Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to speak on marine issues, firstly those affecting Western Australia and then Australia more broadly. I welcome the decision by the WA Environmental Protection Authority to recommend against the WA government continuing their promised three-year shark cull. After a record number of submissions, the EPA in Western Australia found that there was a high degree of scientific uncertainty about the impact on, and the viability of, the south-west white shark population. We strongly welcome that finding by the EPA and also acknowledge and particularly thank the people who made submissions to the EPA inquiry, as theirs was really an outstanding contribution. A great number of people recorded their deep concerns about the shark cull and recommended alternatives to it. The Barnett government has not fully withdrawn its submission for an environmental assessment of the cull under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. So, as it is still on the books, we strongly encourage Minister Hunt to reject the WA shark cull and the use of drum lines. There are much better alternative methods available that do not threaten the WA south-west white shark population and that also do not require the killing of 900 tiger sharks and other marine life in a bid to get what the government calculated to be just 25 great white sharks.

At the same time that Minister Hunt has been looking at the WA shark cull, his government has commenced its relatively unnoticed review of our world-leading system of marine protected areas. The marine park system that the Gillard government put in place around Australia is a legacy which it should be proud of. The Greens have been campaigning for this for many years. I have been campaigning for marine protected areas for a very long time. The government do not understand the issues around marine protection and have now commenced a review of these marine parks. The government started the rot when they cancelled the management plans for the marine areas last year, and now they are trying to continue that with this review. Over 100,000 people have made submissions and campaigned for these marine protected areas, and this review once again threatens these areas.

To say that there needs to be more science and more consultation makes absolutely no sense. Over 10 years of science has been done on this issue, and over 600 days of consultation and over 750,000 public and stakeholder submissions show that there is 95 per cent support for marine protected areas. I have no doubt that this review is aimed at rolling back the marine protected areas. I acknowledge that at the moment these areas are just lines on maps, but the government is gutting the marine protected areas by getting rid of the management plans. These plans are absolutely essential for the protection of the beautiful and wonderful marine environment of Australia and their outstanding biodiversity. Many of these areas are unique. Off the south-west coast of Western Australia, there are endemic species. The high degree of endemism is unparalleled in other areas. Marine sanctuaries protect important feeding and breeding areas. They give fish stocks a chance to rebuild and thrive. They have been shown to prevent local extinctions and to help make coral reefs more resilient to the impact of climate change.

Healthy marine life supports our coastal lifestyle, local tourism and local businesses. World-class fishing has flourished around marine sanctuaries. You often see fishers fishing just outside the boundaries of marine sanctuaries. Where I paddle to very regularly in the waters of Western Australia you see exactly the same thing happening—boats just outside the marine areas. Every published scientific and government survey of recreational fishers shows that a clear majority of them support sanctuaries. It is a noisy minority that do not support marine protection, yet it is actually in their interest to put in place these world-leading sanctuaries.