Private Forests Act 1994

Last updated

Private Forests Act 1994
1993-1999
Enacted byGovernor of Tasmania
Assented toMay 10, 1994

The Private Forests Act 1994, established an Authority to provide assistance and advice on private forest management, to prescribe the functions and powers of that authority, to provide for related matters and to amend certain Acts. The Act created Private Forests Tasmania, a body corporate with perpetual succession, with seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name. [1]

Contents

The Act was given Royal assent on May 10, 1994. [2] [3] [4]

The Act, under Schedule 1, set out the broad objective of the Authority which is to "facilitate and expand the development of the private forest resource in Tasmania in a manner which is consistent with sound forest land management practice" .

Objectives of the Authority

Schedule 1 of the Act details a set of Objectives for the Authority; which are-

  (a) to promote the development of private forestry in Tasmania;   (b) to foster competitive markets for private forest growers;   (c) to provide strategic planning and policy direction for private forestry in Tasmania;   (d) to foster progressive and incremental funding from all private forest growers to fund the Authority;   (e) to foster commercial wood production forestry on private land in Tasmania;   (f) to foster the use and values of trees in sustainable land management.

Functions of the Authority

The Authority functions include supporting the Minister and Government (a); supporting the implementation of the Forest Practices Act (c) and (g); marketing of wood (d), (e) and (f); supporting conservation (j) and (h); support for non commercial forestry (k) and finally promotion of research and education (i).

Under section 6(1) of the Act, the functions of the Authority are as follows:

(a) to advise the Minister on all matters relating to private forestry; (b) to provide assistance and advice on forest management for commercial purposes and on the use of trees for sustainable land management; (c) to process applications for private timber reserves under the Forest Practices Act 1985 pursuant to a delegation from the Forest Practices Authority under that Act; (d) to promote opportunities for more competitive markets for private forest owners; (e) to advise, assist and facilitate the private forest sector in the development of commercial infrastructure; (f) to maintain and update an inventory of private forests, prepare five-yearly reviews of private forests and report on compliance with export and other licence conditions as required by any agreement entered into between the State and the Commonwealth; (g) to provide advice and assistance to the Forest Practices Authority for implementation of the Forest Practices Act 1985 on private forest lands; (h) to provide co-ordinated input on behalf of private forest growers on land use issues; (i) to promote private forestry research and education; (j) to examine matters relating to the conservation of flora, fauna, land forms, cultural heritage and care of the environment on private forest lands; (k) to encourage non-commercial forestry on private land including strategic planning and appropriate technical and policy development; (l) to develop plans to deliver funding for private forestry programmes from private forest owners; (m) to perform such other functions as are imposed on it by this or any other Act.

In respect of Function (f) "to maintain and update an inventory of private forests, prepare five-yearly reviews of private forests and report on compliance with export and other licence conditions as required by any agreement entered into between the State and the Commonwealth", the compliance with export and other licence condition requirements was removed with the signing of the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement November 1997.

Funds are provided to the Authority by Parliament for only functions (a), (g), (h), (i), (j) and (k). In August 2001 a new Division was added to the Act (Division 1A - Private Forest service levy) which caused a levy to be paid on the net area of private forest, certified under a forest practice plan for harvest or regeneration or being established to plantation.

Powers of the Authority

The Authority does have the power to provide financial assistance for private commercial forestry (Section 26 of the Act). When established in 1994 Private Forests Tasmania reported in their Annual Report 1994-95 [5] a sum of AUS$1,730,000 as loans for private forestry. This sum related to a Pine Loan Scheme operated by Private Forest Division when it was part of the Tasmanian Forestry Commission, now Forestry Tasmania. No additional loan funds have been provided under the Act since the formation of the Authority.

The Authority can borrow funds from the Treasurer (Section 23 of the Act) and enter into Joint Ventures to grow wood (Section 30 of the Act). The Authority has not exercised these powers since its creation.

Role of the Minister

Under Section 19A there is a requirement for a Ministerial Charter which is to specify the broad policy expectations of the Minister for the Authority. The Minister may limit the functions and powers of the Authority and the performance and exercise of those functions and powers, but may not prevent the Authority from performing a function it is required to perform or otherwise complying with this or any Act.

In addition to the Annual Report (Section 32E Annual Report)(Section 32E), its tabling in Parlkiament (Section 32F Tabling of annual report) the Board of the Authority is required to prepare quarterly report for the first three quarters of the financial year (Section 32G).

Related Research Articles

United States Forest Service Federal forest and grassland administrators

The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. Major divisions of the agency include the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, and Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the only major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management

Protected areas of Tasmania consists of protected areas located within Tasmania and its immediate onshore waters, including Macquarie Island. It includes areas of crown land managed by Tasmanian Government agencies as well as private reserves. As of 2016, 52% of Tasmania's land area has some form of reservation classification, the majority is managed by the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. Marine protected areas cover about 7.9% of state waters.

Government of Tasmania state government of Tasmania, Australia

The Government of Tasmania, also referred to as the Tasmanian Government, is the executive authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invited by the Governor of Tasmania to form the Government of Tasmania. The head of the Government is the Premier of Tasmania.

