❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice regarding the Bush Forever program, including clearing of sites, environmental offsets, maintenance, budget, staffing, policy delays, and protection guarantees. The answer reveals funding issues, policy delays, and a lack of guaranteed protection for all sites.
AnsweredQoN 1399Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Further to question on notice No. 1182 to the Minister for Environment, I ask -
(1) Since the inception of Bush Forever, how many Bush Forever sites in the South Metropolitan region have been partially or totally cleared?
(2) For each site in (1), please provide the locations for these areas and reasons for clearing.
(3) Were environmental offsets provided for the loss of any Bush Forever bushland and if so were the offsets ‘like for like’?
(4) How are these sites being maintained, monitored and managed?
(5) What is the current budget for the Bush Forever Program?
(6) What is the FTE staffing level allocated to the Bush Forever Program?
(7) What is the reason for the five-year delay in Draft Bushland policy for the Perth Metropolitan Region statement of planning policy 2.8?
(8) When will the second stage of Bush Forever, known as the ‘Swan Bioplan’, be released or implemented?
(9) Why has the major Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) Amendment for Bush Forever and Related Lands (1082/33) still not been presented to Parliament, five years after being released for public comment?
(10) When will the Department guarantee full protection of all of the 287 areas identified in the Bush Forever Report volumes 1 and 2 (Government of Western Australia, December 2000) and any additional sites added after December 2000, including all the mapped area in those sites identified for ‘Negotiated Planning Solutions’?
(1) Since the inception of Bush Forever, how many Bush Forever sites in the South Metropolitan region have been partially or totally cleared?
(2) For each site in (1), please provide the locations for these areas and reasons for clearing.
(3) Were environmental offsets provided for the loss of any Bush Forever bushland and if so were the offsets ‘like for like’?
(4) How are these sites being maintained, monitored and managed?
(5) What is the current budget for the Bush Forever Program?
(6) What is the FTE staffing level allocated to the Bush Forever Program?
(7) What is the reason for the five-year delay in Draft Bushland policy for the Perth Metropolitan Region statement of planning policy 2.8?
(8) When will the second stage of Bush Forever, known as the ‘Swan Bioplan’, be released or implemented?
(9) Why has the major Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) Amendment for Bush Forever and Related Lands (1082/33) still not been presented to Parliament, five years after being released for public comment?
(10) When will the Department guarantee full protection of all of the 287 areas identified in the Bush Forever Report volumes 1 and 2 (Government of Western Australia, December 2000) and any additional sites added after December 2000, including all the mapped area in those sites identified for ‘Negotiated Planning Solutions’?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
1 December 2009
Responded by
Minister for Child Protection representing the Minister for Planning
Response time
21 days
(1-3) The Department of Environment and Conservation grants clearing permit approval.
(4) All land owners are responsible for the management of native vegetation on their land, including maintenance and monitoring. However, there is no government law or regulation requiring land owners to actively manage their land with the exception of the provision of firebreaks as required by the Local Government.
(5) $100 million was dedicated to the Bush Forever program. Of this amount, $92 million was for the acquisition of land and $8 million was for interim management of sites. To date, $72.7 million has been spent.
(6) When Bush Forever was initiated by the Coalition Government in 2000, three years of funding was allocated for staffing. Under Labor no further funding was allocated. The DoP's State Strategic Policy Directorate has carriage of the day-to-day functions of Bush Forever.
(7) Draft State Planning Policy (SPP) 2.8 is complimentary to the Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment 1082/33 - Bush Forever and Related Lands. The Labor Government did not progress the Bush Forever MRS Amendment. The Liberal National Government is committed to ending the uncertainty and will be addressing the issue over coming months.
(8) Swan Bioplan is a project within the Department of Environment and Conservation portfolio. Therefore, this question should be referred to the Minister for the Environment.
(9) See answer to question (7).
(10) The intention of Bush Forever is for the protection of native bushland on the Swan Coastal Plain portion of the Perth Metropolitan Region. This needs to be balanced with social, economic and environmental objectives. Therefore, the Department of Planning cannot guarantee the full protection of all Bush Forever areas.
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
(4) All land owners are responsible for the management of native vegetation on their land, including maintenance and monitoring. However, there is no government law or regulation requiring land owners to actively manage their land with the exception of the provision of firebreaks as required by the Local Government.
(5) $100 million was dedicated to the Bush Forever program. Of this amount, $92 million was for the acquisition of land and $8 million was for interim management of sites. To date, $72.7 million has been spent.
(6) When Bush Forever was initiated by the Coalition Government in 2000, three years of funding was allocated for staffing. Under Labor no further funding was allocated. The DoP's State Strategic Policy Directorate has carriage of the day-to-day functions of Bush Forever.
(7) Draft State Planning Policy (SPP) 2.8 is complimentary to the Metropolitan Region Scheme Amendment 1082/33 - Bush Forever and Related Lands. The Labor Government did not progress the Bush Forever MRS Amendment. The Liberal National Government is committed to ending the uncertainty and will be addressing the issue over coming months.
(8) Swan Bioplan is a project within the Department of Environment and Conservation portfolio. Therefore, this question should be referred to the Minister for the Environment.
(9) See answer to question (7).
(10) The intention of Bush Forever is for the protection of native bushland on the Swan Coastal Plain portion of the Perth Metropolitan Region. This needs to be balanced with social, economic and environmental objectives. Therefore, the Department of Planning cannot guarantee the full protection of all Bush Forever areas.
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.