I am very pleased to deliver the closing words for these Conferences. This is an important and historic occasion for systematic science in Australia -- a discipline which underpins our efforts to protect and sustainably manage our unique biodiversity; and a discipline also important if we are to get the best possible environmental return on the 1.25 billion dollars the government is spending over the next five years through the Natural Heritage Trust.

Systematics provides a common language to interpret something upon which all of these activities depend -- biodiversity. It may be a relatively new word, but it's an old concept; and it is one which, I am happy to say, has seized the imagination of governments around the world.

Australia was among the first of 169 nations to sign the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity -- a convention that perhaps best illustrates the enormous increase in global public concern about the increasing threats to the natural environment. Five years on, however, the unfortunate reality for governments everywhere is that the rate of species extinction and habitat loss has, if anything, increased.

When it comes to biodiversity, the stakes are high for Australia. We may have more to lose than any other country. Australia is the sole custodian of perhaps 1 million species of flora and fauna -- between 7% to 10% of the world's total. This rich endowment, and the enormous task it presented taxonomists, was obvious to Joseph Banks, and to many of his contemporaries when they arrived in Australia.

We don't know the precise rate of extinction in Australia, but we do know that it is greater than at any time in recent geological history. Our extinction estimates are vague because we know relatively little about many of the species which remain. Despite the substantial taxonomy already conducted in Australia, close to one-third of our flowering plants, 95% of the fungi, and perhaps two-thirds of our invertebrates are inadequately described.

We need to identify Australia's unique plants and animals before they disappear, so that we may better prevent them from also disappearing.

The task is made more urgent by the continuing trend of habitat degradation, particularly through land clearing, and the spread of exotic species in many parts of Australia.

The Natural Heritage Trust will greatly contribute to the restoration and rehabilitation of our landscapes, including our rivers, and our coasts. But it depends on the projects being informed by advice and skills of the Systematics community.

Arguments most often cited for conserving biodiversity tend to fall into two categories: the linking of long-term human survival with the survival of other species, or very valid ethical arguments about the rights of species to exist.

We tend to overlook the enormous extent to which human endeavours already depend on biological diversity, and the enormous opportunities it offers for society in the future. Again, for Australia the stakes are high -- we have as much to gain as any country by preserving diversity.

Australia is one of the 12 megadiverse countries, the only developed country in that category, and the only one with an entire continent in its care. Yet we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to potential human food sources that might be sustainably harvested on a commercial basis.

This is particularly important given that the world's principal food supplies are based on just a handful of species. Related species, and completely new sources, need to be identified and understood if we are not to become more widely exposed to the perils of monoculture and all that that implies for pest control and associated environmental impacts.

The economic opportunities presented by our unique biodiversity are apparent in many other areas. Regrettably, other countries are beating Australians to the punch.

In the pharmaceutical sector, companies are interested in sampling Australia's diverse plants and animals for the potentially useful compounds that they might provide.

Rapid advances in genetic and biological technology foreshadow limitless potential applications, and our opportunities to participate in these sectors will depend in part on our ability to preserve and understand our biological diversity -- both that which we already know and understand, along with the wonders as yet undiscovered.

Eco-tourism, is another major growth industry world-wide, and particularly in Australia. It's future, too, depends largely on the retention of biodiversity.

It is in our national interest to ensure that Australia gains the maximum possible benefit from these opportunities. However, that depends on our ability to assemble a thorough knowledge base about the nature and location of Australia's plants and animals, and the nutrient cycling processes in which they participate. Thus the role of Systematics.

Since 1978, when the Government established the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), Australia has been fortunate to have a sound institutionalised basis for cataloguing and documenting our "stock" of natural resources. The ABRS was established with a very simple charter: to describe what plants and animals occur in Australia, and where they are found.

Only a fairly small proportion of Australia's plants, animals, fungi and other groups of living organisms had been adequately described. A Grants program was established to support taxonomic work on problem or little-known groups, and a publications program was established to publish authoritative accounts of Australian plants and animals in a uniform and consolidated manner.

Initially, the publication program of ABRS consisted of the Flora of Australia and the Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Later, other series were added, such as the Fauna of Australia and Fungi of Australia. ABRS has now published over 60 volumes. It represents the work of several hundred contributors, including authors, artists and photographers. ABRS has supported scientific research in over 650 taxonomic projects, leading to over 2000 scientific papers, becoming the focus and driving force for systematic biology in Australia.

ABRS is now the envy of other countries, and is often the yardstick against which their own taxonomic programs are measured.

I am pleased to announce today an initiative which will further build on Australia's global role in taxonomy. With financial support from my Government, Australia will co-host a workshop in February 1998 involving Australian and international experts to chart a future for taxonomy under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Workshop will be co-hosted by the ABRS, in conjunction with the Northern Territory Herbarium, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Global Environmental Facility.

A priority is the development of interactive keys, which are useful for taxonomists, but also help to make taxonomy easy, accessible and enjoyable for the general public. This is a major part of changing public awareness about the environment, and promoting the important work you do. It will also provide useful tools for environmental managers, particularly by those involved in the Natural Heritage Trust.

The Grants program has been re-examined, to determine whether its functions should be expanded or refocussed. In this context I am pleased to announce on behalf of the Minister that the government will be funding taxonomic research in 1998 to the value of $980,137 through the ABRS Participatory Program. This funding will support 22 new and 25 continuing projects, studying a broad range of species, including flowering plants, algae, fungi, insects, and many other groups.

The Department of Environment is also examining how the nation's biological collections, distributed through a range of State, Commonwealth and Territory institutions, can be maintained, bolstered and made more widely available. These collections are an irreplaceable national heritage asset, representing over 200 years of sampling, in many cases from localities that no longer support the plants and animals collected. They provide the only major source of point data over both time and space for our country, and are a valuable tool for biodiversity management and research.

The Minister anticipates an increase in demand for systematics particularly as a result of its relevance to Natural Heritage Trust projects. As I said earlier, fundamental to the success of the Natural Heritage Trust will be a solid understanding of our flora and fauna, where species occur, whether they are threatened, endangered and so on. So you can expect the Trust to give rise to more demand for systematics, but the products required will be perhaps more diverse than in the past.

One of the major tasks to be faced is finding new ways of collating and presenting taxonomic information in a way that can be understood and utilised by the growing army of "grass-roots" environmental workers engaged in Natural Heritage Trust activities.

In closing, the Government sees the environment as one of the most important areas for its attention, and biodiversity conservation as an urgent priority. This requires action on many fronts: documenting our plants and animals, repairing mistakes of the past, and providing a coordinated and soundly-based plan for the future management and sustainable use of our biological resources.

Through the activities of the Natural Heritage Trust, and the continued work of the ABRS, we hope to document our biodiversity in time to manage it sustainably, rather than merely to write its epitaph.

I wish your societies well. I know the Minister would like to continue to hear from you about how together you can tackle the range of environmental issues confronting the country, and especially how the systematic community can play a continuing constructive role in the delivery of ecologically sustainable policy through the Natural Heritage Trust.