Grievance Debate

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (15:25): Today I wish to congratulate and acknowledge the people of the Galapagos Islands, who as from 29 July this year are no longer on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger. This is important, given that they were added to the list in 2007 for three principal reasons: uncontrolled human population growth, unregulated tourism and insufficient measures to stop invasive species from entering the islands. So, I congratulate the people of the Galapagos for this extraordinary effort and achievement.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Galapagos Islands just over a month ago, a visit which was not only memorable but also certainly informed and educated me about aspects that could assist our own state, in particular the development of precious parts of South Australia, including Kangaroo Island, some of which it already shares with the Galapagos Islands.

Essentially, what the people of the Galapagos have done is improve a number of aspects; one is to deal with the illegal immigrants and, in particular, their deportation. The immigration control has increased. The tourist sector is better regulated with the influx of a high number of tourists each year, and several projects have been underway to minimise the transportation of invasive species on cargo and tourist boats. There are other sanctions and aspects they have explored.

For the benefit of members, can I say that the Galapagos Islands consist of six main islands and a number of small islands and inlets. They were born of volcanic eruptions tens of thousands of years ago that came up through the ocean floor. Some of the islands still have active volcanoes today.

This group of islands has been a province of the Ecuadorian government since 1973 under its own provincial administration, and it is situated some thousand kilometres west of Ecuador, traversing the equator. The Galapagos is famous for the visits in the 1800s of a young Charles Darwin and his identification of a variety of species of finch, which was a forerunner to the research he did for subsequent evolution theories, in particular the first publication of his book, The Origin of Species. Today, it has an extraordinary population of interest in tourism from around the world, and, as I indicated, I had the pleasure of visiting.

May I acknowledge and thank Alejandro Villa, the guide who gave a number of us on the trip his valued advice, support and supervision. I was also travelling with Rolf and Inge, a couple from Holland; Joan and her brother-in-law, Art, and sons, Noah and Will, from Canada; also Paolo and Laura from Italy; and Jamie and his sons, Fraser and Scott, from Canada—all of whom came from different professional and business backgrounds. I am pleased to say that young Fraser McDonald is someone who has chosen to come and study at Bond University in Queensland. They were a mixed group it was a pleasure to accompany during this trip.

The aspects of dealing with the management of breeding programs, working with the Charles Darwin Research Centre and the foundation, are important initiatives there. Unquestionably, the unique, exquisite and pristine fauna and environment are to be protected and preserved. The development of the management of their pests and control will be the subject of a report, which I will provide to the parliament. I think the happy co-operative working of the parks and tourism objectives of the island, and the residents thereon, is something to behold and from which we could learn.