❓ Hon. McSweeney questions the impact of new drainage regulations, suggesting they may unduly restrict land drainage. Hon. Chance acknowledges the question is outside his portfolio but suggests a permit will be required, offering to investigate further.
AnsweredQoN 694Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
The new notification of intent to drain forms that were released recently state that they will make the process more effective. However, the Environmental Protection Act provides that people cannot drain, burn or flood land if that will cause any substantial damage. It appears to me from the proposed new regulations that people will not be allowed to drain their land. Does this new process reflect the fact that people will need to go straight to the Environmental Protection Authority or the Department of Environmental Protection to get permission to drain, and will it cost anything for people to get that permission? It seems to me that the new regulations will prevent drainage because the 1992 regulations will disappear. Hon KIM CHANCE
AnswerView source ↗
This is not strictly a matter within my portfolio. However, my understanding is that the new regulations will replace the former process of giving notice of intent to drain. It was a legal requirement prior to the adoption of the new regulations under the Environmental Protection Amendment Bill 2002, as it then was, that drainage be monitored through a process laid out within the regulations. I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: This is not strictly a matter within my portfolio. However, my understanding is that the new regulations will replace the former process of giving notice of intent to drain. It was a legal requirement prior to the adoption of the new regulations under the Environmental Protection Amendment Bill 2002, as it then was, that drainage be monitored through a process laid out within the regulations. I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
This is not strictly a matter within my portfolio. However, my understanding is that the new regulations will replace the former process of giving notice of intent to drain. It was a legal requirement prior to the adoption of the new regulations under the Environmental Protection Amendment Bill 2002, as it then was, that drainage be monitored through a process laid out within the regulations. I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
Hon KIM CHANCE replied: This is not strictly a matter within my portfolio. However, my understanding is that the new regulations will replace the former process of giving notice of intent to drain. It was a legal requirement prior to the adoption of the new regulations under the Environmental Protection Amendment Bill 2002, as it then was, that drainage be monitored through a process laid out within the regulations. I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
This is not strictly a matter within my portfolio. However, my understanding is that the new regulations will replace the former process of giving notice of intent to drain. It was a legal requirement prior to the adoption of the new regulations under the Environmental Protection Amendment Bill 2002, as it then was, that drainage be monitored through a process laid out within the regulations. I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
I would imagine that, although I cannot say with certainty, the new regulations replace the procedures that were formerly in place under the notice of intent to drain. I will check for the member but the answer would seem to be that the act of drainage would be illegal without a permit consistent with the provisions of the regulations. In a sense, that is not too different from the notice of intent process, but provides some greater clarity.
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.