❓ A parliamentary question regarding environmental offset agreements in Western Australia, including the number, value, compliance, and staffing related to these agreements. The answer provides some data and clarifies departmental responsibilities.
AnsweredQoN 6822Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
With regard to recent public criticism over the issue of environmental offsets, I ask:
(a) how many offset agreements have the Department of Environment and Conservation (or its predecessors) entered into with proponents in Western Australia;
(b) what is the total dollar value of those offset agreements;
(c) are there any cases in which the offset agreements have not been fulfilled as required by the conditions of the agreement and if yes, please provide details;
(d) will the Minister detail the ten largest offset agreements between proponents and the Department of Environment and Conservation in dollar terms including the proponent name and the project to which the offset is related; and
(i) if not, why not; and
(e) how many Department of Environment and Conservation Full Time Equivalent staff are dedicated to ensuring compliance with the terms of the offset agreements?
(a) how many offset agreements have the Department of Environment and Conservation (or its predecessors) entered into with proponents in Western Australia;
(b) what is the total dollar value of those offset agreements;
(c) are there any cases in which the offset agreements have not been fulfilled as required by the conditions of the agreement and if yes, please provide details;
(d) will the Minister detail the ten largest offset agreements between proponents and the Department of Environment and Conservation in dollar terms including the proponent name and the project to which the offset is related; and
(i) if not, why not; and
(e) how many Department of Environment and Conservation Full Time Equivalent staff are dedicated to ensuring compliance with the terms of the offset agreements?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 February 2012
Responded by
Minister for Environment
Response time
88 days
(a)-(b) For data on offset funds, by project, received by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) from 2008/09 to 31 December 2011, [see tabled paper no].There have been 112 offsets implemented for clearing permits between July 2004 and 31 December 2011, of which two have involved funding to DEC, both for purchase of land for conservation.
(c) DEC is not responsible for compliance with the Ministerial conditions of an implementation agreement under the Environmental Protection Act or conditions imposed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
There have been three letters of warning in respect of offsets that were required as a condition of a clearing permit. There have been no prosecutions.
(d)-(i) [see tabled paper no]
(e) DEC does not undertake compliance activities for offsets under Ministerial conditions or the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as the conditions are not imposed by DEC.
The Office of the Environmental Protection Authority has 12 FTEs responsible for determining compliance with Ministerial conditions.
Six FTEs in DEC are responsible for determining compliance with the clearing provisions, including offset requirements. A further 3.85 FTEs have compliance as part of their responsibilities.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(c) DEC is not responsible for compliance with the Ministerial conditions of an implementation agreement under the Environmental Protection Act or conditions imposed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
There have been three letters of warning in respect of offsets that were required as a condition of a clearing permit. There have been no prosecutions.
(d)-(i) [see tabled paper no]
(e) DEC does not undertake compliance activities for offsets under Ministerial conditions or the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as the conditions are not imposed by DEC.
The Office of the Environmental Protection Authority has 12 FTEs responsible for determining compliance with Ministerial conditions.
Six FTEs in DEC are responsible for determining compliance with the clearing provisions, including offset requirements. A further 3.85 FTEs have compliance as part of their responsibilities.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.