Page 550 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 1990
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responsible for planning could require an inquiry into a proposal to vary the Territory plan. In some circumstance the Territory plan or regulations under the inquiries and environmental assessments Bill could require that an environmental assessment be made of any proposal. An assessment in relation to a leasing matter could be triggered by a direction of the Minister responsible for leasing, under the land and leasing Bill that is yet to come. In addition, the environment Minister would have a general power, under the Land Use (Inquiries and Environmental Assessments) Bill, to establish inquiries or direct that assessments be made.
This arrangement recognises that the inquiries and assessment legislation is intended to cover such a broad range of activities that it would be inappropriate to vest this power in one Minister alone. In addition, the general power of the environment Minister provides scope for a disinterested analysis of the need for an inquiry or an assessment of a proposal should this be necessary.
The Bill thus provides for two ways in which proposals could be examined. The first would comprise an environmental assessment. This would normally consist of a public environment report or an environmental impact statement, together with a consultation report, copies of any written submissions and an evaluation report. I should point out that, to ensure that all relevant issues can be taken into account, the Bill adopts a broad definition of environment, to include all aspects of the surroundings of human beings affecting them as individuals or in social groups.
Regulations under the Bill, or the Territory plan itself, might require that an environmental assessment be made of a proposal where the proposal was of a certain category - for example, this could include any proposal to build a manufacturing plant which would give out noxious substances. In other cases, the responsible Minister could direct that an environmental assessment be made where the possible environmental impact of a proposal justified such an assessment.
Once the public environment report or environmental impact statement had been prepared, the report or statement would be submitted to the environment Minister to assess whether it met requirements under the legislation.
The second possibility under the Bill is an inquiry. Inquiries would comprise another, more extensive means of examining proposals. An inquiry would be established in relation to a proposal where the responsible Minister considered it necessary. The inquiry would be publicly conducted by a panel appointed by the Minister. The panel would comprise an appropriately qualified person or persons and would carry out its task relatively informally and in a way which would ensure that both expert and broader community views on a proposal were fully considered.
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