Question On Notice No. 767 asked in the Legislative Council on 13 March 2018 by Hon Robin Chapple
Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to an article in The West Australian titled "Red tape 'blocking jobs and strangling farmers'" by Ben Harvey, which refers to a submission by the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association (KPCA), whose CEO was Catherine Marriott at the time, to a Federal senate inquiry into ‘red tape’, and I ask:
(a) the KPCA allegedly state that station owners were ordered to comb a '200,000ha station looking for a purple flower – even though the plant was not in season', is it true that they were ordered to do so;
(b) if no to (a), what was the advice provided to them with regard to surveying the 'purple flower';
(c) what was the ‘purple flower’ mentioned by the KPCA and what is its conservation status on a State and Federal level;
(d) the KPCA implied in their submission that the plant had "…been introduced", is the plant introduced or is it a local native plant;
(e) with reference to the Forshaws, pastoral lease holders at Nita Downs, it stated that they waited over six months for a response to an application to bulldoze 350 hectares of land, how long did it take for the relevant department to respond to the application;
(f) the article also states that Mowanjum station had been waiting ten months for approval to install two irrigation pivots, is this true and, if not, when was a response provided;
(g) the article states that the KPCA submission said 'the day after they (Mowanjum station) won the Premiers Award for Improving Aboriginal Outcomes, their application was knocked back due to the requirement for regional flora and fauna surveys'. Is it true that Mowanjum station had been previously informed that they would be required to undertake flora and fauna surveys for future proposals when their first land clearing application was approved in 2014;
(h) the KPCA submission also stated that a clearing application was not granted due to concerns regarding the presence of a threatened species, the Greater Bilby, even though "the Aboriginal people who own this land haven’t sited (sic) a Bilby in the years they have lived there". Is it true that flora and fauna studies must be conducted by qualified specialists according to the Environmental Protection Act 1986;
(i) according to the article 'the State Government will also invest $600,000 of Royalties for Regions funding in targeted biodiversity surveys'. Was this funding allocated;
(j) if yes to (i), when was it allocated and what was the outcome of the surveys;
(k) if no to (i), was any funding provided;
(l) if yes to (k), how much funding was provided and what was the outcome;
(m) is it usual for the State Government to provide funding for biodiversity surveys to help proponents of land clearing get approval for their projects;
(n) the article states that surveys would be carried out by the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions in partnership with the Karajarri Rangers, Nyangumarta Rangers and Yawuru country Managers and pastoralists. Which pastoral leases were asked to take part in the surveys;
(o) when was access requested for each of the stations in (n);
(p) when was access granted to the stations in (n);
(q) how did the department partner up with the Karajarri Rangers, Nyangumarta Rangers and Yawuru country managers;
(r) will this Government ensure that no more public funds are provided to subsidise pastoral lease holders to bulldoze Kimberley ecosystems; and
(s) if no to (r), why not?
Answered on 11 April 2018
(a) No.
(b)-(c) On 1 August 2016, the former Department of Environment Regulation sent a letter to the applicant for clearing permit application CPS 7043/1 which stated “In order to determine the potential impacts to rare and priority flora, a targeted flora survey by a suitably qualified botanist is required within the application area”. The area under application at the time of this letter was 350 hectares. The purple flower is Seringia exastia, which is listed as critically endangered under State and Commonwealth legislation. This species is known to flower between April to December.
(d) Seringia exastia is a local native plant.
(e) On 21 April 2016, the former Department of Environment Regulation received an application, identified as application CPS 7043/1, from Forshaw Pastoral Company to clear 350 hectares on Nita Downs Pastoral Station. The Department wrote to the applicant on 17 May 2016 to advise that it was assessing the application. On 1 August 2016, the Department provided the applicant with a preliminary assessment, which advised that targeted biological surveys would be required, due to the potential presence of rare and priority flora and threatened fauna. On 4 August 2016, the applicant requested a review and sought further information about the conservation status of the species identified in the preliminary assessment. The Department wrote again on 21 September 2016, providing additional information regarding the conservation status of the relevant species, and reiterating its advice that surveys would be required. On 5 October 2016 the applicant requested that decision be made as soon as possible. The applicant did not provide any survey information. On 26 October 2016 the Department formally refused the application. The applicant appealed against the decision, and I dismissed the appeal on 13 June 2017.
(f) Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation has made several clearing applications since 2014. Mowanjum applied for approval to clear 76 hectares for two irrigation pivots on 16 April 2014, and the former Department of Environment Regulation granted clearing permit CPS 6084/1 on 17 July 2014. A third party appealed against the grant of that permit, and the former Minister for Environment dismissed the appeal on 7 October 2014. Mowanjum applied for an amendment on 9 September 2015 to broaden the purpose of the approved clearing, and amended permit CPS 6084/2 was granted on 3 December 2015. On 1 June 2016, Mowanjum applied for an amendment (CPS 6084/3) to increase the total clearing area to 223 hectares. The former Department of Environment Regulation refused the application on 20 October 2016, and Mowanjum appealed against the decision. The appeal was received by the Office of the Appeals Convenor on 2 November 2016 and I dismissed the appeal on 23 June 2017. On 6 July 2017 Mowanjum lodged an application to increase the total clearing area to 116 hectares and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation granted amended permit CPS 6084/4 on 18 August 2017. A third party appealed against that decision, and on 5 January 2018 I partially allowed the appeal, amending the permit conditions to reduce the potential impact of the clearing on threatened fauna.
(g) Yes.
(h) The Environmental Protection Act 1986 does not specify qualification requirements for people conducting flora and fauna surveys. The Environmental Protection Authority provides technical guidance to be applied when undertaking surveys related to proposals referred under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986. This guidance includes recommendations regarding the qualifications and experience of specialists leading surveys. This guidance is also used to assist with the assessment of native vegetation clearing applications under the Act.
(i) Yes. Funding of $600,000 was allocated from Royalties for Regions.
(j) The first instalment of $300,000 was received in June 2017 and the second instalment of $300,000 in August 2017. The primary outputs from the surveys are reports detailing a ‘Bilby Survey of the La Grange Project Area’ and a ‘Rare and Priority Flora Survey of the La Grange Project Area’. Both reports are in final draft form and are currently being reviewed by traditional owner ranger teams who were partners in the survey. A communication plan to disseminate survey outcomes is being prepared with assistance from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
(k)-(l) Not applicable.
(m) The funding was provided to undertake targeted regional surveys for the threatened bilby and rare and priority flora in the La Grange project area. These surveys were not designed to address the requirements, or negate the need, for flora and fauna surveys by individual development proponents. Rather, they provide regional context on the distribution and abundance of bilbies and rare and priority flora within which to interpret project specific surveys and potential impacts from individual developments.
(n) The following pastoral leases and freehold landholders were asked to take part in the surveys: Anna Plains, Shelamar, Frasier Downs, Shamrock, Nita Downs, Roebuck Plains and Thangoo.
(o) Access to pastoral stations was facilitated by staff from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and Aboriginal ranger groups in June and early July 2017.
(p) Access to the majority of pastoral stations was obtained before the end of July 2017. Access to one pastoral station was delayed until September 2017 to accommodate mustering activities that were being conducted.
(q) The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions entered into fee-for-service arrangements with the three Aboriginal ranger groups that assisted with the field survey works.
(r) Further targeted regional surveys in the Kimberley for threatened species may be considered in the future where there is a need to improve the knowledge of species distributions and abundance. These surveys would not negate the need for individual development proponents to undertake their own surveys, as required through the relevant environmental approval process.
(s) Not applicable.