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

As I was saying, Mr Abbott does not respect the views of these communities and wants to overturn wild rivers. Having said that, I did particularly enjoy the Queensland election this week, with Alan Jones alongside Bob Katter. That was my photo for the weekend.

The Australian government has no direct role in Queensland's wild rivers legislation, which is a matter for the Queensland government. The Queensland Wild Rivers Act 2005 aims to preserve the natural values of wild rivers by providing for declarations of rivers as wild and then regulating future development activities within the declared wild river and its catchment area. In wild river areas projects such as in-stream dams and weirs, surface mining and intensive agriculture are subject to restrictions. Low-impact activities such as small-scale commercial fishing, ecotourism and sustainable industries are permitted with government approval. (Time expired)