Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Just to follow up on what Senator Colbeck and Senator Brown have just said, the issue of whales is critically important. The definitions in this bill say that the reference to the ‘conservation’ only refers to the ‘resources of the sea and seabed’. It was written 40 years ago in the context of the oil mining and exploration industry. I want to know if ‘resources of the sea and seabed’ include cetaceans and other creatures that move through the environment. I asked why you have ‘resources of the sea and seabed’ and not the broader definition of ‘marine environment’. This would encapsulate everything in the marine environment, not just the sea and seabed, which are very specific terms relating to the interests of the oil and gas industry.