Review of legislation

Opened 15 Sep 2014

Closed 27 Oct 2014

Status

The NT EPA is reviewing the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act (WMPC Act) and the Litter Act. It is currently considering feedback it received in response to an Issues Paper it released in September 2014.

Process for the review

The NT EPA will undertake the review in stages:

Invite the public, community and industry to provide comment and feedback on an Issues Paper PDF (165.6 KB).
Develop a discussion paper outlining options and providing proposals for reform of the WMPC Act and Litter Act.
repare advice to the Minister. This advice, and the Minister's response to it, will be made publicly available.

Following a review of the submissions and comments, the NT EPA will develop a comprehensive discussion paper. The discussion paper will outline various options and provide proposals for reform of the WMPC Act and Litter Act.

As the final stage of the review, the NT EPA will prepare advice to the Minister under the NT EPA Act. This advice, and the Minister's response to it, will be made publicly available.

Where we are

The bold activity is currently in progress; proposed timelines are indicative only.

Activity 1	Activity 2	Activity 3	Activity 4	Activity 5
Release Issues Paper for public consultation (6 weeks) September - October 2014	Analyse feedback, identify issues and develop policy positions	Release Discussion Paper for public consultation (6 weeks)	Analyse feedback, finalise policy positions. Prepare advice for the Minister	Forward Final Advice (recommending changes) to Minister

History

In February 2013 the NT EPA decided to conduct a review of the WMPA Act and provide advice to the Minister. View the Terms of Reference PDF (56.2 KB).

The WMPC Act was introduced in 1999 to manage the impacts of waste and pollution on the Northern Territory environment. A number of concerns with the WMPC Act have been identified since its introduction. Some of these concerns are minor and have had little impact on the overall operation of the Act. Other matters represent an unacceptable risk to the environment as they prevent the NT EPA from taking action to enforce the Act.

The Litter Act was introduced as the Litter Ordinance in 1972 and has not been substantially reviewed or amended since 1990. An internal review, commenced in the mid-2000s, was never completed.

Under the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority Act the NT EPA may provide advice to the Minister on a range of environmental matters, including legislation related to the environment. The NT EPA may develop advice on the request of the Minister or on its own initiative.

The WMPC Act, the Litter Act, and other legislation referred to in the Issues Paper are available at the NT Government's legislation website.

Submissions on an issues paper

On 15 September 2014 the NT EPA released an Issues Paper PDF (165.6 KB). Submissions closed on 27 October 2014.

The NT EPA has developed a Summary PDF (269.9 KB) of the matters raised in the submissions. The Summary PDF (269.9 KB) presents an overview of the submissions received, but does not respond to the submissions. Where appropriate, responses will be included in the discussion paper.

Submissions

Submissions received

Last updated:

03 August 2022

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