Media release - 27 July
2012 - Koalas have been thrown a lifeline
by a project that funds private landowners
to keep their properties Koala-friendly.
"People living
in areas where Koalas need help are putting
up their hands and working on their properties
to make sure there will always be a home
for these unique Australians," Minister
Tony Burke said.
The Nature Conservation
Trust of NSW, with funding assistance from
the Federal Government, is working to protect
500ha of Koala habitat in New South Wales.
Part of this work involves funding private
property to be covenanted and assisting
landowners to keep the habitat safe for
Koalas.
"The work the NSW
Conservation Trust is doing here is a great
example of how non-government organisations
and the private sector are stepping up together
to the challenge of protecting our environment
– and habitat for unique species like the
Koala," Minister Burke said.
This is a valuable addition
to the funding the Government has provided
to protection of Koalas including the more
than $10 million through Round 1 of the
Biodiversity Fund.
Over the past four years
the Australian Government has committed
more than $650,000 to improve Koala habitat
in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria
through the Caring for our Country program.
"There is strong
evidence that Koala populations across Queensland,
New South Wales and the Australian Capital
Territory are in decline... that is why
I took the decision to list the Koala as
a 'vulnerable species'," Minister Burke
said.
Queensland, New South
Wales and Australian Capital Territory Koala
populations are under serious threat from
habitat loss and urban expansion—including
from vehicle strikes, dog attacks, and disease.
"Landowners who
want to ensure the survival of this iconic
species have the backing of groups like
the Nature Conservation Trust and the Federal
Government," Minister Burke said.
The Australian Government's
multi-million dollar Environmental Stewardship
Program has been funding private land managers
over the past four years to protect, improve
and rehabilitate their land to improve biodiversity
outcomes.
This approach is similar
to that followed by the Nature Conservation
Trust in funding land managers to look after
threatened species through placing covenants
on their lands and managing them to improve
biodiversity.
+ More
Statement on Shark Attacks
in Western Australia
16 July 2012 - The recent
tragedies in Western Australian waters are
an awful loss. My thoughts are with the
families and friends of those people who
have been attacked.
I understand the Western
Australian Fisheries Minister Norman Moore
has written to me with specific proposals.
While I am yet to receive
this letter, I am happy to work with the
Western Australian Government on whatever
they may propose.
If there are actions
the Western Australian Government currently
wants to take to ensure human safety, national
law includes provisions for that to happen.
Right now my office
is ensuring that the Western Australian
Government will be given assistance as it
works to manage this.
I agree with comments
made in the media by the Western Australian
Government that we need the latest information
on shark numbers.
There is a view among
some that shark numbers have increased and
I know both governments will work together
to get as clear a picture as possible about
whether the great white shark population
is recovering.
My department is finalising
an updated recovery plan for great white
sharks.
A key part of the plan
is research to improve our understanding
of the species.
The Great White Shark
was first listed under national environmental
law in 1999 by the then Environment Minister
Robert Hill.
Great White Sharks were
first listed as 'protected' in Western Australia
under the Western Australian Fisheries Resources
Management Act in 1997, and then listed
as 'rare or likely to become extinct' under
the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation
Act in 1999.
+ More
Australia continues
push for reform at International Whaling
Commission
02 July 2012 - Federal
Environment Minister Tony Burke leaves today
for the 64th annual meeting of the International
Whaling Commission in the Republic of Panama.
“Australia’s strong
representation at the Commission’s annual
meetings is part of the Government’s continued
push for total compliance with the global
moratorium on commercial whaling,” Mr Burke
said.
“Australia has been
working with other pro-conservation member
countries in the lead-up to the 2012 meeting
to advance agreed conservation and science
initiatives, and to progress a number of
significant governance reforms.
“Our priorities at the
2012 meeting include making progress on
Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling, the South
Atlantic Whale Sanctuary proposal, and a
range of governance reform matters.
Australia will also
continue its close engagement in the work
of the Commission to progress agreed conservation
and science initiatives, particularly the
Australian-initiated and IWC-endorsed non-lethal
Southern Ocean Research Partnership. Early
in 2013, Australia will be undertaking a
major Antarctic blue whale research expedition
as part of the partnership.
“I will reiterate Australia’s
firm position on whaling - we oppose all
forms of commercial whaling, including so-called
‘scientific’ whaling,” Mr Burke said.
“In particular, Japan’s
program of so-called ‘scientific’ whaling
is contrary to its international obligations
and should stop—this is why we commenced
proceedings in the International Court of
Justice against Japan.”
Australia is fully committed
to its legal case before the court as the
appropriate means of bringing a permanent
end to Japan’s so-called ‘scientific’ whaling.
That is now the appropriate forum for that
dispute.
“My attendance at the
annual meeting of the International Whaling
Commission demonstrates that Australia will
remain closely engaged on the many other
issues before the commission in an effort
to drive real pro-conservation and governance
reform.”
The commission’s annual
meeting and the associated meetings of its
scientific committee and other sub-groups
takes place in Panama City from 11 June
– 6 July 2012.
