[Greens-Media] Minister to give thumbs down to Recherche Bay

[Willis, Katrina (Sen C. Milne)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday, 16 August 2005

Minister to give thumbs down to Recherche Bay 

Heritage regime a shambles

Federal Environment and Heritage Minister Ian Campbell is set to give
the go ahead to the logging of the north-east peninsula of Recherche Bay
by adopting a politically expedient approach to national heritage
listing.

Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania Christine Milne raised the matter
in Question Time in response to an Australia Institute report that
concluded Minister Campbell failed to carry out his statutory duties and
misused heritage programs for political purposes leading up to the 2004
federal election.

"Minister Campbell used his emergency listing powers for a site at
Kurnell that faced no imminent threat, at the request of a coalition
MP," Senator Milne said.

"He also provided $50,000 for two projects related to Sir Don Bradman in
consultation with other coalition MPs, even though one application was
seven and a half months late and in the other case no application was
lodged. 
  
"This episode is just the latest in a series of poor decisions by the
minister, who has failed to protect Australia's national and
internationally significant heritage sites, such as Recherche Bay.

"Minister Campbell under pressure from the logging industry seems
prepared to ignore the cultural landscape values of the entire
north-east peninsula in favour of a minimalist, pocket handkerchief
approach to cultural heritage listing," Australian Greens Senator for
Tasmania Christine Milne said today.

"By talking about the values of the site and not the cultural landscape
he is moving to list the already protected French garden and the
observatory site whilst condemning the surrounding area, criss-crossed
by the French and Australian Indigenous people, to logging.

"Ethnologists regard the encounter between the French and the Indigenous
people as being one of the most significant in our colonial history.
This site was where the earliest recording of Aboriginal language was
made.

"Australia's national heritage regime is a shambles. It is time for the
government to re-establish an independent body to assess and allocate
funding for heritage sites."

A copy of Senator Milne's notice of motion, given today, appears
overleaf. 
Contact: Katrina Willis 0437 587 562 or 02 6277 3063



I give notice that on the next day of sitting I will move:

That the Senate:

	a)	Notes:
	i)	 the loss of independence in the assessment of
Australian heritage sites since the Australian Heritage Commission was
absorbed into the Department of the Environment and Heritage; 

	ii) the failure of the federal government to protect Australian
heritage sites since that time, including Recherche Bay in Tasmania and
the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia; 

	iii) the federal government's willingness to manipulate the
heritage assessment and funding process for political purposes; and

	b)	Calls on the federal government to re-establish an
independent statutory heritage body with authority to assess and
allocate funding for heritage protection.


Christine Milne




Katrina Willis
Adviser
Office of Senator Christine Milne
Ph: 03 6234 4566
0437 587562
Fax: 03 6234 2144
www.greens.org.au