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PR~ IAEBMINISTER' S OT3EENSTU. 1" i 11ROADCTAST
CONSERVATION
Sunday 20 April 19715
I don't suppose there is a more beautiful State in
Australia than Queensland. Its rich vegetation, its tropical
climate, its diverse natural beauty, its superb coastline
make it a haven for tourists and a constant joy for its ow%, n
citizens. Whatever I may feel about the Queensland Government
from time to time, I hope no one blames me when I come to
Queensland as often as I can for a spell of relaxation.
Queenslanders have a special obligation to preserve the
natural beauties of their State not just for themselves,
but for all Australians and for future generations. It's
distressing to find the State Government neglecting this
important task. They just don't seem to care.
The best way to keep an area unspoiled and beautiful
is to declare it a national park. That means it will always
be protected from mining, from building, from development;
and that wildlife will be safe. Here in Queensland you ought
to have more national parks than any other State. Five percent
of the State's land area would be a reasonable figure The.
Labor Party in Queensland promised a 5 percent -target in their
election policy three years ago. The actual amount now is a
little over half of one percent, and even that low figure has
been achieved only by adding a vast slab of the Simpson Desert.
If we exclude the Simpson Desert, Queensland has as much land
dedicated as national park as Tasmania. That's not good.
Of course it's not possible for the Australian Government
to set up national parks on State territory, but we can help
in other ways. We have established a National Parks and
Wildlife service to manage national parks in Australian territories,
and the professional help of that service is available
to the States. This financial year we are providing $ 9 million
as part of a three-year program to help the States acquire land
for nature conservation purposes. That $ 9 million is a first
instalment. We have launched the National Air Monitoring
Program; and a program to prevent sea. pollution by the dumping
of wastes from ships; and we are insisting that all Australian
Government projects likely to affect the environment are subject
to detailed scrutiny by the Department of Environment.
Cke very importrint thing iJe Australian Covernmant
can do is create marina national parks to protect parts of
the sea or the coastline. That's wx'iat wer doing around
the Great Barrier Reef. Natural~ y we would like the marine
park established in cooperation wi~ th Queensland, with a park
authority appointed jointly by the two Governments. Unfortunately
Mr. Bjelke-Petersen has shown lift-le willingness to cooperate.
I mentioned in an earlier broadcast the row between
Mr. Bjelke-Petersen and Mr. Gorton over the Barrier Reef.
Mr. Gorton, when he was Prime Minister, wasn't satisfied
that the Queensland Government was doing enough to protect
the Reef and its environment and he was quite justified
in that suspicion. Because of his row with Queensland a
Royal Commission was set up jointly by Queensland and the
previous Australian Government. Wle shall be acting promptly
on the basis of the Commission's report. It declares quite
firmly that there must be no oil drilling or other damaging
activity on the reef. But now Mr. Bjelke-Petersen comes along
and asks us to hold up our legislation for a marine park while
he challenges in the Courts our sovereignty over the Continental
Shelf. He is still waiting for a Court decision on the validity
of some earlier legislation on this subject. Quite frankly,
we are not prepared to wait any longer while he argues the
toss. The Royal Commission's findings are perfectly clear.
Our responsibility to protect the Reef is perfectly clear.
While we would rather set up a Barrier Reef marine park in
cooperation with Queensland, we will, if necessary, go ahead
and do it alone. There has been delay enough already. We
are quite resolved that the Reef a natural asset of unique
beauty and irreplaceable value should be preserved for all
time. I only wish Mr. Bjelke-Petersen, with his oil and mining
interests, showed the same determination.
And it's not just natural beauties we have to preserve.
What we call the " National Estate" includes all the beautiful
buildings, historic sites and parks, and Aboriginal areas that
must be safeguarded by any civilised community. This idea of
a national estate is a fairly recent one. we are the first
Australian Government to recognise its importance; one of the
first things we did was establish a nation-wide investigation
into the places and things worthy of preservation. This year
we are setting aside nearly a million dollars to assist worthwhile
projects in Queensland. The money is there; the projects
have be en recommended; the plans are ready; the agreement with
Queensland has been signed. I regret to say that the Queensland
Government has not yet made a request for payment, and until
they do, not a cent can be paid. All sorts of restoration
works and studies in Queensland cities and towns are waiting
to go ahead the moment the Queensland Government chooses to
request the funds. Let me mention a few : the re-erection of
the beautiful old Bellevue Homestead, formerly situated near
Coominya; the restoration of the old Government House and
3.
the Colonial stores in Brisbane; the historic City Hall
in Warwick; the Caloundra lighthouse; the Bowen River
Hotel near Collinsville; the James Cook monuments at Round
Hill Head. The list is long. It will be tragic if these works
are neglected, if the Barrier Reef remains at risk, if
our efforts to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife
of this State are frustrated by a State Government that
simply doesn't care enough about the great natural heritage
which belongs to Queenslanders and to all Australians.