CHESHIRE, PROF. ANTHONY

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Conservation. Is the minister aware that, at the time the marine parks boundaries were being designed by the scientific working group, the chair of that group, Professor Anthony Cheshire, was a board member of the Australian Bight Abalone, which has fishing leases in the area of Waldegrave Island, which was excluded from Marine Park 4?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (15:12): This false allegation was I think levelled in some correspondence at the time the marine parks debate was occurring. In fact, at all relevant times I understand that that member of the scientific working group had made a declaration of interest of anything that had anything to do with his business interests. Because of the unfair controversy that was created around that, he has since resigned from that particular company and has taken no further part in any of the deliberations that had any effect on that particular part of the coastline that was relevant to that business.