Wherever I go at the moment whether it is getting out and about in the community, listening to the radio or reading the newspaper, an issue that has people talking is a proposal by the PEW Environmental Group to establish a Marine Park covering the entire Coral Sea.

They want to establish a no-take zone, effectively banning fishing in an area bounded by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and our maritime border with PNG, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. This is an area of more than one million square kilometres of sea.

In the past few weeks I have had the recreational fishing industry, commercial fishing industry, marine tourism operators, Super Yacht Group and CAFNEC all meet with me and discuss the issue. And last night I attended a meeting of more than 600 fishers opposed to the plan.

I've told them all the same thing. I don't support the PEW proposal and that I have made my views clear to the Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett. 

At the meeting last night, it was pointed out that the PEW document proposing the marine park had a letter from the Prime Minister within it. The letter doesn't endorse the proposal and is in fact a letter to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. PEW argues that the heritage significance of the Coral Sea battle is one reason to create the park and have included the letter from the PM to highlight its significance. PEW clearly, through quoting the PM and other Ministers in relation to the Coral Sea battle, are seeking to imply broader support for their proposal than they have.

I need to make it clear the PEW proposal is not endorsed by the Rudd Government.

Unfortunately the PEW Environment Group have sort to pre-empt a marine bioregional planning process. A bioregional profile for the Coral Sea is being developed and once it is published stakeholders will be engaged in the development of a draft plan. All stakeholders in the region will be invited to be involved in developing a plan to ensure the regions resources are managed sustainably into the future and that appropriate areas are protected. More information on this process is available on the Department of Environment's website: http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/index.html.

The different interests with a stake in the Coral Sea whether they are economic, recreational, heritage or conservation should be able to work together with government to develop a plan for the region without a small group backed by US big oil hijacking the agenda.

I don't believe that the evidence put forward by PEW makes sense. The arguments from the conservation groups in support of their proposal are quite confusing. On the one hand they say that the region is in pristine condition because there is not a lot of fishing activity, yet on the other hand they argue that the region is under threat. The Battle of the Coral Sea is a significant war time event worth commemorating but you don't need to create a marine park of 1 million square kilometres to commemorate this event.

The PEW proposal is a case of US big oil special interests trying to undermine the broader interests of the Australian community.

I will certainly be doing all I can to ensure that common sense prevails when it comes to management of the Coral Sea. I will be asking the Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett to clear up the confusion the PEW proposal has created and clearly set out plans the Rudd Government has for the development of a management plan for the Coral Sea.

Jim