❓ Mr. Tallentire questions the Minister for Environment about ongoing support for the Land for Wildlife program, particularly in regional WA, under the new delivery model. The Minister responds by highlighting the government's environmental track record and the program's future direction, but doesn't provide specific guarantees.
AnsweredQoN 296Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE — LAND FOR
WILDLIFE
296. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister
for Environment:
I refer to one of the few remaining
voluntary conservation programs supported by the Department of Parks and
Wildlife—Land for Wildlife—and the new model of delivery that
is mentioned in the latest edition of Western
Wildlife .
(1) How will the
minister guarantee ongoing support to the 82 per cent of properties in regional
Western Australia under the new model?
(2) Will he
guarantee that every future Land for Wildlife property will be visited by a
Land for Wildlife officer and that all current properties are given ongoing
support?
WILDLIFE
296. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister
for Environment:
I refer to one of the few remaining
voluntary conservation programs supported by the Department of Parks and
Wildlife—Land for Wildlife—and the new model of delivery that
is mentioned in the latest edition of Western
Wildlife .
(1) How will the
minister guarantee ongoing support to the 82 per cent of properties in regional
Western Australia under the new model?
(2) Will he
guarantee that every future Land for Wildlife property will be visited by a
Land for Wildlife officer and that all current properties are given ongoing
support?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for Gosnells for the question. Today is 23 April and I am
delighted to be able to answer my very first question so far for 2015. That is
particularly interesting, because I know that the member for Gosnells is
passionate about the environment, but I think it is very telling of two things:
firstly, the track record of this government —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bassendean, I ask you to withdraw that.
Mr D.J. KELLY : I withdraw.
Questions without
Notice Resumed
Mr A.P. JACOB : It
tells me two things. Firstly, it tells me that when it comes to issues of the
environment, unless there is immediate political mileage, the opposition
generally is not all that interested in what the government is doing; and,
secondly, it tells me that the track record of this government in the
environment is so good that there is really nothing in particular the
opposition can target.
It is good to have a question on Land for Wildlife. Land for
Wildlife is a great program that has been running within the Department of
Parks and Wildlife for a number of years. Essentially, so that members
understand, Land for Wildlife is a covenanting program for private property and
for which those owners can seek to have their private property preserved in
perpetuity as private property but for conservation purposes.
Western Australia makes up one-third of the Australian
continent and the Department of Parks and Wildlife manages some 100 national
parks, including 28.5 million hectares of conservation reserve and 89 million
hectares of other reserves. That 28.5 million hectares is larger than the state
of Victoria and that other 89 million hectares is larger than the state of New
South Wales. Those estates that sit under the Department of Parks and Wildlife
are, in the first instance, our highest priority, but we will seek to engage
with private landowners when they believe they have conservation value on their
land. That is a good thing. I say in the first instance that if those
landowners want to look after that land for conservation purposes, they are
going to do it anyway, but we can certainly work with them and help them, and
that is the space within which the Land for Wildlife program will continue.
We are looking at some community partnership models to keep
that program going into the future. It will still exist, but it is not the core
business of a department that manages an area of land larger than New South
Wales and Victoria put together.
thank the member for Gosnells for the question. Today is 23 April and I am
delighted to be able to answer my very first question so far for 2015. That is
particularly interesting, because I know that the member for Gosnells is
passionate about the environment, but I think it is very telling of two things:
firstly, the track record of this government —
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Member for
Bassendean, I ask you to withdraw that.
Mr D.J. KELLY : I withdraw.
Questions without
Notice Resumed
Mr A.P. JACOB : It
tells me two things. Firstly, it tells me that when it comes to issues of the
environment, unless there is immediate political mileage, the opposition
generally is not all that interested in what the government is doing; and,
secondly, it tells me that the track record of this government in the
environment is so good that there is really nothing in particular the
opposition can target.
It is good to have a question on Land for Wildlife. Land for
Wildlife is a great program that has been running within the Department of
Parks and Wildlife for a number of years. Essentially, so that members
understand, Land for Wildlife is a covenanting program for private property and
for which those owners can seek to have their private property preserved in
perpetuity as private property but for conservation purposes.
Western Australia makes up one-third of the Australian
continent and the Department of Parks and Wildlife manages some 100 national
parks, including 28.5 million hectares of conservation reserve and 89 million
hectares of other reserves. That 28.5 million hectares is larger than the state
of Victoria and that other 89 million hectares is larger than the state of New
South Wales. Those estates that sit under the Department of Parks and Wildlife
are, in the first instance, our highest priority, but we will seek to engage
with private landowners when they believe they have conservation value on their
land. That is a good thing. I say in the first instance that if those
landowners want to look after that land for conservation purposes, they are
going to do it anyway, but we can certainly work with them and help them, and
that is the space within which the Land for Wildlife program will continue.
We are looking at some community partnership models to keep
that program going into the future. It will still exist, but it is not the core
business of a department that manages an area of land larger than New South
Wales and Victoria put together.
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