Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment. Will the minister update the House on the unprecedented action the government is taking to protect our Great Barrier Reef for future generations?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Herbert for his question. He is not only a great local member but a great and passionate advocate for and defender of the Great Barrier Reef. If the Great Barrier Reef were not on the World Heritage list, and if there were no World Heritage list and it were to be created today, it would be the first property that should be added to a new World Heritage list.

Against that background, one of the interesting things on coming to office was to look into and discover that the Barrier Reef had been put on watch under the previous government by the World Heritage Committee for possible delisting, for possible recognition as being in danger, and that was in 2011—and 2012, and 2013. The other thing that was very interesting was a briefing on all plans for disposal of dredge material from capital projects in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There were five major projects that we inherited, all of which were going to see potential disposal in the marine park of a figure of approximately 60 million cubic metres. So, we set out to address both of these issues. Firstly, we put together the unprecedented Reef 2050 plan, which addressed issues relating to sediment, nitrogen and pesticide reductions. Already we have seen an 11 per cent reduction in sediment, according to the Queensland government's own figures; a 16 per cent reduction in nitrogen, according to the Queensland government's own figures; and a 28 per cent reduction in pesticides, according to the Queensland government's own figures.

The Prime Minister launched the plan, with additional funding, in Queensland, in the Whitsundays, and that plan went around the world. The other thing that we set out to do was to change the practice we inherited in relation to this dredge disposal. All five of these proposals for dredge disposal in the marine park have been ended. What we have also done, though, is put in place a regulation, with the force of law, to ban forever capital dredge disposal in 100 per cent of the marine park. That is unprecedented and that is something that this side will have as an achievement on their watch forever. More than that, though, we have also invested very significant funds. There is $140 million under the Reef Trust. There is $10 million for crown-of-thorns eradication. What we additionally have is $8 million for nitrogen reduction and $5 million for marine mammal protection. What we see is that the Great Barrier Reef was put on the watch list. I hope and believe it will come off the watch list under our watch. (Time expired)