ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES AND PENALTIES AMENDMENT BILL 2010

SERIAL NO. 109

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

MINISTER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

GENERAL OUTLINE

This Bill amends the Environmental Offences and Penalties Act.  

The Environmental Offences and Penalties Act establishes a penalty structure for environmental offences based around 4 offence levels. Penalties for infringement notices are also defined.

These penalties are picked in a variety of environmental statutes such as the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act, the Water Act and the Mining Management Act, which create the actual offence provisions.  The effect is to create a common penalty structure among different legislation.

The purpose of this Bill is to at least double the penalties for environmental offences such as pollution.  Consistent with current policy and legislation, the amendment also seeks to translate the penalties into penalty units (as established in the Penalty Units Act) so that over time, the penalties for environmental offences are regularly kept up to date.  

.NOTES ON CLAUSES

Clause 1 	Short Title

This is the formal clause which provides for the citation of the Bill. The Bill, when passed, will be cited as the Environmental Offences and Penalties Amendment Act 2010.

Clause 2 	Act amended 

This clause indicates that it is the Environmental Offences and Penalties Act 1996 that is to be amended.

Clause 3 	Amendment of section 3 (References to environmental offences)

3(1)  The word “or” is added between environmental offence level 1 and 2 in the Act to make it clear that these levels are alternatives to one another.  

3(2)  This clause adds an example of how environmental offence levels are picked up by way of reference in particular statutes.  This improves interpretation as to what is meant in the Act by the term “designation of offences”.

In the following clauses the figure expressed in ( ) provides the proposed penalty in dollars based on the current conversion of 1 penalty unit = $130, as per the Penalty Units Act.

Clause  4 	Amendment of section 4 (Penalty for environmental offence level 1) 

Environmental offences Level 1 penalties are attached to the most serious environmental offences.

4(1) This amends the penalty where a person commits an Environmental Offence Level 1 Offence to: not less than 385 penalty units ($50,050) and not more than 3,850 penalty units ($500,500)

4(2) This amends the penalty where a body corporate commits an Environmental Offence Level 1 Offence to: not less than 1,924 penalty units ($250,120) and not more than 19,240 penalty units ($2,501,200)

Clause 5 	Amendment of section 5 (Penalty for environmental offence level 2) 

5(1) This amends the penalty where a person commits an Environmental Offence Level 2 Offence to: not less than 154 penalty units ($20,020) and not more than 1,540 penalty units ($200,200)

5(2) This amends the penalty where a body corporate commits an Environmental Offence Level 2 Offence to: not less than 770 penalty units ($100,100) and not more than 7,700 penalty units ($1,001,000)

Clause 6 Amendment of section 6 (Penalty for environmental offence level 3) 

6(1) This amends the penalty where a person commits an Environmental Offence Level 3 Offence to: not less than 77 penalty units ($10,010) and not more than 770 penalty units ($100,100)

6(2) This amends the penalty where a body corporate commits an Environmental Offence Level 3 Offence to: not less than 385 penalty units ($50,050) and not more than 3,850 penalty units ($500,500)

Clause 7 Amendment of section 7 (Penalty for environmental offence level 4) 

Environmental offences Level 4 penalties are attached to the least serious environmental offences.

7(1) This amends the penalty where a person commits an Environmental Offence Level 4 Offence to: not greater than 77 penalty units ($10,010)

7(2) This amends the penalty where a person commits an Environmental Offence Level 4 Offence to: not greater than 385 penalty units ($50,050)

Clause 8 Amendment of section 8 (Infringement offences)

This clause updates the penalties for infringement notices that expiate “lower level” offences.  

8(1)   Where the original offence is an Environmental Offence Level 3 and is able to be treated by way of infringement notice, the new fine for an infringement offence by a person is 1.7 penalty units ($221)

8(2)   Where the original offence is an Environmental Offence Level 3 and is able to be treated by way of infringement notice, the new fine for an infringement offence by a body corporate  is 8.8 penalty units ($1,144)

8(3)   Where the original offence is an Environmental Offence Level 4 and is able to be treated by way of infringement notice,, the new fine for an infringement offence by a person  is 0.8 penalty units ($104)

8(4)  Where the original offence is an Environmental Offence Level 4 and is able to be treated by way of infringement notice, the new fine for an infringement offence by a body corporate  is 4.4 penalty units ($572)

Clause 9 Amendment of section 10 (Regulations)

This amendment recasts section 10 of the Act in line with current legislative drafting practice, based on section 65 of the Interpretation Act.