James Bidgood (Dawson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in favour of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. The bill will establish a modern and robust regulatory framework, providing capability for the efficient and effective protection and management of the Great Barrier Reef into the future. The bill implements recommendations 18 to 28 of the 2006 review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975. That review found that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act has served its purpose well over the past 30 years but needs to be updated and better integrated with other legislation to meet future needs and challenges. This bill will establish a modern framework for administration of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act and management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that is aligned, integrated and not duplicated with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and other legislation. This includes a new objects section, recognition of the World Heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef and the application of principles such as ‘ecologically sustainable use’ and the ‘precautionary principle’. This bill will also establish the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as the basis for environmental impact assessment and approval of actions in the marine park involving significant environmental impacts. This includes establishing the marine park as a matter of national environmental significance under the EPBC Act. This bill will also enhance capability for investigation and evidence collection, in particular by allowing inspectors appointed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to use the investigation related powers of the EPBC Act for the purposes of the GBRMP Act. The relevant GBRMP Act powers are repealed.

This bill will also provide a wider range of enforcement options, allowing for a more tailored and targeted approach to enforcement. This includes new administrative mechanisms, expanded availability of infringement notices and the introduction of civil penalty provisions. This proposed act will also enhance deterrence and encourage responsible use of the marine park. This includes adjusting penalties to ensure they are neither too lenient nor too harsh, depending on the circumstances; the introduction of alternative sanctions, such as remediation and publicity orders; and the establishment of an environmental duty applying to marine park users, similar to that applying under state legislation. This bill will also establish new emergency management powers, allowing the authority to respond to incidents presenting a serious risk to the environment of the marine park. These powers will complement and be subservient to those of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

As it happens, this bill also honours a Rudd Labor government election promise to reinstate a requirement for the authority to include an Indigenous member. I am particularly pleased to see this amendment because in my seat of Dawson we have the highest population of South Sea islanders gathered anywhere in Australia. It is only fair, right and just that someone from that large community in my electorate is on this authority to represent the interests of the traditional owners.

I asked the Parliamentary Library to do some fact finding for me on the coastline of the electorate, and I was quite interested with some of the answers I got back. As you travel through the seat of Dawson, you will see that there is one thing that we love to talk about, and that is tourism. We are passionate about international tourism and we have a slogan: ‘Queensland: beautiful one day, perfect the next.’ It is just like the Rudd Labor government! You just cannot beat this government, especially when there are two Queenslanders at the top of it—Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan. It is absolutely great leadership and great command. I am looking forward to this Sunday, when the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the vast majority of the federal cabinet are coming to Mackay to engage the local people and hear their concerns. The boundaries of the electorate of Dawson have been redrawn, so I asked the Parliamentary Library to find out how much coastline I actually have in my electorate. Mr Speaker, I was quite interested in the answer.

See this speech in context