Senator WATERS (Queensland) (14:19): My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Senator Conroy. Bimblebox Nature Refuge is an 8,000-hectare privately owned wilderness—the last remaining large wilderness in the Galilee Basin. It has exceptional environmental values and is home to many threatened species. In August 2000 the federal government used over $300,000 of taxpayers' money to partly fund its purchase and inclusion in the Nation Reserve System. That inclusion gives it no protection from mining and under Labor state government laws it can also be mined. Clive Palmer wants to mine it. His aptly named 'China First' mine— Senator CHRIS EVANS: Mr President, on a point of order, I think at the start of the senator's question either the mike was not on or whatever else, but we could not hear the project she referred to. So I wonder for the sake of the minister whether she could at least refer us to the first part of the question. That would assist Senator Conroy in answering. The PRESIDENT: Senator Waters, you might start again so that the question can be heard, if that first part is essential to the question. Senator WATERS: Bimblebox Nature Refuge is an 8,000-hectare privately owned wilderness—the last remaining wilderness in the Galilee Basin. It has exceptional environmental values and is home to many threatened species. In August 2000 the federal government used over $300,000 of taxpayers' money to partly fund its purchase and inclusion in the National Research System. That inclusion gives it no protection from mining. Under Labor state government laws it can also be mined. Clive Palmer wants to mine it. His aptly named 'China First' mine would turn half of Bimblebox into an open-cut coalmine and the other half into an underground coalmine to export 40 million tonnes of coal to China. Does the federal government still agree that Bimblebox is an area of high conservation value?