Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, there is a representative system of marine protected areas in Commonwealth waters. They are the guidelines by which the marine reserves are being identified. The guidelines were set out in the bioregional profile for the south-west marine region, a document released by the then Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Malcolm Turnbull. But there is recognition, too, that marine reserves are not the only way to protect a marine environment and they must work in tandem with effective fisheries management, where Australia is an acknowledged leader, and the effective regulation of other marine industries. It would be unfair of me not to acknowledge the contribution in this area of the then fisheries minister, Senator Abetz, who was also involved in many of these initiatives. Perhaps you have not met him recently. (Time expired)