Page 1606 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 7 May 2013
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provision continues to have effect after its repeal. This note confirms that these licences remain effective.
PABLAB demonstrates the government’s ongoing commitment to using the omnibus bill process in a responsible way and also demonstrates the effectiveness of the omnibus bill process as a tool that collates amendments relative to planning, building and the environment. Without this bill process, the amendments made by this bill could have been spread over a number of amending bills or unnecessarily delayed.
The amendments moved by the government today in the Assembly further demonstrate our commitment to facilitating in the most efficient way relevant, modern and up-to-date planning, building and environment laws for the ACT. The government continues to strive to be the national leader in the creation of planning systems that are effective and transparent. Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (10.50), in reply: I thank members for their support of this bill today.
The Planning, Building and Environment Legislation Amendment Bill is the fourth bill to be created under the government’s omnibus planning, building and environment legislation, or PABLAB, process. This process manages all minor policy or technical amendments within the Environment and Sustainable Development portfolio. The process is an efficient way to consider minor matters in a consolidated single bill. As members have indicated, the bill amends a variety of legislation, including the Building Act, Planning and Development Act, Public Place Names Act, Unit Titles Act and Water Resources Act.
During my presentation of this bill in April, I referred to two policy amendments made by the bill. These are in relation to the Building Act and the Planning and Development Act. I would like to address a number of matters around these proposals briefly.
Clause 13 of the bill amends section 211 of the Planning and Development Act. Under this section the minister may exempt a development application from a requirement to include an environmental impact statement, or EIS, if the minister is satisfied that the expected environmental impact of the proposal has already been sufficiently addressed by another study. Currently this exemption expires after 18 months in all cases.
A study that could justify waiving the need for an EIS is one completed under the commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the EPBC Act. That would be a study completed for the purposes of obtaining an EPBC Act approval. The amendment deals with environmental impact statements and strategic assessments approved under the EPBC Act. The EPBC Act approvals supported by these studies may last longer than 18 months. This amendment, therefore, ensures that the minister’s exemption does not expire before the relevant
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