AAL EMBARGO: 5: 00 pm.
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, 1980
ELECTORATE TALK
Australia is to be the host country next year for the Fifth
Session of the World Heritage Committee. This. Committee is
responsible for considering nominations of cultural and
natural sites for inclusion on the world heritage list an
inventory of the wonders of the contemporary world being
prepared under the convention concerning the protection of
the world's cultural and natural heritage.
The convention, to which Australia is a party, was adopted
by the General Conference of U. N. E. S. C. O. in 1972. The
session is expected to be held in Canberra in mid-October,
1981, shortly after the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
takes place in Melbourne. Invitations are being extended
to the 21 member states which constitute the Committee, and
to other countries to attend as observers.
Australia has already submitted nominations for the World
Heritage List being compiled by the Committee. Two of our
great natural assets Kakadu National Park in the Northern TErritory,
-and the Great Barrier Reef, have been nominated. Kakadu, with its wealth
of-Aboriginal art site s, is one of the first places nominated
to the World Heritage List for both its natural and cultural values.
In announcing the Government's i ntention to nominate Kakadu
for possible inclusion on the World Heritage List at the Australian
launching of the World Conservation Strategy in March of
this year I stated that, " our action today in nominating
this national park for these important world listings is a
demonstration to the world not only of our belief that Kakadu is
a valuable and indeed irreplaceable asset, but also of our
commitment to conservation".
Our actions in relation not only to the proclamation of
Kakadu National Park and its nomination for World Heritage
consideration but also our decisions to ban whaling in Austra-lian
waters, to assist in the establishment of the World Wildlife
Fund in Australia, to protect endangered species of birds,
to preserve for all time Fraser Island, and, following the
general principles of the World Conservation Strategy, to
develop a national conservation strategy for Australia are but
some of the measures we have implemented whi ' ch demonstrate
clearly the importance we place on our conservation policies
and programmes.
Our commitment in this regard is clearly demonstrated by our
policies for the protection and conservation of the Great
Barrier Reef. no, W
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These policies include the progressive declaration of sections
of the Great Barrier Reef region as a Marine Park, the banning
of petroleum exploration from the region, the development of
a substantial research programme through the Australian
Institute of Marine Science near Townsville and through
marine science research grants to increase our understanding
of the complexities of the Reef's unique eco-system and the
establishment of a Commonwealth/ Queensland Ministerial Council
to oversee the development and implementation of programmes
for the protection of the Reef.
It is clearly appropriate that the Great Barrier Reef be
considered by the World Heritage Committee at its meeting
in 1981 and given the universal esteem in which the Great
Barrier Reef is held, it seems very likely that this nomination
along with the nomination of Kakadu National Park, will be
accepted by this international committee.
The World List, which contains more than 80 places, has the
capacity to capture the imagination of people everywhe * re, being
evidence of the finest achievements of past and present
civilisations and of our globe's remarkable natural phenomena.
The acceptance of Australia's invitation to host the Fifth
Session of the World Heritage Committee will provide us with a
unique opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the
preservation and development of our unique cultural and natural
environment. It also represents an international recognition of the important
role we are playing in the field of preservation of Australia's
heritage. I hope that it will prove possible for the members of the World
Heritage Committee to visit both the Kakadu National Park and
the Great Barrier Reef to witness at first hand their tremendous
features which have been universally acclaimed.
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