Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to present the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010 because this bill strikes two important blows. It strikes a blow for Aboriginal rights and it strikes a blow for the importance of economic advancement for the Aboriginal people of Australia.

This private member’s bill is designed to correct the defects in the current Queensland Wild Rivers Act. I want to stress that this private member’s bill certainly does not scrap environmental protection. That is the last thing that I would want to do. What it does do, though, is enshrine the absolute necessity of consent by Aboriginal people for a Queensland wild rivers declaration to apply over their land and it does stress the absolute importance of economic development for the future of Aboriginal people. We do not want Aboriginal people living in remote areas to be confined forever to welfare villages. We want the Aboriginal people of remote areas to have access to all the benefits of Australian citizens. But part of the benefit of living in Australia is that you normally have reasonable rights to economically develop your land, and these reasonable rights have been in effect taken away by the current Queensland legislation. This is why this bill is important.

I want to say how proud I am to be bringing this bill before the House on behalf of the Aboriginal people of remote Queensland and I want to say how pleased I am that the coalition parties in this parliament are supporting this piece of legislation. It is not so long ago that people would not have expected the coalition parties to be supporting the rights of Indigenous people in this way, but one of the ways in which the coalition I lead have changed is that we believe in the rights of Aboriginal people and we particularly believe in their right to take their place at the forefront of our national life.

Let me read what the former Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, the member for Griffith, said on the day of the celebrated national apology in this parliament. He said:

… unless the great symbolism of reconciliation is accompanied by an even greater substance, it is little more than a clanging gong.

I of course congratulate the former Prime Minister on his act of statesmanship and leadership on that day, but I want to say that it ill behoves this parliament not to support this legislation, which is designed precisely to ensure that reconciliation is more than a simple gesture; that the fine words of this parliament on that day in February 2008 are backed up with concrete legislative action to give the Aboriginal people of this country the rights that they need.

I should also remind the parliament of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which the government subscribed in April last year, which provides for, amongst other things, the right of Indigenous peoples to own, use, develop and control their lands. These are worthy sentiments to which the government sitting opposite has subscribed, yet these are precisely the sentiments which are frustrated by the Queensland legislation that my act is designed to correct.

It is often said that the wild rivers legislation has not in fact stopped any particular developments.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s a lie.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is wrong. There is the Cape Alumina development that has not gone ahead, which would have provided hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and hundreds of jobs for Aboriginal people on the Cape; there is the Matilda Zircon development, which has not gone ahead because of the impact of the Queensland wild rivers legislation; and then there are all the plans that are never made because Aboriginal people in Cape York—

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The little sand and gravel operators.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

do not feel that they have the money, the time or the administrative skills to wade through these extra thickets of red tape which are now standing in the way of their development. My bill ensures that these wild rivers declarations cannot have effect without the specific consent of the affected Aboriginal people. Under the Queensland legislation there is a requirement to consult. I am saying what we need is a requirement for consent. What I am saying is that the economic development of Cape York, the Gulf and other remote parts of Queensland should not be subject to bureaucratic decision-making—

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Brisbane based.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by a Labor-Green alliance in Brisbane. I note the enthusiastic support of the member for Kennedy, who will second the motion for the introduction of this legislation. Over the last week I have been doing my best to consult with people on the ground. I want to thank Noel Pearson and Richie Ah Mat for their strong support for this legislation. I want to acknowledge the good work of the Cape York Partnerships and the Cape York Land Council in supporting this private member’s bill. I want to thank Greg McLean, the chairman of the Regional Organisation of Councils of Cape York, who has strongly opposed the Queensland government’s legislation in its present form and has done so on behalf of all of the elected councils of Cape York. I want to thank AgForce, representing the Indigenous and non-Indigenous graziers of remote Queensland, for their support of this legislation.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most of the gulf’s graziers are of Aboriginal descent.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also thank the Carpentaria Land Council for the consultations I had with them last week, along with my friend the member for Kennedy. The Carpentaria Land Council is, of course, part of his electorate. The Carpentaria Land Council does not support every aspect of the legislation I bring before the House today but I am pleased that we will be continuing the dialogue and I am pleased that they certainly support the principle of consent being further enshrined, as this legislation does. I also acknowledge discussions I have had with Cape York Sustainable Futures and the discussions I have had and will continue to have with Burke Shire Council.

I am prepared to contemplate further amendments to this bill, if that is what is necessary to secure broader support from the Aboriginal people of remote Australia. What I will not give up on under any circumstances is my determination to ensure that the Aboriginal people of Australia finally get a fair go where their land is concerned. The land which Aboriginal people have secured is obviously a cultural and spiritual asset but it should also be an economic asset. That is what my bill is designed to secure.

In closing, I think it is good that there is a further inquiry into the Queensland wild rivers legislation but it is very important that this inquiry not turn out to be a delaying tactic, given that we all know the importance of economic development—and it is clear that that legislation is a hindrance to it. I saw last week the excellent work of wild rivers rangers in and around Normanton. I support that work. That work should continue and it is quite wrong of Premier Bligh of Queensland to threaten those rangers with an end to their funding if this bill passes. I support their work. Were we in government, we would continue that program because they are doing good work. This bill should pass if we are serious about the economic advancement of Aboriginal people.

Bill read a first time.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will be seconding the motion with enthusiasm and determination.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! In accordance with standing order 41(c), the second reading will be made an order of the day for the next sitting, on which occasion I am sure the member for Kennedy, in his enthusiasm, will have an opportunity to address the House.