Speech by Robin Mosman at the Protest outside State Parliament House 4th May, 2004

I am speaking on behalf of members of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society and other concerned Blue Mountains residents. Last week we found ourselves in a situation we could never have imagined - having to take to court the very government department which is entrusted with the care and protection of our outstanding Wilderness areas, because this government department had given an illegal license for scenes from an American war film to be shot in a Wilderness area.

Not just any Wilderness area, but an environmentally sensitive one, containing extremely sensitive and outstanding sandstone and ironstone formations. There are 2 fragile vegetation communities, wind-exposed montane heath with skeletal soils and recruiting native seedlings struggling to re-establish in drought conditions after the late 2002 bushfires which ravaged this area, and a Blue Mountains hanging swamp which is a known habitat for the endangered Giant Dragonfly. BM swamps have been nominated for listing as Vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and a determination is pending.

Fortunately, thanks to an extraordinary response by the Blue Mountains community, who know just how special and valuable these areas are, the filming was delayed long enough for a legal action to be mounted, an action which resulted in a very strong judgment from Mr Justice Lloyd of the Land and Environment Court, that "Wilderness areas are sacrosanct".

We understand that this is the same in America. Commercial filming is not allowed in Wilderness areas there either.

So why, if this strong legal judgment supports us in saying 'no commercial filming in Wilderness' have we made the journey down from the Mountains to be here today? We have come because the Premier then announced that he would change the law to make it legal.

This is the Premier who has created a wonderful system of national parks and wilderness areas which should have been his greatest legacy to this state.

Are we instead to see them reduced to free film sets for American blockbuster movies that can't be filmed in America because there are more controls there?

The film company, when they saw that the Mt Hay site was legally unattainable, immediately found another site, on privately-owned land, still in the Blue Mountains. There were always plenty of alternative sites available.

We do not have to roll over and sign over all of our remaining natural environment for the film industry's needs to be accommodated in this state. The Premier is offering them more than they need.

The Wilderness Act says that Wilderness must be allowed to simply 'be', for its plant and animal communites, and for the opportunities it offers for human solitude and self-reliant recreation. Even in a large area like the state of NSW, there is so little left that has not been modified or exploited for commercial gain. Are we going to be remembered by history as the generation that used up everything for its own profit, leaving nothing untouched for future generations?

We are also very concerned for the future of other parts of our National Parks system. Even if Wilderness Areas can be saved from inappropriate commercial filming, in the Blue Mountains we have a great deal of land that is World Heritage National Park, though not zoned as Wilderness. With an increasingly urbanised population, our national parks all over the state have become increasingly important for the opportunities they offer for recreation in a natural environment.

We are here today to ask the Premier in the strongest possible terms not to rush into hasty and ill-considered decisions and legislation. This issue is too important.

We ask, no, we demand, that any process of amending the National Parks and Wildlife and the Wilderness Acts be a considered one, one that includes public consultation with the appropriate public interest groups that are advocates for these precious areas. In spite of his 'Green' image, the Premier has shown that his major concern is the film industry. The true advocates for National Parks have been shown quite clearly by the events of last week to be the people who love them and value them, and we demand the right to be involved in any alterations to the Acts that protect them.

The Colong Foundation for Wilderness, the National Parks Association, the Total Environment Centre, the Blue Mountains Conservation Society, The Wilderness Society and the Nature Conservation Council have proved their right and their ability to advocate on behalf of these valuable and valued public resources, to be consulted and listened to by government. These are our national parks, Mr Premier, you gave them to us. You can't now just take them back and give them to the film industry. The people demand to be part of the process of legislating for our national parks.