Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We phrase it differently from Kalgoorlie. The thing that I'd say is that these are tricky areas. These are wicked problems. There's a reason why these ministers were elected: it's because of the woeful benchmark that was set by the coalition. The truth is that we need to get work done, and we're getting on with the job.

One of the first things that we did in our first two weeks of parliament was to legislate a 43 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Yesterday, I was so proud to hear our environment minister talking in question time about how we've tripled the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park. Our government has set a target to protect 30 per cent of Australia's land and seas by 2030. This commitment reflects the pressing need to preserve and safeguard the nation's natural ecosystems before they're irreparably damaged. By aiming to conserve such significant portions of Australia's territories, the government is showing its dedication to ensuring the long-term health and resilience of our unique natural ecosystem.

Last month, I was thrilled to take the Minister for the Environment and Water through one of the ecological jewels in my electorate of Swan, the Jirdarup Bushland in Victoria Park. It's home to some of our iconic Western Australian species, like the forest red-tailed black cockatoo, the western banjo frog and the white spider orchid.

An honourable member: Bull ants!

Yes, and some bull ants as well! It's no secret that our minister for the environment loves and respects the environment, and I think that the Swan environment knew this, and that's why the red-tailed cockatoos, which are endangered, popped out and why we had an eagle grace us. I think it was a way of the earth talking back to us. Some of the stuff that we've done in the last budget cycle is including $260 million for Commonwealth national parks and a further $275 million to upgrade the Kakadu National Park, which is already being rolled out. It's an exciting time for the environment. Minister, can you keep on doing great work in WA?

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