Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 and to move the second reading amendment circulated in my name:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that Coalition governments have mismanaged and politicised the Great Barrier Reef, which is a job-generating, economic and environmental powerhouse of global significance, that Australians need to preserve for future generations".

Labor welcomes this bill, as it provides relief for Great Barrier Reef tourism operators who've been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. So many parts of the country have needed support as a result of COVID-19, and the tourism industry has been among the hardest hit. This bill supplements a measure that passed the parliament earlier in the pandemic period—back in March—to waive the environmental management charge from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020. Combined, these measures effectively ensure that the EMC is waived for the entire 2020 calendar year.

The environmental management charge fee paid by operators is usually determined by the number of visitors to the reef and is charged to them as a visitor fee. It's only fair that tourism operators aren't burdened by this cost in 2020, so Labor welcomes this sensible measure. We're also pleased the Minister for the Environment has assured Australians that there will be no reduction in the revenue that goes to the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as a result of this amendment because, while the pandemic has meant many parts of our lives have been paused, time still marches on and the threats to the future of the Great Barrier Reef are on a tight and unforgiving deadline.

While Labor welcomes this relief for tourism operators in the North and the Far North, the government has been woefully lacking when it comes to supporting tourism and the reef in the long term. To support tourism, the government needs to support the reef. And, to support the reef, the government should work towards the overall health of the reef. Importantly, it should resist the deniers in its ranks, commit to serious action on climate change at home and show leadership internationally.

The Great Barrier Reef is a great asset to Australia. Our country is so fortunate to be the home of one of the seven wonders of the natural world. It is the largest coral reef on the planet and the largest living structure on earth. As a kid growing up in Cairns, I spent a lot of my childhood on the reef. Family and friends had great memories of visiting the islands. It was common for people to take up scuba-diving or at least to have used a snorkel. As well as enjoying the reef as locals, everyone really understood that the reef was a great drawcard for the many overseas visitors we saw in the streets of our town. There were jobs in cruise operations and in dive schools, but the economic reach went much further. Local small businesses—like my mum's small business and like my grandfather's small business—had a lot of tourism based customers too, all because of the breathtaking beauty of this natural wonder.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park covers 344,400 square kilometres. That's bigger than Victoria and Tasmania combined and larger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Holland combined. While many people across the globe can and do appreciate its wonder and environmental significance, it is Queenslanders in regional communities up and down the coast, like the one I'm from, who are most keenly aware of its value environmentally, economically, culturally and socially as part of the Australian identity. Those Queenslanders include, firstly, more than 70 Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal traditional owner groups who've had a continuing relationship with the Great Barrier Reef over millennia. They include the Queensland based scientists, as well, who've studied the reef their whole lives and are evermore urgently advocating for it. They include, too, around 64,000 Queenslanders who rely on the reef for work—for their livelihoods.

Deloitte Access Economics published a report that calculated the site's full economic, social and iconic brand value. The title of the report is the same question we asked those opposite: At what price? What will this government's failure to preserve the reef cost us?

The report found that the reef contributed $6.4 billion to the Australian economy in one year and that the reef is a $56 billion asset. To continue to provide all those values—the economic values as well as, of course, the environmental, social and cultural values—the reef needs to be strong and it needs to be healthy. We need to protect it as if our livelihoods depend on it, because in Queensland they do. But, under the Morrison government's stewardship, we have seen the outlook for the reef downgraded from 'poor' to 'very poor'. Their actions in relation to reef funding have been under a cloud since the outrageous backroom deal of $444 million, which fell afoul of the Auditor-General.

Distressingly, earlier in the year we saw the third major bleaching event in five years. Australia can't afford yet another blow to our tourism industry, already hit so hard by the pandemic. But, under this government's watch, the reef is going backwards. In his first report, the Morrison appointed reef envoy, the member for Leichhardt, brushed over the impacts of climate change inaction, water quality and crown-of-thorns starfish. Instead, he devoted his attention to plastics. Tackling this issue is important, but a focus on plastics cannot be allowed to be a fig leaf for the Liberal-National government's failure to face up to the major challenges facing the reef. The government's own agency, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, states that single-use plastics constituted only a small proportion, around one or two per cent, of the overall marine debris collected at the reef.

