Mr Wettenhall asked The Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability (Ms Jones)- Will the Minister inform the House about the major issues raised with her at the Innisfail/Mareeba community cabinet and associated community engagement activities?

ANSWER:

At the recent Innisfail/Mareeba Community Cabinet, I was pleased to experience first hand the high value that the people in this unique part of Queensland place on achieving a balance between maintaining the significant natural values of the area and supporting sustainable development.

Not surprisingly therefore the majority of issues raised for my portfolio, as the
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, related to the protection and
management of the globally significant natural values of the Far North Queensland region.

Management of pests and weeds on National Parks, in particular feral pigs and pest plants and animals was a key concern raised. I was pleased to be able to report the efforts the government has made to step up our programs - with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) spending in the order of$500,000 in the Wet Tropics in 2009-10 - and to work more closely with both local government and private contractors to achieve integrated programs where possible, an example being the Terrain Pig Project around Innisfail and Tully, I received a number of delegations from community groups concerned about the conservation and protection of threatened species in the Wet Tropics region including most notably the Cassowary and the Mahogany Glider.

Considerable effort goes into habitat management to ensure that both Mahogany Gliders and Cassowaries maintain viable populations and opportunities for other measures such as planning and infrastructure responses were discussed.

A delegation of pastoralists also sought information about the processes for National Heritage and World Heritage listing of areas of Cape York Peninsula. In recognition of the world class values of the region, the Queensland Government has committed to finalising a World Heritage nomination in this term of government and has given a commitment - as I told the delegation and as I have repeatedly stated - this will only proceed with the consent of affected landholders.

Another delegation sought and gained my assurance that the important features of the existing Cardwell-Hinchinbrook Regional Coastal Management Plan would be adequately recognised and supported in the Draft Coastal management Plan which I recently released for an extended public consultation period. As I told this group I am committed to ensuring that all community concerns about the Draft Queensland Coastal Plan are respected and fully considered through a comprehensive consultation process.

As follow up to the formal consultation period additional meetings are currently being arranged between officers of the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) and regional community groups to make certain that significant environmental values identified in previous and current coastal planning instruments are protected.

Issues relating to dredge material disposal from waterways at Port Hinchinbrook, were also brought to my attention. I stressed that disposal of dredge spoil at sea from this development is not acceptable.

Climate Change
Another issue raised in relation to coastal planning was the issue of predicted sea level rise resulting from climate change and consequences for building approvals in particular. Cairns and other urban centres along our tropical coast are already subject to a very high risk from cyclones and coastal inundation which are expected to increase in coming decades as a result of climate change.

The Draft Queensland Coastal Plan includes policies that require local government to address the increasing level of risk. For example, the draft plan specifies that land use decisions are to be based on a sea level rise of 0.8 metres by 2100 and a 10% increase in the severity of cyclones and storms, and that new urban development is generally established at least two metres above the highest astronomical tide.

Concerns were also raised about increasing greenhouse gases in the absence of a national carbon pollution reduction scheme (CPRS). I discussed the work the Queensland government is undertaking including the revised climate change strategy, ClimateQ: toward a greener Queensland, launched in August 2009, ClimateQ is a $196 million package of initiatives that assists Queensland communities, businesses and individuals to do their bit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work towards the State's Toward Q2 target of cutting by one-third Queenslanders' household carbon footprint through reduced car and electricity use.

ClimateQ also includes a set of comprehensive projections regarding temperature, rainfall and extreme events for Queensland's 13 regions and these can be found by visiting www.climatechange.qld.gov.au.

Reef Protection Package
During one deputation, I had the opportunity to inform sugar industry representatives at the regional level of the progress of the Reef Protection Package and the positive contribution of sugar industry representatives. Since July 2009, I have met regularly with industry representatives through the Implementation Taskforce and Stakeholder Advisory Committee to work through industry concerns with the development of the Great Barrier Reef Protection legislation and the implementation of the package from
1 January 2010. I was able to discuss the benefits of this collaborative approach and my commitment that this will continue.

Wherever necessary I have requested officers of the Department and Environment and Resource Management to take the follow up action required to achieve acceptable outcomes for stakeholders.

As well as attending the Community Cabinet, I convened a meeting of the Cairns Environment Roundtable on Sunday 28 Feb 2010. This Environment Roundtable gave the groups a chance to introduce their organisation and highlight the critical issues from their organisation's perspective. Numerous issues ranging from species protection to land conservation were raised at this roundtable.