Mrs VALE (10:54 AM) —This legislation, the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Amendment Bill 1998 [1999] is to protect the survival of many of the world's critically endangered animal species which are threatened by illegal hunting to obtain their body parts to be used in a range of products and medicinal preparations from eastern Asia. The bill will amend the relevant evidentiary provisions in the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982, and its effect will be to strengthen controls on the illegal import, export and possession of products that contain, or purport to contain, endangered animals or plants as component ingredients.

The regulations are made pursuant to the ratification of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, otherwise known as CITES. Under the provisions of this convention, Australia is required to control international trade in those species which are threatened with extinction or that may face extinction if such international trade is not controlled.

It is often thought that the reason many animals are under threat of extinction is the loss of their natural habitat, as with the giant panda in China. However, the hunting and poaching of endangered animal species for use in the preparation of traditional Chinese or Asian medicines is a significant contributing factor in declining numbers. The tiger and the rhinoceros are well known to be used in traditional preparations in oriental countries like China, Japan and Korea, and they have recently found markets in the developed world. In eastern and southern Africa, the predominant medicine is traditional remedies, and the quantities of endangered animals and plant species required in making these medicines are increasing with the growing demand. It is easily understood that such demand on wild plant and rare animal populations leads to depletion and possible extinction.

It is only in relatively recent times that the world community has realised the extent of the problem. The vast majority of medicinal animals and plants are collected from the wilderness areas. These species, which demand our protection, include the tiger, the rhinoceros, the musk deer and certain types of orchid.

This legislation was made under the convention, which is the primary international instrument for the protection of such rare species and was ratified by Australia on 29 July 1976. The parties to the convention met in Harare, Zimbabwe in June 1997 for their 10th conference and acknowledged that the controlled use of wild species in traditional preparations was likely to threaten not only the survival of those precious species but also the continuation of important traditional indigenous medicinal practices.

The parties at the conference decided on four points of consensus: firstly, to eliminate illegal use of endangered species as medicinal substances; secondly, to ensure that national laws control the use of these species; thirdly, to encourage the promotion of substitutes for threatened medicinal wildlife; and, fourthly, to consider artificial propagation and captive breeding programs.

This legislation gives effect to Australia's obligations under the convention and is the legislative base for conservation types of controls on the export and import of wildlife and wildlife products. It could be said that the wide aim of this bill is to ensure that all trade in wildlife species is pursued in a sustainable way that is not contrary to the survival of the species or the ecosystems in which they occur. The parties to the convention were aware that all nations had to participate in the protection of the world's wildlife and that each nation had a vested interest in the survival of all animals.

The decline in the number of tigers is telling. There were over 100,000 tigers at the beginning of this century, yet today it is estimated that fewer than 5,000 tigers remain in their natural state. The rhinoceros has seen a similar alarming decline, from 70,000 in the late 1960s to less than 12,000 today. In Australia, we are seeing a growth in the demand for traditional Eastern medicines as an alternative to Western medicine and many of those traditional preparations either contain or claim to contain endangered species as part of their constituents. And this is even so despite the fact that alternatives to the use of endangered species are now available.

Between 1996 and 1998, there were over 3,000 seizures of traditional medicine product imports containing or derived from threatened species. Of these, over 500 were animal species, including several significant species on the highly endangered list such as tigers, bears and rhinoceroses. These seizures reveal a huge problem in the illegal international trade in traditional medicines which contain derivatives of endangered animals, hence the urgent need for this important legislation.

I was rather amazed to learn of the extent of the recourse to traditional medicine by Australians today. It would appear that the diverse communities from many other countries and who now call Australia home utilise traditional preparations as an important part of their health care regimes. In 1996, it was estimated that there were over 4,500 traditional medical practitioners in the eastern states of Australia alone who gave 2.8 million traditional medicine consultations each year. This represents an astonishing turnover of $85 million. And this trend is increasing. The practice of traditional medicine is seen more and more as a viable alternative to Western medicine.

In 1993, a study estimated that Australians spent $621 million on alternative medicines in the years 1992 to 1993. I was alarmed to learn of the great variety of threatened species which have been used in traditional medicinal preparations that have been imported into Australia. In the years from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1998, the seizures of traditional medicines which contained endangered species included 182 seizures of tiger, 149 of deer, 25 of bear, four of rhinoceros, 61 of leopard, six of cobra, 31 of other snakes, 35 of turtle, 13 of tortoise, six of antelope, four of elephant, four of reptiles, three of wolf, one of seal, one of monkey, one of baboon and one of macaque.

There are also items which contain threatened species of plants. These include one seizure of hard coral, 2,590 seizures of ginseng root and three of other plants. Lion paws, zebra skins, elephant tail bracelets and monkey skulls were also seized by customs agents in 1998. There are even developing export markets for certain Australian animals. There are certain Australian animals like pipefish, leafy sea dragons and seahorses which, while they are not listed under the convention, are nonetheless covered by these regulations because of the significant threat to their survival. The internal organs of crocodiles bred in farms in Northern Australia are prized for their medicinal properties and in an Australian Associated Press report of 11 November 1998, journalist Gil Beitkreutz heralded that crocodile penises may become the Viagra of the East.

I want to make it clear to those who work in the traditional medical sector that the government recognises that there is a vast and genuine demand for such products in Australia and it respects the rights of choice of all Australians in regard to their health and their wellbeing. The government also respects the vast wealth of knowledge and expertise offered by practitioners of traditional medicine and the significant contributions the sector has made to health in Australia and, indeed, throughout the world.

However, it is internationally recognised that, as well as habitat loss, the greatest threat to the rapidly declining numbers of certain species is the demand for their use as constituents in traditional medicines. The hunting and poaching, especially of the tiger and rhinoceros, will continue while this demand remains. This legislation will work to eliminate such demand from Australian markets.

There are now many effective alternatives to the use of these endangered animals in the preparation of alternative medicines. These alternatives have been recognised by the traditional medicine sector, so this will also lessen the demand. The promotion of these alternatives among the traditional medicine community is also being supported by our government.

It should also be noted that this legislation will catch those imports which may be imitations of an endangered species yet claim to include an authentic threatened species. This legislation removes the need to prove that the medicine includes endangered plants or animals, a requirement which in the past has meant that no-one has been prosecuted in the 16 years since the legislation was introduced originally. The government considers that even products which contain imitations of endangered species only serve to encourage market demand for those endangered species and that, in turn, encourages the illegal poaching and further threatens their survival.

This government is determined to provide for the protection of the whole of the Australian environment and the world environment, especially those aspects that are a matter of national environmental significance, to promote ecologically sustainable development and to assist in the cooperative implementation of Australia's international environmental responsibilities. This bill will be of profound interest to the wildlife protection community in Australia. I point out that the convention has proved to be a useful tool in the protection of wildlife and Australia is on the record as having a positive commitment to its implementation. I commend this bill to the House.