Mr MITCHELL - 2000-10-10
ATSIC put in a submission to UNESCO on Kakadu and mining. In that, it was proposed that the Jabiru town and the whole of the park be scheduled under the Land Rights Act. ATSIC’s proposal says this should happen as soon as possible. Tourism as we all know is obviously a vital industry to the Territory and especially to the Aboriginal people in the Kakadu region.
What impact do you believe the ATSIC proposal would have on both tourism investment in Kakadu and also in visitors?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the question from the honourable member for Millner is a very pertinent one. It is not just pertinent to the tourism industry and to the Territory economy but to Territorians who already pay to go into Kakadu. If one looked forward to this proposal being implemented, one would then perhaps be faced with the prospect of having to get a permit to go into Jabiru or some other imposition in the form of an additional cost to avail themselves of the services of what should be a township in the Northern Territory, and not constrained by the current arrangements that are in place.
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: The Chairman of ATSIC, Geoff Clark - there will be people listening to this broadcast who will be very interested and concerned about this and it is inappropriate, I think, for the opposition to be interjecting in the way that they are.
The Chairman of ATSIC, Mr Clark, in the opening emotive rhetoric of his media release, says that the deteriorating legislative, cultural and social situation in Kakadu World Heritage area has led ATSIC to recommend that UNESCO place it on the danger list as a matter of urgency.
Nowhere in the media release is there any indication as to just what could sustain their argument for there being a deteriorating legislative, cultural and social situation. And, of course, if there were those circumstances in any of those areas, what ATSIC, which is the body funded by the taxpayer to huge expense, is therefore going to do to solve any of those problems. They are absolving themselves of any responsibility, but at the same time suggesting that the township of Jabiru not only be included as Aboriginal land but it be scheduled as such. Scheduling would be at the stroke of the pen of the minister. No public hearings as to what Territorians or other Australians might think about such a proposal, but overnight we would see the signing off, the scheduling of Jabiru as Aboriginal land ...
Dr Toyne: That is terrible. You ought to go and see them.
Mr REED: ... without any consequence. You would support it, the member for Stuart is obviously supportive of it.
Dr Toyne: I said it is terrible.
Mr REED: In terms of what might occur in relation to the business investments, the day-to-day business of operating a town, the financial circumstances people would find themselves in, is horrendous in the extreme. The circumstances would change overnight with such a scheduling and the impact on the tourism industry – in excess of 206 000 go to Kakadu each year. It is a great destination. It is recognised as one of the icons of the tourism industry ...
Ms Martin: Oh, really? You have changed your mind, haven’t you? It is good to see. Weren’t you the one who called it ‘Kakadon’t’?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr REED: You are just demonstrating your incompetence by your stupidity in your interjections. But the Leader of the Opposition has mastered at that.
So, no suggestion here of any formal arrangements that might occur if such an action were to be taken, if the minister were to schedule it. And from the point of view of the implications that would flow to Territorians and the investment by hardworking Territorians who are working and living in Jabiru and are looking to a bright and productive future.
Mr Stirling: But you don’t have a solution?
Mr REED: My solution lies in number of areas. Firstly, can I congratulate the federal government for the recent stance they have taken in relation to United Nations signatories and the impost that the United Nations and many of their agencies, in this case, UNESCO, are having on the national circumstances in this country. In particular, in relation to the way that many of those United Nations agencies listen to unelected lobby groups and ATSIC is a classic one, which will be attending a meeting in Cairns this year, to address and to promote this issue. More and more notice is being taken of unelected lobby groups, non-government organisations and environmental lobby groups and the like, rather than the United Nations listening to the elected government of the country.
I applaud the federal government for the stance that they have taken in recent times in finally recognising that it is they that should be listened to in these United Nations forums and not so much the other lobby groups who are representatives of very small percentages of the population or, in many cases, as I believe in this case, very small percentages of Aboriginal people. I wonder how many Aboriginal people who would be affected by an action such as scheduling Jabiru as Aboriginal land have been consulted by ATSIC in relation to this proposal? I guess the Mirrar have been. I guess that those other Aboriginal people who recognise there are only two forms of economic income in the Jabiru area, and that is mining and tourism, and if mining were to be closed down, which is what the Mirrar people are seeking, or a minority of them it seems, then that only leaves tourism.
Tourism is going to die on the vine if Mr Clark from ATSIC has his way with the scheduling of the Jabiru township as Aboriginal land. I draw this matter to the attention of Territorians. It should be a matter of great concern to them. I implore the federal government to maintain their strong stance in ensuring that it is the wishes of our elected government federally that they convey what Territorians and what Australians want in the UNESCO and other United Nations forums, and to have the United Nations desist from listening to these lobby groups who are not representative of the wishes of Territorians or Australians.
