Legislative Assembly Wednesday, 6 September 2000 THE SPEAKER (Mr Strickland) took the Chair at 12 noon, and read prayers. CRIMINAL PROPERTY CONFISCATION (CONSEQUENTIAL PROVISIONS) BILL 2000 Introduction and First Reading Bill introduced, on motion by Mr Prince (Minister for Police), and read a first time. Second Reading MR PRINCE (Albany - Minister for Police) [12.03 pm]: I move - That the Bill be now read a second time. This Bill is the second of two related Bills in this package. I outlined in the second reading of the Criminal Property Confiscation Bill 2000 the reasons that Bill was necessary. The basis for its introduction in the last session was so that it could be exposed for a period of time for public comment and consideration by members. At that stage, the consequential provisions had not been completed. As would be expected, the provisions outlined in that Bill necessitate a number of amendments to current statutes. Because of the number of amendments required, all consequential amendments and transitional provisions have been contained in a separate Bill, the Criminal Property Confiscation (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2000. The Criminal Property Confiscation (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2000 provides for the repeal of the Crimes (Confiscation of Profits) Act 1988 - the repealed Act - and part IV of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 - the repealed part. It also provides that applications made under the repealed Act or part are, in specified circumstances, to continue to be dealt with as if the repeal of the relevant Act and part had not taken place. Similarly, the Bill provides for the continuation of other specified matters, such as holding orders and embargo notices made under the repealed part, and warrants issued under that part or the repealed Act are to remain in force as if the Act and part had not been repealed. These provisions are necessary to ensure that unnecessary time and expense is not caused as a result of the relevant appeals. The Criminal Property Confiscation Bill is essential in the fight against criminal activity and in identifying and recovering crime-related property. The consequential provisions Bill is necessary to enable its provisions to take over from the existing criminal confiscation scheme. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned, on motion by Mr Cunningham. ACTS AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN DATUM) BILL 2000 Third Reading Bill read a third time, on motion by Mr Barnett (Leader of the House), and transmitted to the Council. ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AUTHORITY BILL 2000 Second Reading Resumed from 29 March. DR EDWARDS (Maylands) [12.09 pm]: The Opposition supports this Bill because it recognises the modernised operations of the Perth Zoo and legitimises what is going on at the Zoo. The Opposition has one reservation that concerns competition for the scarce corporate dollars. I will comment on the Bill and the Zoo, and then move on to the concerns I have. Nevertheless, the Opposition supports the Bill and will not seek to amend it. Perth Zoo is nearly 102 years old. It is probably one of the few institutions in the State that has been open every day of its existence, which is a remarkable tribute to the people who have worked there over the years. The Zoological Gardens Act was first enacted in 1898 to cover the needs of the day. It was modernised in 1972. It had become apparent in the past five years or so that the Act needed modernisation to reflect the Zoo’s operations. As the minister said, this Bill modernises the definition of zoo. It reflects the whole range of activities at the Zoo - financial, business, sponsorship, research, conservation, and marketing activities, which have contributed to the Perth Zoo’s fine record. An entity that has impressed me when I have visited the Zoo - I have visited on a number of occasions and had a number of briefings - is the Marsupial Cooperative Research Centre. The Perth Zoo is a fine example of how zoos have changed over the past century. It has gone from a place to which people go to ooh and aah at exotic animals to a place that is recognised for its research and conservation efforts. The people at the Zoo can be proud of the number of exhibits that still exist for the member for Cottesloe and others to ooh and aah over. In addition to that, and probably [Wednesday, 6 September 2000] 769 more importantly, the Zoo has an international reputation for the work it is doing in the important area of research. Throughout two world wars, the Great Depression and various stages in history, people have visited the Zoo every day for 102 years. Part of the Zoo's patronage comes from people who make return visits and bring their children, grandchildren and overseas and country visitors. The Zoo has a proud record. The Zoo can also be proud of its tourism record. In 1998 and in 1999 it received an award for the best major tourist attraction in Western Australia. It is certainly doing its job. I will concentrate on its conservation work and one factor that identifies the great work that is being done. In conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Land Management, the Zoo has released back into the wild more than 170 Zoo-bred threatened animal species. It is important that the work is undertaken in conjunction with CALM, because CALM clears the area into which the animals are placed so that no other predators will gobble them up. In recent times numbats, dibblers - tiny animals I had never seen until I visited the CRC at the Zoo - and the now quite famous Shark Bay mouse have been reintroduced into their natural habitat. The Zoo has made good links with other conservation agencies to advance the work that is being done in Western Australia. While the Zoo's conservation and research efforts focus on native animals, it has not ignored its global responsibilities to help maintain genetic diversity throughout the world. This is important when one considers the habitats that are under threat. Western Australians believe that flora and fauna losses result from salinity problems, in particular. Those losses will continue until that problem is resolved. However, pressures in other parts of the world - such as the clearing of rain forests, climate change and over-population - are placing many species under threat. The Perth Zoo also plays a role in that global sense. For example, a golden lion tamarin was brought to Perth from the Adelaide Zoo. It also has a Sumatran tiger that graced the cover of its annual report a few years ago. I was concerned to read in the Zoo's annual report about an incident in November 1998 which involved African hunting dogs under the Zoo's care. They died after they were fed meat that had been inadvertently poisoned. That demonstrated the complexity of the activities at the Zoo. The meat fed to those animals contained barbiturates. It transpired that the animal that had been fed to the dogs had been killed in an inappropriate manner, and some of the checks and balances about food quality had broken down. Since then I have had discussions with the Health Department, and I raised this issue in the estimates hearings. I heard some of the evidence to the inquiry that followed and the safeguards that are now in place to ensure animals are not inadvertently poisoned in that way. This demonstrates the complex tasks that have to be done by people working at the Zoo. Not only do they deal with hundreds of thousands of visitors who go there each year to see the rare and exotic animals in their care, and carry out research with native animals, but also they must undertake basic checks on food quality so they do not cause any harm to their animals. The Zoo's publicity is very good. Everyone will have seen recent television footage and photographs of the Rothschild’s giraffe being transported to the eastern States. That created lots of interest in the community, particularly among young people. I was also interested to read in the annual report that about 18 months ago the Zoo was responsible for an RAAF flight that transported horned oryxes from Western Australia to the Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo to help with its breeding program. People who are involved with the Zoo undertake many complex tasks in the day-to-day activities of the Zoo. As part of that, I understand that the Zoo is involved in 23 postgraduate research projects. I will turn now to events and marketing. The Zoo holds a huge range and number of functions not only to attract people to the Zoo and its facilities but also to educate the community and to provide a wide range of functions. When I visited the Zoo about five years ago, after not having been there for a long time, I was fascinated by the number of older teenagers who were there. I visited on a number of occasions on a Saturday morning and was amazed to see young people in the 18 to 20 year age group who had decided that going to the Zoo on a Saturday was a highlight for them. It is a tribute to the Zoo's marketing that it attracted that age group, the very young children who are fascinated by the animals, and the seniors who bring their grandchildren. It is a tribute to the Zoo that it has targeted those niche markets. In addition, the Zoo has run twilight concerts. This allow people to look at the animals in the early evening and stay on for a concert.