Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator, for your question. The Morrison government is deeply committed to protecting the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef. Benchmarked against global standards, Australia's management of the reef is recognised as a leading example and is considered by many to be the gold standard for large-scale marine protected area management, according to that same UNESCO report.

The centrepiece of Australia's reef-protection efforts is the Reef 2050 Plan, jointly developed with the Queensland government. The plan has been delivered, and it is achieving results. We have reduced pressures on the reef, built reef resilience and strengthened partnerships for the future. The Australian and Queensland governments are now investing more than $3 billion, from 2014-15 to 2023-24, to implement the Reef 2050 Plan. More than $2 billion of this is from the Australian government, which is an unprecedented investment. They are big numbers, but what does that mean at the ground level? It means that the custodian of Lady Elliot Island, Peter Gash, can continue 20 years of work transforming a former island mine—