Summary meeting minutes of the Marine Estate Management Authority.

Meeting date: 15 September 2023

Attendance

Authority members or their nominees in attendance were:

• Chair, Marine Estate Management Authority (Dr Russell Reichelt AO FTSE)
• Chair, Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel (Anthea Tinney PSM)
• A/Deputy Secretary, Department of Planning and Environment – Environment and Heritage Group
• A/Executive Director, Department of Planning and Environment – Planning
• Deputy Director General, Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries

The Authority considered a range of matters at the meeting including those summarised below.

Coastal Floodplain Studies

The Authority noted that the Coastal Floodplain Studies that were developed with the Water Research Laboratory (WRL) have been approved by Government and are available through the Authority’s website. They report on floodplain systems and infrastructure to assist decision makers in the enhancement of water quality, habitat and biodiversity.

Marine Integrated Monitoring Program

The Authority noted the progress on the 5-year review of the state-wide Threat and Risk Assessment for the marine estate currently underway. The Authority acknowledged the importance of reviewing new evidence since 2015 to determine if new or emerging threats to the marine estate and communities require urgent management attention. A draft report will be reviewed by the Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel (MEEKP) before the Authority consider the findings of the review.

Marine Estate Management Strategy implementation

The Authority noted the engagement of the consultant Aither to conduct the mid-term evaluation of the Strategy implementation. The evaluation will assess whether outcomes have been achieved after 5 years, and advise on progress toward the 10 year outcomes. It will also evaluate process and economic efficiencies.

The Authority endorsed the third triannual Snapshot report for year 5 of the Strategy, which is published on the marine estate website.

The Authority endorsed NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Framework which guides how we measure how the Strategy contributes to community wellbeing. This includes the use of surveys and interviews to improve our understanding of values, use and connections to the marine estate. The Authority also endorsed the Connections to Sea Country – Aboriginal People of Coastal NSW Survey Report which provides information on how First Nations people connect to Sea Country and their views on management.

Marine park management planning

The Authority noted the Ministers responsible for the marine estate are considering the draft Mainland Marine Park Network Management Plan and summaries of submissions from community consultation.

Work continues on identifying the values and threats for Lord Howe Island Marine Park as part of the overall management planning process. A qualitative community survey has commenced with interviews of the community and stakeholders regarding the Marine Park. The Authority noted this survey will be followed by a quantitative survey in coming months. MEEKP has provided advice on the approach and survey design.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Authority is scheduled for December 2023.