Senate debates

Monday, 29 February 2016

Motions

Coolcalalaya Station

3:53 pm

Photo of Ricky MuirRicky Muir (Victoria, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)   notes that:

(i)   the Lane family has transformed Coolcalalaya Station into:

  (A)   a holiday destination for thousands of families each year,

  (B)   a property with tourist infrastructure, such as a licensed restaurant, campgrounds, accommodation and hundreds of kilometres of 4WD tracks, ranging from scenic to challenging,

  (C)   a location that now hosts local events which draw tourists into the region from all over Australia,

  (D)   a location used by schools located in the midwest of Western Australia for school camps, and

  (E)   a retreat where service members suffering mental health issues can stay free of charge to help with their recovery,

(ii)   the Lane family has also built an off-road driver training business based around this property that:

  (A)   teaches the ethics and responsibilities in relation to off-road driving, and

  (B)   delivers nationally-accredited training via local technical and further education to: the general public, the Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food, and State Emergency Service volunteers,

(iii)   on 15 September 2015 the family was advised from the Pastoral Land Board that they needed to cease trading immediately and remove all possessions and all trace of their business by 30 June 2016, and

(iv)   the Lane family state that they have the support for their activities from: members of the local Indigenous community, Northampton Shire, the Federal Member for Durack (Ms Price), the state Member for Geraldton (Mr Blayney), the state Member for Pilbara (Mr Grylls), the state Member for Moore (Mr Love), and the Western Australian Deputy Premier (Ms Harvey); and

(b)   calls on the Federal Government to:

(i)   acknowledge the positive social and economic benefits the Lane family contributes to their local community, and

(ii)   request Western Australian coalition senators to contact Mr Redman MLA and ask that he grant a section 91 licence to allow the Lane family to remain at Coolcalalaya Station while the issues surrounding the general lease application are resolved.

Photo of Claire MooreClaire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Photo of Gavin MarshallGavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | | Hansard source

Leave has been granted for one minute.

Photo of Claire MooreClaire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | | Hansard source

Pastoral leases are entered for a very modest sum by state governments for purposes of grazing livestock. Generally pastoralists are allowed small-scale tourist activities to augment pastoral income. There are difficulties in allowing pastoral leases to take on large-scale activities in tourism and other industries. Other operators in the region who need to buy or lease land commercially argue that pastoralists would have an unfair advantage and that, if public lands are going to be used for that purpose, all operators should have the right to compete. The state minister is obviously having to take into consideration the precedent this would set for the other 500-plus pastoral leases in WA. The kind of change to the use to pastoral land suggested in this motion is best done on a regional basis, such as was done on the Ningaloo coast, where some tourism concessions were made available for pastoralists.

Question negatived.