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The Hon. MELINDA PAVEY [10.15 p.m.]: "I lost a lot of my mates and my brother when we fought for freedom. Now we are losing the freedom to enjoy our own country. This is a battle we can't afford to lose." They were the words of Rolfe Bridle on 10 January at Cooinbil Hut, in the Kosciuszko National Park. Second World War Light Horse Digger Rolfe Bridle drew an emotional response from the crowd of 350 who had gathered at Cooinbil Hut to protest and express concern—very legitimate concern—that their access to Kosciuszko National Park for horse riding and other recreational activities would be stopped or curtailed by the Government. Mr Bridle is fighting the policies of the National Parks Association of New South Wales. He strongly disagrees with the policy of the National Parks and Wildlife Service that provides for horse riding in a number of national parks, as both the environmental and social impacts of this activity are unacceptable in such areas. This is the view of the National Parks Association of New South Wales—a view that is being listened to by the Government and being acted upon as part of a pre-election commitment to review the use of Kosciuszko National Park.
The Government has instituted a review of Kosciuszko National Park. Unfortunately, the four-wheel drivers, the horse riders, the motorcyclists, the bicycle riders and the thousands of people who enjoy Kosciuszko National Park will suffer because of the policies of the National Parks Association. They will be the ones who will end up paying the price for the policies of one section of our community—an extremely vocal but very important section of our community in relation to the Carr Labor Government's policies, commitment and agenda. I joined Mr Bridle at Cooinbil Hut on 10 January and it was a moving experience. The event was attended by 350 people from all walks of life, but mainly horse riders and four-wheel drivers who expressed concern about the impact on their activities and way of life once the Kosciuszko draft plan of management is released. The process for the draft plan of management commenced in 2002.
The draft plan of management was released to committee members in December last year; however, it was not released to the public. The committee members include Aboriginal community representatives, recreational park users, ski association representatives, conservation and environment group representatives, local community representatives, national park neighbours, residents of the Snowy-Hydro area, historical heritage group representatives, Kosciuszko National Park advisory committee representatives and National Parks and Wildlife Service personnel. While the committee has met regularly since 2002, it never votes on anything so decisions are never made at its meetings. The meetings are conducted by consensus, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service taking the minutes.
The draft plan of management was completed in December, and the Government announced that it would be released by March. We have been told today that it will now be released in April. We wait with bated breath. The bush users group and The Nationals will be supporting the people of the Snowy River and the Kosciuszko region in their continued fight for access to Kosciuszko National Park. Not only will the people of the Snowy River and the Kosciuszko region be affected by the Government's proposal; the people of Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra who travel hundreds of kilometres during school holidays and other holiday periods to enjoy the national park and bring great economic benefit to the region will also be affected.
The Nationals will be standing side by side with these people, as we did on 2 February when about 80 horse riders arrived at Queanbeyan after leaving Tumut on Australia Day. They travelled all the way to Queanbeyan to protest outside the office of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I was joined on the day by my leader in the other place, Andrew Stoner, and Andrew Fraser and Katrina Hodgkinson, to meet the bush riders as they completed their journey. I was amazed to read in the local Cooma newspaper that the Labor member, Steve Whan—who has been silent on this issue; he has not stood up for his constituents—is promoting a new numberplate for the Monaro region that depicts the beautiful wild brumby. Steve Whan is promoting the use of horses but is not defending the rights of people to use the park. [Time expired.]