Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, , 2:40:00 to 2:47:26
Officials discuss the impact of EPBC Act reforms and new national environmental standards on native forestry resource availability and state regulatory systems.
Topics: Forestry, EPBC Act, Land management
Speakers: Speaker 12, Speaker 8, Speaker 25
with uh the capacity investment fund and those things, how reliant is that on accessibility to product? So, materials. So, um I think there's a couple of jurisdictions where there's no native available anymore, but there's also issues in relation to plantation product availability. I think >> in WA there's real pressure on pine >> and when you need the mix too to make the product >> um >> uh and and pressures on pine >> probably most jurisdictions to be frank and getting more into the ground. How are we actually starting to plant yet?
>> Um I might ask Dr. to Greenville just to comment on resource availability, but I think in general um the types of investments that kind of if you like kind of um because if we're running a grant program, Senator, it's obviously an application based process. Um so in a lot of cases, we're looking at existing enterprises that generally have pretty secure access to resource. Um, and obviously that's not universal across Australia, but for those areas where um, for those areas that do have good access
to a mix of resour >> Yeah.
>> transport, >> whether it's green triangle or >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And then I guess complemented by that is is the government's investment in the support plantation establishment scheme which um which is about I guess um providing assistance to ensure that plantations um can get up and running.
So in in terms of availability of um native resource and noting the changes that we discussed at estimates last time I think which was just after the new environmental legislation had passed. Um do we have an update on what information is available for industry or where we are at in terms of recognizing the existing systems that are there um for industry in the various jurisdictions. So um so the systems that exist for example in Tazzay and New South Wales in particular where they have a pretty well understood system of um coup management approvals all of those things that take into account all of the environmental values that they're supposed to take into account. Yeah. Have we progressed anywhere with recognition of those so that there is some certainty for industry to even up take up some of the offers that are on the table? >> Yeah.
>> Um where are we at? >> Yeah. Uh a really important question Senator one that um we've been um we certainly haven't kind of wasted a day in terms of um progressing that work with um the affected RFA states. Um so um myself and my colleagues have been working with RFA states in the first instance I guess to kind of think about the approval pathways that they might want to pursue. Um so that's been something that's been an active area of
conversation. >> Do they want to change anything? I mean the systems are pretty good. They're robust. They've been tested over 30 years. >> That's right. >> Um they wouldn't want Why would they want to change things?
So I think that question will come down to um the national environmental standards um the EPBC act reforms and I guess really doing a a gap analysis effectively of the robust regulatory systems that are in place, the forest management systems, the codes of practice, those sorts of things. understanding um those arrangements um and comparing them with the the national environmental standards particularly I think the the the standards around matters of national environmental significance I think that
will be the key one >> so is that work being done alongside the national forestry standard I mean so we already do have a standard that's been in place for a long time so you've got the national forestry standard that takes into account a lot of these values
>> um I well in this particular case it's around um it's around these new standards um that will be introduced I think minister mentioned his intention to have it have those two standards in place by 1 July this year um so it'll be it'll be acknowledging the um the systems
>> so what so in the conversations you were having what are the new things that are going to be imposed over and above what's already done what are the new things that are going to be imposed on on the industry that um we weren't that that people claim we weren't doing.
>> I think that we're still working that through, Senator. So, there's a draft standard um available for both matters of national environmental significance, as you know, and offsets. I think the the kind of the phase we're in at the moment with um with states is is more around information gathering. Um, Senator, so we're probably not in the not yet at the point where we're kind of doing if you like the gap analysis and what the what the additionality is. Um, but if colleagues wanted to add
>> can a little Mr. Loy I I suppose Senator, it's um it's not so much what other requirements that the Commonwealth is adding. It's a process of assessing the state systems and the extent to which they meet the new national environmental standards. So that may require adjustments to state forest management systems. It may not. But as Mr. Lo is saying, we're now the forthcoming process with our colleagues at at DQ and with each of the RFA states is to look at both systems, state and commonwealth, side by side and see the degree to which they overlap. Um, and then depending on the approval pathway, there are slight there'll be slight differences in in the threshold questions and the information base that supports those decisions. And what I mean by that is for example uh if a state's looking to accredit their system, it's sort of a a technical assessment of do does the black and white system in a state and territories uh a state's uh legislative framework uh meet the requirements of the Commonwealth in a in a sort of technical letter of the law sense. Um, and other processes are are more similar to a a usual environmental approvals assessment process where you're looking at the values that are sought to be protected or seeking to protect under a system and the extent to which those systems work to deliver outcomes.
>> But surely you have a sense of the additional requirements under the new
standard. Uh I I think a sense yes senator but uh but there's forthcoming work to make sure that um we can assure ourselves that the thresholds are met.
>> So is the new so you're saying it's a draft standard is how close to being set so set by the 1st of July. >> Uh well that's a matter