Page 1243 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 April 2016
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the ACT government is also seeking to improve environmental outcomes for less efficient existing wood heaters through the wood heater replacement program. This program aims to reduce winter air pollution from wood smoke, and offers a financial incentive to home owners to replace an old wood heater.
The updated energy efficiency and emissions limits contained in the Australian standards are implemented in two stages, with new limits proposed to be introduced upon notification of these provisions. Further tightening of these limits will commence on 1 September 2019.
Supporting amendments are also made to ensure that equipment complies with the standards, that compliance information is displayed on the equipment and to prohibit false statements relating to whether equipment complies with the standards.
Clauses 22 and 23 of the bill amend the Environment Protection Regulation relating to the use of agvet chemicals by veterinary surgeons. This amendment provides an exception to the general offence of off-label use of agvet chemicals, provided the use is carried out by, or instructed by, a vet. Off-label use is a common and accepted practice in the vet profession. For example, products authorised by treating avian influenza in chickens are also used on pigeons, where research suggests that the use is effective and safe. This amendment will provide peace of mind to the vet profession who are acting in a routine and safe manner.
Clauses 24 to 46 of the bill include a number of amendments to the Heritage Act. These are the result of a 12-month administrative review committed to by the government to monitor the operation of significant amendments to the Heritage Act passed in October 2014. The amendments to the act improve administrative and decision-making processes. This will ultimately lead to more efficient consideration of whether places or objects should be listed on the heritage register and protect places and objects already listed on the register.
Clause 24 amends the Heritage Act to include a minor change to one of the heritage significant criteria. Currently criterion (c) is drafted to allow places or objects with the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the heritage history in the ACT to be included on the heritage register. This criterion primarily deals with archaeological sites. The amendment is to ensure that the relevant place or object yields important information as opposed to information of any kind. This is necessary to ensure that only places or objects with territory-level significance or greater can be included on the ACT heritage register. The amendment brings this criterion into line with the other criteria that all have threshold levels and makes it clear that an archaeological site, for example, must have the potential to yield important information.
Clause 34 contains another minor policy change to the Heritage Act relating to the expansion of access to information declared as restricted under the act. Restricted information includes the location or nature of a place or object with heritage significance, or an Aboriginal place or object. The amendment will allow the Heritage Council to give restricted information to an applicant under specific and specified conditions. The release of this information will improve the ability of heritage
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