Mr MITCHELL - 2000-02-24
Following on from the member for Blain’s question to the Chief Minister regarding the proposed prawn farm project out at Shoal Bay, can the minister advise of the processes that will be followed after the release of the public environmental report?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is worthwhile having a look at the process of a PER under the environment legislation for members’ and Territorians’ sake, so that we can understand how it works.
I will give you a bit of history on this project. The proponents of the aquaculture venture, Mr Phelps and Mr Panizza, have been working for quite some time to get a substantial aquaculture venture going in the Northern Territory, and they began looking around the Darwin environs back in about 1996. So they have put a lot of effort in trying to locate a position.
They first started looking around the Blackmore River, but unfortunately due to native title implications and some other constraints, they were not able to use that particular location. They’ve settled finally on a site on the Howard River, as the member for Millner said, the Shoal Bay area, and the proponents of that venture have been told that for that site there is a necessity for a public environmental report to be done. They were informed of that on 30 June 1999, and my department then developed guidelines for the proponents and delivered those on 13 August 1999.
The consultant firm, Dames and Moore, were engaged by the proponents. A PER - just for everybody’s information - is designed to, or intended to, raise questions about potential impacts on the environment and the flora and fauna and so on. So it raises the questions and then looks at how to answer those questions in relation to measuring any potential impact. That’s what a PER is all about.
I was forwarded a preliminary copy, just last night. I know that some of the members of the opposition have had the opportunity to at least be briefed across, at least the executive summary, and the PER as well, which is great on behalf of the proponents. They’re doing a great job in making sure that everybody is aware and there’s a lot of transparency in the process.
The normal period for public review under the provisions of the Environment Assessment Act is 28 days for public comment. But, as the Chief Minister said, this is a proposal that has the potential to raise some concerns in the community, and to that extent, I’ve asked that the public comment phase of this proposal be extended from 28 days to 8 weeks. From one month to at least 2 months.
The document will be on public display at the Environment and Heritage Division of the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, the State Reference Library, Parliament House, Darwin City Library, Casuarina Public Library, Palmerston Town Council Library, and the Litchfield Shire offices. Copies can also be purchased from Dames and Moore.
Interested persons and organisations are invited to make written submissions to one of my officers at the Environment and Heritage Division, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, and all information is being advertised in local papers. All public submissions received will be forwarded to the proponent to prepare a supplement to the PER addressing the issues raised in the submissions. The PER will also be circulated to relevant government agencies for their comments and a compendium of those comments is sent to the proponent to address any issues raised.
It is then up to my department to prepare a report and recommendations for my consideration that take into account all public submissions, government agency comments, and the supplementary information in the PER. As the Chief Minister said this morning, he has also directed me to secure an outside assessment of this report by a private independent consultant, so I will be doing that as well. Government then makes a decision on whether the proposal can proceed and, if so, under what parameters and conditions and, once looking at the concerns raised, I can also ask for additional information.
The community can be assured that the government is committed to very effective environmental management of the Darwin Harbour. I have outlined all of the work that has been done in a statement during this sitting, some 230-odd studies to date, and we will ensure that any potential impacts on our harbour and coastal environment are minimised. I certainly encourage all people to get a copy of this report when it is released on Saturday and I encourage everybody who is interested – and I am sure most Territorians are interested in this particular subject – to make comment.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is worthwhile having a look at the process of a PER under the environment legislation for members’ and Territorians’ sake, so that we can understand how it works.
I will give you a bit of history on this project. The proponents of the aquaculture venture, Mr Phelps and Mr Panizza, have been working for quite some time to get a substantial aquaculture venture going in the Northern Territory, and they began looking around the Darwin environs back in about 1996. So they have put a lot of effort in trying to locate a position.
They first started looking around the Blackmore River, but unfortunately due to native title implications and some other constraints, they were not able to use that particular location. They’ve settled finally on a site on the Howard River, as the member for Millner said, the Shoal Bay area, and the proponents of that venture have been told that for that site there is a necessity for a public environmental report to be done. They were informed of that on 30 June 1999, and my department then developed guidelines for the proponents and delivered those on 13 August 1999.
The consultant firm, Dames and Moore, were engaged by the proponents. A PER - just for everybody’s information - is designed to, or intended to, raise questions about potential impacts on the environment and the flora and fauna and so on. So it raises the questions and then looks at how to answer those questions in relation to measuring any potential impact. That’s what a PER is all about.
I was forwarded a preliminary copy, just last night. I know that some of the members of the opposition have had the opportunity to at least be briefed across, at least the executive summary, and the PER as well, which is great on behalf of the proponents. They’re doing a great job in making sure that everybody is aware and there’s a lot of transparency in the process.
The normal period for public review under the provisions of the Environment Assessment Act is 28 days for public comment. But, as the Chief Minister said, this is a proposal that has the potential to raise some concerns in the community, and to that extent, I’ve asked that the public comment phase of this proposal be extended from 28 days to 8 weeks. From one month to at least 2 months.
The document will be on public display at the Environment and Heritage Division of the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, the State Reference Library, Parliament House, Darwin City Library, Casuarina Public Library, Palmerston Town Council Library, and the Litchfield Shire offices. Copies can also be purchased from Dames and Moore.
Interested persons and organisations are invited to make written submissions to one of my officers at the Environment and Heritage Division, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, and all information is being advertised in local papers. All public submissions received will be forwarded to the proponent to prepare a supplement to the PER addressing the issues raised in the submissions. The PER will also be circulated to relevant government agencies for their comments and a compendium of those comments is sent to the proponent to address any issues raised.
It is then up to my department to prepare a report and recommendations for my consideration that take into account all public submissions, government agency comments, and the supplementary information in the PER. As the Chief Minister said this morning, he has also directed me to secure an outside assessment of this report by a private independent consultant, so I will be doing that as well. Government then makes a decision on whether the proposal can proceed and, if so, under what parameters and conditions and, once looking at the concerns raised, I can also ask for additional information.
The community can be assured that the government is committed to very effective environmental management of the Darwin Harbour. I have outlined all of the work that has been done in a statement during this sitting, some 230-odd studies to date, and we will ensure that any potential impacts on our harbour and coastal environment are minimised. I certainly encourage all people to get a copy of this report when it is released on Saturday and I encourage everybody who is interested – and I am sure most Territorians are interested in this particular subject – to make comment.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016