Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to talk about the Belmont Wetlands State Park. It is an area that has been subject to mining over a long period. It has been mined above the ground and under the ground. It has been denuded by generations of mining and, when BHP finally withdrew from the area, the park was taken over by the New South Wales department of land and water conservation. A very dedicated and highly skilled group are involved in the trust. They are working to restore this park to its former beauty. It is a very environmentally sensitive area. It is a wetland and it not only benefits the people of the area but has the potential to become one of the best parks within not only New South Wales but Australia.

It is appropriate that we talk about this park at a time when the minerals resource rent tax has passed through the parliament. Rather than looking at what happened in the past when land was mined we are now looking at the future where mining companies will be giving something back to communities.

Today I am calling for all levels of government to work together to progress this wonderful state wetlands park. In the last few years, over $500,000 by way of grants has been given to the park by federal, state and local governments. If this park is to reach its full potential, it needs representatives at the federal, state and local government levels to work together, to work with the trust to ensure that the dumping and the vandalism stops, that the land is regenerated and that this very significant environmental area is restored to its former beauty.

I call on my state and local government colleagues to join with me to work towards ensuring that the funds that are needed can be acquired to ensure that this wonderful park is there for the benefit of future generations in Lake Macquarie and throughout New South Wales and Australia. (Time expired)

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