Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question without notice is to Senator Campbell, the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. Is the minister aware that after 26 months of operation only one of Australia’s 16 World Heritage sites has made it onto the government’s new National Heritage List? Can the minister confirm that none of Australia’s greatest environmental treasures—such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kakadu National Park, Ningaloo Reef and the Blue Mountains—have made it onto the new National Heritage List? Can the minister explain why he is taking so long to properly recognise sites that are already acclaimed as World Heritage areas by putting them on the new National Heritage List?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is very good to get what I think is the annual question on the environment and heritage from the Australian Labor Party. They do not tend to ask too many questions.

Robert Ray (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Robert Ray interjecting—

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You would never accuse Senator Ray of being a lightweight, would you? If we could just focus for a moment on the question, Senator Carr asks about Australia’s World Heritage sites. Of course, the government have been very diligent in ensuring that we do have a process of nominating sites for World Heritage listing that—

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So why aren’t they on your own list?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have actually heard the question and I am trying to answer it. It is very hard when you have a windbag sitting opposite you. Senator Carr asks about the World Heritage List.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can we just reflect for a moment on the question and reflect on Senator Carr, who I believe is the shadow spokesman in this area or at least has some interest in this area. He named a series of properties that he says are actually on the World Heritage List. He named the Ningaloo Reef as a property that is on the World Heritage List. I suggest that, before Senator Carr gets up and asks a question, he goes to the World Heritage website, searches the World Heritage List and tries to find where Ningaloo Reef appears on it. It is not on the list, Senator Carr. So get your facts right, Senator, before you ask a question.

The very serious question was: why haven’t the World Heritage properties been placed on the National Heritage List? The reality is that some of them have but many have not. The new federal environmental law—otherwise known as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act—which Senator Hill referred to in his eloquent speech at midday as the world’s leading environmental law, created a provision to automatically transfer all of the World Heritage properties onto the National Heritage List, which is something that should have occurred. In fact, as you would know, Mr President, this was canvassed at great length in the estimates process, which Senator Carr did not attend. I presume he was not on that committee at the time. I refer anyone who is interested, including Senator Carr, to the extensive questioning in this area by his colleagues through the previous environment estimates committee processes. It is a legitimate question.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So what’s the answer?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We gave Senator Carr the answer time after time in the estimates. The answer is on the record. We actually told Senator Carr at estimates about a week ago that what is required is a change to the legislation to ensure that all of those properties can be put on the National Heritage List, and we told Senator Carr when the legislation was coming into the parliament.

But I think the very important issue to focus on here is: what are we trying to achieve with World Heritage listing and what are we trying to achieve with National Heritage listing? We are trying to achieve a level of protection and a further way of promoting the properties for their heritage values and trying to help Australians to understand the importance of these properties, these icons, and their values and the importance of building an understanding of Australian history. So what do you achieve, for example, in shifting a property that is already listed on the World Heritage List— (Time expired)

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister: why has it taken 26 months to fix this problem? Is the minister aware that the Prime Minister promised on 18 December 2003 that Anzac Cove would be the first place to go onto the National Heritage List? Can the minister now confirm that, two years after the Prime Minister made that commitment, Anzac Cove still has not been put onto the list? Does this mean that the complacency which marked the government’s approach to Anzac Cove roadworks is now the hallmark of its approach to heritage protection more generally?

Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, what we are trying to achieve with World Heritage listing or national heritage listing—and we are putting forward the Sydney Opera House this year for World Heritage listing; we are looking at Norfolk Island’s Kingston and Arthur’s Vale district for World Heritage listing next year—is protection and promotion. What Senator Carr is saying is, ‘Let’s take a property that is protected under World Heritage legislation and put it onto the National Heritage List.’ And he wonders why we have not done it. We have said we are going to do it. He then asks what is really a new question about Anzac Cove, and he knows very well that the Australian government—through my department, other relevant departments and at a prime minister-to-prime minister level—is talking to the Turkish government on an appropriate regime for the recognition and protection of those important sites at Anzac Cove. I suggest to Senator Carr that, rather than being lazy, he actually look back through the records, do a little bit of research, take the issue seriously and not try to politicise something like Anzac Cove.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.