Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, I am interested in an update on reserve activity assessments. For a long time, they’ve been a source of real resentment and frustration amongst people who really appreciate protected areas and the maintenance of natural and cultural values. RAAs as you know, it’s not a particularly transparent and open process. It limits public input, for example on compliance with management plans. There are all sorts of levels and, in general, the reserve activity assessment process shuts Tasmanians out of having a say on activities inside their parks. Your predecessor, some ministers ago, but she was a good one, minister Petrusma, made a commitment to review the RAA process to provide a more open and transparent statutory pathway. Are you able to provide any sort of update on what’s happening with reserve activity assessments?
Mr DUIGAN – Yes, I am and let me read it to you.
The Tasmanian government committed to sustainably managing and protecting our state’s natural assets. The Reserve Activity Assessment (RAA) process has been used by Parks to assess use and development proposals since 2005. It allows for decisions on suitability of the proposal. It is also an important risk-management tool for day-to-day and routine management decisions.
And it’s worth noting that 80 per cent of all RAAs are produced by Parks. It is an important tool.
Ms O’CONNOR – They manage the reserves.
Mr DUIGAN – Indeed.
To support best-practice management of Tasmanian reserve land, government released consultation paper which sought feedback on proposed amendments related to the RAA process. Proposed reforms –
Ms O’CONNOR – When was this?
Mr DUIGAN – When was that?
Ms O’CONNOR – That was six or seven years ago maybe.
Mr DUIGAN – Some time ago.
The proposed reforms were subject to extensive public consultation process based on the provision of detailed consultation report outlining the issues and proposed reforms. Interest in the process was significant with 807 submissions. There was strong support for retaining the existing provisions for assessment under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act, LUPA, and that was an important part of the feedback and the current application of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme for proposal on reserve land across many of the submissions and maintaining LUPA allows for retention of existing third-party appeal provisions.
We have listened to the feedback and that is why I have announced in September the government has decided to pursue further reform without amending the National Parks and Reserves Management Act 2002. We will not be introducing a new statutory process for environmental impact assessment on reserve land.
The government remains committed to ongoing reform of the RAA process to further improve transparency, consistency and opportunities for public input into the RAA process. Importantly, improvements to the RAA process over the past four years have resulted in a more consistent, robust process with greater transparency on the significant projects of interest to the community on reserved land. This includes the launch of the online lease and licence portal which supports our transparency agenda through the publication of active leases and licences on reserved land.
The Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to focus on increasing transparency through the publication of RAA assessment guidelines. It will also improve coordination between the RAA process and the planning permit process, further reducing duplication, improving consistency in decision-making and providing clarity about the various LUPA assessment pathways. This work will be undertaken with the advice of State Planning Office.
Our plan changes also include introducing an additional consultation step at the scoping phase of a level 3, which is the complex RAA to draw out key community issues earlier in the process, reporting on progress of level 2 and level 3 RAAs which are underway, publishing further information about the RAA process, including guidelines, ongoing review and improvement as issues are identified. Importantly, we’re not backing away from sustainable and effective management of our natural resources. We remain committed to a balanced, sensible approach to considering proposed developments and use of our natural areas.
Ms O’CONNOR – What does that mean in terms of the timing for there to be a more open and transparent process because you talked about the government remains committed to having a reserve activity assessment process that allows more opportunities for public input. I think I paraphrased you almost correctly. What does that mean in terms of when the public will have more opportunities, and when we’re likely to see some substantive change in reserve activity assessments and how they respond to the need for public consultation over public land development.
Mr DUIGAN – Typically, I think we are almost exclusively in the realm of level 3 RAOs where there is that high-degree of public interest. The new reforms would seek to include some public consultation earlier in the process to better understand what those concerns are likely to be and enable us to address those. That, principally, but happy to have Sophie – obviously, you have more experience with this than me, and would like to hear your view on how that will actually work.
Ms MULLER – As, you know, in addition to some of those strengthening approaches to the level 3 RAOs, we’re also proposing to have a greater degree of transparency around the level 2 decisions as well. That’s what currently in training in terms of the timing. I think we could say that we would expect to see those changes occur in 2026.
Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, has there been any work through Parks – I mean, it’s obviously necessary to return land to Aboriginal people and there are a number of ways you could do that. One of them is through a specific reserve tenure or through an indigenous protected area. Has there been any progress in Parks on working with the Aboriginal community and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the return of some of those lands?
Mr DUIGAN – I’ve certainly had conversations with the previous Minister for Aboriginal Affairs around a lot of those conversations. I must admit that the new portfolio minister and I haven’t circled back to continue those discussions, but I have certainly spoken to a number of Aboriginal organisations to hear their thoughts on how we progress these things. I guess at the moment there isn’t a pressing decision in front of me. I’ve interacted and I’m aware of some of the ones that are likely to progress sooner rather than later.
Ms O’CONNOR – As you know, there’s, for example, an area of land in the Great Western Tiers, Kooparoona Niara, that was set aside as a reserve – not an actual, I think it’s just a conservation area. At the time that that tenure decision was made by a previous predecessor to you, Mr Jaensch, to give it that lower conservation status where even though it abuts the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
At that time, the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, were asking government if that land could be returned to them and managed by Palawa people. Has nothing come across your desk on desk on Kooparoona Niara? Because it was a formal request on the part of the Aboriginal community to have the land returned.
Mr DUIGAN – I don’t think I’ve seen anything. I’m certainly aware, but I don’t believe I’ve seen anything formal recently.
Ms MULLER – The land [inaudible] under our current legislative framework is the responsibility of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
Ms O’CONNOR – Except that she doesn’t manage any land.
Ms MULLER – No, but she’s responsible for the act.
Ms O’CONNOR – I understand that. But I guess I’d say unless there’s a conversation with the Minister for Parks, the biggest land manager – don’t let it go to your head – in Tasmania, then it’s unlikely that the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs will, of her own motion, necessarily decide just to return some of the land you’re managing.
Mr DUIGAN – Again, I guess I would point to those conversations that I had with minister Petrusma, which were about advancing some of those aspirations.
Ms O’CONNOR – It just sounds like it’s sitting off the side of someone’s desk somewhere and not going anywhere. It’s now at least 20 years since lands were returned to Tasmanian Aboriginal people. I think it goes back to 2005, yes, 20 years. Can I ask whether you would perhaps pick that up and have that conversation with minister Archer, because we have to progress this somehow, and there are opportunities in Crown lands and reserves.
Mr DUIGAN – Look, I don’t know whether you’ve spoken to minister Archer yet, but –
Ms O’CONNOR – Not yet: that’s tomorrow.
Mr DUIGAN – I am sure it is one of those things that she’s very much looking to get on the front foot.
