PM Transcripts

EMBARGO: 5: 00 pm
PRMIME MINISTER"~ L
NV
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 1 NOVEMBER, 19&) j. 2. Y
ELECTORATE TALK
During the World Heritage Committee Meeting at the Sydney
Opera House last week, the Great Barrier Reef, the Kakadu National
Park in Arnhem Land, and the Willandra Lakes region in western
N. S. W. were inscribed on the World Heritage List. This list
is made up of natural sites and man-made properties which are
judged by the Committee, using the highest standards, to be of
outstanding universal value to the whole of mankind. The sites
and properties previously on the list range from the pyramids
in Egypt to the Grand Canyon in the United States, from the
Palace of Versailles to the Katmandu Valley, and from the
ancient city of Damascus to the Galapagos Islands in Equador.
The Barrier Reef, the Kakadu Park and the Willandra Lakes Region
are worthy additions to a list which now numbers 1l. l sites and
properties right around the world, and two other particularly
important additions to the list at the Sydney Meeting were the
famous Serengeti Game Park in Tanzania, and the Glaciers National
Park, a vast alpine area and glacier in Argentina.
The World Heritage Committee itself is made up of 21 of the 6: 1
countries which are signatories to the U. N. World Heritage
Convention. The World Heritage Committee first met in Paris
in 1977 and the fact that the 1981 meeting was held in this country
is a tribute to Australia's concern for conservation and for
the environment.
The official UNESCO representative at the meeting spoke in glowing
terms of how much Australia is doing to preserve the natural and
cultural heritage and of the constant desire of Australia to
promote international co-operation in this field. The interest
of Australians in conservation and heritage issues is long--standing
and it is broadly-based. Some field naturalist clubs date back
to the early part of this century. The National Trust movement
has a membership of about 80,000, and the total membership of
nature conservation bodies runs to a quarter of a million. T" he
Conmmonwealth Government has put its: weight behind many major
conservation and heritage initiatives. And our children will.
inherit a better Australia, and to an extent a better world, as
a result of what the Government has achieved. / 2