Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hinch for his matter of public importance today. The Australian government is committed to the protection of dugongs and turtles and acknowledges the native title rights of Indigenous people to hunt on their land and sea country. The Minister for the Environment and Energy, the Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP, has discussed allegations of the illegal hunting of turtles and dugongs with a number of his colleagues. The Australian government will work with Indigenous communities to ensure we have the most appropriate arrangements in place to sustainably manage these iconic species and protect them from illegal hunting.

There is a significant body of research available on the size and trend in populations of turtle and dugong in Australian waters. Numerous studies have found the overall impact of traditional hunting on turtle and dugong populations to be relatively small, with the main impacts on these species being climate events, habitat loss and entanglement in and ingesting of marine debris. This is a sensitive issue for Indigenous Australians who have native title rights to hunt turtle and dugong, just as it is a sensitive issue for people who find such hunting confronting. While some groups may agree to collect data on the sustainability of hunting, other groups will be fearful that this is the first step towards eroding their rights.

The coalition's Dugong and Turtle Protection Plan is currently delivering $5.3 million for the protection of dugongs and turtles in North Queensland and the Torres Strait. This includes $2 million to support the training of Indigenous rangers in compliance related activities. A $2 million Australian Crime Intelligence Commission investigation into the practice of illegal killing, poaching and transportation of turtle and dugong meat was referred to by Senator Moore. The investigation subsequently found that the poaching and sale of meat was almost certainly minimal and usually opportunistic, and that there was no substantive evidence to suggest that an organised commercial trade existed in Queensland or the Torres Strait area. I advise the Senate that relevant ministers are currently considering the contents of this investigation report.

The Dugong and Turtle Protection Plan also includes $700,000 towards marine debris clean-up activities in the Great Barrier Reef to reduce impacts on turtles and dugongs. In February 2015, through amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, the coalition government tripled penalties for killing or injuring turtles and dugongs. In June 2016, the traditional owners near Cairns agreed to no take of turtles and dugongs in three areas around Green Island, Michaelmas Cay and Fitzroy Island. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has also accredited this under what is known as a traditional use of marine resources agreement. The joint Australian and Queensland government's Nest to Ocean Turtle Protection Program is providing $7 million to protect marine turtle nests from terrestrial predators such as feral pigs.

In June last year the government announced new initiatives for compliance vessels to support communities in the Cairns area to implement traditional uses and to reduce marine debris around the northern Australian coastline. In May this year Minister Frydenberg, jointly with the Queensland minister and the New South Wales minister, approved a recovery plan for marine turtles in Australia. We remain committed to protecting dugongs and turtles, through an agreement with the government of Papua New Guinea, under the Torres Strait Treaty of 1985, which protects the Torres Strait marine environment and indigenous flora and fauna but allows traditional inhabitants to hunt turtles and dugongs in the area, according to established custom.

The Torres Strait Regional Authority's Dugong and Turtle Management Project supports the sustainable take and culturally appropriate management of dugongs and marine turtles in the Torres Strait. This is in line with community based plans that integrate traditional use and contemporary science and management approaches. I conclude, Senator Hinch, by thanking you for bringing this matter to our attention.