Various laws cover the protection of native vegetation and regulate the growth and sale of crops. National, state and international laws protect breeders of new plant species and regulate the intellectual property associated with these plants and plant parts. Other laws control the threat of plant diseases.
Acknowledgement
Some content for this chapter has been drawn from the Department of Primary Industry website é State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries 2009. The contribution of the Department is gratefully acknowledged.
Commonwealth and state governments have passed legislation to protect native vegetation. Nationally, the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 (Cth) protects and conserves wild fauna and flora. In Victoria, native vegetation is protected under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the Planning and Environment Act 1987: see also 'Native plants' under 'Environment and planning' where the legislation is covered in more detail.
The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act creates a Scientific Advisory Committee, whose role is to to advise the Minister on the listing of taxa or communities of flora and fauna and potentially threatening processes and to advise the Minister on any other flora and fauna conservation matters. Such flora and fauna are listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Act.
The Planning and Environment Act 1987 also regulates planning and developments that affect the environment. The Victoria Planning Provisions govern the format of local planning schemes including the state Planning Policy Framework, which applies to both public and private land: see also 'Planning law' under 'Environment and planning'.
Breaches of statute law are usually prescribed in terms of penalty units. A penalty unit is defined in the Sentencing Act (Vic) 1991 and the Monetary Units Act (Vic) 2004. It is reviewed every year by the Treasurer and is $116.82 as at the 1st July 2009.
If you want the most updated figure go to www.gazette.vic.gov.au and search for 'Penalty Rates' or Google “penalty units”.
Under Commonwealth law, a penalty unit is defined in the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) as $110.
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