Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is such a relief that this is not a political discussion and I do thank Senator Macdonald for that entirely apolitical contribution he just made to the debate! This is an intensely serious issue for all Queenslanders, but not just for Queenslanders. I think it is a privilege that the concern about this issue is shared across the country. I know this area very well. It is a very beautiful, pristine piece of Queensland. The threat we are facing is serious and significant. But any attempt to pretend that there is not concern and not an appropriate response can only be coming from someone who is fighting over jurisdictional responsibilities. Consistently in the previous contribution to this debate we heard about ‘who told whom when’. The major issue is that after 3 am, on the morning when the Brisbane harbour authority advised that there was an issue in the area, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority received that information and, from that point on, the well-established cooperative national plan for handling these disasters was put into action.

This national plan, Australia’s National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances—a quite direct title—reflects what should happen in such circumstances. From the moment that there was a complaint made, this plan came into effect. The plan states that the owning agency is the national agency—Mr Albanese’s agency; it comes under the transport portfolio—which works cooperatively with the relevant state, in this case Queensland. This plan has been around since about 1973 and is an acknowledgement, because of the deep concern that our country has for our environment, that should an incident occur—and unfortunately it did occur—there should be a national response which clearly delineates the responsibilities. In this case the national organisation had the overall authority, but the ownership for operations was with the Queensland state government. There had to be a communications strategy developed between those levels of government and then involvement by the relevant local government.

There seems to be a bit of an issue in Queensland and in Brisbane. The state government has been working with the Moreton Shire, under Mayor Sutherland, and not, I believe from what I have heard in the media and from Senator Macdonald, involving the Brisbane City Council in the way that they had hoped. That is really unfortunate and, in terms of how we can best cooperate, we need to involve all people. But making this into a barney over which organisation should own what defeats the purpose of having a national coordinated strategy which looks at the issues involved and the expertise which is available. One of the core aspects of the national plan is to see whether national expertise is available and develop the best response to the particular issues.

We should remember that on the Wednesday evening and the Thursday we were suffering gale force conditions off the Queensland coast. This area is now subject to a legal consideration and there will be reviews of what occurred, so I do not want to go into that area. But, as to the legal responsibilities, it seems to me that an accident occurred because of the conditions. We need to find out how we can clean up the area which has been affected. I share the concerns that have been raised by all speakers about what this could do to our environment, to the animals and to the whole future of this very beautiful piece of Queensland. There have been legitimate concerns raised about what is going to happen to the businesses that rely on tourism in that area to survive, along with concerns about fishing and the general enjoyment of that particular part of the world.

As a result of discussions with the Queensland state government, I can say that a lot of good work has been done and a number of areas are to an extent working through a quite successful clean-up process. Bribie Island, which many people know, has wonderful beaches and a large population. Currently, 95 per cent of that area has been declared clean. Certainly, they continue to watch the area because the oil is on the tide and so they have to watch that very closely. Under the national plan, experts are visiting the area and keeping an eye on what is going on. This is what we would expect and this is in direct cooperation with the Moreton Bay Regional Council and the people who are working on the job.

The Sunshine Coast, slightly further north, is also affected, particularly around the Currimundi and Port Cartwright areas, where there are local clean-up processes underway. One kilometre of that area is defined as ‘heavily oiled’. They had to have special removal processes put in place because of the amount of oil there. Most beaches have now been opened. We have 16 now open on Bribie Island and on the coast and eight remain closed. Hopefully, during today—maybe during this debate—we will get information about further openings and people who are watching what is happening to their own area will be able to get advice about what is going on and what future action will take place.

Fortunately, the Maroochy and Mooloolah rivers are currently clear and they have booms on stand-by if they are required. It is a case, once again, of working effectively with the local regions—in fact with Mayor Abbot, whom Senator Macdonald referred to earlier. They are working with the local council there to see what is going on.

Moreton Island has been the focus of much of the media coverage in Queensland, most particularly because a lot of the oil was moving in there and the coastal area was deeply affected. It is also an important tourist area and there is great concern about the long-term effects of this natural disaster. As of today, 25 per cent of the Moreton Island area has been declared clear. Clean-up crews are focusing on Middle Creek in Cape Moreton, with Honeymoon Bay—an extraordinarily beautiful place—having been largely cleaned. There are still 25 kilometres of oiled beach on the eastern side to be cleared. Approximately 300 staff arrived this morning and are on the beach. That was this morning at about 10 am; I expect they are still there, because the work continues.

One of the core issues is making sure that the appropriate work is done and the appropriate process is followed. Senator Macdonald talked earlier about the issue of heavy machinery and scathingly referred to the national plan having a preference for using individuals with buckets and spades under certain circumstances. That was not a throwaway joke; it was a clear decision based on the level of the oil and the condition of the sand in those areas. You do not have heavy machinery going onto beaches without having the appropriate scientific approval that that is appropriate. The decision was made, particularly around some areas of sand and around some rocky areas, that it was much more effective, though focused intensely on individual personnel, to use individuals so that people would be able to work safely, there would be fewer accidents and that people would be able to see exactly what was going on. You do not rush in on these occasions, even with the best will in the world, without being part of a coordinated plan. That is why they are there.

We need to work cooperatively on this issue. It is a serious issue. It is unfortunate that it has occurred in any case but that is a part of working and living in an area which does have transport working through it. However, it seems to me particularly unfortunate that, because of the timing of this issue just leading up to the state election, people have jumped in most quickly to make short-term political points rather than looking at what we should be doing, which is identifying the danger to this wonderful part of the world and then seeing how we can activate the formally agreed national plan which has been in our government for many years. It is not new; it involves a cooperative arrangement between levels of government, with the clear outcome to ensure that we can clear our beaches and our oceans as quickly as possible and then look at the legal implications of the people who are caught up in this process. The people, as we have heard through the media, who are working in tourism and fishing in the area are deeply concerned about their economic futures and livelihoods. That will need to have a response when we work through the immediate legal aspects of who is responsible and what will occur. All of that is part of the planning process. It would be better if we could concentrate on that and on clear outcomes rather than having a barney around whose jurisdiction it is and who should be doing what, with one intent: to see which political side people belong to.

I do not think that people who are actually working on the beaches care which political side they belong to. What they want to do is a clean-up. In terms of process, it would be something that all Queenslanders could respond to if they could hear clearly and openly what is going on, and what we are going to do in the future to save this area.