<i>Commonwealth v Tasmania</i>

Commonwealth v Tasmania was a significant Australian court case, decided in the High Court of Australia on 1 July 1983. The case was a landmark decision in Australian constitutional law, and was a significant moment in the history of conservation in Australia. The case centred on the proposed construction of a hydro-electric dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, which was supported by the Tasmanian government, but opposed by the Australian federal government and environmental groups.

In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that organizations aspire to achieve in their efforts to ensure that they are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws, policies, and regulations. Due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency, organizations are increasingly adopting the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls. This approach is used to ensure that all necessary governance requirements can be met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources.

Tarkine Region in Tasmania, Australia

The Tarkine is an area containing the Savage River National Park in the north west Tasmania, Australia, which environmental non-government organisations (ENGOs) claim contains significant areas of wilderness. The Tarkine is noted for its beauty and natural values, containing the largest area of Gondwanan cool-temperate rainforest in Australia, as well as for its prominence in Tasmania's early mining history. The area's high concentration of Aboriginal sites has led to it being described by the Australian Heritage Council as "one of the world's great archaeological regions".

The Export Wheat Commission (EWC) was a statutory authority of the Australian government. The EWC was established on 1 October 2007 and superseded the Wheat Export Authority (WEA). The EWC was a statutory commission operating under the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service body of the Tasmanian Government (Australia) responsible for the care and administration of Tasmanias National Parks and reserves (including historic sites)

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is the government body responsible for protected areas of Tasmania on public land, such as national parks, historic sites and regional reserves. Historically it has also had responsibility for managing wildlife, including game.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania

Sustainable Timber Tasmania is a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Tasmania, Australia. It is responsible for the management of public production forest in Tasmania, which is about 800,000 hectares of crown land that is classified as 'permanent timber production zone'.

Mount Victoria Forest Reserve Protected area in Tasmania, Australia

Mount Victoria Reserve is a temperate rainforest area in the North East portion of the Australian state of Tasmania. It is of acknowledged conservation significance and was identified as a high priority Recommended Area for Protection (RAP) by authorities during the 1980s and protected as part of the Comprehensive and Representative (CAR) Reserve system touted by Tasmanian State and Federal Australian Governments as securing conservation values.

Director of Public Transport Head of an Australian government agency

The Director of Public Transport was the head of the Public Transport Division (PTD) of the Victorian Department of Transport. PTD was the government agency responsible for promoting, providing, coordinating and regulating public transport in the State of Victoria, Australia between August 1999 and April 2012. The Director of Public Transport was created as a statutory office supported by staff of the Department of Transport.

Forestry in Tasmania Australia has been conducted since early European settlement.

South African environmental law The legal rules in South Africa relating to management of the environment

South African environmental law describes the legal rules in South Africa relating to the social, economic, philosophical and jurisprudential issues raised by attempts to protect and conserve the environment in South Africa. South African environmental law encompasses natural resource conservation and utilization, as well as land-use planning and development. Issues of enforcement are also considered, together with the international dimension, which has shaped much of the direction of environmental law in South Africa. The role of the country's Constitution, crucial to any understanding of the application of environmental law, also is examined. The National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) provides the underlying framework for environmental law.

Farm Forestry Toolbox

The Farm Forestry Toolbox is a collection of computer programs, referred to as 'Tools', intended to be used by farm forest owners and managers to aid decision making. The Toolbox includes a set of simple 'Hand Tools'; conversion of measurements and map co-ordinates; measuring the volume of stacked logs, slope, basal area; and a survey tool. A second set of more complex tools or 'Power Tools'; can be used to estimate site productivity, volume and value of wood grown for individual trees, at the coupe or stand level and forest estate level.

Private Forests Tasmania is a Tasmanian government statutory authority established in 1994 by the Tasmanian Private Forests Act 1994. The Authority was created to provide assistance and advice on private forest management in Tasmania, Australia. The objectives of the authority are to facilitate and expand the development of the private forest resource in Tasmania, in a manner that is consistent with sound forest land management practices.

Private timber reserve (Tasmania)

A private timber reserve is an area of privately owned land, used or intended to be used, for growing timber within the Australian state of Tasmania.

Idaho Department of Lands

The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) is a State of Idaho governmental organization that manages Idaho's State Trust Lands. IDL oversees forestry practices on state lands and some regulation of mining practices, as well as administering forestry programs and providing fire protection and prevention on state lands. IDL operates under the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners and is the administrative arm of the Idaho Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

References

  1. ↑ "Private Forests Act 1994". About pft. pft.tas.gov. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  2. ↑ OECD (27 March 1998). OECD Environmental Performance Reviews OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Australia 1998. OECD Publishing. pp. 51–. ISBN   978-92-64-16269-3.
  3. ↑ Martin R. Perrow; Anthony J. Davy (5 September 2002). Handbook of Ecological Restoration. Cambridge University Press. pp. 108–. ISBN   978-0-521-79129-8.
  4. ↑ "Forestry administration in Tasmania: Timeline of key events". ABC. ABC. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Private Forests Tasmania Annual Report 1994-1995 page 19
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.