Page 5796 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 2010
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abdomen. In most rural areas, the unwanted parts are left where they lie. This practice would not, of course, be acceptable in the ACT.
Particular to the culling activity in the ACT is the relatively small number of kangaroos culled each year, restrictions on the time of year that culls are permitted to take place, the geographically widespread location of reserves and the requirement to remove unwanted animal parts. In reality, it may be that there are more attractive places for harvesters to work. Nevertheless, it remains a possibility that financial incentives could be offered to harvesters to overcome these barriers.
Alongside commercial and logistical issues, work is also progressing to assess issues of legislative compliance. The commercial kangaroo harvesting industry in New South Wales, and indeed in all jurisdictions, is subject to strict and rigorous statutory requirements, among them commonwealth requirements related to quarantine, animal welfare and wildlife conservation. The New South Wales commercial kangaroo harvesting plant incorporates these commonwealth requirements and is approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Kangaroo products for human consumption are also subject to Food Standards Australia requirements.
The government is currently exploring the possibility of working with the New South Wales and commonwealth governments to become a part of the New South Wales kangaroo management system. For this to occur, the ACT would be required to meet the same commonwealth obligations as New South Wales as well as our own territory legislation such as the Nature Conservation Act. It would only be worth while if the economic and practical issues can be overcome and if the benefits outweigh the costs.
The management and compliance costs of the New South Wales program are significant but are largely defrayed by revenue received through industry-related fees and charges such as tag sales, licences and registrations. This is possible because of the significant number of kangaroos that are commercially culled in New South Wales each year.
Of course, there may be other small ways to pursue use of carcases apart from commercial operations but these would need to be carefully assessed. It has been suggested that, for example, the National Zoo and Aquarium could be approached with an offer of carcases for feeding some of the animals. The government will continue to investigate this issue. We will fully examine all options and I am happy to report back to the Assembly, before any future culling activity takes place, on the nature of these investigations and their progress.
Totalcare Industries Ltd
Statement by minister
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Health and Minister for Industrial Relations) (10.44), by leave: I thank members. My statement is in response to recommendation 13 of the Select Committee on Estimates report 2010-11. The estimates committee was informed, during hearings on 17 May 2010 that Totalcare would need to continue in existence for another
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