Senator McLUCAS (12:43 PM) —I also rise to speak on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Bill 2001. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act was originally passed in 1975, and additions were progressively made to the park during the 1980s. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has the overall responsibility for the management of the park under the authority of the act, but the day-to-day management is primarily delivered by the Queensland government through the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The overall objective of this bill is to improve the environmental protection of the Great Barrier Reef from oil pollution, ship grounding and illegal fishing. The bill amends the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 to increase penalties for the discharge of oil and other hazardous materials into the park in order to obtain greater parity with other marine park legislation.

Debate interrupted.