Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation) Share this | Hansard source

Labor welcomes the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment (Coronavirus Economic Response Package) Bill 2020 as it provides relief for the Great Barrier Reef tourism operators who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill supplements an earlier measure to waiver the environmental management charge from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020. Combined, these measures effectively ensure that the EMCs are waived for the entire 2020 calendar year. We're also pleased that the Minister for the Environment has assured Australians that there'll be no reduction in the revenue that goes to the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park as a result of this amendment.

While Labor welcomes this relief for tourism operators in the north and far north, the government has been woefully lacking when it comes to supporting tourism and the reef in the long term. To support tourism, the government needs to support the reef, and to support the reef the government should work towards the overall health of the reef. Importantly, it should resist the deniers in its ranks and commit to serious action on climate change at home and show leadership internationally. The most recent mass bleaching event was the most extensive. Tragically, it was the third event to have taken place in only five years. How can Australians have faith in this government, which protects the reef, if the government can't even be honest about the major threats to it like climate change?

We need a strong reef because it supports 64,000 jobs, brings in $6.4 billion a year and is worth $56 billion. The reef is one of the best tourism experiences on the planet, and it's right on our doorstep. Those considering a visit to the north or the far north should be assured that, despite the Morrison government's lack of environmental action, there is still a great deal of beauty and wonder to be experienced on the Great Barrier Reef. Not only will you get to see the amazing natural diversity and beauty of the reef—one of the world's seven natural wonders—but you will be supporting thousands of jobs in Queensland. I commend the bill to the Senate.