Director of National Parks Annual Report 2013–14 Managing the Australian Government’s protected places © Director of National Parks 2014 ISSN: 1443-1238 (Print) ISSN: 2204-0013 (Online) The Director of National Parks Annual Report 2013-14 by the Director of National Parks is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, government agency logos, content supplied by third party, and all images depicting people. For licence conditions see: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/. All reasonable efforts has been used to identify third party content using ‘©organisation’. This work should be attributed in the following way (use “Source:” if the work is reproduced without any changes; use “Based on” if the work is adapted or altered): Source/Based on: Director of National Parks Annual Report 2013–14 by the Director of National Parks [2014] licensed under CC-BY 3.0 AU. Original available at www.environment.gov.au/topics/national-parks/parks-australia/publications Director of National Parks Australian business number: 13 051 694 963 Credits Front cover Cover and featured image: Red sea star, Jervis Bay – Parks Australia Maps: Environmental Resources Information Network Anemones off Christmas Island: Justin Gilligan Designer: Paper Monkey Cliffs at seal colony near Steamers Head, Booderee National Park: Editor: Byron Smith for Embellish Creative Parks Australia Indexer: Byron Smith for Embellish Creative Red crab, Christmas Island National Park: Parks Australia Printed by: New Millenium Print Pty Ltd Masked booby, Christmas Island National Park: Parks Australia Nourlangie Sunset, Kakadu National Park: Parks Australia Map data sources Department of the Environment (2012): Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) Department of the Environment (2014): Australia’s network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves Geoscience Australia (2006): Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) v2.0 Director of National Parks Annual Report 2013–14 Managing the Australian Government’s protected places 1 <Double-click here to enter title> ii of the Director of National Parks in2013–14. Parks of theDirector ofNational theresponsibility parksandreserves whichare ofCommonwealth 1:Locations Figure 3 5 55 11 6 ! 44 ++! D 56 +! C +! 34 26 4 33 31 +! F +! 14 +! 46 15 37 18 38 +! 22 42 10 G 47 24 1 39 48 +! 32 12 +! 54 +! 13 +! +! E 45 9 58 28 +! 51 35 43 23 53 A 17 25 +! +! +! 30 57 B 2 49 40 8 +! 16 ! 7 41 +!+ 19 59 21 20 Australian Waters 52 29 50 Commonwealth Terrestrial Reserve Commonwealth Marine Reserve Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Managed by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) ± 0 500 1,000 2,000 Km 36 27 © Commonwealth of Australia, 2013 Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 Reserve Name Map Reserve Name Map Label Label 1 Terrestrial Reserve Jervis 30 Australian National Botanic Gardens A Joseph Bonaparte Gulf 31 Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens B Jurien 32 Christmas Island National Park C Kimberley 33 Kakadu National Park D Limmen 34 Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden E Lord Howe 35 Pulu Keeling National Park F Macquarie Island 36 Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park G Mermaid Reef 37 Marine Reserve Montebello 38 Abrolhos 1 Murat 39 Apollo 2 Murray 40 Arafura 3 Nelson 41 Argo-Rowley Terrace 4 Ningaloo 42 Arnhem 5 Norfolk 43 Ashmore Reef 6 Oceanic Shoals 44 Beagle 7 Perth Canyon 45 Boags 8 Roebuck 46 Bremer 9 Shark Bay 47 Carnarvon Canyon 10 Solitary Islands 48 Cartier Island 11 South-west Corner 49 Central Eastern 12 South Tasman Rise 50 Cod Grounds 13 Southern Kangaroo Island 51 Coral Sea 14 Tasman Fracture 52 Dampier 15 Twilight 53 East Gippsland 16 Two Rocks 54 Eastern Recherche 17 Wessel 55 Eighty Mile Beach 18 West Cape York 56 Flinders 19 Western Eyre 57 Franklin 20 Western Kangaroo Island 58 Freycinet 21 Zeehan 59 Gascoyne 22 Geographe 23 Gifford 24 Great Australian Bight 25 Gulf of Carpentaria 26 Heard Island and McDonald Islands 27 Hunter 28 Huon 29 Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 iii Our vision Healthy and resilient parks, gardens and marine reserves that protect nature and culture 1 and are valued and enjoyed by the community now and into the future. Our values and approaches As part of the Environment portfolio, Parks Australia is committed to serving the Australian Government and Minister in accordance with the values of the Australian Public Service and our specific department, in: • caring for the environment • respecting and responding to the values of Indigenous landowners and other partners • engaging with and responding to stakeholders • providing leadership and being active team contributors • committing to learning and development • committing to excellence in operations • accepting responsibility and being accountable • acting with integrity and achieving results. We achieve our objectives by: • basing our work on the best available information and analysis • working in partnerships to improve environmental, cultural and heritage outcomes • communicating and