Waters, Sen Larissa

Senator WATERS (Queensland) (14:51): Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Why is the government so eager to abandon its responsibility to protect our nationally significant environmental matters like koalas, other threatened species, migratory species, National Heritage places and Ramsar wetlands? How, given the consistent poor record of the states to protect those places or to comply with standards that already exist, can you possibly think that is consistent with our international obligations?