Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I begin my contribution, I want to acknowledge the Deputy President's contribution on the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. It's an important report and it will take some time to go through those recommendations. You acknowledged Senator Lambie, but I think it's also important to acknowledge the member for Solomon, Mr Luke Gosling, and the member for Herbert, Mr Phil Thompson, who together with Senator Lambie urged the government at the time to take that step—and now we've seen that report.

Speaking of Townsville, I was there recently to mark 20 years since the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan came into effect. Twenty years ago an important reform was implemented, and it was one that was contentious and hard fought at the time. Credit where credit is due: it was actually a Liberal government who brought in the zoning plan 20 years ago. They stared down the hard right in their own party—Senator Joyce at the time had some very strong views—but they did what was right. They consulted with the community, and now we can see that those reforms are paying off.

The 2003 zoning reforms increased the size of protected areas from five per cent to 33 per cent, and by sustaining these zones over the past 20 years we've seen huge improvements in the reef's health. The reef authority states that no-take zones have contributed significantly to the population of popular species, such as coral trout, because of their role as reproductive sanctuaries. Research shows that fish are larger and can produce more offspring, which yields a greater supply of baby fish to the surrounding fishing areas—and don't our recreational fishers in Queensland love that! The research also shows that reefs in no-take zones are better able to tolerate and recover faster from bleaching events, cyclones and COTS outbreaks. Reflecting on the introduction of the zoning plan reminds us that the tangible benefits of science based policy reform may not be immediate but that we need to be courageous, because bold action now can mean a better future for the reef.

As our government works to protect the reef, we know that improving the quality of water that runs into the reef is a key part of building that resilience. A few weeks ago I was joined by the Minister for the Environment and Water in North Queensland, and we announced the new Clearer Water for a Healthy Reef program. This is $192 million to improve the quality of water flowing into the reef. It will target hotspots across the reef catchments, ensuring that funding goes exactly where it's needed. This is, of course, in addition to the investment of the $200 million Landscape Repair Program announced last year, which will help improve habitat for endangered turtles, birds and fish while improving land management methods in reef catchments. These are programs where we are working together with farmers, scientists and traditional owners across our catchments to improve the quality of water running into the reef, and they're backed up by real investment from our government.

I couldn't mention the reef without mentioning the Great Barrier Reef outlook report 2024, which was released a few weeks ago. To sum up the outlook report, it's very clear that we are at a pivotal time for the Great Barrier Reef. The action we take right now will determine its future, which is fundamental to this effort in building the reef's resilience to adapt to climate change. There is, of course, the importance of the natural resilience of coral reefs. We know that they have the ability to adapt and survive but only if they are given time to do that. As the world warms, there are fewer windows of recovery between extreme weather events, which is why we must do absolutely everything we can to protect the reef.

The reef is my home, and it supports thousands of jobs in the regional communities I represent. I just wish that the members of the Liberal National Party that represent those communities would stand up for the reef as well, because, unlike the Liberal government that brought in those reforms 20 years ago, Mr Peter Dutton is afraid to stare down the hard-right extremists in the Liberal-National coalition who say that protecting the reef is not something they should do. It's disappointing to communities in Queensland that we have a Liberal-National opposition prepared to talk about repealing reef regulations and reducing the protections we have for the reef—and, of course, going down the path of nuclear power, which will not lead to lower emissions or cheaper power but will put the reef at real risk in the future. We know that the Labor government is protecting the Great Barrier Reef, but the Liberal-National coalition will never do that.