I rise to support the Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008. This bill predominantly provides for amendments to the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and the Nature Conservation Act 1992 as well as a few other acts. This bill will improve the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection Act as it clarifies the roles and responsibilities of councils and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is important to note that regional councils will be responsible for managing environmental nuisance and minor water pollution while the EPA will continue to be responsible for managing more serious cases of environmental harm. Therefore, each level of government will have the ability to set appropriate conditions for the developments they approve and to impose penalties if those conditions are breached. » more