Marine Parks Amendment Bill 2007
In December 2007 the Hon Verity Firth MP, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water introduced the Marine Parks Amendment Bill 2007 in Parliament.
The Bill proposes amendments to the Marine Parks Act 1997 that are primarily focused on establishing a clear process for reviewing and amending marine park zoning plans - the key management tool for our multiple use marine parks.
The Bill provides that:
- zoning plans will be reviewed initially five years after commencement, and then every ten years;
- zoning plan reviews will involve a public consultation period to determine the issues, development of a review report and input from the local marine park advisory committee; and
- any proposed amendments to the zoning plan will be subject to three month consultation period – the same period applicable to the development of the initial zoning plan.
The Bill also streamlines the development of operational plans for each marine park. Operational plans support the implementation of a zoning plan by guiding research and monitoring, community education, compliance and other day to day operations within a marine park. Under the Bill, operational plans will become a flexible but detailed local workplan for each marine park. They will be developed in consultation with the local Advisory Committees and adopted by the Marine Parks Authority.
The Bill makes several other minor changes to support management of marine parks. It clarifies the role of the Marine Park Advisory Council and that sand extraction for beach nourishment within marine parks is not prohibited, enables aircraft use in marine parks to be regulated, and increases the maximum penalties that can be set in the Marine Parks Regulation 1999.
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