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PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA MONDAY, 7 JUNE 1982
OPENING OF KAKADU NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to open the
headquarters building for Kakadu National Park. I first
visited here many years before the National Park was established
in 1979, and I have come back whenever I could.
In earlier years, I found time to stay here for a day or two and
I came to appreciate something of its fragile and unique
beauty and the importance of the area to Australia and to the
world. A visitor can come here for a few hours and enjoy the
spectacle of the Arnhemland escarpment, or the Wetlands,
or the floodplains. Or one can return for longer periods at
different times of the year and experience a deeper appreciation
and enjoyment. The face of the Kakadu changes with the
seasons, frora the summer monsoons to the dry spring, the
park is home for a vast array and variety of wildlife.
Kakadu also has another dimension. It is a store of cultural
values, greatly significant to aboriginal people and important
to all of us. The park is full of sacred and significant
places. When such features are identified and pointed out,
even people who have no direct cultural ties with them can
begin to glimpse the relationship which has grown over
thousands of years between a people and their ancient land.
As a national park Kakadu ranks with the finest in the world.
The Government nominated it for the world heritage list not only
for its natural values, but also for its cultural importance.
And as many of you will be aware, Kakadu was accepted by the
World Heritage Committee meeting in Australia last September,
the first national park in Australia to be so honoured.
At the same time, the Great ? 1rrier Reef and the Willandra Lakes
area of New South Wales were also placed on the World Heritage
List. Kakadu contains some of the most important wetlands in
Australia and with this in mind the Government declared Kakadu
a " Wetland of Interijetional Importance" in accordance with our
obligations under the Convention on Wetlands of international
Importance especially as waterfowl habitat. / 2
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Kakadu National Park owes its existence in its present form to
an unprecedented action by the traditional aboriginal owners
of the area. These people, in laying claim to the land now
comprising the Park, indicated that if their claim was granted
they would be prepared to lease the land to the Commonwealth
Government for the purposes of a national park for the benefit
of all Austra. lians. Following the granting of land rights and
detailed negcotiations between the Government and the Northern
Land Council, agreement was reached on the terms and conditions
that would apply to the operation of the Park once it was
established. on 3 November 1978 the Northern Land Council, the
Kakadu Aboricfinal Land Trust and the Director of the Australian
National Parks and Wildlife Service signed an agreement which
set out details of how, the Park would be managed particularly
in relation to aboriginal involvement.
A particularl~ y satisfying aspect of the management of Kakadu
is the involvement of the traditional aboriginal owners. This
involvement obtained not only through employment and training
but also through the detailed consultation that takes place between
the Parks Ser7vice and the traditional owners on all matters of
significance.. The assistance of the Northern Land Council and
the Gagadju Association in this consultative process, and
the relationships built Up between the parties involved, contribute
much to the success of the Park.
One feature of aboriginal involvement in the Park is the
Aboriginal Ranger Training Program, run by the Australian National
Parks and Wildlife Service. This program, which is required by
the lease ag: ceerent, has received acclaim both nationally and
internationa Lly. It is seen as a most successful initiative
leading, within a reasonable time frame, to a situation where
most of the senior positions in the park will be heldby aboriginals.
I understand that we have with us today representatives of the
South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service who, with
representatives of the aboriginal people having ties to the
Gammon Ranges National Park are spending a ' week in Kakadu looking
at the training program and at aboriginal involvement generally.
At Mr Tonkin ' s request I have agreed that the Australian National
Parks and Wildlife Service will assist their South Australian
counterparts in establishing a similar program in the Gammon
Ranges National Park. I hope that the visit by these officers
will be fruitful, and that the experience gained in Kakadu over
the last three years will be of assistance elsewhere in Australia.
Kakadu is a magnificent national park. It is an outstanding
addition to our system of national parks, which is one of the
oldest in the world, dating back more than 100 years. And, in
the five years to June 1981, the area of national parkland in
Australia more than doubled, to more than 31 million hectares,
with new national parks in every state and territory of
Australia 31 million hectares: more than the entire area of
the State of Victoria. / 3
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I want to refer more broadly to environmental protection, and
the unrivalled record that we have achieved. We prohibited
sand mining on Fraser Island; we have banned whaling completely;
we have substantially increased grants and research in
marine science; we are progressively declaring sections of the
Great Barrier Reef marine park. Wehaveworked towards the preservat~ ion
of the Antarctic and the preservation of Antarctic seals; we
have worked t~ o protect migratory birds and for nature
conservation in the South Pacific; we were the first Party to sign
the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance; we
have assisted in the establishment of the World Wildlife Fund
in Australia and before Federal Parliament now is a special
wildlife prot~ ection bill to bring together the export controls
which protec-: Australia's unique wildlife.
only two days ago, on World Environment bay, I launched the
Australian Year of the Tree and announced that the Government
would initiate a national tree program to encourage people
to value trees and to plant and care for them. And, as you
will be aware, the Government is currently conducting an
information -campaign across the nation to educate Attstralians
to protect a. nd conserve their natural environment.
Governments must be concerned with the preservation of Australia's.
natural environment, and at the same time with the necessary
balance between development and conservation and the reconciliation
of competing land uses and this is very much the position in this
part of Australia. Aboriginal interests and those of tourists,
conservationists, researchers, miners and others all have to
be considered. Our success in harmonising competing interests;
will reflect the quality and sensitivity of the management
applied in areas such as this Park and it will also reflect on
our maturity as a nation. In the last three years, a great
deal has been done at Kakadu, improving road access'and
providing facilities for staff and visitors and producing a
range of informative material.
The Commonwealth is very conscious of the growing importance of
toursim in the Northern Territory. I understand that the
tourist industry has welcomed the workshops and seminars
conducted by park staff. Similarly, the Park Service has
provided courses and seminars for the staff of mining companies
to inform them of the biological and cultural values of the Park
and to seek their co-operation in protecting those values.
This building is very much part of the process. It provides an~
administrative centre for the Park operation and is an information
centre for visitors.
I understand that several people concerned with the design and
constructiona are here today, and I would like to congratulate
you on how well you have succeeded in creating a complex that
fits in with, rather than intrudes upon, the environment.
Congratulations should also be extended to the staff in the
Park who have worked so hard and so successfully to get everything
ready for today. I fully appreciate the time and the effort
needed to maintain this standard in such a climate. / 4
4
Of course, Kakadu is a great inspiration. I am confident that
the commitment of the Government and the dedication of
everyone associated with Kakadu will ensure that this priceless
part of our national heritage is passed safely to future
generations of Australians.
ThankyouMr Wilson for inviting me to officially open this
fine building, I am proud and delighted to do so to unveil
this commemorative plaque and declare the Kakadu National
Park Headquarters officially open.