Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the first interim report of the Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee's inquiry into Australia's biodiversity in a changing climate. This is an update on the progress of the inquiry itself. We do have additional site inspections planned. I am a member of the committee and we are continuing to gather evidence. I want to focus briefly on one of the areas that is covered in this first interim report, and that is the committee's visit to Western Australia and particularly into the area of my electorate. Of course, most of us know that the south-west of Western Australia is one of Australia's 15 biodiversity hotspots. It is actually one of only two internationally recognised biodiversity hotspots. Margaret River forms the western extremity of the Gondwana Link—a landscape connectivity project creating wildlife corridors from the south-west forest to the Great Western Woodlands, 1,000 kilometres to the east.

The committee met with the South West Catchments Council, South Coast National Resource Management, the Cape to Cape Catchments Group and Greening Australia. The committee inspected Lake Cave just to have a look at the declining water levels in the cave itself. We saw some excellent examples of riparian rehabilitation along the Boodjidup Brook. Many of the issues the committee heard about during the meetings and site visits related to changing rainfall patterns and the serious issue—and this is an extensive issue in the south-west—of phytophthora dieback. The impact of changing rainfall patterns, reduced groundwater and tree decline are all associated with this very extensive disease in the south-west of WA.

We also focused in these case studies in biodiversity management on site visits to the Tasmanian midlands and Central Plateau. Several groups focused on the adaptation taking place and that is what we see in the evidence we took about changing rainfall patterns, fire regimes, threats from pests and diseases, cooperative biodiversity conservation approaches and the importance of research and citizens' science. In the New South Wales Snowy Mountains region we heard about feral horse management in the Australian Alps, and that had a great impact on me. There was a constant reference to feral pests and weeds—the real practical issues. The issue of feral pests and weeds is a very serious one. I read recently where weeds cost the Australian economy $4.6 billion per annum. Feral pests and weeds is not a minor issue; farmers spend $1.5 billion themselves to control about 1,000 agricultural weed species. There are another 2,300 weed species that are a problem for natural ecosystems.

The work that this committee will continue to do is a very important body of work on case studies in biodiversity management and Australia's biodiversity in a changing climate. I am looking forward to what will come ahead and working on concluding the committee's work and the recommendations for our final report. I commend this document, Case studies on biodiversity conservation: Volume 1, to the House and I commend not only the secretariat for the work it is doing but also the committee for its application in looking at this issue.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the report before us today, Case studies on biodiversity conservation: volume 1. I congratulate all those members of the committee who have made a contribution to the debate. On 2 June 2011, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Environment and the Arts commenced an inquiry into biodiversity in a changing climate in relation to nationally important ecosystems. The committee's terms of reference highlight certain areas which I will not go over tonight. I congratulate the secretariat on the work that they have done and the programs that they put together for us. To date, my knowledge in this area has increased immeasurably.

I will not concentrate on the committee's visit to south-west Western Australia, as I was unable to attend those inspections and hearings. But, according to all the feedback I received from those members who did attend, what they learned there was of great importance and significance and has contributed to the overall understanding of the issues that the committee is looking at.

On 30 January this year the committee visited the Tasmanian midlands and the central plateau. The visit focused on sites where climate change is having an impact on terrestrial biodiversity. The committee visited three distinct sites and undertook inspections in rather challenging conditions. It was an extremely wet day, which made it difficult to see the sites in the way we probably would have had the weather not been quite so inclement. But we were provided with insight into the diversity of the Tasmanian landscape and the challenges both common and unique to each of the regions.

We looked at the revegetation of the midlands. The midlands is one of the 15 national biodiversity hot spots. This was quite evident from our visit, as were the impacts of climate change and the changes in rainfall. Tasmania has a Mediterranean climate, receiving most of its rain in winter, but there has been a decrease in rainfall which has had an impact on the climate in that area. It causes significant problems for the environment and for agriculture. It brought home to me both the importance of the climate and preserving biodiversity and the impacts on agriculture in the area. Every single sector of that community is affected by the changing climate.

We visited the Grassy Hut site and received briefings from Greening Australia and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. We received very important information covering a range of issues such as revegetation, threats to the region and mitigation of threats. We visited the Central Plateau and saw the pencil pines. We saw how there had been changes in the subalpine area above 800 metres and what this has meant for those pines. We inspected some pencil pines near Pine Lake boardwalk and received briefings from the DPIPWE officers on the threats to that species.

One of the sights which impacted on me enormously was when we looked at the miena cider gums. We could see how these small- to medium-sized woodland trees of the Central Plateau were dying and their sensitivity to the effects of the drought. It was quite an important issue. We concentrated on the changes in rainfall patterns and we learned about and observed the dramatic decline in those cider gums. There were many other aspects of the environment, local ecological systems and biodiversity which have been affected by that decline. We learned about the fire regimes in alpine ecosystems and the threats from pests and diseases and how they change with a change in the climate—changes in rainfall and changes in temperature. On a number of occasions, we learned about invasive—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives

Sitting suspended from 18:02 to 18:17

Prior to the division I was talking about the impact of invasive species as a result of climate change. Our visit to Tasmania also highlighted the importance of the need for research into ways that we can ameliorate the threat of climate change. Our visit to Tasmania illustrated that climate change is a threat to biodiversity and it showed that we really need to take the issue seriously. The central plateau is one of the few alpine areas in Australia and our visit illustrated to us just how vulnerable alpine ecosystems are.

