Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise today to speak to this motion brought on by the opposition, because the government's announcement establishing the largest network of marine parks in the world is worthy of discussion in this chamber, and in the community in general. Indeed, it is a topic that is worthy of discussion also at an event like the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. That is a discussion that would have happened over the last few days had the opposition not allowed their negative and petty politics to override parliamentary courtesy and the national interest but had allowed the minister to attend one of the most significant environmental gatherings in recent decades. And of course it would have allowed for Australia's key events at the conference, the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Land and Sea Management side event, to have been attended by the minister responsible for it.

It would have been only common courtesy towards our organising partners and those involved in the launch of the International Network of Indigenous Rangers program at the event to have their minister there. But, in their political wisdom, the opposition have decided that the national interest should play second fiddle to their own political, petty tactics. Why? They said they denied the minister a pair so that he could answer questions on today's topic, Labor's network of marine parks, in parliament on Monday, but they could not rouse themselves to ask those questions until more than halfway through question time. In fact, the government had to start them off on those questions. We had to drag them away from the preposterous, fear-mongering tactics they were using in this place. They claimed, against all evidence, that the workers facing possible retrenchment by Fairfax somehow had the carbon price to blame and they exploited that claim against every sense of compassion and good taste. That is the kind of rubbish the opposition would prefer to talk about. They prefer that kind of scaremongering and frothing at the mouth to actually facing up to what we as a nation need to do to protect our crucial economic and environmental assets in our oceans. That is exactly what they should have been talking about. At least we have the opportunity to do so now in this debate, even if the opposition's motion goes to a shadow of the substance of this laudable policy.

The 44 large-scale marine reserves that will be established through this policy are the areas that the science says we ought to protect. The discovery of that scientific knowledge began more than 15 years ago on the initiative of the Keating Labor government, and it was then embraced by the Howard government. The marine bioregionalisation of Australia, out of which most of the existing marine reserves are based—including those in the south-east of the country and around my home state of Tasmania—is drawn from integrating multidisciplinary data into a picture of how biodiversity is structured across all of Australia's oceans. That understanding allows us to know what we need to do to protect it and where the areas most at risk are if we do not act soon, including areas about which we know relatively little except that they are pivotal in linking together ecosystems and that unregulated activity is as likely to destroy their values as it is to discover them. They are areas like the Diamantina Fracture Zone, located in the south-west corner. This rugged deepwater environment has many underwater mountains and ridges greater than 6,000 metres, including the deepest waters in Australia. In the same area is the Perth Canyon, Australia's largest ocean canyon. Its deep ocean currents create a nutrient-rich cold water habitat that supports small fish, krill and squid, which feed fish and whales, including the blue whale. Whales, including the humpback whale, also migrate through the waters off the north-west coast. Many of the reserves in the north-west region, from the Kimberley reserve in the north down to the Shark Bay reserve, will provide important protection for this crucial migration path.

Over on the other side of the country, the Coral Sea region is home to some 15,000 square kilometres of reef area. The proposed marine reserve includes more than 60 per cent of this reef area either in marine national park zones, which are approximately 40 per cent, or conservation park zones, which are approximately 25 per cent. A further 30 per cent is within the habitat protection zones, and that also provides significant protection to these reefs. In the north-west of the Coral Sea, the largest fish species in the world, the whale shark, swims through Osprey Reef and Shark Reef. Osprey Reef is known as one of the world's top dive spots, primarily due to these impressive shark populations, while the Coral Sea generally is a critical habitat for black marlin as they undergo seasonal movements through the Queensland Plateau. The slow-growing loggerhead turtle begins, and sometimes ends, its amazing journey in Australia's Coral Sea after a long sojourn through international waters.

Those are just some of the incredible and unique environmental values that will be protected under the government's network of marine reserves. That is why people with an interest and background in these marine environments, who have a connection with our oceans and the amazing life that inhabits them, are lining up to commend the government's announcement. For example, Col McKenzie, from the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, reckons that the reserves are likely to boost tourism and save jobs. In the Australian Financial Review on 15 June he said:

... it will actually improve tourism generally from the fact it will increase Australia’s profile overseas, particularly among high-end tourists who have high environmental awareness.

David Geshwind, from the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, said that most concerns on better protection of reefs, dive sites and game boat access have been met and that this was welcome. These people and many others understand that Australia's custodianship of its oceans in our region is not just a great responsibility, but it is a terrific opportunity for people to make a living off the reefs, the fish and the crystal clear waters that attract so many people from all over the world. There are plenty of Australians who make their livings—and even more who make their lifestyle—by using the extraordinary food resources of our waters. That is why it is important to protect this environment and this resource for future generations, so that our grandchildren can take their grandchildren out to fish with a fair chance that they will catch a feed.

These reserves have been designed to avoid impacts on fishers and regional communities as much as possible. They have been designed to preserve the coastal lifestyle that so many Australians have grown up with; to make sure that what is special about Australia can continue into the future. We have an incredible opportunity to turn the tide on protection of the oceans and Australia can lead the world in marine protection. These marine reserves are the most comprehensive network of marine protected areas in the world and represent the largest addition to the conservation estate in Australia's history.

We need to recognise how important this conservation effort in the oceans is, just as we do when we are talking about managing agricultural and pastoral land and just as we do when we are protecting unique forest environments, like those of Tasmania that Senator Colbeck alluded to earlier. That is why in Tasmania we have embarked on supporting the forestry industry in a transition phase into other areas of industry so that jobs can be protected as well as protecting the environment. It is a win for those people transitioning out of a forestry industry who need government support to do so and for bringing to an end a very long debate in Tasmania to do with its forests.

We need to recognise how important this conservation effort is when we are talking about our marine parks. This new network of marine reserves will help ensure that Australia's diverse marine environment, and the life it supports, remains healthy, productive and resilient for future generations. As I said, it is important that we recognise that well beyond our time in this place, we are ensuring that we are creating an environment, whether it be on land or in marine reserves, such as those I have described today, that can be protected so that we can ensure that we leave this place in a better and more sustainable way than those who have come before us. That is exactly what the science has told us and that is why this government is willing to act and is doing so through the creation of these marine reserves.