17th Mar 2021, 4:50 PM – Senate Motions - Tasmania - Environmental Conservation

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Tasmanian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate notes:

(a) the Robbins Passage - Boullanger Bay wetlands complex in Tasmania has been repeatedly assessed as being of global significance, including by the International Union for Conservation of Nature;

(b) these wetlands are a critical part of the global flyway that stretches from Australia through eastern Asia to north of the Arctic Circle in Siberia, and support numerous rare and critically endangered bird species;

(c) these wetlands fulfil criteria for eligibility to be listed under the Ramsar Convention to protect wetlands of international significance;

(d) previous attempts to have this area Ramsar listed were supported by the Federal Government, however, were not progressed by the Tasmanian state government due to opposition from a few local landowners, who are potential financial beneficiaries of proposed developments in the area;

(e) in their EPBC submission, proponents of the UPC wind farm noted their project 'will potentially intersect the nationally important Boulanger Bay - Robbins Passage wetland' but that the wetlands 'are not matters of national environmental significance for the purposes of environmental approvals'; and

(f) if Ramsar listed, the area must be reviewed under any EPBC assessment.