Page 2853 - Week 10 - Thursday, 7 October 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
protection of over 200 hectares of land at the Franklin grasslands. Budjan Galindji has now undergone significant planning and on-ground work to protect that threatened population of button wrinklewort and the natural temperate grassland.
I was very pleased, in the last term of the Assembly, to expand the Molonglo River Reserve—an area that spans 23 kilometres from Scrivener Dam to the confluence with the Murrumbidgee River. That is an area of 1,280 hectares, which is home to the endangered pink-tailed worm-lizard, superb parrot and box gum grassy woodland habitat. In 2019 I expanded the Molonglo River Reserve by approving a variation to the Territory Plan. This work is ongoing and important in identifying where our city might grow and where we need to conserve biodiversity.
The ACT planning strategy identified that the area to our east, around the Majura and Jerrabomberra valleys, is an area for future employment uses. Of course, the first piece of work in this area is a strategic assessment to identify what needs protection. That way, we can best protect and look after our most sensitive land. The provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2007 and the Commonwealth’s EPBC Act make sure that there is consideration of adverse impacts to threatened species caused by development and measures to avoid, mitigate or offset these impacts. For the ACT, these considerations occur through an environmental impact assessment and the development application process—the DA process—in accordance with the Planning and Development Act. This ensures a rigorous assessment of potential environmental impact before a private development occurs. They are required to be completed prior to a DA being decided and may also lead to long-term protection measures such as offsets and nature reserves.
Land management is also a significant part of my portfolio. It goes hand in glove with planning. More than 70 per cent of the ACT is dedicated to nature conservation in public land reserves. These include Namadgi National Park, Tidbinbilla, the Murrumbidgee and Molonglo river corridors, the lower Cotter catchment, Jerrabomberra Wetlands and Canberra Nature Park. In conjunction with the land management system, the ACT planning system, through the Planning and Development Act and the Nature Conservation Act, protects conservation areas by requiring the preparation of land management plans. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the Canberra Nature Park Reserve Management Plan is currently being finalised. In addition, the Murrumbidgee River corridor and the Namadgi National Park plans are also under review.
In protecting our reserves from threatened processes, management plans are guided by the objectives for each type of reserve that is specified in the Planning and Development Act. For wilderness areas, national parks and nature reserves, the primary objective is to conserve the natural environment. All of the management plans describe the values of each reserve and the measures required to protect those values. Reserve management plans contain goals, objectives, policies and actions to minimise the adverse impacts from threats such as weeds, pest animals, overgrazing, unplanned fire and, of course, climate change. The reserve management plans also contain actions that are designed to increase the resilience of the natural environment to those threats. This includes actions for improving connectivity within and between reserves and managing recreational uses within the reserves.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video