We followed our visit to Tasmania with a visit to the New South Wales Snowy Mountains region, and that was in February this year. We had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative and local partner organisations from Kosciuszko to the coast. We were able to see firsthand the unique biodiversity of Australia's alpine regions. It was very interesting to note that the area of ground covered with snow is covered for more than 60 days, but that is predicted to reduce to 38 or 50 days. The last couple of snow seasons have demonstrated that the snow is starting later and thawing earlier. This has an enormous impact on that environment.

One of the threatened species that was mentioned was the pygmy possum. Its habitat has been impacted by the change in climate and the fact that the period of snow is reducing. It is not only the animals that we can see, like the pygmy possum; there are also microscopic insects in the water and the impact that the early thawing of snow has on the survival of some of the insects. It is a whole-of-ecosystem impact. It really is reducing the biodiversity of that area. The rising snow line shows that climate change is having an enormous impact on that area. Climate change in the alpine area of the Snowy Mountains is also impacted on by invasive species. The previous speaker mentioned feral horses, but there are also foxes and they are moving further up the alpine, which is creating problems.

I would like to quickly touch on the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative. That is a wonderful initiative. It is a partnership initiative between the private sector and the national park. It looks at things in a new way. What we saw when we visited the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative was unique. It should be used as a model for other areas. There is a strong need for more research and a strong need for looking at ways of counteracting invasive species such as feral animals and environmental weeds. Community attitude can play a very important role in the development of this. The visit to the alpine area of the Snowy Mountains really highlighted the issues that are important in relation to biodiversity and climate change within the alpine environment.

The other area I would like to very quickly touch on is our visit to Sydney Olympic Park. It was quite exciting to see the number of young people at the park and what had been done there to preserve biodiversity. We saw the extensive ecological restoration and remediation program. There was public engagement at all levels. Once again, that is a model for what can happen when you have a commitment to actually improving biodiversity. It also shows how community engagement is very important. On the day we visited Sydney, we went to the Australian Botanical Gardens at Mount Annan. We were given a brief and visited the site. The aspect of that visit that I found most exciting was the seed bank. We learnt about the activities of the seed bank and saw how important it is in preserving biodiversity. I think all members of the committee were very impressed by the research that is taking place at Mount Annan. We saw the Wollemi pine, which as we all know is a living fossil, and it provided an interesting case study that demonstrated the importance of revegetation and protecting areas to help species survive.

This is a very important inquiry being undertaken by the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Environment and the Arts, and I think that the information it brings to light will be critical to both this government and governments to come. I highly recommend the case study in biodiversity management to the House. I encourage members to read it and then to read the final report of the committee.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak briefly on the statement I made to the House on behalf of the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Environment and the Arts in presenting the interim report of the inquiry into Australia’s biodiversity in a changing climate which we have been carrying out. I thank the member for Shortland for the comments she has just made; as a member of the committee she along with the other committee members has contributed to the committee's work, and there has been a good team effort in trying to get through the work before us.

I thank very much all of the people who made submissions to the committee. To date, we have received about 83 submissions, and they are all very good quality submissions. In fact, I have learnt a lot just from reading them. I think that the inquiry is very worth while given the number of very well researched and professional submissions we have received.

In the course of the inquiry, it became absolutely clear to me that Australia's marine and terrestrial biodiversity has already sustained considerable damage—some of it permanent—which has mostly been caused by human activity. It is also clear from the extensive evidence presented to the committee that climate change is adding to the damage and presenting additional risks. On current future climate forecasts, the damage is very likely to escalate.

Much of our flora and fauna is unique to Australia, but many of Australia's endemic plant and animal species have already been lost. Regardless of the causes of climate change, a changed climate will change the natural environment. The consequences of changes to our natural environment will be widespread, with impacts on agricultural production, human and animal health, and national economic drivers such as productivity and tourism. I will try to refer to each of those in the brief time that I have left to speak.

Agriculture relies on several factors, including water supply, soil nutrients, the timing of rainfall and temperature changes. Agriculture is also very much affected by natural environmental factors such as pollination, disease, pest plants, and animal and insect infestation, and all of those factors are in turn influenced and dependent on climate, weather and biodiversity. That is the crux of the matter: all of the things that affect agriculture are in turn impacted by biodiversity, and we sometimes take our biodiversity for granted. The reality is that it is fundamental to human life as well as to animal and insect life.

In essence, a healthy natural environment increases agricultural productivity; conversely, extreme weather events, low rainfall, restricted water supplies and pests and pesticides can add significantly to agricultural costs and lower productivity. In a similar way, physical and mental health outcomes are also directly linked to a healthy environment. Poor food quality, the use of pesticides, disease, pollution, the general environment and extreme temperatures have all been directly linked to health outcomes.

Australia's natural environment is unique, with many places listed as internationally recognised environmental assets. Their environmental value also makes them major tourist destinations. Tourism is an important economic driver and in some regions underpins the local economy. Natural pristine environments have become international drawcards for Australia. From the science available to date, biodiversity changes can have catastrophic consequences for Australia's best-known iconic sites, including Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef, although many other areas are equally at risk.

Debate interrupted.