Question On Notice No. 2243 asked in the Legislative Council on 2 December 2014 by Hon Lynn Maclaren
Question Directed to the: Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Planning
Parliament: 39 Session: 1
Question
(1) Further to question on notice No. 1507 of 14 October 2014, who was Bush Forever site 309 sold to?
(2) Why was Bush Forever site 309 sold?
(3) Does the sale of Bush Forever site 309 contravene Bush Forever policy to protect regionally significant bushland?
(4) How many Bush Forever sites have been sold for development, or developed by government agencies such as the Department of Housing or Landcorp, since this policy was introduced in 2000?
(5) How many hectares of urban bushland have been lost since 2000?
(6) What is the cumulative effect of the loss of urban bushland occurring across the metropolitan area?
(7) Why wasn’t a moratorium placed on clearing regionally significant bushland including Bush Forever sites, until the Perth-Peel Strategic Assessment is completed?
Answered on 10 March 2015
(1) The Department of Housing advises Lot 102 Farrall Road, Midvale was sold to Peet Stratton Pty Ltd and part of Bush Forever area 309 formed part of that sale. The remainder of the area is in private ownership.
(2) The Department of Housing advises it was considered surplus to needs.
(3) No
(4) None
(5) Clearing is regulated under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and the Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004. The Department of Environment Regulation keeps records of clearing made under these regulations (through clearing permit applications). One exemption to requiring a clearing permit is for clearing under the Planning and Development Act 2005 in accordance with subdivision approval by the Western Australian Planning Commission. There is no requirement under the Planning and Development Act 2005 to record clearing of bushland through subdivision approval.
(6) The Perth metropolitan area has one of the highest ratios of urban bushland in Australia, with 21 per cent of the metropolitan region being bushland. With the implementation of Bush Forever, the Government of Western Australia undertook to protect 18 per cent of the urban bushland in the Perth Metropolitan Region.
(7) The Strategic Assessment of the Perth and Peel Regions (SAPPR) is a strategic landscape scale assessment of impacts of development on the environment in Perth and Peel. Its focus has been on the assessment of new growth proposed in the metropolitan region rather than on existing established development for which controls are already in place.