Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024 – Submission

Following the 2023 independent review of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (the BC Act), the NSW Government has introduced into Parliament the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024 (the Bill), proposing a number of amendments to the Act. 
The Bill adopted most of the recommendations but there are some important gaps left in the legislation. 

BPN welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024, which follows from the statutory independent review of the Biodiversity Conservation Act (known as the Henry Review) conducted in 2023 and its damning conclusion that, ‘’The failure of the Act to achieve its principal purpose is contributing to the continuing deterioration of the environment.”

The Henry Review Report states, “The Review Panel supports a nature positive framing of the Act, noting that this requires giving primacy to biodiversity considerations in a manner not previously contemplated.” The Review Recommendation 11 is that: ‘The Scheme’s objective should be amended to deliver a net positive biodiversity outcome’.

The amendments to achieve ‘nature positive’ outcomes

Although BPN has major reservations about the entire concept of biodiversity offsets, it supports any change in law and policy that is ‘nature positive’ (i.e. that better protects nature and reverses biodiversity loss) and we therefore give a qualified welcome to the changes proposed in the Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Biodiversity Offsets Scheme) Bill 2024.

Read the BPN submission here: 

060924-Submission-on-the-Biodiversity-Conservation-Act-Amendment

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