Sustainable Ports Development Act 2015

The purpose of this Act, consisting of five Parts and completed by one Schedule, is to provide for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area through managing port-related development in and adjacent to the area. The purpose is achieved by: (a) prohibiting particular future development in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area; and (b) providing for the development of master plans that establish a long-term vision for the future development of priority ports consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development; and (c) implementing master plans through port overlays that regulate development in and surrounding priority ports. (3) Also, the purpose is to be achieved in a way that includes the following: (a) long-term planning for priority ports to provide a strategic and coordinated approach to managing economic, environmental, cultural and social values in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area; (b) concentrating port development in priority ports; (c) recognising the diverse functions of the port network, including trade, tourism and defence operations; (d) efficiently using port and supply chain infrastructure; (e) expanding port and supply chain capacity in a staged and incremental way to meet emerging demand for imports and exports; (f) identifying and protecting land and infrastructure critical to the effective operation of the port network.