Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to report to the House on the Gippsland Lakes Natural Assets Report Card and also to highlight this federal government's lack of ongoing funding commitments which need to be directly targeted to improving and maintaining the extraordinary environmental asset that we have in Gippsland, being the Gippsland Lakes.

This is the inaugural report card which uses six key indicators to represent what is a very complex ecosystem and catchment area. These indicators include water quality, algal blooms, wetlands, birds, seagrass and fish; and I quote from Professor Barry Hart, the Independent Chair of the Gippsland Lakes and Catchment Taskforce, who says:

Overall the condition of the Lakes has been rated as Moderate. The condition of Wetlands and Water Quality was highest rating—Good. Birds, Algal Blooms and Seagrass were rated—Moderate. Fish were rated—Poor.

Overall it is a very worthwhile report card. It certainly gives the people of Gippsland an indication of where the environmental status of the Gippsland Lakes is at the moment, and it will provide opportunities for future condition reporting on the Gippsland Lakes, so it is a good initiative.

My community places a very high value on the Gippsland Lakes and its river systems. It is a mecca for boating, swimming and fishing, and it is also culturally very significant for our Aboriginal community. Obviously the area is a key asset of our tourism industry, and the biodiversity and environmental attributes of the Gippsland Lakes is well recognised. I urge the federal government to understand the importance of this extraordinary system and to recognise the national significance of the Gippsland Lakes and start working with the state agencies in partnership on projects to improve and enhance the environment of the Gippsland Lakes.

The federal government's lack of commitment to the lakes is of great concern to me personally as someone who has advocated on behalf of the Gippsland Lakes system for the best part of a decade. The federal government did provide $3 million in the lead-up to the 2007 election campaign for some significant environmental projects—and I congratulated the government at that time and the minister responsible—but my concern is that this government views the Gippsland Lakes purely as an election campaign opportunity, not as something which needs to be maintained and preserved over many, many years. There are some major initiatives that are required in the Gippsland Lakes and catchment—some practical environmental projects—and, as we have seen with the recent announcement by the state government, it is going to require a significant amount of money over many, many years.

In the lead-up to last year's state election campaign, I was able to work with the state candidate Tim Bull to secure $10 million over three years for the Gippsland Lakes and catchment areas—for practical environmental work, for monitoring activities, all focused on improving the environmental health of the Gippsland Lakes system. So I think there is a real opportunity here for the federal government to leverage off that state funding and do some enormously important work right throughout the Gippsland Lakes and its catchment areas.

I am disappointed that in June this year when I asked the minister whether he had any ongoing funding commitments for the Gippsland Lakes he simply said that, yes, that was an election commitment in 2007 but the only funding that is going to be available now is through Caring for our Country and a competitive grants process. I urge the federal government to start working with the state government and to achieve some really great environmental outcomes for the people of Gippsland. (Time expired)