Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 9 March Senator Colbeck asked me a question in my capacity as Minister representing the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts concerning the government’s plans for the remediation of King River and fox eradication in Tasmania. I have further information on that issue. I seek leave to incorporate the document in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

• Environmental remediation after mining is the responsibility of state and territory governments consistent with their legislative requirements.
• In 1998 the Australian Government agreed to provide $7.5 million to implement innovative technology to treat acid drainage on the Mt Lyell mine lease site.
• In 2004 these funds were provided to the Tasmanian Government from the Natural Heritage Trust. The project was to be undertaken by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment.
• At 30 September 2009, $7.077 million (including interest) of the Australian Government funds were unspent and agreed milestones for the project had not been met.
• Taking into account an independent review which raised future commercial viability issues and technical requirements of the project the Natural Heritage Ministerial Board decided in November 2009 to reallocate these funds within Tasmania to support the priority Fox Eradication program. This decision was based on the fact that the project had not progressed sufficiently to justify a further extension, and the unspent funds could be relocated to support higher priority natural resource management issues in Tasmania such as the Fox Eradication program.
• It is not correct that prior to this the Government had no plan to fund fox eradication in Tasmania.
• The Australian Government has provided over $5 million to the Tasmanian Government’s Fox Eradication Program since 2005. This includes $980,000 in 2008-09 and an additional $1 million in 2009-10 from the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program.
• In 2009 the Tasmanian Government commissioned an independent review of the Fox Eradication Program. The Australian Government agreed to reconsider its funding commitment following that review. As the findings of that review were positive, and given the progress of the program, the Australian Government committed a further $7 million over the next four years to the Fox Eradication Program.