James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government is considering the report Toxic tide: the threat of marine plastic pollution in Australia and will respond to its recommendations soon. We are entirely supportive of the US hosting the Our Ocean conference and of the significant international interest in managing our precious marine resources. The government also applauds the work of individuals such as Tim Silverwood of Take 3. These groups make a real and practical difference to the health of our environment.

We are getting on with the job of protecting our oceans through a range of measures, including investing $700,000 in the last term for marine debris clean-up along the Great Barrier Reef and investing an additional $1 million over three years in organisations that build environmental awareness and take practical action, including Keep Australia Beautiful, Clean Up Australia, Banksia Foundation and Tangaroa Blue.