Abstract
Environmental law in Australia owes much of its origins to British ancestry, but as a political federation of states and territories, Australia has also looked to other federal jurisdictions in the USA and Canada to help determine appropriate legal responsibilities for protection of the environment and management of natural resources. Environmental assessment of activities at Commonwealth level indeed was initially influenced by the American and Canadian models; but in recent years Australian governments have sought a more refined approach that reflects the realities of a new era of ‘co-operative federalism’ ushered in by the Inter-governmental Agreement on the Environment 1992. The promulgation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBCA) represents the conclusion of this search for the most appropriate statement of Commonwealth/state responsibilities for the environment; and represents the most fundamental reform of Commonwealth responsibility for the environment in the past 30 years.
The Act, which came into force on 16 July 2000, replaces five existing statutes; the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cth); the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (Cth) (EPIP Act); the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (Cth); the Whale Protection Act 1980 (Cth), and the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 (Cth).1 The passage of the Act has been controversial because it appears to limit the legal responsibilities of the federal government to a narrow list of defined circumstances, omitting in the process some environmental issues in Australia that might appear to demand a national approach. The purpose of this paper is to describe the background and philosophy behind the new legislation, and outline the provisions for Commonwealth environmental assessment and approval of actions that might significantly affect the environment.
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