Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator McAllister. Fires have been burning in the Takayna/Tarkine wilderness for 10 days now. Fire boundary maps published by the Tasmanian government show that the grove of Huon pines on the upper Harman River burned last night. This grove contained the largest known Huon pine on the planet—a tree that was estimated to be 3,000 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in existence. It's now in ashes, which is devastating.

The same fire is now threatening two other significant groves of Huon pines on the Wilson River. These are ancient paleoendemic ecosystems that exist nowhere else on the planet. Why wasn't more effort put in to extinguish these fires in their early stages, 10 days ago now, and what is your government doing to ensure that the protection of these globally significant ecosystems is given the priority it deserves?