Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've got a quick question for you: What covers 3.8 million square kilometres? Or, in another way of putting it, what covers 52 per cent of Australian waters? The answer is, of course, the network of Australian marine parks. This network includes parts of the Coral Sea off Queensland's coast, the waters around Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean, the Murray Marine Park off South Australia and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean—and so many more. I was raised by a marine biologist. In practical terms, what that meant was that not only was this my dad's area of study; the bottom floor of our house was filled with tanks with all sorts of different marine animals in them. It's a scary prospect when you're a little kid, but what we came to know in our household as we were older was that protecting marine life is incredibly important.

Protecting marine areas and ensuring sustainable management of the fishing industry is a priority for this Albanese Labor government too. In 2023, the government tripled the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park, placing an extra 385,000 square kilometres of Australia's oceans under high protection. That was the biggest act of conservation in the world that year. It was followed in 2024 when Labor quadrupled the size of the Heard and McDonald Islands marine park. That was the biggest act of conservation on the planet in that year. With this proven record, it is no surprise that Australia is a world leader when it comes to marine conservation, and we're taking an active part in working with other countries to better protect more of the world's oceans. This is necessary because around 60 per cent of the world's oceans are beyond national jurisdiction, but only about one per cent of these waters is currently protected.

In June 2023, the United Nations adopted the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. It's a mouthful, but its role, its job and our reason for working with it is that it fundamentally helps to protect our oceans and the creatures that call them home. Thankfully, it is also known as the BBNJ agreement or the high seas treaty, which is how I'll be referring to it from now on.

Australia has participated in more than two decades of work and negotiations for this treaty, showing our commitment to marine conservation. We were a founding signatory to the treaty, signing it on the first day it was open for signature on 20 September 2003. We are co-chairing the process of preparing for the very first meeting of the conference of the parties involved.

The high seas treaty will create a comprehensive international legal structure dedicated to protecting and responsibly managing marine biodiversity in areas that lie beyond the control of individual nations, because the ocean and the environment don't see borders, but that doesn't mean that they don't deserve protection. It is designed to work alongside and to reinforce existing global and regional agreements, filling critical gaps in ocean governance where regulation has previously been limited. By promoting stronger cooperation and coordinated action among countries, the high seas treaty will play a pivotal role in safeguarding marine ecosystems, supporting sustainable use of ocean resources and maintaining ocean health. It will be a key mechanism in advancing the global commitment to conserve at least 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030.

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