Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Waters, move:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that:

(i) the Royal National Park in New South Wales is Australia's first national park, one of the world's oldest public parks, and the first to be proclaimed as a 'national park', and

(ii) the Royal National Park is home to outstanding universal environmental, cultural and social values;

(b) congratulates the community group First National Park which, since 2010, has campaigned for the Royal National Park, Garawarra State Conservation Area and Heathcote National Park to be World Heritage listed, for winning New South Wales State Government and Federal Government support for their World Heritage nomination; and

(c) calls on the Abbott Government to:

(i) continue supporting the proposal to list the Royal National Park, Garawarra State Conservation Area and Heathcote National Park as a World Heritage site, and

(ii) affirm the importance of Australia's national parks, and especially those already on the World Heritage List, by:

  (A) guaranteeing federal safeguards to protect these parks from threats to their outstanding universal values from mining, grazing, logging, shooting and development, and

  (B) recognising Australia has the highest level of extinctions in the world with a continuing species decline that is the worst of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and among the world's highest.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The government agrees with the first two points of the motion but not the last. The federal and New South Wales governments have agreed to work together on a potential World Heritage nomination for Sydney's Royal National Park. The governments have committed to a thorough investigation of the park's potential for inclusion on the World Heritage List. There is an extensive and thorough process that must be gone through in order to evaluate the park for inclusion on the list. This is one of Australia's great public parks with a unique history. The coalition opposes ii(B). The Australian government has undertaken emergency measures in Queensland that temporarily allow grazed cattle on conservation areas including national parks and state lands. The coalition is committed to working with state and territory governments to maintain high environmental standards.

Question agreed to.