19
June 2009 - Environment Minister Peter Garrett
today released the Global Cetacean Summary
Report ahead of the 61st International Whaling
Commission meeting in Portugal next week
at which Australia's will continue its strong
leadership in the push to bring an end to
so-called 'scientific' whaling.
Mr Garrett said the
report found that cetaceans - whales, dolphins
and porpoises - are increasingly threatened
by human activities including hunting, habitat
degradation and climate change impacts.
"What this report
shows is that while some species and populations
have started to recover, many continue to
be threatened, with the risk some could
be driven to extinction in the near future,"
Mr Garrett said.
The report brings together
all available global data to identify 'hot
spot' areas that provide habitats for threatened
species. These 'hot spots' are found in
the oceans around each of the world's continents.
The report also highlights
the need for more scientific information
on cetacean species. There is inadequate
information on distribution and abundance
to assess the risk of extinction for half
of all cetacean species.
"The release of
this report further strengthens Australia's
drive to end so-called 'scientific' whaling.
Future research should use non-lethal methods
and be based on rigorous science,"
Mr Garrett said.
"We are demonstrating
to the world just how this can be achieved
through the Southern Ocean Research Partnership,
which is the first truly international,
multidisciplinary non-lethal research collaboration
focusing on improving the conservation of
whales.
"Just yesterday, Australia and New
Zealand announced that as part of that partnership,
New Zealand will send the R/V Tangaroa to
Antarctic waters for six weeks of non-lethal
research in early 2010.
"The world has
changed dramatically in the 60 years since
the original signing of the Convention for
the Regulation of Whaling, and it is time
for the IWC to catch up. This will only
be achieved through modernisation of the
IWC and Australia is leading the charge
for this reform.
"The IWC has had
decades of difficulty in resolving these
issues. We won't see a completed reform
process at this meeting of the Commission,
but I am determined to advance Australia's
conservation goals, and most urgently, achieving
progress towards addressing 'scientific'
whaling.
"Australia welcomes
the recent comments by the Obama Administration
about reforming the Commission and the identification
of so-called 'scientific' whaling as the
critical issue in need of attention. And
we welcome the very strong positions taken
by our friends in the European Union and
throughout Latin America.
"I will go to the
IWC committed to working with like-minded
nations in what I am sure will be a continuing
tough negotiation, but one that Australia
believes is critical to transform the Commission
into a modern, conservation-focused organisation,
securing long-term protection for the world's
whales."
The report can be found
here: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/cetaceans/index.html
+ More
$650 million for private
irrigation infrastructure operators in New
South Wales
19 June 2009 - Minister
for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny
Wong, today announced a further step in
the Rudd Government's drive to improve the
efficiency and productivity of irrigated
agriculture in the Murray-Darling Basin
and to return water to our rivers.
The new $650 million
Private Irrigation Infrastructure Operators
Program for NSW will fund irrigation system
modernisation projects, providing opportunities
for both off-farm and on-farm water efficiency
upgrades.
"This $650 million
investment will not only help to upgrade
and modernise private irrigation systems
in New South Wales, it will also secure
a share of the water saved for the stressed
rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling
Basin," Senator Wong said.
Today's announcement
delivers on last year's Council of Australian
Governments agreement on Basin reform to
fund private irrigation infrastructure projects
in the NSW Murray-Darling Basin.
The program forms part
of the Government's $12.9 billion Water
for the Future plan that aims to take action
on climate change, secure our water supplies,
use water wisely, and support healthy rivers.
Water for the Future
sets out a comprehensive plan to put the
future of the Basin onto a sustainable footing,
and a key component is helping irrigation
communities to adjust to a future with less
water.
"By investing now
in both irrigation efficiency and water
purchase, Water for the Future is helping
smooth the transition for irrigation communities
to new, lower limits on water use that we
all anticipate under the Basin Plan,"
Senator Wong said.
"We recognise that
the role of private irrigation operators
in NSW is crucial to the future prosperity
of NSW's irrigation communities.
"This $650 million
program provides them with the assistance
they need to implement their modernisation
plans and improve irrigation water use efficiency
and productivity."
Funding is provided
through the Sustainable Rural Water Use
and Infrastructure program under Water for
the Future and builds on Australian Government
funding for private irrigation infrastructure
operators through the Irrigation Modernisation
Planning Assistance program.
Private irrigation infrastructure
operators who operate in the NSW Murray-Darling
Basin are invited to submit funding applications
to the Australian Government.
More information about
the program is available at www.environment.gov.au/water/programs/index.html
