The campaign kicks off with an advertisement in today’s NT News, and will be followed up with advertisements, billboards, letter boxing and other publicity targeting all political parties in the lead up to the August 25 2012 NT election.
The first advertisement, ‘C’mon Hendo, Keep Labor’s Promises’ calls on Chief Minister Paul Henderson to honour Labor’s election and policy commitments to:
“Since their election in 2001, NT Labor has promised to introduce land clearing laws, river protection laws and create marine parks. With just nine months until the next Territory election, the Henderson government scores zero out of three on protecting the environment,” said The Wilderness Society’s Northern Australia Campaigner Gavan McFadzean.
“It’s time they delivered on their promises.”
“Labor has been promising for over a decade to safeguard Territory waters in a world-class network of marine parks” said Jess Abrahams, Northern Marine Campaigner with the Australian Marine Conservation Society. “With destructive seabed mining now threatening critical feeding and breeding grounds around the coast, now more than ever we need marine sanctuaries to safeguard our tropical sealife, including our turtles, dolphins and dugongs.”
Director of the Environment Centre NT Stuart Blanch said, “It’s not good enough to promise to protect the environment during an election campaign and then not deliver once you’re elected. How can we trust Labor’s policy commitments in the lead up to next year’s election if they haven’t delivered on their promises so far?”
“The advertising campaign is designed to raise the profile amongst the community of these three key environmental issues, urge NT Labor to deliver on their existing election and policy commitments and the CLP to lift their environmental policy credentials between now and next year’s poll.”
Further comment: Gavan McFadzean m: 0414 754 023 Stuart Blanch m: 0448 887 303
]]>The Federal government’s release of draft marine reserves in the Commonwealth waters far off the NSW coast is seen as a missed opportunity to establish much needed protection for marine life by leading environment groups.
"We are calling for the establishment of a network of marine sanctuaries that meet international scientific benchmarks for protection. Unfortunately, this was not achieved in the current draft." said Nicola Bowskill, from The Wilderness Society.
"The temperate oceans of the east are world class and deserving of world class protection. They are home to rare and threatened species including southern right and humpback whales, as well as loggerhead, green and leatherback turtles and incredible underwater seascapes including towering underwater mountains and deep canyons." continued Ms Bowskill.
The government’s proposal would step up protection for waters around Lord Howe and Norfolk Island - areas of incredible diversity that include the world’s southernmost coral reefs. However it fails to protect the offshore wildlife in other important areas from oil and gas exploration and damaging fishing techniques.
"The best available science shows that marine sanctuaries are the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to safeguarding the future of marine life and fish stocks" said Alexia Wellbelove of Humane Society International.
"Environment groups are committed to working with other stakeholder groups including tourism and recreational and commercial fishers in the coming three months submission period to work towards outcomes that benefit all sectors as well as ocean life," said Daisy Barham of the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
"The Australian lifestyle relies on the good health of our oceans and marine reserves are a critical tool to restoring and maintaining that health. If not strengthened, the current plan would miss a major opportunity to improve ocean health and build resilience in the face of climate change and other threats", said Pepe Clarke of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
The coalition includes the Wilderness Society, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Australian Marine Conservation Society, and Humane Society International.
Contacts:
Nicola Bowskill, Marine Campaigner, the Wilderness Society Newcastle: 0406 639 298
Jane Garcia, Media and Communications Officer, Nature Conservation Council of NSW: 0402 757 342
Daisy Barham, Marine Campaigner, Australian Marine Conservation Society: (07) 3846 6777, 0423 556 887
Alexia Wellbelove, Senior Program Manager, Humane Society International: 0415 954 600
Fisheries Minister Kon Vatskialis has irresponsibly preempted the Commonwealth’s marine bioregional process by his unconstructive comments yesterday, following the launch of a report by conservation groups highlighting marine icons in Australia’s north.
The Wilderness Society’s Northern Australia Campaigner Gavan McFadzean said Minister Vatskalis’ remarks jeopardise the process’ independence and misrepresent a significant report that outlines twelve marine icons in need of protection.
