Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I said, I rise to second the motion put forward by the member for La Trobe, and I welcome the contribution from the member for Makin. I wasn't aware that he had put a motion forward earlier in the year. Well done on doing that, and I appreciate your input on this particular subject. It's great to join with the member for La Trobe in congratulating the coalition government for banning the importation of African lion-hunting trophies and for its participation in helping end the practice of canned hunting. The Australian trade ban prohibits the domestic commercial trade in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn and prohibits international trade import or export from Australia. In addition to this, it sets up an infringement fine system, offence provisions and penalties yet still allows the non-commercial exchange of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn specifically for bona fide scientific, educational and law enforcement purposes.

This is not about attacking legal hunters; it is about stopping illegal poaching. As we know, behind every ivory ornament or trinket there is an elephant that has been brutally killed for its tusks. Elephant tusks and rhino horns aren't there for aesthetics; they evolve from teeth, giving an evolutionary advantage. Elephants and rhinos use their tusks and horns to dig, to lift, to gather food and to defend themselves. Tusks also play a big role in protecting the trunks of elephants. Unlike Asian elephants, both male and female African elephants have tusks.

One elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its tusks and every eight hours a rhinoceros is killed for its horns. In Kenya alone, 60 per cent of its elephants were killed between 2009 and 2014. As a result, only 400,000 African elephants and less than 27,000 rhinos remain, pushing these magnificent animals to the brink of extinction. In fact, it is predicted they will be extinct in five to 10 years. Despite this, we can still buy and sell elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn in Australia. Can you believe that? We need urgent proactive and preventative measures to protect these animals. In recent years Australian authorities have seized multiple rhino and ivory products at our borders, yet people continue to import ivory into Australia. International illegal wildlife trade is valued at around US$5 billion to US$20 billion per year, making it the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, human trafficking and arms dealing. China, the United States, France and India have already enacted domestic trade bans. The African Elephant Coalition, consisting of over 29 elephant ranger states, have also sought to shut down global and domestic ivory markets.

We know ivory is highly valued. We know it is worth thousands of dollars on the unregulated markets. Whether it is for jewellery or ornaments or because of a belief that it contains healing properties, the animals are always killed in the process. We've seen local tribes using bows and arrows and more traditional hunting methods, but more and more we are seeing the use of weapons like AK-47 automatic rifles and even grenades on entire herds. The outcome is devastating. In fact, at some game reserves poachers will start a fire to draw the attention of rangers to one area of the park. While they flock to put the fire out, the poachers target the animals. Because of these sorts of tactics, a number of conservation groups and game reserves have actually undertaken a dehorning program for their rhinoceroses. By safely removing the horns, they greatly reduce the risk of animals being targeted by poachers, because they lose their worth to the poachers. Dehorning can be done safely for the animal after it has been anaesthetised. The dehorning program is widely publicised to deter poachers from reserves. When targeted by poachers, the horn is brutally removed and the animal is killed. In regions in South Africa, over one-third of all reserve rhinos have been dehorned and, out of 33 rhinos killed between 2009 and 2011, only one was a dehorned rhino.

Dehorning is not a standalone solution. We need a comprehensive approach using preventative and protective measures to secure the future of elephants and rhinoceroses. As it stands here in Australia, there are no requirements to show evidence of a product's origin, import history or age, despite some pieces being worth thousands of dollars. In 2014, our authorities seized carved ivory ornaments and jewellery at a shop in Sydney worth an estimated $80,000, and the following year in my home city of Perth, 110 kilograms of ivory was seized by Customs. I support this motion and I congratulate the member for La Trobe for bringing it to the House and I thank the other people who are making contributions.

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