Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the second consecutive year I have made my now annual pilgrimage to Cape York in Far North Queensland. In particular I returned to the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on the banks of the Wenlock River, which is around a 1½ hour four-wheel-drive trip north-east of the mining town Weipa. As a Queensland senator I always feel so grateful to visit this part of our beautiful country. I wonder sometimes whether other people would appreciate and respect these lands if they were afforded the same opportunity to visit what I consider to be ‘God’s country’.

Having accepted an invitation from Terri Irwin from Australia Zoo to be a visitor this year, I could not help reflecting on my experiences from last year. I had already experienced, on the muddy banks of the Wenlock River, the capture for research of an estuarine crocodile which was more than 10 feet long so my expectations focused on greater things. Maybe this year I would be involved in a croc jump of a monster reptile, maybe discover some new endangered species with ranger Barry Lyons—who knows?

The first day, having checked the upstream croc traps and come up empty and having had no reports of trappings downstream we had an opportunity to venture to the Blue Bottle Springs. As I had previously experienced, I found the springs to be like a Garden of Eden with a variety of plant life to explore. This year provided a new experience with Terri, Bindi and Robert showing us the unique miniature pitcher plants along the way. Additionally, on the return journey Barry stopped the vehicle to check out a huge king brown on the dirt track.

The following morning we were presented first off with a trip downstream to check the traps. Like the day before, strangely we came up empty. Notwithstanding my disappointment, on the return journey upstream we saw many juvenile crocs and spotted the highlight of the day, a six- to seven-foot taipan swimming across the Wenlock River. These snakes are so rare that even one of the reptile handlers from the zoo has never seen one in the wild.

With not much action after lunch, I convinced Josh Lyons to take me wild pig shooting as the croc traps needed replenishment. These pests are so crafty they can scent you a mile off, and with that ability the large boar we spotted just near a muddy waterhole made its escape.

Later on that afternoon, another first for me occurred. A few hours before dusk, with the assistance of Josh Lyons, having caught several types of freshwater small baitfish, we were wetting a line in the Gibson waterhole not too far from the river. It did not take long before a beautiful-sized barramundi was fighting for its release from my fishing rod, and it became our breakfast meal the following morning.

The following morning presented itself after we were awoken by the chorus of wild birds. After we consumed last night’s barra, sharing it with some others in the camp, it was time to pack and prepare for the road trip back to Weipa Airport. With a few hours left to spare, news came back from the downstream croc traps indicating that a big one had been caught. With little time, we headed down to the boats to check out this monster. It turned out this big fellow was a recapture, measuring around 14.5 feet in length. Just walking around the bag trap this fellow was in and listening to the somewhat prehistoric noises coming from this reptile made me wish I had just one more day on the reserve.

The Wenlock River owes its existence and ongoing sustainability to several perched bauxite springs, which not only provide for the river but also are responsible for rare fauna and flora. These springs provide a perennial freshwater flow for four kilometres—through an otherwise dry landscape—to the Wenlock River during the entire dry season. The springs provide a refuge for more than one per cent of the national population of vulnerable plants, like the unique pitcher plant, which are nationally listed as endangered. In addition to flora, the springs provide food and nesting habitat for the rare palm cockatoo, the endangered red goshawk, the vulnerable marbled frogmouth and the rare grey goshawk. Additionally, the Wenlock has the highest number of freshwater fish species of any Australian river, including the whiptail ray, freshwater sole and endangered sawfish.

On 4 June this year the Queensland state government’s declaration came into effect, making the Wenlock Basin Wild River a wild river under its state legislation. This declaration brings the total number of wild rivers declared in the cape to 10. Declaring the Wenlock Basin a wild river area creates a rare opportunity to preserve the natural values of an unspoiled river system for our future generations, whilst allowing development activities and commercial enterprise to grow. This decision provides for 500-metre buffer zones to be enforced and for protection of the perched bauxite springs on the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve and a one-kilometre exclusion zone around the Wenlock River.

You would question why Tony Abbott is interfering in a state government’s decision when it is one of many upon which the Bligh Queensland government was elected. Tony Abbott’s private member’s bill is fraught with opposition from the traditional owners in the cape and from many Queenslanders I speak to throughout my travels. I understand he has been to some locations in the cape; however, I do not believe he has bothered to visit any of the wild rivers or talk to the traditional owners who live in those areas. Until he does he will be as ignorant as those who pretend to speak with some authority on this matter.

Despite the ignorance and myths created by uneducated persons, this decision will not impact on the growth of economic development opportunities for local communities. One example of this is the excellent work the federal Labor government has been doing with Indigenous rangers. The federal government’s Working on Country program has more than doubled from the original $90 million commitment under Caring for our Country to a $246 million investment in 2012-13 to provide employment for 680 Indigenous rangers. Of these, 71 rangers are employed on the cape.

David Claudie, an Indigenous ranger in the cape who supports the decision, said: ‘The Wenlock River basin holds significant cultural and spiritual value for its traditional owners. It features many important story places, sacred ceremonial grounds, totemic sites, and areas for rock carving and painting.’ David has built a new model of sustainable economic development based on traditional law and governance, conservation, collaboration, conservation, economy and unity. This includes proper Kaanju land management, ecotourism, sustainable harvest of plant products and organic meat production. The economic development through tourism and intellectual property on unique plants from the cape is enormous. This decision will ensure the growth will be sustainable so that all future development will have to occur in harmony with a healthy riverine environment and not negatively impact on the natural value of the river system.

So, despite the ignorance and myths created by those who choose to damage this great decision by the Queensland Labor government, you can still catch a barra, still travel down the beautiful Wenlock River, still hunt for feral pigs and still apply for mining—providing it does not attempt to damage this beautiful piece of wilderness. I cannot think of a more important matter than this issue and welcome the Queensland government’s initiative in protecting this piece of Queensland paradise.