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Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Page: 2091

Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (15:37): I move:

That the Senate—

   (a)   notes:

      (i)   the humpback whale is listed as a threatened species,

      (ii)   human generated habitat degradation is identified as a major threat to humpback whales by the Department of the Environment and Heritage's Humpback Whale Recovery Plan 2005-2010,

      (iii)   the plan notes the following forms of possible habitat degradation:

   (a)   acoustic pollution, for example, commercial and recreational vessel noise and seismic survey activity,

   (b)   entanglement, for example, in marine debris, fishing and aquaculture equipment,

   (c)   physical injury and death from ship strike,

   (d)   built structures that impact on habitat availability and/or use, for example, marinas, wharves, aquaculture installations, mining or drilling infrastructure,

   (e)   changing water quality and pollution, for example, runoff from land based agriculture, oil spills, outputs from aquaculture, and

   (f)   changes to water flow regimes causing extensive sedimentation, and

      (iv)   building a gas hub at James Price Point, Western Australia, could result in habitat degradation for humpback whales who can typically be found along various parts of the Kimberley coastline for up to 9 months of the year from April to December; and

   (b)   calls on the Government to invest in more scientific research into the effect of development on the Kimberley coast on the humpback whale.

Question negatived.