Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the motion submitted by the member for La Trobe and commend him for so doing—and the previous speakers. There's no doubt that African animals are in grave danger of becoming extinct due to illegal poaching and the trade in ivory and rhinoceros horn. The figures, sadly, are too hard to ignore. The black rhino's population has decreased by 97.6 per cent since 1960. Lions are now extinct in seven African countries. Up to 35,000 African elephants were killed last year alone. At the current rates of poaching, elephants and rhinos and some of the other unique African animals may be extinct within our lifetime. That would be a tragedy, not only for Australians who dream of one day visiting Africa to see these majestic animals in their natural habitat, but for the many African people who rely on animal tourism for their livelihood.

Poachers are encouraged to continue their disgusting trade by people in Australia and around the world who pay huge amounts for elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn. Rhinoceros horn is, pound for pound, much more expensive than gold. Some misguided people believe it has medicinal qualities, curing many ailments, from hangovers to cancer. However, there is no evidence that it has any medicinal qualities at all. Of course, our government should do all it can to prevent any contribution that Australia may be making to this illegal trade. That is just being a good, responsible global citizen. Realistically, Australia's contribution to the encouragement of this illegal trade is not the largest. Sadly, China is responsible for up to 70 per cent of the illegal ivory sold. Nonetheless, it is important that the Australian community also take our responsibilities seriously.

We should know, more than most countries, the value of our natural wonders, especially in difficult economic times. I know, coming from Queensland, that the Great Barrier Reef is a huge drawcard for tourists. Tourism in Central Queensland is worth about $1.4 billion to the economy and supports 7,000 jobs. That's why when Labor was in government we implemented major reforms to protect our oceans. The Turnbull government, sadly, is rolling back some of these protections. It proposes to remove 40 million hectares of marine national parks from protection. So, while we should be concerned about illegal poaching and the protection of endangered species in Africa, or wherever they are, this government is in the box seat to protect marine parks in our own backyard. Sadly, some of those opposite have abandoned these parks, even though one of them was set up by the member for Wentworth when he was the environment minister. Obviously, that was a person from another time, another place.

We were reminded last week that Africa is also far from immune from the devastation of international terrorism. With up to 300 lives lost and many more people receiving terrible injuries, the people of Somalia were dealt a dreadful blow last week. As terrible as the loss of life from this attack has been, it has also caused massive destruction in the Mogadishu business district. I send my prayers to all the Somali community in Australia, especially those living in Moreton.

Australia could make a real difference to the lives of African people by fighting poaching and also stepping up to help Africans combat international terrorism. Australia's expertise in counterterrorism could strengthen the resilience of Africa to combat this very real and increasing threat. In fact, in an article in The Australian newspaper today, Anthony Bergin, the senior research fellow at ANU's National Security College, says that:

Australia has 190 ASX-listed companies running 590 mining and exploration projects across 38 countries on the continent.

The projects these Australian companies are embarking on in Africa may increase the potential for terrorist threats to occur. So it's incumbent on these companies and the Australian government to do all they can to mitigate that risk. Mr Bergin also suggests that more of the African aid budget be spent on countries facing the threat of terrorism by jihadist groups to bolster their resources and fund the necessary capabilities to defeat those groups.

Sadly, the Turnbull government has abandoned Australia's bipartisan commitment to aid funding and slashed well over $11 billion from our international development assistance budget. This is short-sighted and fails to take into account that strengthening the resilience of Africa to counterterrorism would not only help Africans but also assist with stability in the region, which would then help all Africans and obviously be good for those Australians with African connections. Many of them call my electorate of Moreton home—people from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, South Africa, Congo and Eritrea, to name but a few. Just one year ago, a Sudanese Australian from my local community stopped his taxi to get a haircut at the Moorooka shops. He saw a bus in flames and stepped in and saved 11 people who were trapped on that bus. Sadly, one person died in that accident—Mr Alisher—but we'll be opening a park in his honour, called Manmeet's Paradise, on Saturday.

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