Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Our waterways tell a story about connection. What flows through our creeks does not stop there; it moves through wetlands and mangroves into the bay and out into wider marine systems that sustain biodiversity, livelihoods and communities far beyond our shoreline. When local habitat is degraded or pollution is allowed to build up, the consequences travel. When communities come together to restore creek banks and care for catchments, the benefits travel too. In Griffith and surrounds, we see that every day through the work of groups like the Norman Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, the Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee, OzFish and the many volunteers who give their time to restoring habitat, improving water quality and caring for the places that connect our suburbs to Moreton Bay.

That local understanding helps frame the significance of this bill, the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026, because the health of our local waterways is inseparable from the health of the global ocean. The ocean does not divide neatly according to national borders, and the pressures facing marine environments do not stop at the edge of a map. Species migrate, currents carry pollution and damage in one part of the world's ocean can affect conditions somewhere else entirely. Protecting marine biodiversity requires a wider view, one that recognises we are all dealing with one deeply interconnected marine system.

I can get seasick in a bathtub, so it is with some apprehension that I venture mentally onto the high seas—but here we go. The high seas are the international marine waters beyond the jurisdiction of any country. These waters and the seabeds below them are essential to biodiversity, climate regulation and the overall health of marine ecosystems. Yet only around one per cent of them is currently protected. That is the gap this legislation helps address.

First, it regulates the collection and use of marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including related digital sequence information, reporting and benefit sharing. The language is technical, but the principle is straightforward. Marine genetic resources can hold enormous scientific and commercial value, including in medicine, biotechnology and research, so access to them should sit within a framework that supports transparency, accountability and fairer sharing of benefits.

Second, it creates a framework for Australia to recognise area-based management tools established under the treaty, including marine protected areas on the high seas. That means international conservation decisions under the treaty can be reflected in Australian law and observed by Australian entities.

Third, it establishes an environmental impact assessment process for certain planned activities by Australian entities in areas beyond national jurisdiction where there is a risk of harm to the marine environment. When an activity could cause substantial pollution or significant and harmful changes to marine ecosystems, there should be a proper process to assess those impacts before the damage is done. That is a sensible safeguard and an essential part of responsible environmental management.

Together, these measures allow Australia to ratify the treaty with integrity and play a meaningful role in its implementation. For Australia, this legislation carries particular significance. We are an island continent with one of the largest maritime jurisdictions in the world. Our prosperity, resilience and way of life are closely tied to the ocean. Fisheries, tourism, marine science, conservation and coastal communities all depend on healthy marine systems, and the condition of our oceans does not stop at the edge of our exclusive economic zone. Australia comes to this work with credibility. More than half of our ocean is now protected in marine parks and around a quarter of our marine estate is in highly protected areas. We have committed to protecting and conserving 30 per cent of Australia's land and 30 per cent of Australia's marine areas by 2030.

This bill builds on that strong domestic foundation and extends our contribution into the international sphere. It also has particular importance for the Pacific. Australia and the Pacific island countries are connected by the Blue Pacific, and that idea reflects a lived reality as much as a diplomatic one. Across our region, the ocean is central to food security, livelihoods, culture, identity, resilience and sovereignty. Questions of marine biodiversity and ocean governance go directly to the long-term wellbeing of communities and nations across the Pacific. When we talk about what stronger international ocean governance means for our region, we are talking about tuna stocks, coastal fisheries, local nutrition, sustainable livelihoods and resilience in the face of climate change. We are talking about countries already carrying immense environmental pressure and whose futures are tightly bound to the health of the ocean. This bill also speaks to something we understand deeply in Griffith: stewardship works best when it is practical, shared and sustained. The high seas do not belong to any one country, but their future will be shaped by the choices countries make together.

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