Make national parks and reserves a matter of national environmental significance

Open letter to Tony Burke MP, Minister for Environment

Dear Tony,

Please ensure our National Parks are protected from destructive practices such as mining, logging and grazing across Australia.  This is an issue of critical importance.

National parks are the cornerstone of our conservation effort. They protect not just native plants and animals, but whole ecosystems. They also provide clean water, air and opportunities for rest, recreation and respite for millions of Australians and visitors alike.

But despite their title, the national (Australian) government has very little to do with most national parks at present.

State governments across Australia are talking about offering up our national parks for logging, grazing, mining, large-scale tourism developments and other destructive practices for short-term political or commercial gain.

The damage this would cause would last for generations. The Federal Government needs to act now, in this session of Parliament, to protect our national parks and reserves system.

I ask that as a matter of urgency and in order to stop destructive logging, grazing and mining in national parks, that you please table the necessary legislation under the EPBC Act to make national parks and reserves a matter of national environmental significance.

This would be a truly great legacy for nature and national parks.

External links

• Make national parks and reserves a matter of national environmental significance, Victorian National Parks Association (you can send a similar letter from here)

Minister Burke, we don't need another monster coal port on the Great Barrier Reef

An open letter to Tony Burke MP, Minister for the Environment.

Dear Tony Burke,

In February, you promised not to approve any more development for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area that would have “unacceptable impacts.”

I am writing to tell you that the new coal terminal proposed for Abbot Point by Indian company Adani is totally unacceptable, and to urge you to keep your promise.

• The Adani coal terminal would be built just metres from a beach where Green and Flatback turtles lay their eggs. The light, noise and dust from the coal terminal will disorient both the mothers and the hatchlings. 
• Abbot Point provides habitat for threatened and migratory marine and terrestrial species and is part of a World Heritage Area. There is already too much development there – you must stand up for the outstanding universal value of the Great Barrier Reef.
• The new coal terminals proposed for the Great Barrier Reef are part of the expansion of Australia’s coal export industry that is helping to drive climate change. Any growth in our coal exports is unacceptable at this time. 

I like to visit the Great Barrier Reef on my holidays. I want more protection for it, not less.

I support Greenpeace in their efforts to stop the development of new coal terminals on the Great Barrier Reef coast.

Peter Campbell


You can send your own email about this here:  Emergency Submission | Greenpeace Australia Pacific :

Minister Burke please protect the Tarkine

An open letter to Tony Burke, Federal Environment Minister

Minister Burke,

I visited the Tarkine for a 4 day bushwalk and was astounded by the regions natural and wilderness qualities.  I believe it should be protected by a National Park.

The coastal region of the Tarkine is one of the world’s great archaeological regions due to the richness and diversity of Aboriginal sites – many of which date back thousands of years.  I viewed hut sites, middens, petroglyphs and pebble causeways during my visit.

With respect to two iron ore mines proposed by Venture Minerals (project reference numbers 2012/6342 and 2012/6339), I draw your attention to the following concerns:

The two mines are proposed in areas that have been assessed by the Australian Heritage Council as being worthy of National Heritage listing. This listing should urgently be reinstated, and the proposals assessed accordingly.

The Tarkine is the second largest cool temperate rainforest left in the world and is home to more than 60 species of rare, threatened and endangered species, including the Tasmanian Devil and the largest freshwater lobster in the world.

These are two iron ore mines that would only operate for two years, but in that short time the values of the Tarkine could be irreversibly damaged.

Please take action to protect the Tarkine region as a National Park and prevent its destruction from mining.

Signed
Peter Campbell
home address supplied

The Tarkine wilderness deserves World Heritage Protection now

Dear Minister Burke,

I am writing to ask you to immediately place the Tarkine on the National Heritage List, to ensure that any impacts to national heritage values from the mining proposals currently are properly assessed.

I visited the Tarkine for an extended bushwalk in 2003.  The natural heritage values were obvious and very signficant, including remote coast line, aboriginal relics and massive sand dunes.  Unfortunately, degradation was occuring right in front of our with four wheel drive and all terrain vehicles and trail bikes traversing the highest sand dunes and frequently driving over aboriginal middens.  Cattle grazing was having a signficant impact too.  Their excrement was contaminating creeks, they were causing severe erosion along much of the coast line and they were spreading noxious weeds such as thistles.

You can view photos of our trip here: http://bit.ly/sdnCIc

As you know, the Tarkine has been under consideration for heritage listing since 2004, and while the Australian Heritage Council is finalising its advice to you, the priceless values of the Tarkine may be lost forever unless you grant it an emergency heritage listing.

If you do not list the Tarkine, only potential impacts to federally listed threatened species will be considered, and there will be no assessment or protection for the Tarkine’s renowned wilderness, geological, cultural, flora and fauna diversity and natural history values. None of these matters will be assessed by the state government.

The Tarkine is the last disease-free refuge for the endangered Tasmanian Devil. Because the Tarkine is not on the National Heritage List, damage as a result of mining exploration, including extensive roading and clearing for test drill sites has not been subject to any environmental impact assessment - yet your government has previously recognized that roading poses a significant threat to the Tasmanian Devil, and granted emergency heritage listing for this reason. Why won’t you do so now?

I call upon you as Environment Minister to use the powers available to you to ensure that the Tarkine and the Tasmanian Devil are afforded the highest level of protection. Please place the Tarkine on the National Heritage List, or provide me with the reasons why you as Environment Minister are placing the interests of mining ahead of conservation.

Peter Campbell

Tarkine photos