Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. I draw the minister’s attention to the astonishing vandalism of this nation’s ancient art heritage on the Tarkine coast of Tasmania in the last three months, where vandals have moved in with rock drills and drilled crosses and faces over ancient Aboriginal petroglyphs estimated to be as old as Stonehenge. I ask the minister what action the Commonwealth has taken over the last three months to ensure that the vandals responsible are tracked down and what action the minister will insist be taken to make sure that no stone is unturned in protecting these petroglyphs, which just five years ago a little further up the coast were daubed with swastikas.

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

It is very good to get a question about the Tarkine. This government, of course, as Senator Brown knows, put in place a historic agreement with the Tasmanian government to not only give the Tarkine the most substantial level of protection that magnificent forest has ever had but also ensure that the very important forestry based jobs were made secure. Again, it demonstrates that you can have policies that create historic and very important levels of protection for Australia’s natural environment but also, very importantly—as Senator Brown has referred to in his important question—for heritage, particularly the unique heritage of Australia’s Indigenous culture. The references that Senator Brown makes are disturbing, particularly after hearing the most eloquent speeches by our Prime Minister and particularly the British Prime Minister in the other place earlier today in relation to—

Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Your Prime Minister didn’t even mention climate change. What are you talking about?

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Forshaw!

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

I was referring to Senator Brown’s description of inscriptions of Nazi symbols on parts of the Australian landscape. I think anyone who knows about the history of that regime and the use of Nazi symbols could only regard the placing of those sorts of symbols on, and the desecration of, bits of Australian natural heritage as a very sad reflection on those very sad individuals. I will take up the references that Senator Brown has made. It sounds to me on the face of it that they may well be issues that come under the control of the Tasmanian government. But I will not pass the buck; I will look into the issues that he has raised and make sure we get a full response.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister if he will discover why he was not acquainted with this sacrilege to Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania. Will he acquaint himself with the broken-hearted feeling amongst Aboriginals about what has happened yet again to their heritage? Will he discover from the Lennon Labor government in Tasmania why, three months after this vandalism, no police action was taken until I wrote to the police commissioner?

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

I will not jump to judgment. These are very important issues that Senator Brown has raised. He says that he has raised it with the Tasmanian police commissioner and he reinforces my intuition that it is in fact a matter that the state government should be dealing with. Could I put on the record that the Australian government has worked very productively with the Tasmanian government on putting in place what we regard as incredibly important protection for Tasmania’s environment and doing it in a way that protects jobs, protects agriculture, protects forestry workers’ jobs and balances that against historic levels of protection for biodiversity and for these forests. I will follow it up, as I have promised to do, and report back to the Senate.