❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Minister's decision to withhold details of additional conservation sites being considered beyond the Bush Forever program, questioning the transparency and process of site assessment. The Minister defends the process, citing incomplete assessments from the previous government and the need to protect landowners from unsubstantiated nominations.
AnsweredQoN 975Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the recent report in The West Australian of the minister’s refusal to release details of additional sites being considered for conservation, over and above those already incorporated into the Bush Forever program - (1) What is the basis of the minister’s decision that it is against the public interest to release details of the additional sites being considered? (2) When will the review of these additional sites be completed? (3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(1) What is the basis of the minister’s decision that it is against the public interest to release details of the additional sites being considered? (2) When will the review of these additional sites be completed? (3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(2) When will the review of these additional sites be completed? (3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(1) What is the basis of the minister’s decision that it is against the public interest to release details of the additional sites being considered? (2) When will the review of these additional sites be completed? (3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(2) When will the review of these additional sites be completed? (3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(3) Why has the minister apparently chosen to abandon the Bush Forever process, for which there was widespread public agreement, in favour of a new secret assessment process that seeks to go well beyond the goals that were mutually agreed upon just two years ago? Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
(1)-(3) I thank the member for the question. The process was started not under this Government but under the previous Government. In the rush before the last election to announce the Bush Forever program sites, it was not possible to assess some 110 sites. I understand the Bush Forever program document was prepared, after which a number of submissions were made involving 110 sites. Many of the nominations were from individuals in the community and some were from conservation groups. Basically the submissions had been received but there was no time to assess them before the Government sought to finalise the Bush Forever program. Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mr Masters: That was after the Bush Forever final list had been prepared. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand the list was certainly assembled before we got into government. I share the concern of the member for Vasse. The whole concept of the Bushplan and the Bush Forever program was to introduce the right balance between protection and certainty for those areas of bushland that needed to be preserved and some certainty for the development of industry. When we came into government, the list of 110 sites was just hanging there. Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mrs Edwardes: It had been discarded. Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I understand it had not been discarded. It was in not the member for Kingsley’s portfolio, but that of the former Minister for Planning. The list of 110 sites had been left in a state in which it needed to be dealt with. Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mrs Edwardes: In discussions with me, the minister said that there was no longer a list. Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: I am sorry; I am answering the question that was asked of me by the member for Vasse, who I think is genuinely interested in hearing the answer. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have undertaken an assessment process of the list of 110 sites. The list is now down to 18 sites, of which six are privately owned. There is some indication that those sites might fit within the Bush Forever program criteria. The sites will need to be assessed in the same sort of formal way that the Bushplan sites were assessed before the establishment of the program. Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Mr Masters: When will those six private landowners be told? Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
Ms MacTIERNAN: They and the public landowners will be advised within the next two weeks of the process to complete that assessment. The first list was not produced because it was based purely on nominations from the public, without any assessment having been undertaken of the validity of a particular nomination. The nominations could have been immensely damaging to the landowners concerned. An ex-wife could have nominated someone’s block of land even though there was no merit whatsoever in the nomination. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Environmental Protection have worked together on a mutually agreed list which needs to be subject to the full rigours of investigation by the Western Australian Planning Commission and the Environmental Protection Authority. We are hoping to re-engage the committee that included the Urban Development Institute of Australia and the Urban Bushland Council, so the 18 sites that appear to pass muster can be examined and a decision finally made as to whether they will be brought into the fold. We will certainly make sure that all the landowners are given that information in the next two weeks. We will also consider a system in which anyone who is considering purchasing land can check whether it is one of those six sites.
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