Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00138:front:0:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2023L00138
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 10–3439

Commonwealth of Australia

          Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

          Subsection 269A(3)

    Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Recovery Plan—Botaurus poiciloptilus) Instrument 2023

  We, Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water (Commonwealth); Reece Whitby, Minister for Environment (State of Western Australia); David Speirs, Minister for Environment and Water (State of South Australia); Lily D'Ambrosio, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change (State of Victoria); and Meaghan Scanlon, Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef (State of Queensland) under subsection 269A(3) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), jointly make a recovery plan titled:

     National Recovery Plan for the Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), Commonwealth of Australia 2022

 The recovery plan will come into force on the day after the plan is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Dated this 5th day of February 2023

Tanya Plibersek

Tanya Plibersek

Minister for the Environment and Water (Commonwealth)

Dated this 8 day of March 2022

Reece Whitby

Reece Whitby

Minister for Environment (Western Australia)

Dated this 16 day of April 2021

David Speirs

David Speirs

Minister for Environment and Water (South Australia)
Dated this 31st day of December 2021

Lily D'Ambrosio

Lily D'Ambrosio

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change (Victoria)

Dated this 13 day of June 2022

Meaghan Scanlon

Meaghan Scanlon

Minister for the Environment and Great Barrier Reef (Queensland)

              Contents

Summary

             Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)

             Family: Ardeidae

             Current status of taxon:
•       Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth): Endangered

•       Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 (Queensland): Endangered

•       Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (New South Wales): Endangered

•       Nature Conservation Act 2014 (Australian Capital Territory): Endangered

•       Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Victoria): Critically Endangered

•       National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 (South Australia): Vulnerable

•       Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (Western Australia): Endangered

•       IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Endangered

             Distribution and habitat:
             In addition to Australia, the Australasian Bittern occurs in New Zealand and New Caledonia. In Australia, Australasian Bitterns can be divided into two subpopulations, the south eastern and south western subpopulations. The species occurs discontinuously along the east coast from south east Queensland to south east South Australia and Tasmania, extending into the Murray–Darling Basin. In Western Australia, it is presently confined to widely separated parts of the south western and south eastern coast and a small number of wetlands farther inland. Breeding of both subpopulations occurs at both coastal and inland sites. The Australasian Bittern preferred habitat comprises wetlands with dense vegetation from 0.5–3.5 metres in height, where it forages in still, shallow water up to 0.3 m deep, often at the edges of pools or waterways, or from platforms or mats of vegetation over deep water. It favours