Mr McADAM - 2002-08-22
Can the minister advise if the government has been able to provide funding to restore the Aboriginal ethnobiology project that was cut by the previous government, despite its enormous popularity and success in promoting Aboriginal culture, bush tucker and pharmacopoeia to the world?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I am very pleased to announce that this government has put $50 000 to revitalise the ethnobiology project, an excellent project. I am really surprised that somebody in the previous government saw fit to cut short that project because it provides valuable information about bush tucker and bush medicine. We can actually draw information from the plants that Aboriginal people are so well aware of. I have some examples here, and also of some books that have been produced by the ethnobiology project. This information, unfortunately, disappears as the traditional owners age and die. I have to remind members that most of the modern medicine has derived from bush medicine in Europe and other areas of the world. One of them in particular, aspirin, is derived from the bark of the poplar tree, and a number of other medicines have actually been developed from plants or animals.
I am very pleased to say that we are revitalising the project. Not only that, we are working very closely with educational institutions and the Commonwealth to seek extra funding to continue this project, because it is important not only for us as a mainstream community, but also for the Aboriginal community because they are given the opportunity to identify the plants, harvest them and provide a source of income.
If, in the future, one of those plants is found to contain chemicals that could be used in the fight against AIDS, that would be a significant benefit for society, but also a significant income to the Territory and the traditional owners as well. Currently, drug companies have investigated a number of plants in the Tiwi Islands and they believe that they have medicinal properties to fight some of the serious diseases in our world.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I am very pleased to announce that this government has put $50 000 to revitalise the ethnobiology project, an excellent project. I am really surprised that somebody in the previous government saw fit to cut short that project because it provides valuable information about bush tucker and bush medicine. We can actually draw information from the plants that Aboriginal people are so well aware of. I have some examples here, and also of some books that have been produced by the ethnobiology project. This information, unfortunately, disappears as the traditional owners age and die. I have to remind members that most of the modern medicine has derived from bush medicine in Europe and other areas of the world. One of them in particular, aspirin, is derived from the bark of the poplar tree, and a number of other medicines have actually been developed from plants or animals.
I am very pleased to say that we are revitalising the project. Not only that, we are working very closely with educational institutions and the Commonwealth to seek extra funding to continue this project, because it is important not only for us as a mainstream community, but also for the Aboriginal community because they are given the opportunity to identify the plants, harvest them and provide a source of income.
If, in the future, one of those plants is found to contain chemicals that could be used in the fight against AIDS, that would be a significant benefit for society, but also a significant income to the Territory and the traditional owners as well. Currently, drug companies have investigated a number of plants in the Tiwi Islands and they believe that they have medicinal properties to fight some of the serious diseases in our world.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016