Agencies involved

The Department of Planning covers:

• The planning and development control functions in NSW, including the project's conditions of approval.

The Department of Natural Resources is:

• Responsible for natural resource management in NSW.

The Federal Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) covers the areas of local government, regional development and transport. The national focus on the need to upgrade the Pacific Highway arose because:

• It is one of Australia's most heavily used interstate road corridors by all classes of vehicles.
• It had the highest fatality rate among major Australian highways.
• It was required to meet the future road transport needs of two large cities – Sydney and Brisbane – as well as those of the nation's fastest growing non-metropolitan areas.

The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), encompasses:

• The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, which covers parks and reserves, cultural heritage and nature and conservation.
• The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is the regulatory authority, and responsible for waste, water, air, noise and environmental economics among other issues.

The departments of Mineral Resources NSW, NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries and State Forests of NSW are under the banner of NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

Specifically, the Department of Primary Industries objectives of NSW Fisheries are to conserve, develop and share the fishery resources of the State for the benefit of present and future generations. In particular:

• To conserve fish stocks and protect key fish habitats.
• To conserve threatened species, populations and ecological communities of fish and marine vegetation.
• To promote ecologically sustainable development, including the conservation of biological diversity.
• Provide social and economic benefits for the wider community of New South Wales.

Approval authority for activities that impact or potentially impact on non-indigenous heritage items.

Located on the mid north coast of New South Wales, 3 hours north of Sydney, 2 hours north of Newcastle and 1 hour south of Port Macquarie, the local government area of Greater Taree encompasses an area of 3,752 sq km and a population of approximately 45,000.

Port Macquarie-Hastings covers an area of 3,687 sq km of which a large proportion is state forest and national park, including beaches, waterways, coastal wetlands, floodplains and rugged mountains. The council area has three main townships with many small villages and localities. The largest town is Port Macquarie, which serves as both a major tourist destination and regional centre. Camden Haven is the next most populated area, including the towns of Dunbogan, Kendall, Kew, Laurieton, North Haven and West Haven. The other major township is Wauchope, which serves as the regional inland centre, particularly for rural communities and associated agricultural industries. The local government area has a population of approximately 64,000.

The RTA manages 17,919 km of state roads (including 4250km of AusLink network and 166 km of privately funded toll roads). This includes facilities such as traffic lights, roundabouts, signs and linemarking.

It also manages nearly 3000 kilometres of regional roads and local roads in the unincorporated area of NSW where there are no local councils.

It provides financial assistance to local councils to manage 18,486 kilometres of regional roads and, to a limited extent, local roads, through funding and other support. Other areas of RTA interest include 4,928 bridges, major culverts and tunnels and nine vehicular ferries.

Among its aims are:

• Improving road safety.
• Managing the road network to achieve consistent travel times.