On the other side of the inlet lies an area known as East Trinity, a former wetland which is being rehabilitated for use as a wetland park for the enjoyment of locals and tourists. Incredibly, some people's vision for that area, including my LNP opponent, has been to turn it into another suburb of Cairns.

Wetlands are the reef's kidneys, filtering sediment and nutrients from running onto the reef. Their protection from inappropriate development is crucial to the long-term health of the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to this important ecological function, wetlands are the breeding grounds and habitat of many commercial species of fish, such as barramundi, and prawns that supply both the commercial and recreational fisheries. Some 130 species of freshwater fish rely on wetlands for their entire life cycle.

They are habitat for more than 3,000 species of plants and 150 species of migratory and resident water birds, and increasingly they are places that people visit for passive recreation, study and research.

We can no longer permit our wetlands to be drained and filled. It is our duty to protect them from development and to rehabilitate those that have been damaged in the past.

That is why I strongly support the Bligh government's decision to amend the Integrated Planning Act so that any development that affects wetlands will require approval under that act.

The amendments will assess any earthworks within 500 meters of significant wetlands in reef catchments. Through the new Queensland Wetlands Program, $6 million has been spent mapping Queensland's 140,000 wetlands covering some 173 million hectares, and a new guide is being produced on how to carry out wetland rehabilitation and manage threats to wetland health based on experiences of restoring wetlands at places like East Trinity in Cairns.