Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by paying my respects to First Nations people as the traditional custodians of both land and sea country in Australia. First Nations peoples have sustainably used and managed coastal land and sea for more than 65,000 years, and many continue to do so today. Their knowledge and stewardship of the marine environment is an essential element in Australia's ocean story. Australia is an island nation, and the ocean is at the heart of our national identity. It is critical to our economic prosperity, health and social wellbeing, and it connects us with our region and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, however, our oceans face substantial threats, including from climate change, overfishing, and plastic and other pollution.

I am fortunate to be the member for Whitlam, which is blessed with breathtaking coastal landscapes in the southern Illawarra region, and my electorate office in Shellharbour is not far from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. One of the jewels in my electorate is the Farm at Killalea, which is regarded as the best beach in New South Wales and the second-best beach in Australia. This stunningly beautiful place is one of my favourite places in the world. About four years ago, the local community succeeded in its campaign to save this extraordinary place from development, and today the 260 hectare Killalea state park is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as a regional park. This is a fantastic outcome for all those who spent years campaigning against proposed development, including the 682 surfers who jumped on their surfboards and set a new world record for a paddle-out protest.

I'm privileged to be a member of parliament's Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, and I'm also co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Ocean and Sustainable Development. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the vitally important role that Jas Chambers and Dr Lucy Buxton from Ocean Decade Australia are playing in supporting the work of the Parliamentary Friends of Ocean and Sustainable Development. My roles on this group and the relevant committee only intensify my interest in this bill.

I'm extremely proud of the actions taken by the Albanese Labor government when it comes to protecting our ocean and marine environments. In 2023, we tripled the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park, which lies between Tasmania and Antarctica and is a critical feeding and breeding ground for millions of seabirds and thousands of seals and penguins. A year later, in 2024, we expanded the subantarctic Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Park by almost 310,000 square kilometres, which is an area larger than Italy. As a result, Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth and for the first time more than half of Australia's oceans are under protection. Our marine protected areas now cover 52 per cent of Australian waters and a mind-blowing 4.6 million square kilometres of ocean.

The objective of the high seas biodiversity treaty is to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of marine diversity in areas beyond national jurisdictions, and this is critically important. It was adopted at the United Nations on 19 June 2023 and opened for signature on 20 September 2023. Australia signed on day one, making us a founding signatory. The treaty entered into force on 17 January 2026. However, Australia is among a small number of nations that require legislation prior to ratification, which is why this bill is before the House.

The treaty focuses on the high seas, which sit outside individual countries, national waters and exclusive economic zones. The high seas cover more than 60 per cent of the global ocean, yet only about one per cent is currently protected. The treaty has four main parts. The first part focuses on marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits. The second part focuses on area based management tools, including marine protected areas. The third part of the treaty establishes a regime for the environmental impact assessment of activities. The fourth part of the treaty focuses on capacity building and the transfer of marine technologies.

I am proud that the Albanese Labor government is a recognised leader when it comes to the high seas biodiversity treaty. We were one of the first countries to sign it and we have been leading, with Belize, the international negotiations to prepare the treaty for implementation. I support this bill wholeheartedly and am proud to be contributing to its passage through parliament.

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