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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I thank the minister for the answer. Given that the federal government recognises the highly significant Aboriginal cultural values in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area, as evidenced by the minister’s answer, does the federal government recognise that it has a role in providing resources for the Aboriginal traditional owners of the region to enable them to properly protect and maintain the cultural and environmental values of this incredibly important area? What assistance does the federal government provide to the Indigenous peoples of the area—those who signed up to the regional agreement that he referred to—and is the federal government satisfied with the level of support that the Indigenous people have been given in order to properly manage and assist with the maintenance and protection of those important cultural and environmental values that he has indicated a recognition of?