Dr WOODRUFF – Your government’s been in power for 10 years. Coincidentally, the State of the Environment report that was overdue by 10 years has just revealed to Tasmanians the terrible state of our environment. Do you accept that the poor state of our environment, with more than three-quarters of the indicators showing we’re in a bad state and declining, is the result of your government’s decision-making and your policies and actions?
Mr ROCKLIFF – There are a lot of areas we’re invested in supporting sustainability and our environment. I was pleased to see the Tasmanian State of the Environment report tabled in parliament by Mr Ellis, the Planning minister.
Dr WOODRUFF – It’s a pretty devastating read.
Mr ROCKLIFF – The report has been prepared by the Tasmanian Planning Commission and I note the responsible minister is the minister for Planning. I acknowledge the important role the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania has also played in contributing to the data and reviewing reports for 17 of the environmental indicators, as well as providing input through the preparation of case studies and other feedback where appropriate. The State of the Environment report is an important means of documenting baseline environmental data, trends and risks across Tasmania and is a significant body of work. The report is broad ranging in scope, significant in length and highly technical in nature a. It touches on many areas of government, I accept that, but also industry, community responsibility and –
Dr WOODRUFF – The question, Premier-
Mr ROCKLIFF – It is important that we take the time to consider the findings, seek advice and formulate a measured and consolidated response to the report. I can also say –
Dr WOODRUFF – Do you accept that your government’s policies have contributed to the state of decline? That is the question.
Mr ROCKLIFF – What I accept is the need for continuous improvement. I accept that there’s been many areas where we have invested in Tasmania alongside community groups, as well being identified in the report and the importance of the volunteers and the Landcare grants and all those types of things. The report itself is a combination of many hours of work by individuals and organisations, environmental organisations, research bodies and government agencies assessing environmental conditions and trends, authoring case studies, contributing data sets and contributing to quality assurance processes, including EPA Tasmania. BirdLife Tasmania, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, University of Tasmania –
Dr WOODRUFF – To the question, Premier.
CHAIR – Order.
Mr ROCKLIFF – The report makes 16 recommendations across a range of areas including managing waterways, and we’ve had a huge improvement when it comes to the natural resource management of our waterways.
Dr WOODRUFF – Point of order, Chair, 45, relevance. I understand that the Premier is going through, but can he please come to the question?
CHAIR – Dr Woodruff, I can’t direct the Premier. He can continue to answer the question.
Mr ROCKLIFF – I do not accept the premise of the question, so the answer is no.
Dr WOODRUFF – Had no impact in a negative way at all?
Mr ROCKLIFF – I do not accept the premise of the question. I remember in the late 90s when I was chairing the Mersey Natural Resource Management Group, where we had fishes, irrigators, dairy farmers, environmentalists, all key stakeholders along the Mersey River where we produced a –
Dr WOODRUFF – Chair, Can I move to my next question? Since the Premier will not answer this one.
Mr ROCKLIFF – No, this is important because it is important that everyone works together on continuous improvement.
Dr WOODRUFF – Hold on, hold on. Let us just be real about what is happening in that report. Do not talk about continuous improvement when you are destroying forests, when you are doing no action. Well, can I move to my next question?
CHAIR – No you may not. You have used your two –
Dr WOODRUFF – No, I have not, Chair. Excuse me, I did not, I was trying to draw the Premier to the question. Are you prepared to have species go extinct? Is that the legacy you want? No action at all. You make no commitment to change on the basis of this terrible report.
CHAIR – Dr Woodruff, Mrs Pentland has the call.
Dr WOODRUFF – Well, you know, it will be your legacy.
Mr ROCKLIFF – Dr Woodruff, we will consider the highly technical report and in a very considered manner respond to the recommendations of which I would value your input and others around.
Dr WOODRUFF – You have got thousands of pages of input, just do something.
CHAIR – Order, Dr Woodruff.
