A parliamentary question regarding the lack of progress on Ramsar nominations for Lake MacLeod and the Tributaries of the lower Blackwood River, focusing on stakeholder consultation and transparency. The Minister's response indicates no further action is planned.

AnsweredQoN 1208Legislative Council
Asked
14 February 2023
Portfolio
Environment

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the Minister’s responses to questions on notice 785 and 1005, and I ask: (a) is unanimous support of stakeholders required for every Ramsar nomination; (b) were stakeholders with vested financial interests permitted to veto the potential Ramsar nominations for Lake MacLeod and the Tributaries of the lower Blackwood; (c) how many stakeholders were consulted and how many submissions were received
concerning the potential Ramsar nomination of the Tributaries of the Lower
Blackwood; (d) how many of the submissions referred to in (c) were supportive of the nomination
and how many were opposed to it; (e) why did the Government only consult local stakeholders and those with
vested financial interests in the area proposed for nomination; (f) why wasn’t the broader WA community invited to comment on both proposed
nominations as they concern matters of national and international importance; (g) will the Minister provide copies of the Ramsar Information Sheets prepared
for public consultation for Lake MacLeod and the Tributaries of the Lower
Blackwood; (h) onsidering the time elapsed since the previous consultation and the broad
scientific support for these nominations, are there any plans for further consultation that is more inclusive of the WA community; and (i) if no to (h), why not?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
14 March 2023
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Environment
Response time
6 days
(a) No.
(b) No.
(c) Targeted consultation was undertaken with 21 individuals or organisations on the preparation of the Ecological Character Description for the Tributaries of the Lower Blackwood River.
(d) The targeted consultation was to obtain technical information as part of development of the Ecological Character Description.
(e) The proposed nomination of the Tributaries of the Lower Blackwood River did not proceed to formal consultation.
(f) The broader WA community was not formally consulted about either proposed nomination, as work on the nominations did not proceed.
(g) The Ramsar Information Sheets were not prepared for the purpose of public consultation and remain in draft form until such time as the Ramsar Site Nomination is considered by the Australian Government.
(h) No.
(i) There are currently no plans to further progress Ramsar nominations for Lake McLeod and the Tributaries of the Lower Blackwood River.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more