Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will go back to my point. We should not forget where we stand on Indigenous rights as a Labor government. Let us not forget the apology delivered on 13 February 2008 by Kevin Rudd, the then Prime Minister. For many years those opposite spoke about how ill treated all Indigenous Australians were. They had 11½ years to deliver an apology but failed in that regard. They were not willing to deliver such an apology. It was pushed under the rug. After years of silence it was time to end the denial and to acknowledge the ill treatment received by Indigenous Australians. That is what we did on 13 February 2008 and that is what we are about.

I have had several opportunities to visit one of those pristine rivers—the Wenlock River—that have been declared under the Queensland legislation. It is a river that needs to be protected. On a number of occasions I have been up there to visit the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on the banks of the Wenlock River. The previous govern­ment under John Howard gave that piece of land to the Irwins and here we have the hypocrisy of reversing that position. I wonder what John Howard would do in this debate. He gave that piece of land on the Wenlock River to a conservationist. He understood the significance of it. Those opposite want to overturn it to allow strip mining, destroying the beautiful rivers.

I am sure some of you might have an opportunity to look at some of these pristine rivers. They are beautiful pieces of nature. On my first visit I was shown by Australia Zoo ranger Barry Lyon eight springs on the reserve which are located on a bauxite plateau. These springs are of great ecological value. In fact, they are a source of water for wildlife during the dry season. Bauxite does not absorb the water; instead, it acts as a giant sponge and releases the water during the dry. Research has been conducted in this area by QUT and other researchers. They have found an abundance of wildlife that relies on the existence of these beautiful springs. In 2008 a survey found 151 different vertebrate species, including 75 birds, 26 reptiles, 16 native amphibians, eight native mammals and 16 freshwater fish.

The Queensland government passed the Queensland wild rivers legislation to protect certain areas of the cape. However, the opposition want to portray that they are somehow protecting native title rights. That is not the case. We know what the agenda is here. They just want to reverse it so some of the mining companies can strip mine areas of unique significance. If you destroy these rivers, you will never get a chance to reverse that. Madam Temporary Chairman Hurley, I am sure you understand what happened to the Murray. We do not want to see that on the cape in Queensland. We want to make sure the rivers are protected and Indigenous people have a right to do the things they currently do on their lands. We do not want to hear this fallacy about locking it up continued, because that is not the case. They are free to do their traditional hunting and everything else on the land as they have done for years and years. That will continue under this arrangement. (Time expired)