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PRIME MINISTER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON P J KEATING MP
LAUNCH OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF STRATEGIC PLAN,
TOWNSVILLE, WEDNESDAY, 20 JULY 1994
Ladies and gentlemen, may I begin by saying what a
pleasure it is to be here with you today for the launch of
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's strategic
plan. It is always a pleasure to visit an area as beautiful as
Townsville and the welcome you have given me today
makes my visit even more enjoyable.
I don't think that anyone who has experienced the
magnificence of the Great Barrier Reef would deny its
significance, nationally and internationally. It ranks as
one of Australia's greatest and best known natural
features. It constitutes the world's largest marine
protected area, extending for some 2,000 kilometres along
Australia's northeast coast and covering an area of
344,000 square kilometres about the same area as
Victoria and Tasmania combined.
While the reef is an area of stunning natural beauty, it is
also an extremely fragile habitat for thousands of different
species of marine life, and has been declared the world's
first particularly sensitive area by the International
Maritime Organisation.
The reef is not only significant for its natural beauty and
as a habitat, but also for its recreational, cultural and
economic relevance. This encompasses commercial and
recreational fishing, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
heritage and activities, and tourism.
Economically, the reef is estimated to be worth an
estimated $ 1.4 billion per annum in tourism and fishing
income, with tourism income growing at an estimated 10
per cent a year. The significance of an environmental
feature unique in the world can never be measured in
monetary terms, but I do think it is possible to note that
the regional and national investment in the Great Barrier
Reef has an economically measurable facet, in addition to
its other dimensions.
This collective investment is underpinned by a
responsibility to protect and preserve the reef for the
benefit of future generations of Australians and, indeed,
for all those from around the world who are yet to marvel
at the beauty of the reef.
Managing the reef in an ecologically sustainable way has
been a priority for the Commonwealth and the Queensland
Governments. I am pleased to be able to say that the
peace and harmony which the reef can inspire have
extended into Commonwealth-State relations when issues
of protecting the reef have come up. Several
complementary management agreements for the reef have
been concluded between Queensland and the
Commonwealth, and I thank the Queensland Government
for its very welcome continued co-operation.
Recognition of the need to protect the reef dates back to
1975 when the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act was
passed with bipartisan support. Formal international
recognition of the reef's universal value came in 1981,
when it was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
To further protect it, the Commonwealth enacted legislation
in 1991 making it compulsory for all large vessels,
particularly those carrying oil and environmentally
hazardous chemicals, to carry a pilot while navigating the
northern section of the reef. No other country in the world
has been able to obtain international acceptance of the
need for foreign ships to carry pilots in international
waters, and I think this acceptance indicates the
international recognition of the need to protect this unique
natural wonder.
It is this need for protection and ecologically sustainable
management of the reef that prompted the Great Barrier
Reef Strategic Plan. The plan itself is an achievement
unique in the world, and perhaps rightly so given the
unique nature of the reef.
It represents an ambitious and farsighted effort to develop
a long term vision for the Great Barrier Reef World
Heritage Area, by formulating appropriate objectives and
management strategies for ecologically sustainable
development. Creating the plan involved a comprehensive..
consultative process in which more than 60 peak
organisations and representative bodies from a wide cross
section of the community participated. An independent
chairperson was employed to ensure that competing
interests were considered and to facilitate the joint
decision making process.
A draft plan was widely circulated for public comment and
the final plan has been endorsed by the Queensland
Government and the 60 or more government and nongovernment
bodies. This, of course, reflects what
ecologically sustainable development is all about,
achieving an agreed and workable balance underpinned by
maintenance of the ecological systems on which life
depends. It is a great example of an Australian solution to an
Australian challenge. The challenge was one which no
other country had faced, the solution is one which other
countries and other regions of Australia can take as a
model. I must congratulate Kayt Raymond on her
considerable work as facilitator and leader of the
negotiation and discussion process.
Even at this early stage the strategic plan has already
proven to be a useful and valuable working instrument.
The plan formed a key component of the proposal for a Cooperative
Research Centre to which my government
pledged $ 12.8 million over seven years in 1992. The
centre carries out research into the sustainable
development of the Great Barrier Reef and focuses upon
enabling tourism and environmental managers to
successfully address the stresses which impact upon the
reef. The plan was employed in formulating the Marine
Conservation Strategy devised by the Australian committee
to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
It also played a role in the Queensland Government's
decision to ban petroleum exploration and production in its
area of responsibility within the wider World Heritage area.
I want to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations
and thanks to all those involved in formulation of the Great
Barrier Reef Strategic Plan, particularly the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland
Government. I wish all of those involved with the plan
every success in achieving their objective of long term
ecologically sustainable development for the Great Barrier
Reef. It is an objective all Australians share and one of
significance to the world.