Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Living in Leichhardt, I am fortunate enough to have two World Heritage areas on my doorstop: the mighty, mighty Daintree and, of course, our Great Barrier Reef. I speak today about the reef tourism industry of Far North Queensland. The tourism industry in the Far North actively works to not just promote but actively protect our natural environments that people travel across the world to enjoy. We are quite simply a bucket-list experience. But more than just ensuring a great day out on or below the water, our reef operators act as the eyes of our marine scientists, providing valuable data to assist in developing resilience to climate change. They work actively to thin crown-of-thorns starfish when the numbers get too great, and they work in assisting with coral planting for regeneration. The love and care that they show for this natural wonder of the world is absolutely second to none.

The reef, I'm sure we can agree, is universally loved. People the world over acknowledge its beauty. When people think of Australia, they think of three things: the reef, the bridge and Uluru. People often ask what the best thing they can do to protect the reef is. The answer is simple: come and visit it. Not only will you be ensuring that there are more eyes on the reef but we'll be collecting more data, and you'll also be supporting over 64,000 jobs directly associated with reef tourism. That, my friend, is a bucket-list experience and keeping someone in a job. That's a pretty good day. Be it in Cairns or Port Douglas, the reef fleet is ready to take you out on the trip of a lifetime.