In As As The

‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 79 announced additional Australian Government funding for forestry industry structural adjustment packages and associated measures. 111 Selection process

5.10 On

27 May 2013, Environment Tasmania Inc. provided the then Federal Minister for the Environment with a proposal 112 outlining the Landscape Restoration Project and requesting 1.996 million in Australian Government funding to support the project. 113

5.11 At

the same time that Environment Tasmania Inc. provided its proposal to the Minister, the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests funding round, which had been specifically designed by the department and approved by the Minister to fund projects in support of the Tasmanian Forests Agreement, was open the round opened for applications on 20 May 2013 with a closing date of 12 June 2013.

5.12 Environment

did not advise Environment Tasmania Inc. to apply for funding in the open funding round, with the department submitting a brief to its Minister in support of funding the Environment Tasmania Inc. proposal through a discretionary grant on 25 June 2013. The brief stated that the grant was to be funded from the Investing in Tasmania’s Native Forests round and included as an attachment the department’s assessment of the project proposal. As outlined earlier, the department had not established the basis on which discretionary grants would be assessed. In the absence of an endorsed process, the brief outlined the department’s view that the proposed project would deliver upon the objectives of the Biodiversity Fund program and that it represented value for money, with the exception of one element of the project, which the department recommended not be funded. 111 The department advised the ANAO that these measures built upon the 2011 Tasmanian Forests IGA and were formalised in the 2013 Tasmanian Forests IGA that was signed in July 2013. The Hon. Tony Burke MP, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, press releases, 11 December 2012, available from: http:www.environment.gov.au ministerarchiveburke2012mr20121211.html and 31 January 2013, available from: http:www.environment.gov.auministerarchiveburke2013mr20130131.html [accessed 24 November 2014]. 112 It is not uncommon for organisations to seek funding directly from Ministers. 113 The letter to the Minister also outlined a proposal for a second project— titled Community Forest Walks— aimed at developing walking tracks in the new reserves established in the Tasmanian Forest Agreement. This project was ultimately funded via the Caring for Our Country initiative, and therefore has been excluded from further ANAO examination in this audit. ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 80

5.13 The