Peel Inlet and Harvey Estuary System Management Strategy ...

EPA Report on the Peel-Harvey Progress and Compliance Report, 2003
The ERC report advised that actions from non-proponent agencies that are essential to
successful implementation of management to ensure proper environmental protection,
can be identified and defined through the “Procedure” part of the Environmental
Conditions. The report also advised that it would be useful, in amending some of the
Environmental Conditions, for the EPA to provide advice to the Minister for the
Environment on non-proponent management agencies and for a draft “Procedure” to be
prepared for inclusion in the revised Statement.
The implementation of the whole strategy would be assisted by having a single person
who is responsible for ensuring that the whole strategy is implemented. Such a position
should be a very senior one and the role should be cooperative oversight and integration
to ensure the following (at least):
• adequate budget is obtained, for implementation, via a multi-agency program
budget;
• the whole strategy is implemented;
• there is a focus for coordination of agency activities as required;
• disputes between or among agencies are mediated;
• there is a strong conduit established for information flows with the catchment and
general community in the catchment and generally;
• assistance is provided to enable land use changes to occur;
• links to Commonwealth funding are provided for co-ordinated implementation of
on ground works;
• the necessary institutional changes expected by the Commonwealth to access
Commonwealth funding occur; and
• proponent Ministers are informed of difficulties being encountered that require
intervention with their departments.
EPA Advice/Comment - 1
The proponents for the continuing implementation of the Peel-Harvey Strategy
should be the Ministers for Agriculture, Planning and Infrastructure, and
Environment and Heritage with the Chief Executive Officers of the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Planning and Infrastructure and a combination of the
Department of Environmental Protection and the Water and Rivers Commission
being required to fully implement the whole strategy in accordance with the legal
requirements and prioritise the legal requirements within their agency budgets.
EPA Advice/Comment - 2
A senior position needs to be given responsibility for co-ordinating implementation
of the management strategy as outlined above. This position should be very senior
and influential and located with the EPA/EPA Service Unit. The EPA has the
function of examining environmental performance of natural resource
management, and publicly reporting on the achievement of environmental
objectives.
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