Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)) Share this | Hansard source

This afternoon I rise to discuss the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment (Authority Governance and Other Matters) Bill 2017. Indeed, we support the amendments that are contained in this bill, but we do believe that we should be highlighting in the course of this debate the government's inaction on protection of the Great Barrier Reef. We know we established many decades ago now the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and I'm familiar with the governance issues that confront the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in the context of the flaws of that act. So we've had significant concern about the current governance structures and their inadequacy for meeting our reef's changing needs, including the response to the challenges of climate change, coastal development and land based run-off.

We know that back in March last year the government announced an independent review of governance. That was led by Dr Wendy Craik. We also understand that that report was given to the Minister for the Environment and Energy and it evaluated whether management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park under current arrangements was sufficient to support the performance of its statutory functions. There were a number of public submissions and 55 consultation meetings with stakeholders.

The review found that the marine park authority enjoys strong stakeholder rapport, but there are problems within its current structures. It included a most concerning lack of strategic leadership and management, and an excessive workload for the chairperson. This was found to limit its capacity to fulfil its statutory obligations and responsibilities and impacts on its capacity to manage the impacts of climate change on the reef. It was suggested that refreshed governance arrangements would assist in this regard to allow the authority to better fulfil its role as the expert manager of our reef.

We were pleased to see that the government accepted all of the 24 recommendations for the new Great Barrier Reef Marine Park governance model. These changes will improve its strategic capability and capacity. The bill seeks to implement the recommendations through the numerous amendments to the act, including separating the existence of the full-time chairperson into a part-time chairperson role and full-time chief executive officer with an additional part-time member position. The capacity of the authority will be enhanced by the separation of and time available for those roles. The act will also be amended in order to strengthen requirements for the appointment and termination of members. Indeed, the bill includes minor technical amendments to clarify the marine park legislation's regulating functions.

Labor believes that the passage of this bill supports the transition to new structures without compromising the authority's continued ability to fulfil its statutory functions. We're pleased to see that it provides enough time for the recruitment and appointment of the new chairperson and the new chief executive officer before the expiration of the current term in October this year. We don't believe this bill is contentious but, in supporting this bill, I want to affirm and reiterate our long-term commitment to protecting the Great Barrier Reef and delivering law and policy that promote the reef's long-term health and resilience in the context of climate change.

While the government has been saying that the reef is in good health, we on the Labor side are significantly concerned about its health. We want to see more done on run-off. We want to see more global action and accountability on climate change, because we know that that is one of the major risks to the reef. Australia has played a significant role in dragging its feet in action on climate change, which in turn contributes to the global drag on action on climate change and puts our reef, day by day, at greater risk. We know that the window of time, in which we will be able to protect our reef if climate change continues the way that it is, is closing. If we can't make good on global commitments to rein in emissions and address climate change, then we know that there is a great risk to our reef. I know that people localise debates about the impact of the Adani coalmine. But, in fact, we know that the debate about the Adani coalmine and the concerns of the community also relate to the much wider global debates about climate change and how emissions from fossil fuels need to be managed and made accountable, both at a domestic and a global level.

I'm proud of the role that Labor has played in protecting our reef. I'm proud to say it was the Whitlam government that implemented Australia's first ever marine reserve over our reef. More recently, it was the Labor Party that established Australia's marine reserve network, which is the largest network of marine protected areas in the world. The attempts of the coalition to undermine the integrity of that network—noting that it is not only the Great Barrier Reef that deserves protection—dismay me. I'm not happy with some of the changes that have been made to marine park boundaries. I believe they're being made without justification or scientific foundation. When the government make decisions like that it leaves me with great concern for their capacity to manage things like the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. I'm heartened, somewhat, by the fact that, because of its significance, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has independent management structures for its oversight. I can only hope for the same for other parts of our iconic and important marine networks.

We know that our responsibility to care for our marine environment is becoming more and more important day by day, as the impacts of climate change and overfishing affect our marine networks. These threats must be taken seriously by our government, and we need to do all that we can to protect the health of our reef. Management plans are an important part of this work. We know that the Senate and the parliament—and, indeed, the government—have been active in recent times in bringing legislation forward in that regard. Late last year, we amended the act—the very same act that we're debating today—to improve the management plans for the parks as well.

We need all the practical tools at our disposal to protect our reef, which means we need governance structures in relation to the management of the reef itself but also externally to that, with the concerns about climate change. How do the government and the Labor Party opposition respond to the issues of climate change that affect the long-term health not only of the Great Barrier Reef but of our environmental networks right around the nation? We don't want to see simple management plans that deal with very specific acreage of the reef. We are calling on the government to do more than this and protect the reef from all sides. We want to see the government protecting the Coral Sea, to ensure the rich biosecurity there, on the right side of the reef, is also given adequate protection. I hope that the new governance structures in this legislation mean that there greater capacity to do justice to those important issues.

In our view, the government is not adequately protecting the Coral Sea. Currently you're looking at winding back ocean protections in the Coral Sea, proposing to gut half of that area that was put into the marine national parks that I spoke of before. It's taking a significant step backwards. In fact, it's the largest step backwards that has ever been taken when it comes to conservation in the Coral Sea, and I want to put the Labor Party's concerns about that on the record today in the context of this debate.

Importantly, we need to make sure that we're protecting the reef on the other side. That is what the Queensland Labor government is doing, and that's by doing things like putting land-clearing rules to parliament and ensuring that run-off from land clearing doesn't negatively affect the reef. Those kinds of things can be done adequately only if the governance of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is adequately legislated for by this place. We are significantly concerned about the fact that the government have not acted on climate change and that they're not acting on the causes of climate change—and indeed that some of the MPs opposite us don't even believe it's real. So, while we've got good bureaucrats who can work on things like these governance structures, do good consultations with stakeholders, do good surveys and take submissions, we are vastly held back in our capacity to protect the Great Barrier Reef by the ideologically driven inaction on climate change that is driven by people in this place and the other place.

What it comes down to is that all the good management plans, all the good governance, cannot really do the job if you don't believe in taking strong action on climate change. It simply makes you unfit to protect our iconic Great Barrier Reef. I simply don't trust the government to protect this part of our unique environment. I urge the government to do more to protect one of our most prized environmental assets as a nation. I urge them to stop fighting against responsible land clearing protections and I urge them not to undo protections for the Coral Sea. It's time for them to act on climate change, to address the root causes that will keep our reef healthy.

I can say that we in the Labor Party can and will do these things, because our environmental policy commitments go much further in their protective efforts than these amendments that are before us today. We have a plan for the reef that involves more efficient and long-term management of the reef that is appropriately funded and resourced. We look forward to seeing that funding, that resourcing, that planning and that agenda of the Labor Party and a future Labor government coming within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority's governance. For example, we have committed $100 million to review and improve the current management practices for the reef in consultation with relevant stakeholders. We also have a comprehensive climate change action plan that will deliver real action on climate change and, in doing so, address harmful effects of global warming and global emissions on the reef, including coral bleaching.

What we have here for our Great Barrier Reef is an amendment that helps with governance but doesn't really drive at the key risks to our Great Barrier Reef. This is of extreme concern to the Labor Party and it's something we look forward to addressing in government.