'New South Wales, Commercial Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan, 2007-2012'On the 28th February 2007, the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia lodged an Appeal with the Federal Administration Appeals Tribunal in Sydney, over the NSW 2007 to 2011 commercial Kangaroo Kill. We made application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal seeking review of the decision of the Federal Minister for Environment, Mr Ian Campbell to declare the 'New South Wales, Commercial Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan, 2007-2011' (the Plan) an approved Wildlife Trade Management Plan on 19 December 2006 pursuant to section 303FO of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). We seek review of the Minister's decision on the following grounds: 1 The Plan is inconsistent with the objects of Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). 2 The assessment of the environmental impacts of the activities covered by the Plan is inadequate. 3 The management controls within the plan directed towards ensuring that the impacts of the activities covered by the plan on: · the taxon affected by the plan · the taxa to be affected by activities covered by the plan; and · the relevant ecosystems; are not ecologically sustainable. 4 The activities covered by the Plan will be detrimental to: · the survival of a taxon to which the plan relates; · the conservation status of a taxon to which the plan relates; and · the relevant ecosystems. 5 The measures within the Plan will not be effective to: · mitigate and or minimise the environmental impact of the activities covered by the Plan; and · monitor the environmental impact of the activities covered by the Plan; and · respond to the changes in the environmental impact of the activities of the Plan. 6 It is unlikely that the conditions required under regulation 9A.05(4) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 (Cth) will be complied with. 7 There is no effective legislation in the State of New South Wales relating to the protection, conservation or management of specimens to which the Plan relates. **************************************************************** Note: This will be the last AAT Appeal we will ever be able to mount. Late last year (2006) the Federal Government amended the EPBC Act to prevent any interest group challenging the Ministers decision on wildlife managemnet plans. If the Ministers delegate approves a wildlife kill plan (not likely), we can Appeal, but not if the Minister approves it. However there are options available to us under State and Federal legislation, but the costs are usually exorbitant.
On the 23rd of April 2007, a Directions Hearing was held. The Directions Hearing into the AAT Appeal against the Federal Minister's decision to approve the 2007 to 2012 NSW Kangaroo Management Plan was heard by video-conference in Sydney. As I was in Sydney to do a Press Conference, I attended in person. Not surprisingly, the AGS solicitor flagged that they would be intending to challenge some of the issues we had already pointed out as being matters of concern. The Australian Government Solicitor claimed some of these matters had been heard before in previous Appeals. However the President stated that he would not be easy to convince that these matters should not be heard again. He pointed out that it would be improper to discount previously heard matters, as new information may now be available. However, when it came to timelines, he felt it more appropriate for our solicitors and the Australian Government Solicitor to decide what these timelines should be. He has stood over the Directions Hearing until Wed. 30th of May. We are okay to attend the Hearings by video-conference, but he felt that our solicitors and the AGS should agree on timelines prior to the Hearings. There is no urgency on our part, or on the respondents part. Two of our lay witnesses are overseas, and I am still talking to potential expert witnesses about our claims of sustainability. As I have discussed before with our solicitors, I believe un-sustainability, cruelty, hygiene, and serious breaches of the Management Plan appear to be our best legal options. Our solicitors agree.
