Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

In relation to the steering committee that Senator Milne referred to, that process is continuing. I do not have any specific information on its deliberations, but it will reconvene in the second week of March. As to the issue of what activity was occurring in and around Bass Strait at what time, I stand by my comments. The seismic work that was being conducted at the time of the whale stranding was over 430 kilometres away in Bass Strait. The strandings occurred off the south-east coast of Tasmania. There are a range of issues in relation to that on which the science is being developed. I recognise it is a serious issue and there are a range of scientific opinions on that. But, as I said earlier, I believe to apply carte blanche blame to certain things without putting the details of the facts on the table is disingenuous.

I ask Senator Milne to consider the terminology she uses, particularly in relation to marine parks and marine protected areas. There is a distinct difference. Under operations occurring at the moment, marine protected area proposals are currently being developed for the south-east region of Australia. Under the proposals, something like 17 per cent of that region will be included in marine protected areas, as opposed to the 10 per cent that Senator Milne talked about. But they are not marine parks; they are marine protected areas. There are different classifications of use allowed within those marine protected areas. In some circumstances, they allow fishing. I am concerned at Senator Milne’s understanding of that as an issue because the fishermen are not necessarily locked out of marine protected areas, depending upon the use classification. Given the prominence of the issue in her home state of Tasmania over the last few months, I am really concerned that she does not appear to understand exactly what is going on with that.

In relation to interaction with the EPBC Act, for every activity authorised under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act, an environmental management plan is required. These requirements are set out in regulations made under the act, the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Management of Environment) Regulations 1999. They effectively deal with the issues that Senator Milne raised in relation to her amendments. That is the basis on which the government will not be supporting the Greens amendments.

The government, throughout this process, has consulted with the environmental movement. It has consulted with the Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth Australia, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, the Wilderness Society, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, the World Wide Fund for Nature Australia, the Surfrider Foundation, the Marine and Coastal Community Network and the conservation council of Australia.