Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts annual report 2007–08
Volume two
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2008
ISSN 1441-9335
Legislation annual reports 2007-08 (continued)
Operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (continued)
Appendix B – Committees
The functions and membership of advisory committees established under the EPBC Act are as follows.
Threatened Species Scientific Committee
Under section 503 of the EPBC Act, the functions of the committee are:
- to advise the minister in accordance with Division 5 of Part 13 in relation to recovery plans, threat abatement plans and approved conservation advice
- to advise the minister (on the minister’s request or on the committee’s initiative) on the amendment and updating of the lists established under Part 13
- to advise the minister, at the minister’s request, on matters relating to the administration of this Act
- to give the minister such other advice as is provided for in this Act
- to perform such other functions as are conferred on the committee by this Act.
| Associate Professor Robert Beeton (Chair) | Dr Tony Lewis |
| Mr Guy Fitzhardinge | Dr Andrea Taylor |
| Dr Gordon Guymer | Dr Rosemary Purdie |
| Associate Professor Peter Harrison | Dr John Woinarski |
| Dr Bill Humphreys |
Biological Diversity Advisory Committee
Under section 505 of the EPBC Act, the committee’s role is to advise the minister, on request, about the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of biological diversity, and to perform such other functions as are conferred on it by the EPBC Act or the Regulations.
The committee membership lapsed in 2007 and the minister is currently considering candidates for appointment to the committee. Membership can be for a period of up to five years and includes representatives from scientific, business, rural and indigenous organisations as well as state/territory and local government.
Indigenous Advisory Committee
Under section 505B of the EPBC Act, the Indigenous Advisory Committee provides advice to the minister on the operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
By incorporating Indigenous people’s knowledge of land management and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity the committee:
- works with peak Indigenous bodies, experts, communities, and other stakeholders to ensure the views of Indigenous peoples are incorporated in the implementation and development of the Act
- works with key sections of the department to seek and provide advice and make recommendations to the minister and the department on Indigenous issues that are relevant under the Act
- monitors the implementation of bilateral agreements within the states and territories and advises the minister of their effect on Indigenous interests
- provides the minister with an annual report on Indigenous issues under the Act
- responds to any issues of urgency that arise during the implementation of the Act that require a response from the committee.
| Name | State or territory |
|---|---|
| Ms Melissa George (Chair) | Queensland |
| Mr Dave Johnston (Deputy chair) | Australian Capital Territory |
| Mr Rocky Sainty | Tasmania |
| Mr Vic McGrath | Torres Strait Islands |
| Mr Damien Bell | Victoria |
| Ms Francine McCarthy | Northern Territory |
| Mr Joe Morrison | Northern Territory |
| Mr Glen Kelly | Western Australia |
| Mr Daniel Oades | Western Australia |
| Ms Chrissy Grant | New South Wales |
| Ms Marilyn Ah Chee | South Australia |
| Vacant |
Australian Heritage Council
Under the Australian Heritage Council Act 2003, the functions of the Australian Heritage Council are to:
- make assessments of places under the National Heritage criteria or the Commonwealth Heritage criteria
- advise the minister on conserving and protecting places included in, or being considered for inclusion in, the National Heritage List or Commonwealth Heritage List
- nominate places for inclusion in the heritage lists
- advise the minister on any heritage related matters, including promotion, research, training, national policies, the condition of places in heritage lists and historic shipwrecks
- promote the identification, assessment, conservation and monitoring of heritage
- keep the Register of the National Estate
- organise and engage in research
- provide advice generally
- prepare reports on any matters related to the functions of the council and provide them to the minister.
| Member |
|---|
| Mr Tom Harley, Chair |
| Dr Jane Lennon AM |
| Mr Howard Tanner |
| Dr Gaye Sculthorpe |
| Mr Rodney Dillon |
| Dr Denis Saunders AM |
| Dr Libby Mattiske |
| The Hon Richard Lewis |
In this section
- About this report
- Overview
- 1. Protecting environment and heritage
- 2. Conserving biodiversity
- 3. Managing heritage and protecting significant areas
- 4. Monitoring, compliance and legal actions
- 5. Reporting
- Appendix A – Statistics
- Appendix B – Committees
- Appendix C – Publications
- Appendix D – Compliance with timeframes (section 518 report)
- Case studies
Contents
Key
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