Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Well, more than that, Senator Boswell. He gave the clear impression that the Labor Party was at one with the coalition in addressing this issue. Unfortunately, the then government was not in a position to amend the law when the parliament resumed after the election. We thought and hoped that the current government would honour its election commitment to change the law, but it has not done so. We have inquired about it at estimates on a number of occasions, and I and a lot of other people have written a lot of letters to the government about it, but it has found a deaf ear with the government. So, as a way of implementing not only what the coalition promised but also what the Labor Party promised before the election, we have come up with an amendment.

That is the background to the amendments that are going to be moved by the opposition. I just want to deal briefly now with the amendment before the chair, which relates to at least one member of the board having knowledge of or experience in the tourism industry or another industry associated with the marine park. Appointments have been made to the board, as it now stands, by the current minister. An Aboriginal person, Melissa George, has been appointed—and that appointment is appropriate. Mr Russell Beer, a solicitor from Cairns, has also been appointed to the board. He is a very significant businessperson in Cairns, in Far North Queensland, and he has had a role in government advisory committees previously and is involved with Advance Cairns, which a sort of business-commercial and government promotion bureau in the Far North Queensland area—and that is quite an appropriate appointment.

But neither of the appointees, as far as I am aware—and I do not know either of them terribly well personally—has any direct experience with the Great Barrier Reef. I assume Mr Beer, as a solicitor in Cairns—and I once used to practise that profession in North Queensland myself—would be doing things related to the Great Barrier Reef, but his principal activity is commercial law, which I understand he does very well. But I think the board would benefit by having someone on the board who had direct experience in relation to the Great Barrier Reef.

Our amendment says ‘the tourism industry or another industry’, and that could be a fishing industry, a boating industry or anything that has a relationship to the reef. I would certainly like to have someone nominated by the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators considered by the minister as an appointee to the board. I say that because the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators—a very good organisation—are very responsible people who understand that their future depends on keeping the Barrier Reef in a very pristine condition. In fact, they already spend a lot of their own money dealing with the crown-of-thorns starfish and in many other ways enhancing the unique experience that is the Great Barrier Reef.

There are very substantial monetary benefits to Australia from tourism activity on the Great Barrier Reef. Many thousands of Australians are employed by the tourism activities along, across, near and adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. The administration of the marine park would be better served if we could be assured that there would always be someone there who had some direct experience on the reef. I understand that these are not representative bodies—at least, I understand that that is the government’s position; it was certainly the previous government’s position. They are not representative board members. They do not represent anyone in particular. They are there because of their experience and expertise, as board members, related to the Barrier Reef. But it would certainly benefit the administration of the authority if there was someone there who had a direct and constant association with the reef, an understanding of what is happening day by day, week by week and month by month, an understanding of how the reef acts and an understanding of the importance of the industries that are associated with the reef.

I guess the government would say, ‘Well, look, we’ll consult widely and we’ll appoint people to the reef.’ That is the prerogative of the government. But I think that this amendment would ensure that the government, when picking whomever they like, at least would pick someone who has that direct experience and direct connection with the reef. I urge all senators to support this amendment. It has no cost and is otherwise unexceptional as an amendment, but I think it would improve the bill before us.