Senator Ludlam, Hansard, 25 February 2009, pp65&66

a) What type of environmental documentation do you produce, specifically for Talisman Saber?
b) What documents are available in the public domain?
c) What forms of community consultation have been undertaken by Defence in the areas around where the exercise will occur?
d) What is the cost of Exercise Talisman Saber 2009?

RESPONSE
a) The environmental impact assessment of Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 is being undertaken by Defence using the Public Environment Report methodology. The methodology is described in the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The key document that is produced is the Public Environment Report. The report aims to
communicate Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 activities to the Australian public and relevant
stakeholders. It outlines potential environmental risks associated with conducting the exercise, and the controls that the ADF intends to implement for the exercise to avoid or minimise environmental risks. The approach follows the guidance provided in the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts "Policy Statement 1.2 Significant Impact Guidelines - Actions on, or impacting upon Commonwealth land, and actions by Commonwealth agencies".
A Talisman Saber 2009 Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has also been developed to assist military participants in understanding their roles and responsibilities for environmental protection.
The EMP provides a summary of the environmental issues likely to be notable and requiring some degree of vigilance and/or management. All Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 activities have been subjected to a detailed risk assessment. The EMP provides clear guidance on environment management processes and planned controls, including exercise monitoring and incident management. It is not the intent of the EMP to create new processes or protocols where they are already in place. Instead, the goal is to provide a clear framework for environmental management during Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 through use of existing Defence controls contained within exercise procedures and instructions, standing orders and site environmental management documentation.
Environmental awareness materials are also produced to disseminate information about relevant environmental issues to exercise participants.
b) A number of documents can be downloaded from the Talisman Saber 2009 Environmental
Impact Assessment Project website. The key document is the Draft Public Environment Report, which, along with other fact sheets, maps and frequently asked questions can be downloaded from the website at www.talismansaber09.com.au. Fact sheets include information on:
• Exercise Talisman Saber 2009
• Draft Public Environment Report
• location of activities
• environmental controls
• sustainable environmental measures:
- noise and waste
- flora and fauna
- fire.
c) Formal public consultation about Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 occurred during the exhibition of the Public Environment Report from 13 October - 7 November 2008. Consultation included:
• 1800 Number, Reply Paid and project email address
• Mail out of information packs to key stakeholder groups
• Advertisements and public notices in local and state newspapers
• CD-ROMs at information sessions and static displays
• Static library displays throughout the consultation period
• Community information sessions at Rockhampton, Yeppoon, Townsville and Darwin
• Fact sheets during the consultation process at numerous locations
• A Public Environment Report website in which members of the public could access relevant
information and make an electronic submission.
At the end of this scheduled consultation period, Defence noted that fewer responses to the
environmental issues associated with the exercise had been received when compared to previous years. As a result, the consultation period was extended by a further eight business days to allow the public more time to comment.
d) The planning for Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 is still underway with the final planning
conference scheduled to be conducted 20-23 April 2009. With many planning uncertainties it is not possible, at this stage, to provide a precise figure of the cost of conducting Exercise Talisman Saber 2009. An estimated cost of staging the exercise is around $48 million. This amount is the additional cost associated with executing this activity and does not include ongoing personnel, force element or equipment costs of ownership by the ADF.