Page 508 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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identify threats to aquatic and riparian ecosystems and provide guidelines for threat management; to provide monitoring and research objectives for aquatic and riparian areas in the ACT; to provide strategies to increase engagement of the community in aquatic and riparian activities and projects; and to provide strategic context for action plans for threatened aquatic and riparian flora and fauna.
This strategy is intended to be a reference document on the aquatic and riparian areas for ACT and Australian government agencies with responsibilities for nature conservation, planning and land management; and for community and other stakeholders with an interest in aquatic and riparian area conservation. The 2007 aquatic species and riparian zone conservation strategy was highly successful in bringing together key stakeholders, the ACT government and the Australian government to achieve conservation of the aquatic and riparian ecosystems. The 2007 strategy contains a large amount of background information about these ecosystems in the ACT. The strategy is an overarching document that draws together information and provides guidance for the management and conservation of aquatic and riparian species and their habitat across a range of ecosystems.
MS CHEYNE: Minister, how can the community get involved in this work? What are the next steps the government will take to finalise the aquatic and riparian strategy?
MR GENTLEMAN: I thank Ms Cheyne for her question. As I have outlined, the ACT’s waterways and rivers are valuable and fundamentally important components of our landscape. It is vital that we conserve these areas both now and for the future, and we are keen to hear the community’s ideas on how we can do this.
The draft 2018 aquatic and riparian conservation strategy and action plans are open for comment until 11 March 2018 and are available on the your say website. Interested members of the community can make a submission via the website. Alternatively, anyone interested can respond to a survey also available on the your say website.
We are keen to hear from the community about the proposed conservation management guidelines for the protection and enhancement of aquatic and riparian areas; identified threats and guidelines to manage them; monitoring and research objectives; strategies to increase community awareness and involvement; and proposed action plans for threatened species.
The consultation includes action plans for the following threatened fish and riparian plants: the two-spined blackfish, the Macquarie perch, the Murray River crayfish, the silver perch, the trout cod, the Murrumbidgee bossiaea and the Tuggeranong lignum. All submission and survey responses will be considered in the final strategy and action plans.
Mr Barr: A fishy note will end question time. I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
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