Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment. Will the minister advise the House of what steps the government is taking to protect and open to the public foreshore land on Sydney Harbour, particularly at the former submarine base HMAS Platypus on Neutral Bay? What will be the benefits to the Sydney community of the government's approach?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'Best minister in the world'!

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They never said that of you!

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members will compose themselves. The minister has the call.

Opposition members interjecting—

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are welcome at any time, my friend.

I want to thank the member for North Sydney. He has been a great champion of cleaning up the Platypus site of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust—not just as the new member for North Sydney but when he was a councillor for North Sydney and, in particular, when he was working as an adviser to Senator Robert Hill, who, at that stage, had responsibility for establishing the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. He was one of the architects of this great monument to Sydney's history. It was an important role because the Labor government under Prime Minister Keating—prior to the Howard government—had wanted to sell a lot of that foreshore. That decision was reversed under the Howard government, and it was taken forward.

What has happened under the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust—with the support not only of the member for North Sydney but also the support of the former Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister; they have all been advocates of its work—is that we have seen more than $216 million invested. We have seen a dramatic clean-up of places such as Cockatoo Island, Platypus and Chowder Bay and the incredible restoration there as well as the conversion of the magnificent North Sydney area to sustainable public use forever.

Against that background, what we have seen is that $43 million has been allocated to clean up the former industrial and naval site of HMAS Platypus. That project is now almost overwhelmingly complete. The next great phase is to create one of Australia's great inner urban public parks. That was announced while the now member for North Sydney was campaigning for the seat: it was his initiative, along with others within the community. He campaigned for it, he advocated for it and he won that commitment from the federal government. So we will deliver a new public park as part of the HMAS Platypus clean-up for the people of North Sydney, for the people of Sydney and for the people of Australia.

There are very few new public parks created in inner city areas. This will be one. So the clean-up is now overwhelmingly done. The next phase is to move to community consultation, community involvement, community design and community ownership and naming of this site. The member for North Sydney will help lead that process. He has delivered with it a $20 million contribution and commitment from the federal government, so in a short time he has already made a difference. Over a long period, this government, over successive incarnations, has made a huge commitment to protecting and preserving the Sydney's foreshore. I congratulate the new member. (Time expired)