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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2093 ..

(b) refer the draft plan to the conservator together with any of the following written directions;

(i) to conduct further stated consultations;

(ii) to consider any stated revision suggested by the Minister;

(iii) to revise the draft plan in a stated way.

4G Referral back of draft plan to conservator

(1) If the Minister refers the draft fisheries management plan to the conservator, the conservator-

(a) must comply with the Minister's directions; and

(b) if the Minister directs the conservator to conduct further consultations or consider suggested revisions-may revise the draft plan in the way the conservator considers appropriate; and

(c) may revise the plan to make changes of a formal nature; and

(d) must give the draft plan (as revised) to the Minister together with a written report about the conservator's compliance with the Minister's directions and any revision of the draft plan under paragraph (b) or (c).

(2) The Minister must deal with the draft fisheries management plan (as revised) under section 4F (Minister's powers about draft plan).

4H Fisheries management plan disallowable instrument etc

(1) A fisheries management plan is a disallowable instrument.

(2) Unless a fisheries management plan is disallowed by the Legislative Assembly, the plan takes effect-

(a) on the day after the last day when it could have been disallowed under section 6 of the Subordinate Laws Act 1989; or

(b) on a later day (or at a later time) provided by the plan.".

This amendment provides for the drafting and adoption of a fisheries management plan. The intent is to make visible the broad thinking of the minister, as informed by the conservator, in regard to the conservation and management of fisheries. This plan is not dissimilar to fish management plans in place in other states and is largely based, in its procedures and requirements, on the water resources management plan of the ACT Water Resources Act 1998.

Much of the work that would go into this plan will be done, in any event, by officers of the department. The purpose of my amendment is to require the department to produce and make available a management plan so that interested constituents and stakeholders can be informed of the overarching strategy the government is pursuing and under which the various conservation strategies and action plans will operate.

The Greens have an ongoing commitment to the development and promotion of ecological sustainability, and we are of the view that a management plan which is open to scrutiny and disallowance in the Legislative Assembly is an important component in the development of a coherent strategy for ecological sustainability and in order to take responsibility for exploitation of natural resources.

MR CORBELL (10.19): The Labor Party will be supporting Ms Tucker's amendment.

Proposed new part 1A agreed to.

Clauses 5 to 21, by leave, taken together and agreed to.

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