Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Bill 2017. I speak in support of this bill, in the main, to highlight to the many concerned constituents in my electorate of Ryan that I'm very conscious of their concerns about the management of the reef. Queensland is truly blessed to have the world's largest coral reef adorning our northern coastline. As a World Heritage listed site, the Great Barrier Reef boasts intrinsic beauty and incredible biodiversity. Ensuring the health of the reef, which supports tens of thousands of jobs, is of paramount importance to our government. We will do more for this reef than any prior government.

From Canberra to Timbuktu—and all stops in between—the Great Barrier Reef is the envy of the world. This bill will guarantee the protective management of the reef through amendments to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975. Specifically, amendments within this bill seek to rectify an unintended consequence of the sunsetting regime and prevent plans of management being revoked. Under the Legislation Act 2003, regulations made under the marine park act are automatically repealed every 10 years. These regulations are due to sunset on 1 April next year. One might ask: why not just remake or repeal the regulations in order to resolve this situation? Simply put, this would still trigger a provision within the marine park act which would result in the current management plans being revoked. The provisions within this bill will resolve this issue so that plans of management will not be revoked when regulations made under the marine park act are repealed.

Plans of management play a critical role in ensuring the use of the marine park for tourism purposes is best practice and sustainable. The North Queensland economy has struggled in recent times from high levels of unemployment. With support from the coalition to ensure a responsible and viable tourism industry on the Great Barrier Reef, I know that opportunity is bountiful. Let me reassure the House that only a coalition government has the forethought to proactively approach this matter.

I segue into Labor's disastrous environmental record, akin to the antics of Looten Plunder from the TV series Captain Planet. After six years of mismanagement under Labor's watchful eye, the World Heritage Committee placed the Great Barrier Reef on an 'in danger' list. For a group which purports to be quasi-environmental warriors, it never ceases to amaze me that they just cannot seem to get it right. Just like with everything Labor does, they cannot be trusted. In close partnership with their Greens and independent allies, Labor saw five massive dredge disposal projects planned for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The coalition took unprecedented action to fix Labor's mess. We ended all five dredge disposal plans. We banned all future capital dredge disposal projects in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Let us not forget that it was a coalition government which developed the comprehensive Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, setting out our strategy to manage, protect and improve the reef for future generations. This plan was endorsed by the World Heritage Committee on 5 July.

Time and time again, we hear from the Greens and Labor about the state of the reef. In true Labor and Greens fashion, it is all talk and no action. In contrast, and as a result of the coalition's actions, the World Heritage Committee removed Australia from the 'in danger' watchlist and, indeed, praised Australia as a global leader in reef management. I do not believe I have ever heard the World Heritage Committee praising Labor.

Let me take this opportunity to reiterate in the House the coalition's achievements not only for the Great Barrier Reef but also for marine conservation in general. The original size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was 17,000 square kilometres. As a result of coalition governments, today it is 344,400 square kilometres and extends 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast. This includes expanding the marine park's no-take sanctuary areas from five per cent to 33 per cent. Many of the most important initiatives in relation to marine protected areas in Australia's jurisdiction have been delivered by Liberal-National governments. In his first term as Prime Minister, John Howard established the world's first Oceans Policy in 1998. More than 15 years later, this policy approach to marine conservation and management was the basis on which the world's longest network of marine parks and sanctuaries was established here in Australia.

Under coalition leadership, Australia has boosted protection for whales, seals and seabirds in the Southern Ocean by expanding the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve and creating the largest fully-protected sanctuary in our exclusive economic zone. Successive coalition, federal and state governments have placed a prohibition on oil and gas in the Great Barrier Reef, banned whaling, banned sandmining on Fraser Island, created the first stage of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, World Heritage listed the Great Barrier Reef and created the Cairns section. They also established the Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve in the Coral Sea, the Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve, the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, the Great Australian Bight Marine Park, the Australian Whale Sanctuary, the Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve, the Macquarie Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve, the Lord Howe Island Marine Park, the Cartier Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park's expansion of green zones, the Cod Grounds Commonwealth Marine Reserve, the South-east Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network, which includes another 13 marine reserves, and the Lalang-garram/Camden Sound Marine Park and the Ngari Capes Marine Park in Western Australia.

You don't have to take my word for it. This is taken from a publication called Save Our Marine Life, which was produced by an alliance of leading conservation organisations working to protect Australia's marine life and way of life. They published this in recognition of the coalition government's legacy for reserves and for Australia. It bears repeating that, as I mentioned previously, it was a coalition government which banned capital dredge disposal in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and it was the Fraser government of 1975 which banned oil and gas operations on the reef.

The coalition has committed funding of over $2 billion over the next decade to protecting the reef. This funding includes commitments to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's reef fund to make finance available for businesses to deliver clean energy outcomes, alongside other benefits for the reef; $210 million for the establishment of the Reef Trust, which focuses on improving water quality through reducing sediment and nutrient run-off; and more than $22 million to cull the invasive crown-of-thorns starfish. In the words of Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment in the Howard government:

We believe that a comprehensive and representative system of marine parks is an essential component of our efforts to protect Australia's unique marine biodiversity.

The next time Labor, Greens or any other party, like GetUp, has a desire to denigrate the coalition's track record on marine conservation, I encourage them to refer to this speech for a taste of their failings and our achievements.

Local residents in the Ryan electorate, and all Australians, can be assured that the coalition government will ensure that Australia's natural wonders are preserved for our future generations to enjoy. Queenslanders, Australians and international tourists will continue to enjoy our great state and the range of natural attractions it has to offer. With four plans of management in place currently, it is vital that this bill be supported by all in this House to continue the protections and benefits afforded to the Great Barrier Reef.

I refer again to Robert Hill when he says:

This is the legacy we can be very proud of now and well into the future.

The Great Barrier Reef has always been and always will be Australia's reef. Queensland: beautiful one day, perfect the next. I commend this bill to the House.

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