Home » Environmental Offsets Policy
Category Archives: Environmental Offsets Policy
ACT Environmental Offsets announced
Ministers Corbell and Gentleman jointly launched a new EPD (Env & Planning Directorate) register listing offset sites which have been established to compensate for the likely environmental impacts of development. The register is available here…. At least some of the Offset Management Plans expect maintenance work to be undertaken by volunteer ParkCare groups.
For more information and specifics about ACT Govt approach to offsets have a look at the environmental offsets page here…
Environmental Offsets: How they impact our voluntary work
The ACT Government has adopted an environmental offsets policy, which ostensibly enables a valued area of bushland under threat of destruction by development, to be ‘neutralised’ by improving a similar area of bushland.
Lots of us spend our spare time volunteering with various organisations to plant trees, control weeds, and generally doing good environmental work. What would you think if you found out that the work you were doing was actually part of a legally required offset for a large corporation? Or worse still –what if revegetation work you contributed to over many years was retrospectively exchanged for an equivalent amount of environmental damage by a developer? You’d probably be pretty annoyed – and maybe less likely to volunteer for environmental work in the future. (more…)
Environmental Offsets Guidelines
The development of the EPBC Act Offsets assessment guide and the many benefits of bridging the science-policy divide.
Read “The development of the EPBC Act offsets assessment guide”
Environmental offsets submissions
Submissions in response to the draft Environmental Offsets policy can now by seen here.
The trouble with offsets
Environmental offsets are supposed to compensate for ecosystems and biodiversity that are bulldozed to make way for development. But there’s mounting evidence the policy is being subverted, as governments approve controversial offsets across Australia. Di Martin investigates. More…
Exporting bush from the Bush Capital threatens biodiversity
Bushland will be “moved” from the ACT to neighbouring NSW.
This is one recommendation in the ACT government’s draft environmental offset policy, now being finalised in light of public submissions.
In an attempt to balance urban expansion with the ongoing loss of threatened species in the Bush Capital, the ACT government proposes that impacts from development on threatened species in the ACT must be offset by restoring equivalent biodiversity elsewhere, including in NSW.
Environmental Offsets Policy: Environmental Defenders Office view
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.”
ACT Government draft Environmental Offsets Policy
The ACT Government has issued a draft policy dealing with the use of environmental offsets.
Environmental Offsets Policy: Regenerators submission
The Regenerators has submitted a response to the draft ACT Environmental Offsets policy. More…