Senator LUDWIG ( Queensland — Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister Assisting on Queensland Floods Recovery ) ( 14:40 ): There have been, to put it in context, calls for national parks in Queensland to be used for grazing for drought affected cattle. An article to that effect, which seems to be where Senator Macdonald has got his information from, claims that the environment minister, Tony Burke, has dealt with this. Australian and Queensland national park estates were established for good reasons. This form of land tenure offers real protection to threatened ecosystems and species. But any decision to open them up for grazing, even where this was the former principal land use, needs to be carefully considered by all parties. While the management of national parks in Queensland lies within the responsibility of the state government, many parks have been established to protect matters of national environmental significance. Under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, actions that have actual environmental significance— Senator Ian Macdonald: Mr President, I rise on a point of order on the grounds of relevance. I asked the minister what submissions he made, firstly. Secondly, does he agree with what the Queensland RSPCA said? Did you make submissions, Minister? What were they? Do you agree with what the Queensland RSPCA said? The PRESIDENT: The minister is answering the question. The minister still has 54 seconds remaining. Senator LUDWIG: It is very important to ensure that we get this right, because the tenor of the question is about grazing in national parks. Of course I have had discussions with Minister Burke about this issue. But, broadly, the issue involves matters under the EPBC Act. The administration of the EPBC Act is a matter for my colleague Mr Burke. We have not received any proposal from Queensland about this at all. Senator Ian Macdonald: That is a lie! The PRESIDENT: Order! You need to withdraw that. You cannot accuse— Senator Ian Macdonald: I have a letter here from the Queensland government. That is an outright lie. The PRESIDENT: Order! That is a different issue. You cannot use that language in the chamber. You need to withdraw the language. If you wish to pursue the issue— Senator Ian Macdonald: Mr President, I withdraw the language, but it is a clear untruth. Here is the letter. The PRESIDENT: That is something that you can pursue later. Senator LUDWIG: Predominantly it is a matter for Minister Burke to consider. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on this matter. But I can assure you that I am aware of the issues that are facing producers in that region. When I was in that region— (Time expired)