announcements, tablings and committee reports - Parliament of ...

4900 [Tuesday, 29 October 201311 Amendment of section 14: High-water markAfter the stakeholder engagement on the high water mark, itbecame apparent, particularly from the Surveyor-General, thatthe substitution of the high water-mark for a straight lineboundary was no longer necessary as those properties thatwere bounded by the high-water mark would gain or lose landdepending on the natural movement of the high-water mark.Allowing a property owner to determine a fixed line couldpotentially create unfair land grabs of coastal public propertywhich would impact on the public’s access to the beach.The relevant sections have therefore been deleted and theremaining sections clarify the consequences of the high-watermark moving inland.12 Amendment of section 15: Erosion and accretionThis proposed amendment to section 15 of the Act is intendedto align it with National Environmental Management Act andother specific environmental Acts.13 Amendment of section 16: Composition of the coastalprotection zoneThe proposed amendments to section 16 of the Act addresstextual corrections and a technical change to increase thesurface area of flood prone areas as a consequence ofclimate change. Public comments pointed out that relevantparts of rivers were not part of the coastal protection zone andthis is corrected through the proposed amendment to section16(1)(f).The proposed amendment to section 16(1)(i) isintended to refer to flooding only from the sea and not fromstorms upstream from rivers. It is therefore limited to areasadjacent to the other categories of the coastal protection zone.If not, it could potentially cover areas of land that are nowherenear the sea. In addition, the 1:100 year flood line is moreappropriate in light of climate change.ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS NO 147─2013