BEATTIE GOVERNMENT TO REMOVE LEGAL OBSTACLE TO WILD RIVERS LEGISLATION

The Beattie Government will legislate immediately Parliament returns next year to ensure introduction of Queensland’s groundbreaking wild rivers laws cannot be held up in the courts.

Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace said passing the legislation would head off a possible challenge on a legal technicality to the declaration of one of six new wild rivers.

Queensland will protect six pristine rivers for future generations by declaring them as the State’s first wild rivers.

The Wild Rivers Act, which was a 2004 Beattie Government election commitment, is of national and international environmental significance.

“I am not prepared to see any delay to the Wild Rivers Act on the basis of a legal technicality,” Mr Wallace said.

“Lawyers are not going to stand in the way of this Australian first,” he said.

“The time for talking about this vital legislation is over.

“We will sort it out in the Parliament instead of allowing lawyers to hold it up in the courts.”

Settlement Creek, Morning Inlet, the GregoryRiver and StaatenRiver, in the Gulf, and rivers on Hinchinbrook and FraserIslands will be Queensland’s first wild rivers.

State Cabinet yesterday agreed to amend the Wild Rivers Act 2005 to declare six wild rivers areas on the basis of declarations prepared by the Department of Natural Resources and Water.

Mr Wallace said time would not be lost waiting for the legislation to be passed because the wild rivers code, providing detailed guidelines about permitted developments in wild river areas, will not be finalised until March 2007.

The community currently is being consulted about the code.

The Wild Rivers Act provides safeguards to ensure that any future development in the six rivers preserves their unique natural values.

In November, a landholder in the proposed Staaten wild river area took legal action that could prevent the government proceeding to make the Staaten wild river declaration.

The legal dispute centres around a technical flaw in a notice under the Act.

In December 2005, the government published notices of intention to declare the six wild rivers.

Throughout 2006 exhaustive stakeholder consultation occurred with environmentalists, indigenous landholders, miners and graziers and their support was obtained.

Amendments to the Act occurred last month to implement changes negotiated with stakeholders.

Mr Wallace said he wanted the declarations of the six wild rivers done and dusted.

“This type of legislation has never been attempted before in Queensland or anywhere else in Australia,” he said.

“We expected it would take time to consult and fine-tune the Act and this has occurred.

“The Wilderness Society, Agforce and the Queensland Resources Council now all agree about how to protect these pristine rivers.

“We will simply get in and finish it at the first opportunity next year.”

Media inquiries: Paul Childs, Craig Wallace’s office, on 0407 131 654.