Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to rise to speak to this motion from the member for Shortland, as many in this House know of my passion for the environment. It is in recognition of this passion that the then shadow minister for the environment, now minister, announced in 2012 my role as the coalition's Environment Ambassador for Western Australia. Landcare should be congratulated in their 25th year of operation for the campaigns and practical work they achieve and for their many volunteers who conduct activities across this country to promote sustainable natural resource management in partnership with our farmers, miners and, of course, local communities. It is the strength of their ethos and passion that sees them continue to grow and thrive within our environmental discourse and landscape. It is also because of this strength that they will continue to grow and thrive for many, many more years to come.

In my electorate of Hasluck, we are proud to be the home of Men of the Trees WA. Men of the Trees is an outstanding local not-for-profit group that promotes environmental sustainability, revegetates landscapes by planting trees across Western Australia and educates young and old alike. I mention Men of the Trees for two reasons. Firstly, when the Minister for the Environment, then shadow minister for the environment, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, visited Men of the Trees in 2011 to launch Hasluck's Green Map, he committed half a million trees to them should the coalition be successful at last year's election. I am pleased to report that I have had many fruitful discussions with the minister about the delivery of this commitment and I look forward to making further statements and announcements on it in the future. Secondly, Men of the Trees are trying to set a new world record! On Friday, 25 July this year, Men of the Trees will be attempting to plant 100,000 seedlings within an hour to break the world record. I am thrilled today to inform the House that Team Hasluck and I will be at Whiteman Park, assisting Men of the Trees in this world record attempt.

Men of the Trees are looking for more volunteers to help out at the Project 100k—The Greening Challenge world record attempt. If Western Australian residents, particularly those within Hasluck and Pearce, want to get involved then contact my office or Men of the Trees directly to find out more information. You can also jump online and visit their website or Facebook page.

The reason I have talked about Men of the Trees and their world record attempt is that Landcare Australia regularly partners with them and is promoting the world record attempt—proof of the local partnerships and impact they have in my electorate of Hasluck. Those opposite, particularly the member for Shortland, have used this motion—which should be a positive endorsement of Landcare's outstanding track record in the community and celebration of Landcare's 25th anniversary—as a cheap political stunt to attack the government. Shame on them. Instead of attacking the government, the member for Shortland and the Leader of the Opposition should outline how they plan to fix the budget mess that they helped create.

Now the Budget has been delivered, the design of the National Landcare Program can be progressed. Despite the member's protestations, through the National Landcare Program, the government will invest $1 billion from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The government intends to put land management back at the centre of Landcare. It is interesting to note that over three-quarters of farmers identify with the Landcare movement—some 6,000 Landcare groups and over 100,000 volunteers. This demonstrates that Australians understand how important it is to get natural resource management right. The National Landcare Program is complemented by other initiatives, including the Green Army program, the Reef 2050 Plan, the Whale and Dolphin Protection Plan, Working on Country, the Land Sector Package and investments in the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. In fact, Landcare groups will be key beneficiaries of the government's long and proud history of supporting local communities' land management efforts.

I pledge today that I will continue to advocate and promote the government's environmental credentials in Hasluck, Western Australia and across the nation. The members opposite can play their cheap political games but, at the end of the day, the government's strong environmental agenda will strengthen and protect the rich natural landscape that makes Australia such a great place to call home.

Debate adjourned.

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