The disproportionate emphasis on plastics in relation to the reef is a decoy for the other real challenges Queensland regional communities face. The member for Leichhardt is on the record as denying the greatest threats to the reef, as well as the science of coral bleaching and climate change, when he said in relation to climate change, 'It's been happening for millennia.' Instead of being a champion for the—

Mr Tim Wilson interjecting—

True! I hear the interjection from the member for Goldstein. As I said, the member for Leichhardt is on the record as denying the science of climate change. Instead of being a champion for the reef, as its envoy, the member for Leichhardt is being used to detract from the damage being done to it. Instead of championing the reef, the reef envoy has questioned the science of two of its greatest threats. Of course, he's not the only impediment to real progress on protecting the reef. While not-for-profit organisations, environmentalists, scientists, experts, farmers, tourism operators, the Palaszczuk Labor government and many others are working to raise awareness about the true impacts on the reef, the member for Dawson, who I see is here in the chamber, is on the record as denying the science on water quality. This is in addition to his rejection of climate science. The Morrison government's policy has been hijacked by the extreme right wing of the party. How can Australians have faith that this government will protect the reef if the government can't even be honest about the major threats to it?

It's important to acknowledge the work of organisations big and small who've had to step in and do the work of government over the years. I want to acknowledge the work of the Australian Marine Conversation Society, who've briefed me on a number of significant issues over many years, including threatened species, corals and the mass bleaching events. The most recent mass bleaching event was the most extensive, but tragically it was the third event to have taken place in only five years.

I don't want people to think, though, that they shouldn't visit the reef. There is still so much to see, and we need people to visit the reef. People need to understand its wonder and how beautiful it is so that they feel moved to try to work to protect it. During this pandemic, the requirement for all of us to stay indoors has made Australians really miss the outside world. I think we have a new-found appreciation for the outdoors; I certainly do—the park down the road, the beach or just anywhere you can get fresh air. Queensland has already lifted its internal travel ban, so Queenslanders should go to visit the reef. It is one of the world's seven natural wonders and it happens to be in our own backyard. Queenslanders should already know that the Ekka show holiday has been moved to a Friday to encourage everyone to get out and see Queensland for a long weekend. Those considering a visit to the north or far north of the state should be assured that, despite the Morrison government's lack of environmental action, there is still a great deal of beauty and wonder to be experienced on the Great Barrier Reef. The reef is one of the best tourism experiences on the planet and it's right on our doorstep. Not only will you get to see the amazing natural diversity and beauty of the reef; you'll be supporting thousands of Queensland jobs, and I think that's absolutely worth doing.

Many of the tourism operators and other local small businesses supported by tourism are struggling, and they're currently relying on support to survive. There are estimates from the tourism sector nationally that up to 400,000 jobs might be at risk when JobKeeper ends. The sector won't simply be able to snap back if support isn't extended. The Prime Minister, I've got to say, is completely and woefully out of touch if he thinks snapping back to the way things were before is likely.

Thankfully, though, the Palaszczuk government has provided support for the tourism industry during this difficult time, with additional funds, tools and support programs. Australia's greatest national icon is open for business, and it remains one of the best tourism experiences on the planet. That doesn't mean we can be in denial about the challenges to the reef. Denial about the reef's future puts it at even greater risk.

Whilst the federal government's attention during this pandemic must be directed towards saving lives, protecting incomes and securing the safety of all Australians, we must also plan for the recovery now. Australia will need to leverage our natural advantages into economic growth, supporting jobs and bringing back international tourists once it's safe to do so. The reef has an extremely important part to play in the recovery. But with the Morrison government we're seeing asset devaluation, poor maintenance, vast sums of money being allocated without proper processes and no plan to preserve its value for the stakeholders of the reef, all Australians. If the coalition government was a private sector asset manager for a $56 billion asset and they managed it this poorly they'd be sacked in a heartbeat. The reef is a job-generating economic and environmental powerhouse for all Australians.

Deputy Speaker Gillespie, the government really abandoned reef communities when it decided to use such a poor process to hand over almost half a billion dollars of public money to a private foundation. They have had to spend a lot of time scaling up their operation. When the deal was done, they only had six full-time staff. It was so controversial—and people will remember this—that the Australian National Audit Office had to investigate the way the grant was handled. They found that the government failed to comply fully with the rules designed to ensure transparency and value for money. Further, the Auditor-General found that there wasn't adequate scrutiny of the foundation's proposals, specifically the capacity and capability of the foundation's delivery partners to scale up their activities, the foundation's past fundraising performance and the total administration cost of the partnership model, with basically no consideration given to the administration costs of the foundation's delivery partners.

