Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Senator Abetz. Will the minister please inform the Senate what the Howard government is doing to protect the World Heritage values of Macquarie Island from degradation caused by rabbits and rats?

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle, come to order.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Isn’t it interesting how Senator Sterle gets excited when rabbits and rats are mentioned? I wonder why! I thank Senator Parry—the excellent Acting Government Whip—for his question. This is a very important issue.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr!

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let us not forget that Macquarie Island is a possession of Tasmania, and has been so since 1825. The island is a declared state nature reserve, and the responsibility for managing the island lies squarely with the Tasmanian government.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr, come to order!

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Having said that, the Howard government does recognise the environmental significance of Macquarie Island. The island, quite rightly, is a declared World Heritage area. That is why our two governments share the costs and responsibilities for managing the island. For example, the Tasmanian government pays the salaries of their rangers and other Tasmanian personnel on the island while we, the Australian government, provide their transport, accommodation and other logistical support worth some $1.5 million per annum. Unfortunately, despite all this, under the Tasmanian government’s stewardship, rabbit and rat numbers have exploded to plague proportions in recent years, further threatening already endangered albatross and precious native flora.

Because of state Labor’s lock-up-and-forget mentality with these reserves, the entire island ecosystem is facing a grave threat from rabbit-induced erosion and predation by rats. That is why several years ago the Australian government funded the preparation of an integrated rabbit, rat and mouse control program for Macquarie Island. While that plan was complete in May 2006, and probably much earlier, it has been a challenge, unfortunately, to get the Tasmanian minister to provide a copy to Australian government ministers. Indeed, when Minister Wriedt finally sent us the plan in November we responded within days, offering the Tasmanian government half of the $16.5 million cost of the plan.

The Tasmanian minister then sat on her hands for almost four months. It was only after she was embarrassed into it that she finally paid some attention to the problem. But then instead of putting her shoulder to the wheel she sought an urgent meeting with my colleague Minister Turnbull to talk about the offer and announce that the cost had blown out by 50 per cent, as the figures that she had provided were almost two years out of date when she provided them only last November. Talk about incompetent! Nonetheless, the Australian government has generously raised its offer to half the revised cost of $24.6 million. Our offer is on the table. It is time for Tasmania, who is rolling in GST windfall moneys, to commit.

Unfortunately, senators opposite, by their interjections, have shown that they are not interested in this genuine environmental problem. If the shadow minister for the environment were genuinely concerned about genuine environment problems, instead of bagging out the forestry industry and the fishing industry he would be calling on his state colleagues to do that which is necessary. To use words that even Mr Garrett might understand, fair is fair and it is about time that Tasmania paid its share.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.