New wildlife reserves to put Queensland ahead of the nation in conservation

Published Wednesday, 14 June, 2017 at 08:19 PM

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
The Honourable Steven Miles

The State Government’s new Special Wildlife Reserves will enable donors from around the world to fund safe havens for Queensland’s native wildlife.

The Bill to create the new category of protected area was introduced to the Queensland Parliament today by Environment Minister Steven Miles.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Miles said Queensland would become one of the first places in the world to allow private funds to be used to safeguard habitat on privately owned land.

“A Special Wildlife Reserve will essentially let private landholders and conservation groups manage their land like a national park, with an equivalent level of protection,” Mr Miles said.

“And just like our immensely popular national parks, these new reserves could become great tourist attractions.

“Whether it’s koalas or wombats, platypus or birds or even entire ecosystems – this new class of protected area will protect them and their habitat into the future from incompatible activities including mining.

“It’s also an excellent incentive for people to invest in Queensland’s protected areas because a Special Wildlife Reserve provides a level of private land protection which doesn’t exist anywhere else in Australia.

“Philanthropic land trusts like Bush Heritage Australia and Australian Wildlife Conservancy do amazing work protecting parts of Queensland which we just could never have the resources to make National Parks.

“But BHA and others said to us they could do even more, and attract more funds in particular, if we could offer National Park level protections to their privately managed sanctuaries.”

Mr Miles said the new category offered a higher level of protection than the enormously successful Nature Refuges program, which he predicted would continue to be a popular option for conservation-minded landholders.

“Queenslanders want to protect native habitat, that’s why we already have 499 Nature Refuges across the state that cover almost 4 million hectares,” he said.

“But some existing Nature Refuges meet the international criteria for national parks and should have that level of protection.

“A great example is Bush Heritage Australia’s 56,000-hectare Nature Refuge on Pullen Pullen Reserve which they set up to look after the endangered night parrot.

“Another is the Steve Irwin Reserve in Cape York, which is recognised for its ecological significance.”

Australian Wildlife Conservancy Chief Executive Atticus Fleming welcomed the move.

“This Bill highlights the national leadership shown by the Queensland Government in promoting effective conservation of private land,” Mr Fleming said.

Queensland Trust For Nature General Manager Nerida Bradley said it was important for landholders who wanted to protect ecologically important parts of their land to have a range of tools to choose from.

“The new category of Special Wildlife Reserves means owners of particularly significant areas can access protection like that offered to national parks without handing that land over to the State,” Ms Bradley said.

“The introduction of this legislation reflects that there are many areas critical to Queensland’s biodiversity which are owned by private families, organisations or individuals.”

Bush Heritage’s Chief Executive Gerard O’Neill said he was confident the new Special Wildlife Reserves would help to boost fundraising efforts in Australia and overseas.

“This will give private funders absolute certainty that the conservation efforts they are supporting will be defended in perpetuity,” Mr O’Neill said.

ENDS

Media contact: Katharine Wright 0422 580 342