues such as threatened species or a RAMSAR
wetland.
“Realistically whenever
I have made a decision on coal seam gas,
the Australian public would expect that
we are taking into account all the impacts
on our precious water resources. This change
gives me as Australia’s Environment Minister
the capacity to do just that.”
Mr Burke said while
the Government is seeking more information
from businesses, we are not seeking to have
a needlessly delayed process as a result.
“The additional information
required in many instances will involve
data that has already been collected in
the state approval process,” Mr Burke said.
“By becoming a matter
of national environmental significance it
will have the full resources of the Independent
Expert Scientific Committee and the analysis
that flows as a result of that. For projects
that are early in the approval process they
will be able to incorporate the additional
matter of environmental significance at
whatever stage they are at.
“For projects which
are already undergoing an assessment, they
will not be required to restart their environmental
impact assessment from the beginning. Rather
my department is writing to every company
affected advising them as to what the additional
information is, so that they can get to
work on that straight away.”
These changes provide
a sound Commonwealth legislative basis for
the role of the IESC in national environmental
approvals, and support the existing scientific
process agreed by States last year and that
have been operating since that time.
Mr Burke said there
have been significant concerns raised by
communities around Australia about the impact
of coal seam gas on ground water and surface
water resources.
“We remain committed
to the efficient administration of environmental
law and our focus is on working directly
with business, the states, and the community
to ensure that the Australian public is
confident that strong environmental protections
are in place.”
Mr Burke said the IESC
established by the Gillard Government last
year will continue to provide advice for
coal seam gas and large coal mining projects
which may require federal assessment, including
assessments of impacts on water resources.
+ More
Gillard Government protects
rare Western Sydney natural environment
Media release
18 March 2013
The Western Sydney dry rainforest and moist
woodland on shale will be protected under
national environment law by the Gillard
Government.
Environment Minister,
Tony Burke, said that the listing of this
critically-endangered ecological community
was vital to protect it from threats.
"This will protect
a unique rainforest-type habitat among the
plains and low hills of the Cumberland Plain
in far western Sydney," Mr Burke said.
"Western Sydney
isn't just urban sprawl. From the north
west to the west through to the south west,
there are some extraordinary places of remnant
vegetation which are precious unique and
rare.
"Protecting these
areas isn't only important scientifically
for biodiversity, these are some of the
places which contribute to the natural beauty
of Western Sydney.
"It is home to
many plants and animals, such as the endangered
giant barred frog, the white flowered wax-plant
and, occasionally, koalas.
"In addition to
habitat, this ecological community also
provides vital ecosystem services such as
soil erosion control, maintaining water
quality and carbon storage.
"It occurs in the
wetter more rugged terrain of the Cumberland
Plain, with most remnants in the Picton-Camden
region to the south and around Kurrajong-Cattai
to the north, but also several key remnants
around Penrith.
"The western Sydney
rainforest occurs in areas popular for bushwalking
and bird watching such as Mulgoa Nature
Reserve, with some birds in this ecological
community unlikely to be seen elsewhere
in western Sydney.
"Protecting these
areas shows the importance of the rainforest
and may provide landholders, state and local
agencies or community groups with more opportunities
to better manage the ongoing threats."
Any new development
or other action likely to have a significant
impact on the western Sydney dry rainforest
ecological community is now required to
be referred for assessment under national
environment law.
The ecological community
is a type of dry rainforest with a closed
non-eucalypt canopy that transitions into
a moist woodland environment with a more
open eucalyptus tree canopy.
For more information
on the western Sydney dry rainforest ecological
community go to http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publiclookupcommunities.pl.
