Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

Our environment and our livelihoods depend upon a clean ocean. Indeed, this government predicts Australia's ocean industry will contribute approximately $100 billion to the economy each year by 2025, supporting close to 400,000 jobs. My electorate of Mayo fronts some of the most prime marine real estate in Australia. Ecotourism and fishing contribute significantly to our regional economy, from dolphin tours on Kangaroo Island to fishing charters. Our seaside towns are also popular tourism destinations, and, with COVID restrictions driving domestic travel, our coastal communities are certainly bouncing back. So it was pleasing to see support for our marine environment in this week's budget, with a $100 million package for ocean protection. The funding will go towards ocean management methods and to draw carbon out of the atmosphere using seagrass, salt marshes and mangroves.

Blue carbon is a natural phenomenon of carbon capture and storage. As an island nation, blue carbon offers enormous scope for addressing our emissions. Our seagrass meadows and mangroves retain carbon at rates of up to four times greater than land based forests. Australia has millions of hectares of these ecosystems. As one of the co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action, I'm keen to raise awareness with respect to blue carbon, and I'm hosting a friends event in August, inviting a bright young woman from my electorate, Michaela Schwartz, to come along and speak. Michaela is an expert in blue carbon and seagrasses.

I note the marine protection package also includes $20 million to re-establish native oyster reefs at 11 sites across the nation. A few of these reefs are in South Australia, and one of them is in my electorate, on Kangaroo Island. The environmental and economic benefits of restoring these reefs are well documented. Nature Conservancy Australia estimates that, for every $1 million invested, oyster reef restoration creates 8.5 full-time-equivalent positions. Besides direct construction job opportunities, these reefs provide significant benefits to local commercial and recreational fishers and they enhance our regional tourism. They also provide substantial environmental benefits, providing hotspot hatcheries for fish and other marine animals, as well as water-cleaning services.

Kangaroo Island has been doing it tough with the bushfires and COVID-19, and I look forward to following up the reef restoration project during my trips to the island. The budget's ocean package includes nearly $40 million for new marine park partnerships. Marine parks are a critical national resource, not just for conservation purposes but also for the sustainability of fishing stocks and the sustainability of all economic activity that relies on the ocean.

As such, one marine park that my community want to see protected permanently is the Great Australian Bight. I share that desire and, from the moment I first put up my hand to be a candidate—nearly six years ago—I've joined my community to fight for the Bight and advocate for National Heritage listing for this pristine area. The Bight is an area of high conservation value. It is also an area of deep water. It is very remote and prone to big storms. It is a place where it is clearly unsafe to conduct deep-sea drilling, because of the risks of catastrophe. Independent modelling has indicated that a major oil spill could spread across our coast as far as the north coast of Tasmania out to New Zealand in the east and to Esperance in the west. There is too much to lose, whether you're a professional fisher or whether you sell fish and chips at the local store on our coastline.

Three companies have now abandoned plans to conduct deep-sea drilling in the Bight, but, unless there is protection, we always know that there's the threat of another one coming along. I just want to note that this Saturday a small group of community members have decided to organise a Hands Across the Sand event at Port Noarlunga beach for the international day of action on 15 May. They're calling for permanent protection for the Great Australian Bight. This is something our whole community really does want. Sadly, I've got a prior commitment this Saturday, but I wish them well. I wish Freya, Maddie, Janet, Sophie and Cristel all the best for this event. I want to give them my assurance that Centre Alliance will do all we can to make sure that we can have protection of the Great Australian Bight—a truly pristine wonderland. It deserves World Heritage protection.

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