CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr DREYFUS (Isaacs) (09:51): I rise today to table the paper and epetitions prepared by Clover Goddard, who is a 10-year-old student at Aspendale Primary School in my electorate of Isaacs. I can inform the House that the two petitions I'm presenting have been considered by the Standing Committee on Petitions and found to be in order. The petitions read as follows— EN10252 I am only 9 and I am writing to express my concern for marine sharks.
Without sharks there will be less oxygen and lots of algae would take over. In fact they are not as dangerous as everyone thinks they are. Dogs have killed 30 to 40 people yearly and sharks have killed fewer than 10 people.
It is harmful for several health reasons. It is a major problem to our oceans because these beautiful creatures are at a high risk of extinction. We therefore ask the House to stop the import of shark fins.
It is cruel and wasteful. It involves chopping the fin off a live shark and throwing the shark back into the water where they struggle to swim and die. Other countries including some places in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have already done it so Australia is being left behind. from 123 citizens (Petition no.
EN10252) PN0666 Reasons: I am only 9 and I am writing to express my concern for marine sharks. Without sharks there will be less oxygen and lots of algae would take over. In fact they are not as dangerous as everyone thinks they are.
Dogs have killed 30 to 40 people yearly and sharks have killed fewer than 10 people. It is harmful for several health reasons. It is a major problem to our oceans because these beautiful creatures are at a high risk of extinction.
Request: We therefore ask the House to stop the import of shark fins. It is cruel and wasteful. It involves chopping a fin of a live shark and throwing the shark back into the water where they struggle to swim and die.
Other countries including some places in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have already done it, so Australia is being left behind. from 87 citizens (Petition no. PN0666) Petitions received. Mr DREYFUS: Clover wants the importation of shark fins into Australia to be banned, and she has worked tirelessly to collect the 210 signatures needed to formally petition the parliament.
Lodging a petition to parliament is a fundamental right of citizens and gives individuals and groups a direct way to seek parliamentary action. Clover's petitions show me something profound in a young person. What troubles her conscience gives her both a sense of responsibility and a determination to act.
She sees herself as part of a wider world with an obligation to help protect its future. Clover recently visited my electorate office to tell me that she's deeply saddened that some shark species are threatened with extinction, even though they play a vital role in the health of our marine ecosystems. She said she's particularly distressed by the suffering caused by the practice of shark finning, where fins are cut from live sharks who are then thrown back into the ocean.
In Clover's view, this cruelty overlooks the importance of sharks in sustaining the natural world on which we all depend. Clover's efforts to build support for the petitions are commendable, starting with a call-out for support in her school newsletter, then at school assembly, and then setting up an e-petition to give more people the opportunity to support her cause.
Her work has also attracted the support of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which has encouraged her advocacy and her efforts to raise awareness for shark conservation. Australia already has important measures in place to protect sharks. This includes prohibiting shark finning at sea in Commonwealth fisheries and calling for bans on finning at sea through regional fisheries management organisations.
Clover is petitioning parliament, asking the Australian government to take further action to stop the importation of shark fins into Australia. I congratulate Clover on the initiative she has shown. At just 10 years old, she has found a cause she's passionate about and raised awareness in her community to build support for her petitions.
If Clover and her classmates are watching this speech from school, I hope they're proud to see that her efforts on an important issue have reached the Australian federal parliament. I'm very pleased to table Clover's petitions today to bring the views of the signatories before the House and to congratulate Clover on her advocacy.