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New South Wales
Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection
and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
4 Principles of Act 3
5 Objects of Act 3
6 Fisheries and their environmental assessment 4
7 Scope of environmental assessment 5
8 Public consultation 6
9 Review of state of fishery 6
10 Review of Act 7
Schedule 1 Timetable 8
b00-502-p01.840
New South Wales
Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection
and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
No , 2000
A Bill for
An Act to provide interim protection for licences and other authorities granted in
respect of fishing activities and to make provision for the environmental assessment
of fishing activities; and for other purposes.
Clause 1 Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and 3
Environmental Assessment) Act 2000. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on the date of assent. 6
3 Definitions 7
(1) In this Act: 8
approval has the meaning given by section 110 of the Environmental 9
Planning and Assessment Act 1979. 10
designated fishery means: 11
(a) a share management fishery, 12
(b) a restricted fishery, 13
(c) any other fishery in which a person is authorised or proposed 14
to be authorised to take fish by a licence, endorsement, permit 15
or authorisation of any kind issued or renewed under the 16
Fisheries Management Act 1994. 17
fishery has the meaning given by the Fisheries Management Act 1994. 18
fishing activity has the meaning given by the Fisheries Management 19
Act 1994. 20
management plan means a management plan for a fishery prepared 21
under the Fisheries Management Act 1994. 22
principles of ecologically sustainable development means the 23
principles described in section 6 (2) of the Protection of the 24
Environment Administration Act 1991. 25
restricted fishery has the meaning given by the Fisheries Management 26
Act 1994. 27
share management fishery has the meaning given by the Fisheries 28
Management Act 1994. 29
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Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment) Clause 3
Bill 2000
(2) In this Act: 1
(a) a reference to a management plan prepared after the 2
commencement of this Act includes an amendment prepared 3
after the commencement of this Act to a management plan 4
(made before or after the commencement of this Act), 5
(b) the fisheries referred to in Schedule 1 are as described by or 6
under the Fisheries Management Act 1994. 7
4 Principles of Act 8
This Act is guided by the following principles: 9
(a) the principles of ecologically sustainable development, 10
(b) public consultation, 11
(c) thorough and adequate environmental assessment. 12
5 Objects of Act 13
The objects of this Act are as follows: 14
(a) to provide interim protection for fishing licences and other 15
authorities granted to the commercial fishing industry, 16
(b) to achieve healthy fish habitats and sustainable fish stocks 17
through environmental assessment of commercial fishing 18
activities and land and marine ecosystem management and 19
production of management plans for fisheries, based on the 20
principles of ecologically sustainable development, 21
(c) to create a comprehensive and representative aquatic reserve 22
and marine park system, 23
(d) to suspend the application of Part 5 of the Environmental 24
Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to fishing activities being 25
carried out or proposed to be carried out in designated fisheries 26
pending the completion of environmental assessment and 27
management plans for those fishing activities, 28
(e) to provide that the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning is 29
to be the approving authority for fishing activities that are 30
subject to environmental impact statements obtained under this 31
Act, 32
Page 3
Clause 5 Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
(f) to ensure that any fishing activities carried out in designated 1
fisheries are carried out in accordance with the full 2
requirements of other relevant regulatory controls, including the 3
sustainable management strategies contained in any 4
management plans applying to the fisheries. 5
6 Fisheries and their environmental assessment 6
(1) The application of Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and 7
Assessment Act 1979 in respect of commercial or recreational fishing 8
activities being carried out or proposed to be carried out in each 9
designated fishery is suspended, and is taken always to have been 10
suspended, until the suspension ceases by operation of this section. 11
(2) The Minister for Fisheries is to obtain an environmental impact 12
statement in respect of fishing activities being carried out or proposed 13
to be carried out in each designated fishery by the date specified in 14
Schedule 1 in relation to the designated fishery as if Part 5 of the 15
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 had not been 16
suspended by this section (and in so far as that Part would require an 17
environmental impact statement to be obtained if it were not so 18
suspended). 19
(3) The Minister for Fisheries is required to consult the Resource and 20
Conservation Assessment Council about the environmental impact 21
statement and is to ensure that any submissions made by the Council 22
are included in the statement. 23
(4) After obtaining any such environmental impact statement and 24
complying with section 112 (1) (a)(c) of the Environmental Planning 25
and Assessment Act 1979, the Minister for Fisheries is required to seek 26
the approval of the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning under 27
Division 4 of Part 5 of that Act in respect of the fishing activities to 28
which the statement applies. 29
(5) For that purpose, Division 4 of Part 5 of the Environmental Planning 30
and Assessment Act 1979 is taken to apply to fishing activities to 31
which the Minister for Fisheries has granted approval or proposes to 32
grant approval as if: 33
(a) the Minister for Fisheries were the proponent of the fishing 34
activities, and 35
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Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment) Clause 6
Bill 2000
(b) a reference in Division 4 of Part 5 of that Act to a determining 1