While some of the projects and investments in the reef that are currently being explored involve incredible science and ingenuity—like shading to cool reefs by cutting sunlight to lower ocean temperatures, stabilising reef structures and helping corals adapt—these extraordinary efforts are just not enough when we have a government that will not accept the science of climate change and will certainly not do enough to do something about it. The five years to 2019 were the five hottest on record for our oceans. Ocean warming can now be observed at a depth of 1,000 metres. A warming of just one degree Celsius in our oceans is significant. One of the most challenging issues, I think, for dealing with people's confidence in whether the government is responding well to the challenges that face the reef is the way that the grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was handled. That's because people need to have confidence in and transparency of governance if they are going to have confidence that a government will do the right thing, rather than thinking they have a government that will hide things, hide their own failures, not face up to the science and fail to deliver for regional communities.

I think it's regrettable the Liberals and Nationals deliberately politicise the reef in this way. They did so when they used a very shonky process to hand almost half a billion dollars to this small foundation, and I don't want to see them continue to politicise the reef. We need cooperation to save the reef because it's managed at all levels of government. But we've recently seen Liberal and National members fall afoul of that. Look no further, if you want an example of that, than the Liberals and Nationals using their position in the Senate to set up an inquiry for the purpose of trying to smear the Queensland state government over water quality laws. They should be focused on saving the reef and protecting regional economies. But, in September last year, they established a Senate inquiry that was—'Oh, what a coincidence—Diedre Chambers!'—timed to report just before the Queensland state election. They're trying to take Queenslanders for mugs, as usual. But Queenslanders can see through these sorts of games any day of the week.

Lately we've all had to change the way we do things. Can I offer some advice to those opposite? Now is the time to realise the worth of the reef and the importance of bringing people together, informed by science, to make sure its beauty and wonder is available for generations to come. The government's own reef agency, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, in its outlook report, states:

Inshore water quality is improving on a regional scale, but too slowly; poor water quality continues to affect many inshore areas of the Reef. The rate of reduction of pollutant loads has been slow, reflecting modest improvements in agricultural land management practices. Future initiatives need to deliver timely, best practice agricultural land management over a wider area to improve water quality.

Those of us who are here, in this place or in the other place, need to take our positions here very seriously, and not use the privilege of being here to score cheap political points while at the same time putting regional communities at risk by actively campaigning against science based decision-making. There are no winners in politicising science or the reef. There are no winners in focusing on short-term politics at the expense of protecting the 64,000 jobs that exist which rely on the reef. They exist in regional economies like those around Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and beyond. There are no winners in failing to protect the health of our inshore rivers that are connected to the reef, or the pristine nature of the shores and waters.

I want to protect the reef and our natural environment more broadly; it's part of the reason I'm part of a party that has advocated for and set up the institutions that have helped to preserve the reef. Federal Labor first protected the Great Barrier Reef by creating the marine park in 1975, and we're proud of our broader achievements for the environment in government. Labor ratified the World Heritage Convention, making Australia one of the first countries to do so. It was a Labor government that protected Queensland's Wet Tropics. Environmental institutions that are now fundamental to preserving our environment were created by Labor, including the proper funding and management of Australia's national parks and the implementation of environmental impact assessments. Labor governments also led the world in ozone layer protection action, commenced Australia's first serious action on greenhouse gases and led action to protect the Antarctic. On the ground Labor saw the united goals of conservationists and farmers, and established Landcare. We have stood for constantly making sure that the national government acts responsibly in relation to matters of national environmental significance. Australians are living and breathing the tangible results of Labor's record on the environment. It's imperative that this is not undone.

I would encourage all Queenslanders who have the means to do so to visit the reef. It's a beautiful place: the people, the sun and the corals. Whether you head up to Port Douglas and go out to the Low Isles; whether you go to Green Island, Fitzroy Island or the islands off Cairns, where so many of us kids spent a lot of time growing up; whether you go down to Dunk or up to the beautiful corals of the outer reef; or whether you go to Cod Hole, there are so many beautiful places to go and so many opportunities. Head up there, support those tourism operators and make sure you do spend as much time as you can, because it's so important that people see that the reef is so worth saving.

It's another world. As I said, it's the largest living structure on earth and it's right in our backyard. We need to keep it clean, we need to keep it safe and we need to take serious action on climate change at home and abroad. It's a $56 billion asset and it supports 64,000 jobs. So Labor will continue to stand for the reef.

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