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

I want to thank the member for Warringah for her contribution and for this amendment. We absolutely support the amendment. It makes a very constructive improvement to the bill as proposed. The amendment will ensure that First Nations people, small businesses and remote communities can directly participate in the nature repair market by firstly clarifying that the functions of the regulator include providing assistance and advice to Aboriginal persons, Torres Strait Islanders, other individuals, small businesses and others. It also empowers the secretary of the environment department to publish information that supports the development of the market, including information about opportunities to participate in the scheme.

The member for Warringah mentioned the Australian Land Conservation Alliance as one of the organisations that has been instrumental in doing nature repair without the support of this scheme, and who have welcomed the proposed scheme. They are doing excellent work.

The member for Warringah also mentioned in particular that we'd love to see First Nations communities participating in the scheme. I want to draw the attention of the House to the comments of the Northern Land Council on the scheme. The Northern Land Council has welcomed the scheme and the chair of the Northern Land Council, Dr Samuel Bush-Blanasi said:

Aboriginal people have been caring for Country for tens of thousands of years. But so much damage has been done in the last two-hundred and fifty years. This new law will help Traditional Owners fix it.

He said:

Traditional Owners know their Country. Indigenous Rangers have also played a key role in using traditional knowledge to manage Country through land and sea management across the Territory. This new market is good news for Traditional Owners and Rangers.

He added:

Making sure Traditional Owners agree to projects on Aboriginal land goes without saying. I want to see Aboriginal projects on Aboriginal land being run by Aboriginal people. This is our future.

Mr Martin-Jard, also from the Northern Land Council, pointed out that the region covered by the Northern Land Council has:

… a vast array of habitats representative of northern Australia which face major threats such as feral animals, weeds and saltwater intrusion into the vast wetland ecosystems.

Without the incentives and interventions available through a nature repair market, there is a high risk these once pristine ecosystems will be further degraded and lost forever. We will be working hard to promote a suitable area in the NLC region for a potential pilot site and method development for the Nature Repair Market.

That's what Mr Martin-Jard said. Can I reassure the member for Warringah once again that this is not a replacement for government investment. We have, in the most recent budget, doubled funding for our national parks, including incredible places such as Kakadu that have been really, I have to say, let go in recent years, with the intrusion of feral animals, the intrusion of weeds and declining infrastructure, even for tourism. We've doubled the funding for national parks. That comes on top of the $273 million—I'd have to check the number; it's more than $200 million—that we had previously promised to upgrade the tourism facilities in the park.

This is not a replacement for government spending; it is an additional opportunity—in this case, for First Nations communities—to draw in investment from businesses, companies and philanthropists that want to invest in nature. It is a great opportunity for traditional owners to manage their country in the way they want, with additional financial support to do it. I commend the amendment to the House.

Question agreed to.

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