Complementary legislation
Complementary legislation refers to laws that complement or supplement each other, applying matching or ‘mirrored’ provisions to enhance public understanding or enhance the mutual strengths of the laws.
The reasons why complementary management is essential in the GBR is outlined under ‘Impact’ for this Blue Solution, including the fact that the State and federal governments cannot agree where the boundary occurs between their respective jurisdictions.
The Zoning Plan for the federal Marine Park was revised from 1999-2003 and came into effect on 1 July 2004. To ensure complementarity and to minimise public confusion, the State of Queensland declared the Great Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park in November 2004. The zoning for this Coast Marine Park mirrors the adjoining federal zoning by providing complementary rules and regulations between high water and low water, all along the mainland adjoining the GBR and around all Queensland islands within the outer boundaries of the federal Marine Park.
Complementary zoning means that activities that can be undertaken within the two Marine Parks are governed by the same regulations; however, there are also some Queensland specific provisions that may apply only in the GBR Coast Marine Park.
• The Australian Constitution states when a State law is inconsistent with a federal law, then the federal law shall prevail; the State law is, to the extent of the inconsistency, invalid.
• Section 2A(3f) of the GBRMP Act requires “... a collaborative approach to management of the GBR World Heritage area with the Queensland government”.
• The 1979 intergovernmental agreement agreed on a complementary approach which subsequently aided the evolution of effective complementary legal instruments.
• Complementary legislation ensures a workable solution so that all marine waters seaward of the Highest Astronomical Tide are effectively under the same rules and regulations, irrespective of the jurisdiction in which they occur.
• Using complementary legislation for policy is far more effective than having slightly differing interpretations for adjoining areas or similar provisions drafted in a way that allows differing interpretations.
• A complementary approach is more holistic and effective for the following reasons:
- ecologically: it recognises temporal/spatial scales at which ecological systems operate (rather than the inadequacies of jurisdictional boundaries)
- practically: it is easier to manage, ensuring that matters do not slip through ‘unforeseen regulatory cracks’; and
- socially: it helps with public understanding and hence compliance.
• To ensure a complementary approach, officers in both governments cooperate when developing policies.