❓ A member of parliament asks detailed questions about the management, funding, and potential resource exploration activities related to the Bernier and Dorre Islands Nature Reserve. The answers provided largely defer to publicly available documents or suggest more specific questions be directed to relevant ministers.
AnsweredQoN 5625Legislative Assembly
Asked
15 October 2019
Member
Portfolio
Environment; Disability Services; Electoral Affairs
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to Bernier and Dorre Islands Nature Reserve, and ask: (a) What is the total area of the Nature Reserve; (b) What is the reserve classification for the Nature Reserve or its various components and what protection does this provide; (c) Who is the legal owner of the various land areas within the Nature Reserve and are there any arrangements with native title holders for either ownership or management.; (d) Does the Nature Reserve have a management plan; (e) How much funding has been allocated by the government to manage the Nature Reserve for each of the past two financial years; (f) How many government Full-Time Equivalent staff have been allocated to managing this Nature Reserve for each of the past two financial years; (g) Are there any rangers assigned to assist with the management of the Nature Reserve, and if so, how many, and what is their time allocation for each of the past two financial years; (h) If yes to (g), are any of the rangers of indigenous descent and are any related to the local native title holders; (i) What funding is planned for the 2019-2020 financial year towards managing the Nature Reserve and what will be the primary activities or tasks undertaken; (j) Are there any applications or inquiries by any companies or other corporate bodies to explore or mine either minerals, oil or gas in or under the Nature Reserve; (k) If yes to (j), what area of the Nature Reserve would be impacted and what is the status of the application or enquiry; (l) Are there any plans to excise or expand the Nature Reserve and if so what area is involved and where will this be; (m) Is there a local volunteer body that has been endorsed by the department to undertake any conservation or management tasks for this Nature Reserve; and (n) If yes to (m), what is the name of the body, is it incorporated and how many members does it have?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
11 February 2020
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Environment; Disability Services; Electoral Affairs
Response time
16 days
(a) Information including the total area of parks and reserves managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is available in the department’s annual report.
(b)-(c) Please see tabled paper no #.
(d) A list of all DBCA’s management plans is available on the department’s website.
(e) The total expenditure on conservation parks and reserves by the State Government for previous periods is available in the department’s annual reports. The budgets for several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, therefore a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided.
(f) Given many staff work on more than one park or reserve, and several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided.
(g) Total Full-Time Equivalent for all DBCA employees, including rangers for all parks and reserves across the last two years is available in the department’s annual reports. As several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided for each ranger in each park.
(h) There are currently 93 employees in DBCA’s Parks and Wildlife Service that identify as Indigenous Australians. The department does not collect information on relatives of employees.
(i) Projected total funding across parks and reserves for the 2019-20 financial year is available in the 2019-20 Budget statements.
(j) Exploration applications are the responsibility of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. If the Member has a query about a particular application, I suggest he asks a more specific question to the appropriate Minister.
(k) Not applicable.
(l) Excisions and expansions to parks and reserves occur from time to time for a range of reasons.
(m) There are numerous local volunteer bodies that undertake multiple tasks across the various parks and reserves in Western Australia. If the Member has a query about a particular volunteer group, I suggest he asks a more specific question.
(n) Not applicable.
(b)-(c) Please see tabled paper no #.
(d) A list of all DBCA’s management plans is available on the department’s website.
(e) The total expenditure on conservation parks and reserves by the State Government for previous periods is available in the department’s annual reports. The budgets for several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, therefore a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided.
(f) Given many staff work on more than one park or reserve, and several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided.
(g) Total Full-Time Equivalent for all DBCA employees, including rangers for all parks and reserves across the last two years is available in the department’s annual reports. As several parks and reserves can be grouped in the department’s financial management system, a definitive budget amount cannot easily be provided for each ranger in each park.
(h) There are currently 93 employees in DBCA’s Parks and Wildlife Service that identify as Indigenous Australians. The department does not collect information on relatives of employees.
(i) Projected total funding across parks and reserves for the 2019-20 financial year is available in the 2019-20 Budget statements.
(j) Exploration applications are the responsibility of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. If the Member has a query about a particular application, I suggest he asks a more specific question to the appropriate Minister.
(k) Not applicable.
(l) Excisions and expansions to parks and reserves occur from time to time for a range of reasons.
(m) There are numerous local volunteer bodies that undertake multiple tasks across the various parks and reserves in Western Australia. If the Member has a query about a particular volunteer group, I suggest he asks a more specific question.
(n) Not applicable.
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