influencing effectively • valuing and investing in our people to develop their capabilities • effectively managing risks • developing and delivering high-quality policies and programs • managing change in a strategic and flexible manner • monitoring and managing performance to ensure cost-effective outcomes. iv Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 Managing the Australian Government’s protected areas 1 An organisational snapshot The Director of National Parks is the statutory agency responsible for the Australian Government’s terrestrial and marine protected-area estates. The Director is assisted by Parks Australia, a division of the Department of the Environment, in managing terrestrial and marine reserves. The department’s Australian Antarctic Division is responsible for one marine reserve. As at 30 June 2014 the Director of National Parks: • managed seven terrestrial reserves comprising six national parks and the Australian National Botanic Gardens • managed 59 marine reserves • employed 315.2 full-time equivalent staff around Australia • recorded a total price output of $89 million. Major highlights for 2013–14 • The sub-Antarctic Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve known as one of the most biologically pristine areas in the world was extended by 6200 square kilometres via Proclamation by the Governor-General on 25 March 2014. With a total area of 71 200 square kilometres, the reserve is now Australia’s largest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 1a Strict Nature Reserve, offering the highest level of protection to habitats, ecosystems and native species. A draft management plan prepared by the Australian Antarctic Division was released for public comment on 30 June 2014. • The Red Centre Garden at the Australian National Botanic Gardens was completed and formally opened by Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, in October 2013 as part of the Centenary of Canberra celebrations. This development and new visitor experiences such as afterDARK and the Flora Explorer tours contributed to the Gardens winning the ecotourism category at the annual Canberra and Capital Region Tourism Awards. • Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park hosted two major events: a visit by the Governor-General; and one from their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with the latter event attracting worldwide media coverage. Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 v • The first network-wide management plan for the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network came into effect on 1 July 2013. Compliance with this plan will be assisted by the new Commonwealth Marine Reserve alert system introduced to warn 1 commercial fishers when their vessel enters a Commonwealth marine reserve. The system is expected to significantly increase voluntary compliance with marine reserves zoning regulations. • In Kakadu, a new model for visitor interpretation was introduced, with the park contracting the Djabulukgu Association to provide tourism services on their own country. Under the contract, the association will manage campgrounds and deliver free guided walks and talks at Ubirr and in the surrounding region over the next two years. Kakadu also entered into 32 five-year commercial tourism licences with tour operators, covering a range of experiences from safari camping to fishing and bushwalking. vi Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 Contents 1 Director's review 1 1 2 Corporate overview and financial summary 5 3 Organisational structure 15 4 Planning, reporting and performance 25 5 Management and accountability 61 6 Financial Statements 73 7 Appendices 109 Director of National Parks | Annual Report 2013–14 vii 1 Director's review Director’s review It is a great privilege to be the Director of National Parks in the federal environment portfolio. 1 I follow the wonderful and passionate Peter Cochrane and only hope to do the job as well as he did in his 14 years in the role. The majority of area we manage is Aboriginal land, leased to me to manage jointly with the traditional owners. I thank the traditional owners and the Boards of Management for their warm welcome and ongoing trust in our management and staff. In my first few months I have met many of our other partners—the scientists, tourism experts, volunteers, neighbours, photographers, policy makers and friends’ groups, who are just as passionate about the places we manage as we are. They are keen to help us be the best park managers we possibly can be and I thank them for their ongoing interest and support. This annual report shows the depth and complexity of conservation issues that Parks Australia manages. It also highlights major achievements. Some of our key achievements in 2013–14 include the delivery of the first network wide management plan for the South-east Marine Reserves Network; the management of worldwide media coverage of the visit by their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park; and the opening of the Red Centre Garden at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.