[Greens-Media] Media Release: Greens introduce legislation to protect WA's endangered wildlife - 18 October 2012 - Hon Giz Watson MLC

[Jurak, Nina]

Giz Watson MLC
Member for North Metropolitan Region
MEDIA RELEASE
Released Thursday, October 18, 2012

Greens introduce legislation to protect WA's endangered wildlife

The Greens today introduced long overdue changes to protect WA's endangered wildlife into the Legislative Council.

Greens MLC, Giz Watson, introduced the Biodiversity Legislation (Priority Reforms) Bill 2012.

The Bill will:

-              Increase penalties for taking protected plants and animals bringing them back into line with comparable offences under Federal environmental law.

-              Bring the State Administrative Tribunal in to arbitrate on the most environmentally significant clearing proposals.

-              Introduce new clearing principles to the Environmental Protection Act 1986 to deal with matters such as climate change refuges and maintaining ecological linkages.

-              Address the finding of WA's Auditor-General in his 2009 report, 'Rich and Rare: Conservation of Threatened Species'*, to require the assessment and listing of threatened species is done and done in a timely way.


*             The Auditor-General report, 'Rich and Rare: Conservation of Threatened Species' said: "Many of DEC's threatened species activities are not enabled by existing legislation and DEC has created policies to cover these gaps.  The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 does not establish a process for listing and recovering threatened species and does not provide species with adequate protection."

For further comment, contact Giz Watson on 08 9201 0582, Mobile: 0414 837 753

Nina Jurak on behalf of Hon Giz Watson MLC
Electorate Officer
Hon Giz Watson MLC | Member for North Metropolitan Region
T (08) 9201 0582  F (08) 9201 0583  E nina.jurak at mp.wa.gov.au<mailto:nina.jurak at mp.wa.gov.au>
339 Oxford Street, Leederville, WA, 6007
http://www.mp.wa.gov.au/giz-watson

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