Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to speak to the annual report of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Coming from Queensland, I obviously have a strong interest in the Great Barrier Reef and the management of the marine park. It is an issue I have spoken about a number of times in the nearly nine years I have been in this chamber. I do try to take the opportunity to give praise to whoever is in government when that praise is due. I think one of the significant environmental achievements of this government in its time in office has been the rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park through the representative areas process—a very extensive process that took a long period of time, consulted a lot of people and deliberated on a lot of science. It still involved some compromises along the way and inevitably meant that some people were less than happy with the result. But there is no doubt that, whilst people from all sides would pick and choose about particular components within the rezoning, in totality it is a massive step forward in protecting and enhancing the environmental health of the marine park. There is more that needs to be done, of course. It is more than just zoning, but if you do not even get that right then you really have your work cut out, so I congratulate the government.

I note that under political pressure—indeed, from some within the coalition who were unhappy with that rezoning—a review into the authority was initiated. I think the devil will be in the detail with regard to how some of the findings of that review are implemented. I still have concerns about the potential for more power to be constituted in Canberra. It is not an uncommon practice these days for power to be concentrated in Canberra more and more. But, certainly, compared to what could have happened I think the review findings are relatively positive.

I am very pleased that the marine park authority will continue to be based in Townsville and that it will continue to play a significant role in and have control of the day-to-day management of the marine park. Frankly, I found it extraordinary that some coalition senators from Queensland wanted the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to be moved away from Queensland and centralised in Canberra. It is a pretty rare thing that you have Queenslanders actually asking for an on-the-ground presence to be taken out of Queensland and centralised in Canberra, and I found it quite extraordinary that some members of the government were actually suggesting that. However, it is a positive that it is still based in Townsville in Queensland. Townsville is becoming internationally recognised as a place of cutting-edge marine and reef research, which, I might say, is in large part due to the marine park, the authority and some of the wider potential that the marine park itself presents. We can only look to build on that.

Whilst it is certainly a positive that the rezoning of a significant number of protected areas occurred, I do have concern that not enough resources overall are provided to the marine park authority to properly manage what is an enormous area that stretches right from the tip of Cape York down to not far north of Bundaberg, just north of Fraser Island. It is an enormous area to manage with what is frankly quite a small amount of money. It is only around $30 million a year, some of which is generated through the so-called reef tax—a user-pays arrangement which impacts on the tourism industry. I do not have an objection to that or to exploring other user-pays arrangements. For example, we have fishing licences in a number of states that generate some revenue. My belief is that, on the whole, recreational fishers do not object to that if they know the money will go back into managing that environment and keeping it healthy. I think that is an option, but I also think that state and federal governments are getting away on the cheap with what is an incredibly valuable resource. It is important economically, environmentally and even, dare one say, to the psyche of Queensland to protect the reef and the marine park around it. I think we need to be doing more to achieve that. I am proud of the role the Democrats have played in ensuring greater protection for the reef and it is certainly something I will continue to do. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.