Report No. 186

Qualification of Commissioners

The Members in the panel of three Commissioners which is advisory and which is attached to each Environment Court must, in our view, be qualified in the following manner. Each commissioner must have

"(1) a degree in environmental sciences together with at least five years experience as an environmental scientist or engineer, or

(2) adequate knowledge of and experience to deal with various aspects of problems relating to environment, and in particular the scientific or technical aspects of environmental problems including protection of environment and environment impact assessment."

We also recommend an Explanation to be inserted on the model of section 12 of the NSW land and Environment Act, 1979, with a slight modification, as follows:

"In appointing Commissioners, it must be ensured, as far as practicable, that they are persons who hold qualifications and experience across the range of areas in regard to which issues of environment or ecology arise"