Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

Can we just reflect for a moment on the question and reflect on Senator Carr, who I believe is the shadow spokesman in this area or at least has some interest in this area. He named a series of properties that he says are actually on the World Heritage List. He named the Ningaloo Reef as a property that is on the World Heritage List. I suggest that, before Senator Carr gets up and asks a question, he goes to the World Heritage website, searches the World Heritage List and tries to find where Ningaloo Reef appears on it. It is not on the list, Senator Carr. So get your facts right, Senator, before you ask a question.

The very serious question was: why haven’t the World Heritage properties been placed on the National Heritage List? The reality is that some of them have but many have not. The new federal environmental law—otherwise known as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act—which Senator Hill referred to in his eloquent speech at midday as the world’s leading environmental law, created a provision to automatically transfer all of the World Heritage properties onto the National Heritage List, which is something that should have occurred. In fact, as you would know, Mr President, this was canvassed at great length in the estimates process, which Senator Carr did not attend. I presume he was not on that committee at the time. I refer anyone who is interested, including Senator Carr, to the extensive questioning in this area by his colleagues through the previous environment estimates committee processes. It is a legitimate question.