Page 3348 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 September 1994
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Perhaps most significantly, the Government has established a Commissioner for the Environment to independently monitor performance on environmental management. I understand, Madam Speaker, that the creation of this statutory office represents a first in Australia. The commissioner has the dual function of investigating complaints about the management of the environment, as an environmental ombudsman, and preparing annual reports about the state of the ACT's environment. The first State of the Environment Report was tabled yesterday and it noted that the ACT Government has made considerable legislative progress towards better protection of the environment. The Commissioner for the Environment has produced a remarkable report, in my opinion. Its scope is enormous and it will be of great value to the Government in its ongoing environmental endeavours. The State of the Environment Report is a major development in the ACT's environmental initiatives. The Government will use it to assess its own performance and pinpoint areas where work is needed. This report will ensure that our Government remains accountable, and its yearly assessments will provide a base on which we in the ACT need to work. The value, of course, is not only to the Government but to the community as a whole, particularly the environmental groups and the individuals who participate in and help with the care of our environment.
Members would also be aware of the recent amendments to the Nature Conservation Act of 1980 to provide for the identification and protection of endangered native plants and animals and their ecological communities. These amendments were a very significant nature conservation initiative by the Government and they cannot be overlooked. The amendments covered three main points. Firstly, there is a listing process, whereby species and ecological communities that are threatened with extinction, or processes that threaten the viability of species or communities in the wild, are identified and formally declared. Secondly, there is a management response to declaration, whereby conservation measures are determined and management actions are formulated. The third component is the development of a long-term conservation strategy for the ACT.
Madam Speaker, the native plants and animals of the ACT are part of our natural heritage - a heritage with substantial cultural, economic and ecological values. It is our collective responsibility to conserve all of this for the benefit of future generations. The amendments to the Nature Conservation Act also addressed broader objectives for conservation of our biological diversity by providing for the Conservator of Wildlife to prepare a nature conservation strategy for the ACT. That strategy will contain proposals for ensuring the continuing survival in the wild of the native flora and fauna of the ACT, with particular attention being given to the management of potentially threatening processes and the development of community programs to promote nature conservation. Amendments to the Act are planned to be developed to enable the Government to meet current and future nature conservation responsibilities in a more effective way through increased efficiencies, provisions which more adequately take account of current trends and issues, and increased flexibility in policy development.
At this time, Madam Speaker, while drought is gripping much of the country and, in fact, has been declared here in the ACT, it is timely to note the efforts that the Government has been putting into the efficient and wise use of our water resources. ACT Electricity and Water recently released its long-range future water supply strategy for the ACT to assist
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