SPEECH TO THE HOUSE - GOUGH WHITLAM'S REMARKABLE RECORD ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
Climate Change and Water

Date:  25 November 2014

It is very hard to sum up the life and legacy of anyone in five minutes, let alone someone who managed to cram as much activity and purpose into their 98 years as Gough Whitlam did. In the short time I have I would like to reflect on Gough's legacy in the area of environmental protection, because it was a very significant legacy. Gough Whitlam came to power with a very ambitious platform in this policy area, as he did in so many others. After a short stint in the environment portfolio during the famous duumvirate with Lance Barnard, he appointed the very energetic Moss Cass, who held the environment portfolio in the Whitlam government for two and a half of the three years. The Commonwealth role in environmental protection then was a relatively blank slate. In Australia and other developed nations, particularly the United States, the environment was only then just beginning to emerge as a significant political issue. The previous government had only appointed a minister to the portfolio in the last year or two of its 23 years, and had not managed yet to really craft much of an agenda.

Gough Whitlam's approach to this area, though, was consistent with all of the other policies he focused on. Firstly, he again was ahead of his time in grasping the importance of progressive change in this area. As one example, in his 1974 campaign speech Gough Whitlam said:

Labor believes the polluter should pay, not future generations of Australians.

Which is a debate that we know only too well remains unresolved today.

He also boldly promoted the role of the Commonwealth, or the Australian government, in protecting our beautiful natural environment. As he did in so many other policy areas, Gough unashamedly employed and deployed every provision he could find in the Australian Constitution to support his goals. Gough strenuously opposed the Bjelke-Petersen government's plan to drill for oil in the Great Barrier Reef, for example. He took the then unprecedented step of passing a Commonwealth law to override the Queensland government in the Seas and Submerged Lands Act. The conservative state, not just Queensland but a number of others, took Gough to the High Court, claiming that it was up to the Queensland government to decide whether or not to drill in one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Gough's government argued that one of his favourite provisions of the Constitution, the external affairs power in section 51(39), gave the Commonwealth power beyond the low-water mark to enact legislation of that type, and the High Court agreed. On that foundation Gough built the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and legislated to create the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which remains in place today.

Gough also used the external affairs power to sign Australia onto the World Heritage Convention, Australia being one of the first countries to do so. On that basis we have seen in the last four and a bit decades the listing of so many precious areas onto the world heritage list, a decision ultimately that was validated again by the High Court, memorably in the Franklin Dam case. Gough ratified a number of other conventions to drive better domestic environmental protection. I do not have the opportunity to list them, but notably the Ramsar convention, which protects wetlands and associated biodiversity.

The role of the Australian government in protecting Australia's environmental assets that have world heritage values is a great Whitlam legacy, a legacy that the Labor Party today seeks to extend and protect in opposing the current government's attempts to hand back the protection powers over world heritage properties to the states and territories.

Gough also used the fiscal reach of the Australian government to introduce laws requiring environmental impact assessments, for the first time, of developments that involved Commonwealth land or Commonwealth funds. He also established the National Parks and Wildlife Service, a highlight among so many examples over so many decades of Labor's strong connection and support for our national park system. He also established the Australian Heritage Commission, recognising that our wonderful heritage does not only extend to our beautiful natural environment.

As the years passed the focus of environmental politics obviously shifts. The challenges of climate change and water scarcity, for example, were not much discussed in the time in which Gough Whitlam was Prime Minister. But the framework that Gough established for this parliament to play a leading role in nurturing and protecting our beautiful natural environment remains as relevant today as it was when Gough first prosecuted that argument.

Vale Edward Gough Whitlam. He was a true pioneer.