What impact do you believe the ATSIC proposal would have on both tourism investment in Kakadu and also in visitors?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the question from the honourable member for Millner is a very pertinent one. It is not just pertinent to the tourism industry and to the Territory economy but to Territorians who already pay to go into Kakadu. If one looked forward to this proposal being implemented, one would then perhaps be faced with the prospect of having to get a permit to go into Jabiru or some other imposition in the form of an additional cost to avail themselves of the services of what should be a township in the Northern Territory, and not constrained by the current arrangements that are in place.
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: The Chairman of ATSIC, Geoff Clark - there will be people listening to this broadcast who will be very interested and concerned about this and it is inappropriate, I think, for the opposition to be interjecting in the way that they are.
The Chairman of ATSIC, Mr Clark, in the opening emotive rhetoric of his media release, says that the deteriorating legislative, cultural and social situation in Kakadu World Heritage area has led ATSIC to recommend that UNESCO place it on the danger list as a matter of urgency.
Nowhere in the media release is there any indication as to just what could sustain their argument for there being a deteriorating legislative, cultural and social situation. And, of course, if there were those circumstances in any of those areas, what ATSIC, which is the body funded by the taxpayer to huge expense, is therefore going to do to solve any of those problems. They are absolving themselves of any responsibility, but at the same time suggesting that the township of Jabiru not only be included as Aboriginal land but it be scheduled as such. Scheduling would be at the stroke of the pen of the minister. No public hearings as to what Territorians or other Australians might think about such a proposal, but overnight we would see the signing off, the scheduling of Jabiru as Aboriginal land ...
Dr Toyne: That is terrible. You ought to go and see them.
Mr REED: ... without any consequence. You would support it, the member for Stuart is obviously supportive of it.
Dr Toyne: I said it is terrible.
Mr REED: In terms of what might occur in relation to the business investments, the day-to-day business of operating a town, the financial circumstances people would find themselves in, is horrendous in the extreme. The circumstances would change overnight with such a scheduling and the impact on the tourism industry – in excess of 206 000 go to Kakadu each year. It is a great destination. It is recognised as one of the icons of the tourism industry ...
Ms Martin: Oh, really? You have changed your mind, haven’t you? It is good to see. Weren’t you the one who called it ‘Kakadon’t’?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr REED: You are just demonstrating your incompetence by your stupidity in your interjections. But the Leader of the Opposition has mastered at that.
So, no suggestion here of any formal arrangements that might occur if such an action were to be taken, if the minister were to schedule it. And from the point of view of the implications that would flow to Territorians and the investment by hardworking Territorians who are working and living in Jabiru and are looking to a bright and productive future.
Mr Stirling: But you don’t have a solution?
Mr REED: My solution lies in number of areas. Firstly, can I congratulate the federal government for the recent stance they have taken in relation to United Nations signatories and the impost that the United Nations and many of their agencies, in this case, UNESCO, are having on the national circumstances in this country. In particular, in relation to the way that many of those United Nations agencies listen to unelected lobby groups and ATSIC is a classic one, which will be attending a meeting in Cairns this year, to address and to promote this issue. More and more notice is being taken of unelected lobby groups, non-government organisations and environmental lobby groups and the like, rather than the United Nations listening to the elected government of the country.
I applaud the federal government for the stance that they have taken in recent times in finally recognising that it is they that should be listened to in these United Nations forums and not so much the other lobby groups who are representatives of very small percentages of the population or, in many cases, as I believe in this case, very small percentages of Aboriginal people. I wonder how many Aboriginal people who would be affected by an action such as scheduling Jabiru as Aboriginal land have been consulted by ATSIC in relation to this proposal? I guess the Mirrar have been. I guess that those other Aboriginal people who recognise there are only two forms of economic income in the Jabiru area, and that is mining and tourism, and if mining were to be closed down, which is what the Mirrar people are seeking, or a minority of them it seems, then that only leaves tourism.
Tourism is going to die on the vine if Mr Clark from ATSIC has his way with the scheduling of the Jabiru township as Aboriginal land. I draw this matter to the attention of Territorians. It should be a matter of great concern to them. I implore the federal government to maintain their strong stance in ensuring that it is the wishes of our elected government federally that they convey what Territorians and what Australians want in the UNESCO and other United Nations forums, and to have the United Nations desist from listening to these lobby groups who are not representative of the wishes of Territorians or Australians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016