Abbott Wild Rivers charade shows contempt for Steve Irwin’s legacy

Media Release
Monday, 15 November 2010

The Wilderness Society today condemned Tony Abbott for choosing ‘Steve Irwin Day’ to move on his efforts to undo critical environmental laws protecting Queensland’s pristine Wild Rivers including parts of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on Cape York.

The Opposition Leader is this morning expected to table a private member’s bill in Parliament, designed to roll back existing Wild River declarations, and undermine the capacity to make future ones.

November 15 is ‘Steve Irwin Day’, an annual formal celebration of the life of conservationist Steve Irwin (aka the Crocodile Hunter).  Irwin was passionate about the Wenlock River area of Cape York, and a property now known as the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve was bought by the Howard Government to recognise Irwin’s work and to provide a sanctuary for some of the Cape’s animals, birds and plants.  The Queensland Government recently moved to protect much of the area from bauxite mining by making the Wenlock a Wild River. 

The Wilderness Society has been leading the campaign to save the rivers from mining and other destructive development and provide sustainable Indigenous jobs, and believes Abbott’s move is really about removing development controls and providing support to mining interests on Cape York and in the Gulf Country.

Glenn Walker, spokesperson for The Wilderness Society said: “Tony Abbott’s move is a huge slap in the face to our natural heritage, and the memory of Steve Irwin.”

“On the very day we celebrate the life and work of the late Crocodile Hunter, Mr Abbott is stomping all over environmental laws that protect Steve’s legacy from bauxite mining destruction. This is a national disgrace.”

Wild Rivers laws ensure that destructive development like strip-mining has to be setback at a reasonable distance from sensitive waterways and wetlands. Bauxite mining company Cape Alumina, which planned to mine the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve before the Wenlock Wild River declaration, is strongly backing Tony Abbott in his anti Wild Rivers crusade.

“How ironic that former Prime Minister John Howard and the Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull helped establish Steve’s wildlife reserve in 2007 by granting $6 million to buy the property. Now Tony Abbott is actively working to destroy a Liberal Party environmental legacy by doing the dirty bidding of Cape Alumina and the mining industry”, said Mr Walker.

“All Australians who care for the environment, including progressive Liberal Party members, should remember Steve Irwin’s legacy and call on Mr Abbott to stop the posturing and the political circus, and drop his farcical anti Wild Rivers, anti-environment crusade”.

Queensland’s Wild Rivers Act is a vital part of maintaining the health of some of Australia’s last free-flowing rivers, by controlling destructive development in these areas. Indigenous Wild River Rangers are also employed to look after their river systems. The laws also support industries such as tourism, cattle grazing and land management. 

Ten river systems are currently protected under the Act, with another 9 proposed for Cape York, and 3 for the Lake Eyre Basin region of Western Queensland. Indigenous leaders from across Far North Queensland and the Lake Eyre Basin have publicly stated their strong support for the Wild Rivers laws, as have key pastoralists and tourism operators.