The Aim of the Act is to ensure that people are equally protected from air, water, soil, and noise pollution through the establishment of a National Environment Protection Council (NEPC). The object of this Act is to ensure that, by means of the establishment and operation of the National Environment Protection Council— (a) people enjoy the benefit of equivalent protection from air, water or soil pollution and from noise, wherever they live in Australia; and (b) decisions of the business community are not distorted, and markets are not fragmented, by variations between participating jurisdictions in relation to the adoption or implementation of major environment protection measures.
This Act provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places - defined in the EPBC Act as MNES (Matters of National Environmental Significance). The Act is designed to provide a streamlined environmental assessment and approvals process where matters of national environmental significance are involved.
An Act to make better provision for the use, protection and management of certain public lands and waters and the flora and fauna thereof, to establish the Conservation and Parks Commission, and for incidental or connected purposes.
The Act provides for “the prevention, control and abatement of pollution and environmental harm, for the conservation, preservation, protection, enhancement and management of the environment and for matters incidental to or connected with the foregoing”.
To protect the environment of the State by taking into consideration 5 key principles. 1: Precautionary principle, 2: intergenerational equity, 3: conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity, 4: improved valuation, pricing, and incentive mechanisms, 5: principle of waste minimisation.