Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Fremantle for that terrific question. I know no-one is more committed to ocean conservation than he is.

It's been a huge couple of weeks for ocean conservation in Australia. Last Monday, our government officially announced our decision to triple the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park, adding an area of highly protected ocean larger than the size of Germany. This is one of the most important decisions that will be made for ocean conservation anywhere in the world this year, and I am very proud of it.

Macquarie Island is a unique place. It's the only island on earth where royal penguins breed. It's one of the few places where endangered albatross come to land to rest. It's the home of elephant seals, killer whales and a whole range of other rare fish. We are talking about a place that is globally unique and globally significant, and with this decision we are massively increasing our protection of the endangered animals that call this beautiful place home. It's why the Australian Marine Conservation Society called it 'a massive win for the region's globally significant marine life'.

Mr Speaker, we had another piece of very encouraging news to share with Australians recently, about our efforts to increase protection for the Great Barrier Reef. Last week, the head of UNESCO praised our government's policies, saying that our policies to combat climate change, improve water quality and protect endangered species are significant. Previously, UNESCO said that the difference between the new government and the previous government, the old one, was a bit like night and day, and that is certainly the case.

Last week, we took our efforts even further by investing, with the government of Queensland, $160 million to make sure that we are reducing high-risk fishing activities on the reef and supporting more sustainable practices. The new funding means that the reef will be free of gillnets by 2027. Gillnets are an absolute menace for dolphins, dugongs, turtles—for a range of endangered creatures—and that's why we're stepping in to ban them. WWF called our decision 'a globally significant moment for ocean conservation, fisheries management and the Great Barrier Reef'.

Mr Speaker, our government is proud of these efforts to better protect nature—to protect what's precious, to restore what's damaged and to make sure that we're managing nature better for the future.

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