Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

In question time yesterday I offered to provide further advice in detail to Senator Ludlam to answer a specific supplementary question he raised. I can now furnish further information and I seek leave to have it incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

In Question Time yesterday I offered to provide further detail to Senator Ludlam to answer a specific supplementary question he raised relating to James Price Point in the Kimberley.

In the supplementary question, he asked: Does the minister acknowledge any Commonwealth responsibility at all for situation having deteriorated to the degree that we now have Aboriginal people being forcibly removed from country during NAIDOC week? Can the minister cite any action that he plans to take to defuse the situation, including, reviewing and revoking his decision not to assess the existing land-clearing proposals?

I can now furnish further information:

The Government is aware of reports that the Western Australian Police have arrested a number of protestors near James Price Point.

This is a matter for the Western Australian Government. The Commonwealth Government's role is to protect matters listed under national environmental law and ensure proposals are assessed under the EPBC Act, as appropriate.

The Government is aware of calls to revoke the decision that controlled actions.

These decisions, made by a departmental delegate, mean that work on the access track and the road does not need further assessment under the EPBC Act, if carried out in a particular manner.

However, these decisions still place conditions on the work to ensure impacts on the greater bilby are minimised.

Claims that the proposed access track and the road have not been assessed are incorrect.

In fact, the minister's department did assess these proposals and placed conditions on the work to ensure it is carried out in a particular manner.

The decision simply means no further federal environmental assessment is required, as long as these conditions are met.