Ms BADGER question to MINISTER for PARKS and HERITAGE, Mr DUIGAN
The Greens, BirdLife Australia and locals have repeatedly raised concerns about the Sand Enduro race held near Peron Dunes during the peak breeding season for threatened shorebirds. Experts in your own department agree with our concerns. RTI documents show that the conservation asset team recommended the race and similar activities should not occur during breeding season, stating vehicles are high-risk to the shorebirds in the area at this time of year. The RTI also revealed that Parks asked the event organisers to move the race to an appropriate date outside of breeding season. This was declined, and the event starts tomorrow. Minister, it’s the government’s job to protect threatened species. Will you now listen to your department’s own advice and commit to making sure that this event is held outside of shorebird breeding season for all future years?
ANSWER
I recognise that the St Helens Sand Enduro has been an annual event in that part of the world since the early 1970s and continues to be a very popular recreation in that part of the world. I’m certainly aware there have been calls by some sections of the community for the 54th Tasmanian Sand Enduro at Peron Dunes near St Helens this Saturday and Sunday to be cancelled. I am in receipt of correspondence from the Environmental Defenders Office acting on behalf of North East Bioregional Network, and I’m aware that the correspondent calls into question the RAA process used to approve the event, and that the department has responded and conveyed the significant monitoring required ahead of and during and post the event.
The enduro event is a legitimate activity for that reserve class, and arguments that it should be suspended or cancelled due to the risk are not considered necessary given the event has a number of RAA conditions already applied to it. I will obviously continue to take advice from my department.
Dr WOODRUFF – And ignore it. How dishonest. Or maybe it’s honest.
The SPEAKER – Dr Woodruff, you have another question you can ask the minister.
Mr DUIGAN – I asked the club to continue to work with Parks and relevant authorities and receive regular updates on the matter from the department. I wish everybody participating this weekend all the best.
Supplementary Question
Ms BADGER – Just a quick supplementary, noting that RAA was done retrospectively to the Greens asking about it; that assessment was only done because we raised it in here. How many other events have taken place without this assessment?
This was good enough that we’ve seen in the papers today that there’s a motocross track that’s not going ahead due to concerns for local sheep in lambing season. They’re respectful of that. At Bathurst 1000, they red-flagged practice session because there were ducklings on the track. It is good enough for everyone else. It’s not good enough for this minister apparently, though, to take the precedent to do the right thing and listen to his department’s own advice. Minister, it’s quite simple, why won’t you change it?
The SPEAKER – Minister, the time has expired, so we’ll take that as a statement for the record, for Hansard.
