VEGETATION MAPPING APPLICATIONS FAST-TRACKED

Landholders who have applied for a Property Map Assessable Vegetation, or PMAV, will receive their map by June this year, Natural Resources Minister Craig Wallace said today.

Mr Wallace said PMAVs were an important part of understanding vegetation requirements for the Vegetation Management Act.

“Introduced in May 2004, PMAVs replace Regional Ecosystem maps and can ‘lock in’ areas of vegetation that do not require a permit to clear,” Mr Wallace said.

“In short, they provide greater certainty to landholders, at a property level, showing areas where a clearing permit is required and areas they can manage as they choose without constraint.”

Mr Wallace said PMAVs had been very popular with landholders and there had been some delays in processing assessments.

“This popularity caught us somewhat by surprise and a backlog of applications developed.

“However, my Department has placed PMAV applications as a top priority and we are now processing the applications in a timely manner.”

According to recent figures, the Department of Natural Resources and Water has received 3,191 applications for PMAVs and almost 67%, or 2,132, has been approved. There is a further 334 out-for-offer with applicants.

The Department has received 429 PMAV applications to date that contest aspects of the mapping and expects to field assess approximately 130 of these.

Mr Wallace said the figure of 130 (4%) of a total of 3,191 represented a relatively small percentage of the overall applications, however, they were generally the more complex situations.

“The department recently started assessing these ‘contested’ PMAVs in large numbers.

“Applications are assessed in the field when applicants contest Regional Ecosystem Mapping and have not provided sufficient information for the Department to assess the application.”

PMAVs allow landholders to continue to manage their “locked-in” mapped vegetation areas as they see fit into the future, without Regional Ecosystem mapping amendments affecting their activities.

“I have asked my Department to continue to place a high priority on dealing with PMAV applications.”

Mr Wallace said the Department aimed to have the backlog of detailed PMAVs completed by June 2007.

“In the meantime, my Department and the EPA will also continue to work together to improve mapping scale, and processes.”

Media contact: Caroline Kaurila, Craig Wallace’s office on 3896 3694 or 0414 213 954.