“The public expects a Territory Minister to make a properly informed contribution to the debate over new marine parks. The public has a right to expect the Minister to have a better grasp of his portfolio and a less partisan approach to stakeholder engagement,” said Mr McFadzean.
Minister Vatskalis labeled environment groups’ report as a ‘wish list’ without scientific basis. In fact it was a systemic analysis based on advice from Australia’s leading marine scientists and using the best known marine information available.
"The Minister needs to review the facts: the Top End has one marine park in Territory waters and none in Commonwealth waters. Less than one percent of our marine environment is protected. A sustainable marine management program requires marine parks to protect crucial breeding and feeding areas for endangered sealife as well as fish stocks from overfishing, bottom trawling and oil and gas development said Mr McFadzean."
Sites earmarked as iconic and in need of protection are located in Fog Bay, Arafura Canyons, Coburg Pinnacles, Gulf of Carpentaria, western Cape York, Limmen Bight and the Arnhem Shelf Islands.
The report Twelve Tropical Sea Treasures: Underwater icons of Northern Australia has been produced by Save Our Tropical Sealife, an alliance of local and national conservation groups.
It includes a statement by Professor Hugh Possingham that "for marine conservation efforts to be effective they must always include a network of marine sanctuaries that provides high levels of protection". Prof Possingham is one of Australia’s leading conservation biologists, the Director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and Inaugural Chair of the Australian Government’s Biological Diversity Advisory Committee.
"Minister Vatskalis has shown clear disregard for his constituents through these reckless remarks. It is disappointing that an elected representative would choose to enter public discussion on the important issue of marine ecosystems in such an unhelpful and obstructive way."
Further comment contact:
Gavan McFadzean mobile: 0414 754 023
Two new reports released today, Wild Blue Yonder: Fifteen underwater places for protection in Australia's north west and Twelve Tropical Sea Treasures: Underwater icons of Northern Australia reveal critical sites for rare and threatened sealife off Australia's north and northwest coast.
The reports draw attention to the urgent need for marine sanctuaries to protect these vulnerable, iconic and unique environments.
"Environment Minister Tony Burke has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect tropical sealife across northern Australia. The government’s recently proposed reserves must protect every one of these iconic areas from the threats of oil and gas drilling and overfishing", said Paul Gamblin from WWF-Australia.
"Unless large sanctuaries are established in these iconic places, Australia will not be able to claim that it is adequately protecting its tropical marine environment.”
"Spanning over one and a half million square kilometres, currently less than one per cent of these regions is protected from threats such as oil and gas drilling, seabed mining and overfishing", said Gavan McFadzean from the Wilderness Society.
The reports uncover an underwater treasure trove rich in threatened sealife, including ancient coral reefs, enormous whale sharks, dugong feeding grounds, habitat for the rare and recently described snubfin dolphin and humpback whale havens.
"This vast and diverse region, from Shark Bay through to the Gulf of Carpentaria, is a haven to tropical sealife, threatened with extinction in other parts of the world ", said Jess Abrahams from the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
"This report clearly shows that marine sanctuaries are critical for protecting vulnerable marine life and their underwater habitat."
"The ocean off North Western Australia is our last great whale haven. But this plan sets the scene for unconstrained development of the oil and gas industry to the detriment of whales, dolphins and other marine animals. The Australian Government must do more to balance the needs of industry and conservation if it’s to maintain its global reputation as a whale protector,” said Isabel McCrea from IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare).
The reports have been produced by Save Our Tropical Sealife, an alliance of local, national and international conservation groups, as part of the campaign to seek protection for iconic and vulnerable marine habitats across northern Australia. The reports can be viewed online at www.SaveOurTropicalSealife.org.au
For more information and high-resolution photos and stock footage please call Adrian Dodd on 0401 726 476 or Jonathon Larkin on 0410 221 410.
The iconic and unprotected sites identified in the northwest include:
In the north, critical sites include: