Senator IAN MACDONALD (Queensland) (18:17): I move: That the Senate take note of the document. Document No. 10 is the 2008-09 report of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia, which senators will recall was an initiative of the Howard government and which, in brief, succeeded in putting the proceeds of the sale of Telstra into good environmental projects around Australia. In the NHT, as I refer to it, there were a number of grants in that year for parts of North Queensland and Northern Australia. What we as a government wanted to do was make sure that the natural heritage of those areas was supported. It was supported through NRM groups, where people who lived on the land—in the case of the gulf and Cape York, Indigenous people, cattleman, graziers and community dwellers—could do things cleverly, allowing for production to come off that land. All the good work that the Natural Heritage Trust did do and could have done more of was abrogated when the Queensland government for purely political reasons introduced the wild rivers legislation. The way in which the wild rivers legislation was introduced into Queensland is well known: there is a coffee shop in South Brisbane where the Greens got in representatives of the Australian Labor Party state government and said to them, 'Look, if you want our preferences for the next election, you'll lock down Cape York.' So the Bligh government, never known for its— Senator Waters: That is not right and you know it. Senator IAN MACDONALD: Senator Walters, a Green from Queensland. Weren't you at the meeting, Senator Walters? Senator Waters: Get my name right. Senator IAN MACDONALD: Senator Waters, sorry. That is clearly understood as being what happened. Perhaps the good senator will indicate where the deal was done if it was not done in a coffee shop in South Brisbane. Bad though it was shutting down that part of Cape York adjacent to what are called wild rivers, we now have the proposition by the Greens, the Pugh Group and a few other loonies of the Left to shut down the whole of Cape York by declaring it a World Heritage area. Anyone from Queensland would have seen the outrage from the Indigenous people when they heard that the Greens and others and the Labor Party were intending to put a World Heritage listing over the total landmass of Cape York. Can you imagine what that will do to Indigenous people up there? Senator McLucas: Why don't you tell a bit of truth? Senator IAN MACDONALD: Senator, if you want to contribute to the debate you get up and tell me where I am wrong. You told us, Senator McLucas, just before the last election that there was not a detention base at the Air Force base near Weipa, remember? You told us that was not going to happen just before the last election. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Moore ): Senator Macdonald, you know that discussions across the chamber are disorderly. Senator IAN MACDONALD: I am sorry. I was provoked by the interjection, Madam Acting Deputy President. Giving Cape York World Heritage listing will destroy Indigenous communities up there and take away any prospect they may ever have of looking after themselves. It will condemn them to a life of welfare. I cannot but help think that it is for some reason part of the approach of the Australian Labor Party to ensure that Indigenous people are always subject to government funding and welfare, because they take away under Wild Rivers and under World Heritage listings the opportunity for Indigenous groups in those areas to conduct businesses, to participate in mining businesses and to conduct cattle operations. That has been well publicised. You would have seen in the Queensland press just a few days ago, if I recall correctly, how Indigenous leaders were incensed and were making their voices heard on the proposal that is floating around the make Cape York a World Heritage listed property.