Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities Annual Report 2011–12

Evaluation and conclusions

Protection of matters of national environmental significance

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  The department continued to assess large, complex and economically significant projects from all industry sectors under the EPBC Act in 2011–12. Of the 412 new referrals received, 151 referrals were determined not to be a controlled action, 94 referrals were determined not to be a controlled action subject to being undertaken in a particular manner and 132 referrals were determined to require formal assessment and approval under the EPBC Act. Seventy-five proposals were approved under the EPBC Act and one project was deemed clearly unacceptable by the minister.
  
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  The Commonwealth entered into four new strategic assessments in 2011–12, including a comprehensive strategic assessment for developments and activities that may impact on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. In 2011–12, the minister endorsed and/or approved three strategic assessments, including:
  
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    Molonglo Valley plan, Australian Capital Territory
    
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    Western Sydney growth centres, New South Wales
    
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    Midlands water scheme, Tasmania (involving three stages, with two stages approved as of 30 June 2012).
    
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  Based on assessments completed by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, the minister listed six new species, including the listing of the koala as vulnerable in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, and six ecological communities as threatened under the EPBC Act. Guidelines and landholder factsheets were also published
  for seven ecological communities.
  
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  There were 448 new incidents reported to the department, which were assessed for compliance. Sixty site inspections were undertaken to obtain information to assess whether alleged non-compliance actions had occurred. The department audited, or commenced auditing, six EPBC Act-approved projects under the random compliance auditing program and focused on 13 EPBC Act-approved projects under the strategic risk-based audit program.
  
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  A number of significant investigation-related activities were completed, resulting in 14 successful criminal prosecutions, six infringement notices, one enforceable undertaking and one conservation agreement.
  
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  During 2011–12, 14 reviews of wildlife permit holder compliance were conducted. Of these reviews, all 14 were completed and finalised. Two thousand four hundred and twenty-five seizure and caution notices were issued by Australian enforcement authorities for the import of suspected CITES specimens without appropriate permission.
  
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  The department worked closely with partner agencies to manage wildlife compliance by sharing intelligence and resources. This included state and territory wildlife counterparts, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Federal Police, CITES Management Authorities in other countries, Interpol, and some non-government organisations. The department has continued to provide information sessions to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to assist with their enforcement of CITES at Australian borders. Sessions have been held in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne and included both new-recruit and in-service training.
  
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  The department continued to participate in the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT), becoming the Chair of CAWT from 1 May 2012. The department draws on its ongoing CITES-related activities and initiatives on illegal wildlife trade to implement CAWT objectives.
  
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  The department, in partnership with the relevant state and territory government environment agencies, made substantial investment in the recovery of threatened species and ecological communities through developing and implementing recovery plans. The minister or his delegate approved the adoption of 27 national recovery plans under the EPBC Act, covering 36 species and nine ecological communities.
  
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  A regional recovery plan for threatened biodiversity on King Island was finalised ready for adoption under the EPBC Act. The plan was developed by the Tasmanian Government in consultation with the King Island community and the department. Upon adoption, it will add to the five other regional recovery plans adopted in recent years to better integrate recovery with other planning initiatives across a defined area of the landscape.
  
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  Significant progress has been made on regional recovery plans for the Fitzgerald Biosphere, Christmas Island and Mary River, as well as 24 ecological community plans, 77 single species plans and 20 multi-species plans.
  
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  The Species Profile and Threats database collates information about listed species and ecological communities. A total of 131 new or updated profiles were undertaken in 2011–12.
  
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  The department worked closely with CSIRO to develop a method for carrying out a national flying fox monitoring program, due to commence in 2012–13.
  
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  During 2011–12 the department supported the minister in finalising a new bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Western Australia, and in clarifying the roles of the Commonwealth and Queensland under their existing agreement. As of 30 June 2012, bilateral agreements were in place between the Commonwealth and all jurisdictions except New South Wales.
  

Photo of Quality Row, Kingston, Norfolk Island. (Mark Mohell)

Photo of Old Government House & the Government Domain. (Steve Wray)

The Supervising Scientist Division

Case Study 1: National Heritage listing of the West Kimberley

In August 2011 this magnificent region was given Australia’s highest form of heritage recognition by being included in the National Heritage List. The West Kimberley National Heritage place covers more than 19million hectares of land and sea and includes the north Kimberley coast and islands from Cape Leveque to Cambridge Gulf, the Kimberley Plateau, King Leopold Ranges, Devonian Reef, Roebuck Bay and the Fitzroy River and its floodplain.

The West Kimberley assessment was one of the largest and most complex ever undertaken by the Australian Heritage Council and a dedicated team of officers in the department.

Departmental staff consulted widely to bring together all of the outstanding Aboriginal, historic, natural and aesthetic heritage values of the region. The heritage team worked closely with the Kimberley Land Council and Kimberley Traditional Owners to identify Indigenous heritage values and stories. Thirteen native title groups participated in the national heritage assessment process and gave their informed consent to the inclusion of their stories and their traditional land and sea country in the listing. Some of those values include the well-known painted images of Wanjina and other creator beings and ancestors found in numerous rock shelters and caves across the region. These paintings represent a stunning visual record of an ongoing Aboriginal painting tradition that is considered one of the longest and most complex rock art sequences anywhere in the world.

