Current Administrative Structures on Cape York Peninsula
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LAND USE PROGRAM (LW) CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES ON CAPE YORK PENINSULA J. Stanley & K. Campbell FOCUS Kim Campbell Town Planning FOCUS CYPLUS is a joint initiative of the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments CAPE YORK PENINSULA LAND USE STRATEGY (CYPLUS) Land Use Program CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES ON CAPE YORK PENINSULA J. Stanley & K. Campbell FOCUS Kim Campbell Town Planning 1995 CYPLUS is a joint initiative of the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments Recommended citation: Stanley, J. & Campbell, K. (1995). 'Current Administrative Structures on Cape York Peninsula'. (Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy, Office of the Co-ordinator General of Queensland, Brisbane, and Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Canberra.) Note: Due to the timing of publication, reports on other CYPLUS projects may not be fully cited in the BIBLIOGRAPHY section. However, they should be able to be located by author, agency or subject. ISBN 0 7242 6227 X @ The State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia 1995. Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of the Office of the Co-ordinator General of Queensland and the Australian Government Publishing Service. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to: Office of the Co-ordinator General, Government of Queensland PO Box 185 BRISBANE ALBERT STREET Q 4002 The Manager, Commonwealth Information Services GPO Box 84 CANBERRA ACT 2601 CAPE YORK PENINSULA LAND USE STRATEGY STAGE I PREFACE TO PROJECT REPORTS Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy (CYPLUS) is an initiative to provide a basis for public participation in planning for the ecologically sustainable development of Cape York Peninsula. It is jointly funded by the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments and is being carried out in three stages: Stage I - information gathering; Stage 11 - development of principles, policies and processes; and Stage 111 - implementation and review. The project dealt with in this report is a part of Stage I of CYPLUS. The main components of Stage I of CYPLUS consist of two data collection programs, the development of a Geographic Information System (GIs) and the establishment of processes for public participation. The data collection and collation work was conducted within two broad programs, the Natural Resources Analysis Program (NRAP) and the Land Use Program (LUP). The project reported on here forms part of one of these programs. The objectives of NRAP were to collect and interpret base data on the natural resources of Cape York Peninsula to provide input to: evaluation of the potential of those resources for a range of activities related to the use and management of land in line with economic, environmental and social values; and formulation of the land use policies, principles and processes of CYPLUS. Projects examining both physical and biological resources were included in NRAP together with Geographic Information System (GIs) projects. NRAP projects are listed in the following Table. Physical ResourceIGIS Projects Biological Resource Projects Bedrock geological data - digitising and Vegetation mapping (NRO1) integration (NR05) Airborne geophysical survey (NR15) Marine plant (seagrass/mangrove) distribution W06) Coastal environment geoscience survey Insect fauna survey (NR17) W14) Mineral resource inventory w04) Fish fauna survey (NR10) Water resource investigation (groundwater) Terrestrial vertebrate fauna survey (NR03) W16) Regolith terrain mapping (NR12) Wetland fauna survey (NR09) I Physical ResourceIGIS Projects Biological Resource Projects Land resource inventory (NR02) Flora data and modelling (NR18) Environmental region analysis (NR11) Fauna distribution modelling (NR19) CYPLUS data into NRIC database FINDAR Golden-shouldered parrot conservation (NR20) management (NR2 1) Queensland GIs dev$lopment and maintenance (NR08) * These projects are accumulating and storing all Stage I data that is submitted in GIs compatible formats. Research priorities for the LUP were set through the public participation process with the objectives of: collecting information on a wide range of social, cultural, economic and environmental issues relevant to Cape York Peninsula; and highlighting interactions between people, land (resource use) and nature sectors. Projects were undertaken within these sector areas and are listed in the following Table. People Projects Land Projects Nature Projects I. Population Current land use Surface water resources Transport services and Land tenure Fire infrastructure Values, needs and aspirations Indigenous management of land Feral and pest animals and sea Services and infrastructure Pastoral industry weeds Economic assessment Primary industries (non-pastoral, Land degradation and mil non-forestry) erosion Secondary and tertiary industries Forest resources Conservation and natural heritage assessment Traditional activities Commercial and non commercial Conservation and National Park fisheries management Current administrative structures Mineral resource potential and mining industry Tourism industry EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project was commissioned by CYPLUS to provide a description of the institutional structures on Cape York Peninsula that have relevance for land use planning and resource management. It includes a directory of agencies, together with a description of interrelationships, current changes and planning activities. The report was conducted as a desktop study, relying on existing written material. It represents a snapshot of agencies as at September 1994. It is recognised that institutional structures and agency relationships are fluid, and readers will need to take account of more recent changes. As this review was being undertaken, several administrative structures and functions were undergoing a process of change. These are described in the report. Many of the Peninsula's government (Commonwealth, State, Local) and non-government organisations will experience the effects of these changes, and such changes are likely to have some impact on agency interrelationships. A feature of the current administrative arrangements for land and resource use in Cape York Peninsula is a high level of complexity. A number of agencies appear to have broadly similar roles and responsibilities, and some functions are split between three levels of government. This complexity allows for potential overlap, duplication and gaps to occur in the provision of government services. An issue for CYPLUS Stage 2 is the need to examine the land use decision-making processes and mechanisms in Cape York Peninsula in order to recommend a system which clearly identifies responsibilities between levels of government and between agencies within each level. The main sources for the report are annual reports and corporate plans prepared by different agencies, as well as discussion papers on legislative or administrative changes. It is hoped that the directory and accompanying commentary will assist CYPLUS participants in understanding the complex issue of "who does what", and with identifying relevant agencies to contact about specific land use planning and management initiatives. PART A i CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES AND 1 FUNCTIONS i PART A : CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS The administrative structures on Cape York Peninsula are caught in a process of change. Before describing the agencies and their functions, it is important to recognise some of the "big picturew changes taking place, and the reform agendas requiring a response by particular agencies. These are the current challenges for administrative structures, and their relative success in meeting these challenges is outlined in Part B. The following summaries describe the changes taking place in legislation or agency relationships which are expected to impact on administrative structures in the Cape York Peninsula. The summaries are presented as follows: Planning and Development Legislation Land Management Legislation Nature Conservation Legislation Coastal Protection Legislation Environmental Protection Legislation Sustainable Use and Management of Queensland's Natural Resources Integrated Development Approval System Electoral and Administrative Reform Integrated Local Area Planning Program Community and Local Government Reform Land Rights Legislation "Mainstreaming " Services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Communities Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The documents indicated in the references to each of the above sections have been obtained, and will inform the assessments carried out in later stages of this project. 1 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT LEGISLATION (State Government) A discussion paper on the new planning and development legislation was published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning in 1993, as a basis for public consultation. This proposes a consolidation and rationalisation of planning, subdivision and building legislation applicable to local government throughout Queensland. The new framework is intended to provide for better community consultation, co-ordination of infrastructure and service provision by State and local government, and more effective dispute resolution processes. In addition, the legislation will support the introduction of the Integrated Development Approval System (IDAS) described in section 7. Particular proposals for the new