The Environmental Defender’s Office (ACT) said:
“As part of the Commonwealth and ACT Government’s ‘one-stop shop’ for environmental approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the ACT is developing an offsets policy. Environmental offsets are said to provide ‘environmental compensation’ for development impacts on sites that contain matters of national environmental significance, such as threatened species or communities like Yellow Box–Red Gum Woodland. The EDO has serious concerns about the establishment of an offset policy in the ACT. The idea that impacts on such unique matters of national environmental significance can simply be offset, is deeply concerning and in many cases it will not be possible to offset impacts on specific unique places and species. Click here to read the EDO (ACT) submission on the ACT Environmental Offsets Policy.”