Ms O’CONNOR question to MINISTER for PARKS, Mr DUIGAN
We will move on to the Maria Island Management Plan. Again, my colleague Ms Badger has asked me to ask you this question.
Mr Duigan – Why do I go downstairs in the morning then?
Ms O’CONNOR – Well, because we have five questions downstairs and you are in here now.
Mr Duigan – For half an hour.
Ms O’CONNOR – You walked away from your environment portfolio once a Green appeared in this Chamber. You are the Minister for Parks. I am agreeing. I am also interested in the answers to this question.
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STATEMENT BY DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Conduct in Question Time
Madam DEPUTY PRESIDENT – Order, if the member could resume her seat for a moment.
As the President has previously said, our Standing Orders as they apply to Question Time are not all that comprehensive to this particular part of question time, and the spirit and intent of those Standing Orders that apply to answers to questions on notice, which happens first up, as well as those that government members conduct, will be applied to this question time. The President has previously made that clear.
Question time is not a time for debate. It is a time for asking questions and listening to the answers provided.
I will remind members of Standing Order No. 129: a member shall not interrupt a member who is addressing the Council. A degree of interjection will always be permitted in the Council, but there is a difference between interjection that adds to proceedings and interjection that impairs the ability for a minister to answer, or a member to ask a question, or seeks to engage them in debate.
If the member is not happy with the answer, there are other avenues to pursue, whether it is asking supplementary questions or putting a question on the notice paper or moving a specific motion – but just remind members of our Standing Orders if you are not sure, Standing Order No. 129, guides our question time.
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Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, Deputy President. I hope you are addressing the comments in that case to the minister.
Madam DEPUTY PRESIDENT – To all members.
Ms O’CONNOR – Okay, you are only looking at me.
Madam DEPUTY PRESIDENT – I am now because you are speaking to me.
Ms O’CONNOR – Minister, yesterday in response to my questions about the review of Maria Island Management Plan, a review that was first commenced four years ago and for which we are yet to see a draft, you said the draft plan was currently undergoing edits.
In June of 2023, the draft plan was also undergoing edits. That is nearly two years ago. And in an email released under RTI, a Parks and Wildlife officer described these edits nearly two years ago the following way: [tbc 2.39]
I met with the Secretary yesterday to review his recent comments on the draft. The key concern (and not a new one) is the large number of management actions in the plan and that their delivery is not possible within the budget for the park.
Can you confirm that what has been holding the draft management plan for Maria Island back for such a long time is not the need for detailed guidance from experts on how to preserve and protect this precious and beloved island, but the paltry budget allowing what preservation is possible?
ANSWER
Madam Deputy President, I did spend a little bit of time talking about this yesterday. I understand how special Maria Island is to the state of Tasmania – a complex environment which includes World Heritage areas and remains one of Tasmania’s most loved national parks and obviously, receives a corresponding level of visitation. Our government is committed to protecting this important landscape and ensuring that both visitors and locals alike can continue to access and enjoy the incredible experience the island provides. The draft Maria Island National Park and Ile des Phoques Nature Reserve management plan is expected to be released soon. I make no apologies for ensuring we get this important statutory document right. It is not only a management plan for a national park, but also for a world heritage area, and I will not rush the last stage of the drafting process. There are, as I mentioned yesterday, important Aboriginal cultural values and Aboriginal heritage specialists undertook consultation and explored the Aboriginal values to inform the draft plan.
Parks planning staff are project managing the project and parks heritage specialists are providing more detailed guidance for the management of historic heritage on the island, noting the listing of the heritage convict site. Importantly, the draft will undergo full and open public consultation and I encourage all interested stakeholders to be part of that process. Of course, the public and anyone you speak to, any members interested on this particular topic can access the progress of the project via the ‘have your say’ page on the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services website.
Ms O’Connor – Through you, Madam Deputy President, just quickly, addressing the budget question, if you do not want me to get up and ask another question.
Mr DUIGAN – Ask all you like.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you for your answer, minister, and I understand you want to get this right. The question was about matters that were raised by the Parks and Wildlife Service ‑ I think before you even became minister – in relation to the draft management plan, about the lack of budget to implement the management plan in its draft form at that point. As Minister for Parks, are you confident that once we go through this process and there is a final management plan for the Maria Island National Park and World Heritage Area, that it will have a sufficient budget?
Mr DUIGAN – I note the challenge of providing resourcing to the full suite of the Parks department. It is a large department with lots of land areas to manage, but I am confident, yes.
