28Declaration of environmental objectives

28 Declaration of environmental objectives (1) The Minister may, by Gazette notice, declare environmental objectives for this Act. (2) In developing environmental objectives, the Minister must: (a) identify environmental matters that have value to the Territory and that need to be protected; and Environment Protection Act 2019 24 (b) determine for each matter the objective to be achieved in relation to the protection of the environment. (3) A declaration must be prepared in accordance with the regulations. (4) A declaration may be made on the Minister's own initiative or on the recommendation of the NT EPA under section 31. (5) The Minister must publish a statement of the reasons for making a declaration as soon as practicable after the declaration is made.