I rise to speak on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Making Marine Parks Accountable) Bill 2012. This Bill returns balance and fairness to marine conservation, so that all Australians can have confidence that the best decisions are being made to protect BOTH our marine bio-diversity AND the fishers and communities that feed so many Australians.

The current government certainly has displayed no genuine concern for fishers or their families or their communities in the way it has gone about developing its current marine reserves policy. It is a cynical policy that lacks proper science and lacks proper social and economic impact assessments.

Queensland Senator Ron Boswell says coastal communities right round Australia will be hurt financially by the federal government’s soon-to-be-declared marine reserves – but will receive no compensation until some time after the next election.

“This is a cynical ploy. The Labor government can claim credit with its green mates immediately but put off paying compensation,” Senator Boswell said today. “For fishing communities, it will mean pain and suffering right now but no compensation payments until some time later, probably at least 18 months they expect. On current polling, Labor won’t even be in power then.

The sentencing of two Vietnamese musicians to prison for posting songs online that criticised the Vietnamese government represents a gross violation of human rights, Queensland LNP Senator Ron Boswell said today.

After a five-hour trial in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday, songwriters Viet Khang and Tran Vu Anh Binh were handed four and six year prison sentences respectively. They also received separate two-year surveillance sentences.

“The songs the communist Vietnamese government has labelled anti-state propaganda were merely two innocent men exercising their right to question their government’s actions,” Senator Boswell said.

Today we are debating the Australian Charities and Not-for Profits Commission Bill 2012. This bill covers a range of Australian charities, including non-government organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, the Wilderness Society, the Australian Conservation Foundation and more. Environmental activists in these NGOs have taken advantage of the significant privilege of charity status to spend large amounts of money campaigning in ways that are hurting both Australian primary producers and consumers.

This bill allows the opportunity to take a look at the activities of these tax-exempt NGOs, and in particular, how they are using their money and influence to restrict what products can be sold by Australian producers and bought by Australian consumers.