Page 2968 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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foreseen if the circumstances threatening its well-being in the wild continue to prevail - then that committee would advise the Minister accordingly and recommend that that condition be formally recognised by a declaration. The species can actually be declared either vulnerable or endangered, depending on the degree of threat.
A community itself could be declared endangered. Where a species is declared endangered - that is, it is in immediate danger of extinction - it would have a more stringent protective provisions of the Nature Conservation Act applied by also having been declared to be of special status. The declaration of a species or a community would also initiate a statutory requirement for the Conservator of Wildlife to develop conservation measures for that declared item. There are a number of points in the Bill in relation to that, Madam Speaker, and I appreciate at this stage the opportunities given to me to discuss the matter with departmental officers by the Minister, Mr Wood. I thank him for the opportunity to speak to his departmental officers.
In relation to the actual Bill, I suppose that one of the salient features to consider is proposed section 15E, which deals with membership of the committee. The committee shall consist of seven members, at least two of whom shall not be public servants. Of course, in this technical area we are looking at experts. I understand that most of these experts would come from the CSIRO, the ANU and the University of Canberra. The other provision in relation to the set-up of the committee relates to the secretary. That is proposed section 15G. The secretary, of course, will be a public servant. In view of what that committee does, I think that is also a quite sensible step to take.
The Opposition does not have any problems with this Bill, save for one particular clause. I think an amendment in my name has been circulated. That relates to proposed section 18. That deals with criteria for recommending a declaration. Subsection 18(1) states:
The Committee shall, within 6 months of its establishment, by instrument, specify criteria for assessing whether the Committee should recommend the making of a declaration under section 21.
Subsection (2) states:
In specifying criteria for the purposes of subsection (1) the Committee shall have regard only to factors relevant to -
(a) the conservation of a species or ecological community; or
(b) the ecological significance of a threatening process;
in relation to the Territory and the surrounding region.
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