Wild rivers legislation
Wild Rivers Act 2005
The Queensland Parliament passed the Wild Rivers Act 2005 in October 2005. The purpose of this Act is to preserve the natural values of rivers that have not been significantly affected by development and thus have all, or almost all, of their natural values intact.
It does this by regulating development within a declared wild river and its catchment area, and by regulating the taking of natural resources from the area. The Act establishes a framework that includes the declaration of wild river areas that may include:
- high preservation areas
- preservation areas
- floodplain management areas
- subartesian management areas.
The Wild Rivers and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2006
The Wild Rivers and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2006 was assented to on 7 December 2006. This Act amended the Wild Rivers Act (and a number of associated Acts) as well as other unrelated legislation.
The amendments removed a number of unintended consequences and constraints on low-impact economic development, while retaining the original intent of the wild rivers policy. These included allowing low-impact development for mining, transport, agricultural and other industries, and removing many wild river requirements for development in urban areas.
The changes are outlined in the Summary of amendments (PDF, 104K)* .
Wild Rivers and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007
The Wild Rivers and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007 was assented to on 28 February 2007. This Act amended the Wild Rivers Act 2005 to declare the Settlement, Gregory, Morning Inlet, Staaten, Fraser, and Hinchinbrook Wild River areas.
The amendments also approved the Wild Rivers Code and added a process for amending the code in the future.
These and some other minor changes are outlined in the Summary of amendments (PDF, 14K)* .
* Requires Acrobat Reader
Last updated: 01 October 2008