authority carrying out an activity were a reference to the 2
Minister for Fisheries granting an approval in relation to the 3
activity. 4
(6) When the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning determines in 5
accordance with Division 4 of Part 5 of the Environmental Planning 6
and Assessment Act 1979 whether or not the fishing activities to which 7
an environmental impact statement applies may be carried out, the 8
suspension of Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment 9
Act 1979 in relation to those activities ceases. 10
(7) Fishing activities carried out in accordance with this Act in a 11
designated fishery during the suspension of Part 5 of the 12
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in relation to the 13
fishing activities are taken to have been carried out in compliance with 14
that Part. 15
(8) If there is a change in the fishing activities approved by the Minister 16
for Fisheries, after the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning grants 17
an approval in respect of those activities under Division 4 of Part 5 of 18
the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Part 5 of that 19
Act (including Division 4 of Part 5, as modified by subsection (5)) 20
applies. 21
7 Scope of environmental assessment 22
(1) An environmental impact statement obtained for a designated fishery 23
is to include an assessment of the following: 24
(a) recreational and commercial take in the fishery (including 25
species, age distribution, season and quantities), 26
(b) harvesting methods (including impacts on ecosystems and 27
threatened species), 28
(c) significant impacts of land use and pollution on waterway 29
catchments and fishery habitats and stock, 30
(d) alternative management approaches, including best practice for 31
harvesting and relevant land based sources of pollution and 32
other adverse impacts, 33
(e) conservation areas to safeguard ecosystems and fish stocks, 34
(f) indigenous fishing rights. 35
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Clause 7 Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
(2) If a management plan for a designated fishery is prepared after the 1
commencement of this Act, the management plan is to be prepared in 2
conjunction with the environmental impact statement for the fishery. 3
In particular, the Minister for Fisheries is to ensure that the 4
management plan takes account of the information, conclusions and 5
recommendations in the environmental impact statement. 6
8 Public consultation 7
(1) An environmental impact statement for a designated fishery, and any 8
management plan for the fishery that is prepared after the 9
commencement of this Act, is to be publicly exhibited, and is to be the 10
subject of public consultation, in accordance with: 11
(a) the requirements of section 113 of the Environmental Planning 12
and Assessment Act 1979 (Publicity and examination of 13
environmental impact statements), and 14
(b) the requirements (if any) of the Minister for Urban Affairs and 15
Planning. 16
(2) An environmental impact statement is to be exhibited with the 17
management plan (if any) prepared for the fishery (or any proposed 18
amendments to that management plan), and any associated species 19
impact statements. 20
(3) This section: 21
(a) applies in addition to any consultation requirements that apply 22
in respect of a management plan under the Fisheries 23
Management Act 1994, and 24
(b) does not prevent the Minister for Fisheries from undertaking 25
more extensive public consultation. 26
9 Review of state of fishery 27
(1) It is taken to be a condition of any approval granted by the Minister for 28
Urban Affairs and Planning under Division 4 of Part 5 of the 29
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in respect of a 30
designated fishery that the state of the fishery be reviewed every 5 31
years after the approval is first given. 32
(2) The Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for Urban Affairs and 33
Planning are to establish a panel to conduct such a review. 34
(3) Members of the panel are to be appointed jointly by the Ministers. 35
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Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment) Clause 9
Bill 2000
(4) A majority of the members of the panel must be persons who are 1
independent of government and who have expertise in fisheries 2
management, habitat conservation and ecologically sustainable 3
development. 4
(5) The panel is to report to the Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for 5
Urban Affairs and Planning on the outcome of the review. 6
(6) The Minister for Fisheries is to cause a copy of the report to be tabled 7
in each House of Parliament within 60 sitting days after receiving the 8
report. 9
(7) The term of office and remuneration of members of the panel and the 10
quorum, voting method and other procedures of the panel are to be 11
determined jointly by the Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for 12
Urban Affairs and Planning. 13
10 Review of Act 14
(1) The Minister for Fisheries is to review this Act to determine whether 15
the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of 16
the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives. 17
(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 18
5 years from the date of assent to this Act. 19
(3) A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of 20
Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years. 21
Page 7
Fisheries Industry (Interim Protection and Environmental Assessment)
Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Timetable
Schedule 1 Timetable 1
(Section 6) 2
3
Designated fishery Date for completion of EIS 4
Estuary general restricted fishery 30 July 2002 5
Estuary prawn trawl restricted fishery 30 July 2002 6
Ocean hauling restricted fishery 30 July 2002 7
Ocean fish trawl restricted fishery 1 December 2003 8
Ocean prawn trawl restricted fishery 1 December 2003 9
Ocean trap and line restricted fishery 1 December 2003 10
Abalone share management fishery 1 December 2003 11
Lobster share management fishery 1 December 2003 12
A designated fishery not otherwise referred 1 December 2003 13
to in this Schedule 14
Page 8
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