26
June 2008 - Australia’s major reform proposals
for modernising the International Whaling
Commission
have achieved overwhelming support at today’s
International Whaling Commission meeting
in Santiago, Chile.
Speaking at the Commission,
Environment Minister, Peter Garrett said
Australia had brought forward the most significant
reform proposal for the Commission in its
sixty year history, including the first
proposal for a non-lethal regional whale
research program in the Southern Ocean.
“This new Australian-led
research partnership will provide the world
with a non-lethal approach to gathering
scientific information on whale populations
in the Southern Ocean, helping improve our
understanding of whales and cetaceans and
enhancing our approach to their conservation
and management.
“This pioneering research
partnership proposal received strong support
in the Commission, which was particularly
pleasing. With no voices raised against
the proposal the United States, United Kingdom,
New Zealand, Argentina, Panama, Mexico,
Brazil, France, Spain, Panama and South
Africa and the host nation Chile all spoke
in support, which augurs well for the program’s
success.”
The Australian Government
has committed approximately $3.3 million
to whale research over the next 12 months,
including the recently announced $1 million
funding boost to the Hobart based Australian
Marine Mammal Centre which is the only national
research centre dedicated to the understanding
and conservation of whales, dolphins, seals
and dugongs.
“Australia has remained
staunch in opposing lethal ‘scientific’
whaling in the Southern Ocean. This new
collaborative approach offers a new way
to conduct whale research based on rigorous
scientific methodology, and I would urge
nations, including Japan, to participate.”
Mr Garrett said in addition
to support for the new research partnership
Australia’s further proposal for fundamental
reform of the Commission is to be discussed
at a newly established working group agreed
at the Santiago meeting.
“Australia will also
put forward a further proposal for the establishment
of internationally agreed whale conservation
management plans at the Commission tomorrow.
“Today, Australia made
significant progress in setting a new path
for the IWC and I look forward to continuing
to vigorously pursuing that case over the
coming days,” Mr Garrett said.
Contact: Kate Pasterfield
+ More
LONG TERM PROTECTION
FOR THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
18 June 2008 - The long
term protection of the Great Barrier Reef
will be significantly strengthened under
legislative changes introduced into Federal
Parliament today by the Minister for the
Environment Peter Garrett.
“The Great Barrier Reef
is one of our most significant environmental
assets. The amendments to the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Act 1975 I am announcing
today will support the protection and ecologically
sustainable use of the marine park,” Mr
Garrett said.
“The marine park established
under the Act is one of the largest and
best protected marine areas in the world
and now covers an area of 344, 400 square
kilometres. It is widely recognised as a
model for marine management and conservation.
“These legislative changes
don’t change the marine park’s zoning, but
they do ensure it delivers a high level
of protection for the Great Barrier Reef,”
he said.
Mr Garrett said the
new legislation would do this through:
•?recognising the World Heritage status
of the Great Barrier Reef
•?applying a new streamlined environmental
impact assessment process
•?an improved enforcement and compliance
regime providing a wider range of enforcement
options tailored to the circumstances, and
•?addressing gaps in emergency management
“Together with measures
such as the $200 million Reef Rescue Plan
and action on climate change, these legislative
changes will form part of the Australian
Government’s robust comprehensive framework
for the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Garrett
said.
“These changes also
see the Government deliver on an election
commitment to reinstate the requirement
for an Indigenous member of the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Authority.
“While the Act was groundbreaking
legislation at the time and has served its
purpose well, it is now over 30 years old
and many things have changed since its inception.
“The review of the Act
in 2006 recommended changes to put in place
a regulatory framework capable of meeting
the challenges of the next 30 years and
beyond. These amendments will deliver on
that goal,” he said.
