Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The Gillard government is committed to the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. The government is focused on tackling the challenges facing the reef, including climate change and the impacts of coastal development. The latest advice and draft recommendations from the World Heritage Centre regarding the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area have been released and will be discussed, as the senator mentioned, by the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting, in Cambodia in June 2013. These recommendations are only the first step in making process, and the extent to which the recommendations are accepted or amended is a matter for the World Heritage Committee at that June meeting.

While the Gillard government takes very seriously the concerns raised by the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Australia has made substantial progress in implementing the World Heritage Committee's 2012 decision. The Gillard government is committed to adapting and improving the reef's management to allow for sustainable development while maintaining the reef's natural and cultural integrity. The Gillard government submitted an updated state-party report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area to the World Heritage Centre on 1 February this year. The report addresses all the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee, including the recommendations of the reactive monitoring mission. They are a number of very real threats to the reef which are common to reefs around the world, including climate change— (Time expired)