ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AUTHORITY — GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS — GUIDELINES
615. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the Minister for Environment:
(1) Will the minister confirm that the Environmental
Protection Authority has launched a 12-week consultation period to
develop a replacement for greenhouse gas guidelines?
(2) Will the
minister confirm that the object of the Environmental Protection Act 1986,
establishing the Environmental Protection Authority, is ''to protect the
environment of the state''?
(3) Will the
minister confirm that the Environmental Protection Act 1986 does not mention ''carbon
dioxide'', ''greenhouse gas'' or ''climate change''?
(4) Will the
minister instruct the Environmental Protection Authority that it has no role in
advising the government on greenhouse gas guidelines?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Yes.
(2) The object of
the Environmental Protection Act 1986 is to protect the environment of the
state having regard to the following principles: the precautionary principle;
the principle of intergenerational equity; the principle of the conservation of
biological diversity and ecological integrity; principles relating to improved
valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms; and the principle of waste
minimisation.
(3) Yes. The Environmental Protection Act 1986 does
not mention the terms ''carbon dioxide'', ''greenhouse gas''
or ''climate change''. It provides the basis for environmental
impact assessment and regulation of proposal impacts,
including emissions. I am advised that the Environmental Protection Authority
has been providing advice to government on greenhouse gas emissions
since 1990.
(4) No. The
Environmental Protection Authority is an independent statutory authority that
provides recommendations to the government.