To make a donation to help us with costs, please go to the Donation Page! Updated 26/1/08 27th October 2007 the NSW Government in the form of the Director General of the Dept of Environment and Climate Change applied to join the Appeal. We made no objection but expressed concern that they might flood the Appeal with useless witnesses and documents designed to cripple the Appeal process. *********************** Our Adminstrative Appeal into the "2007 t0 2012 NSW Kangaroo Mangagement Plan" will be heard in Sydney on the 31st March, 1st and 2nd of April, with the 3rd and 4th of April being held over in case of need. Unfortunately the Australian Government Solicitors (AGS) have failed to produce their response yet to our Statement of Reasons, and have asked for an extension of time. This will give us very little time to respond to their Statements of Evidence before the Appeal commences. We do know that the AAT hearings will be before Phillip Hack, SC, and Dr Timothy Hawcroft BVSc (Hons) MACVS. Philip Hack SC Full-time Deputy President, Qld Philip Hack took office as an AAT Deputy President on 9 January 2006 after a career as a barrister in private practice extending over some 23 years. He was admitted to practice as a barrister in 1981 and commenced private practice the following year. He was appointed Senior Counsel in and for the State of Queensland on 1 December 2000. Deputy President Hack had a broad practice at the Bar, successfully undertaking both criminal and criminal appellate work, as well as general civil, commercial, insolvency, revenue and public law cases at both trial and appellate level. Deputy President Hack served on the Committee (later the Council) of the Bar Association of Queensland for more than 16 years until his appointment to the AAT. He was, for a number of years, the Honorary Treasurer of the Queensland Bar Association and the Australian Bar Association. More recently, he was the inaugural Chair of the Bar's Practising Certificate Committee. Deputy President Hack is a member of the AAT's Practice and Procedure Committee, the State and Territory Coordinators Committee and the Professional Development Committee. He is also a managing member for taxation schemes. Dr Timothy Hawcroft BVSc (Hons) MACVS Part-time Member, NSW Tim Hawcroft was appointed to the AAT in July 2006. He graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Hons) from the University of Sydney in 1969. He established, and was principal, of the Gordon Veterinarian Hospital from 1971 to 2002. He was Honorary Veterinarian for the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales from 1975 until 1986, and a part-time consultant for the University Veterinary Centre, Sydney, during 2003. He is an accredited veterinarian with the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service. Dr Hawcroft is the author of a number of books on veterinary science and animal care, and has presented papers at conferences. He is a life member of the Australian Veterinary Association and the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists ************************** So far the two Expert Witnesses to be called by the Government are; Clive Phillips Professor Clive Phillips is a Professor of Animal Welfare, School of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland with previous appointments at Britain's Royal Agricultural College and the Universities of Wales and Cambridge. He developed and chaired the Farm Animal Epidemiology and Informatics Unit at Cambridge. He has published two books on cattle production, welfare and behaviour, edited several on animal welfare and written more than 110 articles in international scientific journals. His research includes the welfare of cattle, sheep, poultry and rabbits, as well as optimum nutrition and reproduction strategies. Dr Tony Pople....well, we know about him.....he counts kangaroos...*WPAA *********************************** On the 7th of January, the latest redraft of the national kangaroo code was been released for public comment. It can be found at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/invitecomment/draft-code-kangaroos.html This "Code of Practice" has been under review for several years (since 2002), and this is the second round of public consultation (an earlier ‘discussion paper’ was released in 2004). Other related documents are at the same website. Not surprisingly, the key issues could not be resolved or agreed by the ‘Working Group’. Unfortunately that means that the draft is not significantly different from the status quo despite a number of meetings, numerous email debates, and a large amount of money being spent. In fact its worse. The primary issues relate to the inevitable suffering caused to joeys (in pouch and young at foot), the continued use of shotguns (in some states/circumstances), and also the wounding of kangaroos that are not killed outright by the first shot. Non-commercial shooters still do not have to pass a competency test (though the new draft says they must be competent!). Despite a ‘consultancy’ (appointed at the request of the Working Group) to examine the issue of the ‘humane’ killing of pouch young – no humane methods were identified (at least none that were seen to be possible/practical in the field). Clearly the current Code and the draft Code will not, and cannot, significantly alter the inevitable animal suffering caused by the commercial and non-commercial killing of kangaroos (and their joeys). In due course we can appeal to the State and Commonwealth Environment Ministers (who form the NRMMC – Natural Resources Management Ministerial Council) and who will collectively ‘sign off’ on the new Code after the Working Group considers public comments and sends the NRMMC the final Code. of course tehy wont take any notice of such an appeal. Please note that the deadline for comments to the Working Group is 6/3/08. By the time the so-called "working group" look at the comments, (and they'll be the same comments we made 20 years ago) and has some more meetings, spends some more money, then throws our comments into the shredder, it may be another two or three years before this new "Code of Practice" gets to the Ministers to sign off on. In six years they have resolved nothing, weakened the previous COP, allowed the shooters to carry three different sorts of guns, and allowed them to commercially shoot wallabies in Tasmania with low calibre .22 rifles. They are also saying that shooters can shoot the expouch joeys (before they flee into the night!) Imagine them trying to shoot a terrified joey running in circles around its dead mother...in the dark! Its obvious that the Government bureacrats are keen to try to resolve the issue of abandoned dependent expouch joeys before the AAT Appeal in March 2008. It's also obvious they have failed to do that. **************************
To make a donation to help us with costs, please go to the Donation Page! Pat O'Brien
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