Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00321:front:0:p14
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018L00321
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 37370–40440

site
The Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs Ramsar site is located within the Lord Howe Marine Park. The site was listed under the Ramsar Convention in 2002 and is a wetland of international importance under the EPBC Act. The reefs form the southernmost open-ocean reef platform in the world and support internationally significant populations of seabirds and shorebirds.
Cultural values
Aboriginal people of eastern Australia have been sustainably using and managing their sea country for thousands of years, in some cases since before rising sea levels created these marine environments. Sea country refers to the areas of the sea that Aboriginal people are particularly affiliated with through their traditional lore and customs. Sea country is valued for Indigenous cultural identity, health and wellbeing.
Aboriginal people continue to assert inherited rights and responsibilities over sea country within the Temperate East Network. It is recognised that spiritual corridors extend from terrestrial areas into nearshore and offshore waters, that a number of marine animals are totems for Indigenous people, and that songlines pass through marine parks.
Heritage values
Protected places (world, national and Commonwealth heritage, historic shipwrecks)
The EPBC Act protects matters of national environmental significance that are classified as protected places, including world heritage properties and national heritage places. Places on the Commonwealth Heritage List or shipwrecks listed under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 are also protected places.
Historic shipwrecks are a unique historic value and the region is an area of considerable importance in Australia's maritime history. The Temperate East Network includes many historic shipwrecks that can be found in the Australian national shipwrecks database, such as the HMS Sirius, a flagship of the First Fleet, which was wrecked on the coral reef off Slaughter Bay, Norfolk Island in 1790.
The Temperate East Network includes the following internationally listed place:
Lord Howe Island Group World Heritage Property
The Lord Howe Island Group World Heritage Property is in and adjacent to the Lord Howe Marine Park. The property was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee in 1982 on the basis of its outstanding universal value. It supports a number of endemic species or subspecies of plants and animals.
Social and economic values
The Temperate East Network supports a range of important social and economic uses that underpin the prosperity and wellbeing of regional communities (Figure 2.3).
Commercial fishing, shipping and port-related activities, and tourism are industries of national economic significance.
Marine tourism activities, including charter fishing, snorkelling, diving and wildlife watching are also important commercial activities that offer unique visitor experiences to reefs, islands and lagoons particularly around Lord Howe and Norfolk Marine Parks. The Network also supports a range of recreational activities including fishing.
The island communities