Page 1434 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 3 May 2016
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amendments in clauses 49 and 50 of the bill will allow for a species to be declared a controlled native species where it is likely to have an unacceptable environmental, social or economic impact. This will allow for preventive measures to occur under a management plan, rather than having to be in response to damage already suffered, as was previously the case. The amendment also removes the reference to damage to assets, as it is difficult to assess environmental, social and economic impacts in terms of assets.
I would also like to recap the significant suite of amendments in the bill aimed at improving the territory’s air quality by adopting updated Australian standards for new solid fuel-burning equipment, such as wood heaters, in territory legislation. The ACT government’s efforts to improve the territory’s air quality are furthered by this bill, with the adoption of new Australian standards into territory law. Specifically, the Environment Protection Act and the Environment Protection Regulation are amended to ensure that new wood heaters sold in the ACT meet Australian standards for energy efficiency and emissions.
The amendments in clauses 9 to 21 give effect to the national clean air agreement, endorsed by national environment ministers on 15 December last year. The current regulations only impose limits on emissions from wood heaters but do not include requirements for energy efficiency.
The amendments in this bill adopt new energy efficiency requirements into territory law and also impose emissions limits in line with Australian standards. The new efficiency limits, which commence with this act, will require all new wood heaters sold in the ACT to have an energy efficiency of not less than 55 per cent. This limit will be further amended on 1 September 2019 to require greater efficiency, of not less than 60 per cent.
The emissions limits also commence with the act and prescribe the maximum particulate emission factor for an appliance, which replicates the current Australian standard that has previously been adopted in ACT law. These limits will be amended on 1 September 2019 to require reduced maximum emissions from wood heaters. Supporting amendments are also made to ensure that new wood heaters for sale in the ACT are appropriately marked, that they do in fact comply with the relevant Australian standards and that false statements or tampering with information marked on the equipment is prohibited.
These amendments are an important measure to improve the ACT’s air quality and improve environmental outcomes. Also, they only apply to the sale of new wood heaters, so that owners of existing heaters are not affected by these changes.
I would now like to discuss some important changes to the Heritage Act that improve the operation of the act and provide the council with more flexibility in their registration and consultation processes. Clauses 26, 27, 32 and 33 amend public consultation processes under the Heritage Act. Specifically, these amendments introduce a new power for the Heritage Council to extend a public consultation period under the act. Currently, sections 26, 37 and 46 of the Heritage Act require public consultation for the making of heritage guidelines, the registration of a place or object and proposals to cancel a registration.
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