The West Kimberley National Heritage listing also provides insights into the biological and geological processes that have shaped our continent. The place preserves a unique record of ancient life in Australia, including the only prints of a sauropod (a large, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaur) found on the continent, and the Gogo fish fossils, whose remarkable preservation provides a rare insight into the evolution of life on earth, including the development of live birth and the earliest four-limbed vertebrates. The National Heritage values of the West Kimberley National Heritage place are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The listing will help to ensure that heritage values are part of decision making and heritage protection will be balanced with the social and economic aspirations of the Kimberley community.

Top left: Bardi dancer Frank Davey Jr. with Minister Tony Burke at One Arm Point on the day the West Kimberley was included on the National Heritage List. Permission granted to use the photograph from the Kimberley Land Council. (A. Tatnell)

Top right: The Devonian Reef at Windjana Gorge in the West Kimberley National Heritage place. (D. Harkess)

Left: Dinosaur trackways in the Broome sandstone in the West Kimberley National Heritage place. (D. Harkess)

Case Study 2: Australia protects US warships lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea

The stars of the ceremony were four Coral Sea veterans. Two Australian veterans from the battle, Mr Derek Holyoake and Mr Gordon Johnson, both served on the HMAS Hobart. Mr Johnson told of his experience as a young radio operator on the Hobart and gave an interesting historical perspective of the battle.

Two United States veterans, Mr J Harry Frey and Mr Cecil Wiswell, who both served on the USS Lexington, also attended. Mr Frey delighted the audience by telling how he had the presence of mind to liberate the ships’ containment of pineapple sorbet as everyone was ordered to abandon ship, carrying in his helmet and sharing it with his shipmates as they waited for rescue.

The declaration coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, in which the ships were sunk. The Battle of the Coral Sea saw the genesis of the alliance between Australia and the United States.

This work is part of the department’s ongoing cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that was formalised in 2010 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on maritime and underwater cultural heritage. The shipwreck positions were identified as a result of archival research led by the department and NOAA in the United States. To coincide with the announcement of the declarations, the department also gave a presentation on shared maritime heritage to staff at the NOAA headquarters in WashingtonDC.

To mark the declaration of these three shipwrecks the department produced a booklet titled Friends across the Pacific: Shared WWII maritime heritage of Australia and the United States.

Mr Gordon Johnson, US Ambassador to Australia, Jeff Bleich and Minister Tony Burke. (Andrew Tatnell)

Case Study 3: Listing of koalas

It is widely recognised that koalas are under serious threat from habitat loss, urban expansion, vehicle strikes, dogs and disease. However these threats are not evenly distributed, with koala populations seriously declining in some parts of the country but remaining stable (or even increasing) in other areas. In some parts of Victoria and South Australia, koalas are eating themselves out of suitable foraging habitat and need to be actively managed. This is why the minister listed Australia’s most at-risk populations in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, as threatened under national environmental law. Funding was also announced under the National Environmental Research Program ‘Emerging Priorities’ to help find out more about koala habitat and fill information gaps that will assist with future conservation of koala populations.

More information can be found at .

Photo of a baby koala clinging onto sapling branches. (Dave Watts)

Further case studies related to protection of matters of national environmental significance can be found in the report on the operation of the EPBC Act.

Case Study 4: A new paradigm for assessing water quality performance downstream of the Ranger uranium mine

To ensure the protection of the Ramsar-listed Magela Creek wetlands downstream of the Ranger mine, and the people who live there, the department conducts a comprehensive water quality monitoring program, including continuous monitoring of key water quality variables. This monitoring shows that concentrations of mine-derived solutes in the Magela Creek downstream from the Ranger mine can fluctuate rapidly due to changes in creek discharge and mine-water discharge.

These fluctuations result in exposure levels of aquatic organisms to mine waters that are different to the laboratory toxicity tests which apply a constant concentration and longer duration of exposure. The laboratory tests are used to produce site-specific trigger values, which represent ‘safe’ levels above which environmental harm could occur for the key mine-derived solutes. As such, these trigger levels may overestimate the effects of shorter-time exposures of mine waters.

To address this issue, the department completed a major project to quantify the toxic effects of short-duration pulse exposures of magnesium to six local aquatic species (see ). Magnesium was assessed because it is the primary indicator of mine inputs to Magela Creek, and is also the one that is most likely to approach or exceed its water quality trigger value. Pulse exposure durations of four, eight and 24 hours were tested, based on analysis of five years’ of continuous monitoring data.

The ultimate aim of the project is to develop a model from which water quality trigger values can be inferred for any given exposure duration measured in Magela Creek.

Using the Australian and New Zealand Water Quality Guidelines methodology, toxicity data obtained from over 50 tests were used to derive trigger values for both magnesium and electrical conductivity (Table 1). Electrical conductivity is the key variable that is continuously monitored in Magela Creek and can be used to reliably estimate magnesium.

Toxicity testing in the laboratory. (Andrew Harford)

Table 1: Water quality trigger values for magnesium and electrical conductivity for different exposure durations

Figure 1: Model of the relationship between water quality trigger value (for magnesium and electrical conductivity) and exposure duration

The model allows trigger values to be inferred for any pulse duration between four and 72 hours. During the 2012–13 wet season, this model will form the basis for a magnesium/electrical conductivity trigger value framework that will enable improved interpretation of the potential for environmental effect of transient pulses of electrical conductivity (and magnesium) in Magela Creek downstream of the Ranger mine.

This project highlights how the Supervising Scientist Division is continuing to develop improved water quality assessment methods through targeted research.