Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

First Nations people have been looking after country for tens of thousands of years.

They have an enduring connection to the land, sea and sky.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for country and been a significant part of shaping the environment and supporting the remarkable, unique biodiversity we experience in Australia today.

Their knowledge, connection to place and cultural practices have contributed to the positive environmental outcomes that benefit all Australians.

Our jointly managed Commonwealth reserves—Kakadu National Park, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Booderee National Park—are located on Aboriginal land. The traditional owners of that land are actively involved in the protection of the environment through participation in the management of their land—spaces which both sustain and share the experience of Australia's biodiversity and cultural landscapes.

These reserves are managed by the Director of National Parks under a lease with Indigenous people and through a board of management with majority traditional owner representation. Each of the boards of management is currently chaired by a traditional owner.

These boards are responsible for making decisions about the management of Commonwealth reserves.

However, their ability to make decisions stops when a management plan expires.

If that occurs, the role of traditional owners in the decision-making processes is removed, reducing that critical involvement in the management of their land.

This bill will address and overcome this limitation through a minor technical amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The bill will allow the board to continue making decisions after a management plan expires, provided those decisions are consistent with the expired management plan, just as they would have been consistent with the management plan while it was afoot.

This is a sensible change that will maintain the board's decision-making ability until a new management plan comes into effect.

This bill is being introduced to parliament ahead of the broader reforms to the EPBC Act to ensure the critical functioning of the board and the voices of traditional owners in the management of their land is maintained while we're working to deliver the broader reforms that are required to ensure we have a fit-for-purpose national environmental protection framework.

This is a step towards delivering the government's commitment for more traditional owner control over the management of country, and it is consistent with the recommendations of the independent review of the EPBC Act that were provided to but never acted upon by the coalition government.

Debate adjourned.

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