Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a statement relating to international environmental leadership.

Leave granted.

Thank you for the opportunity to present my first statement to parliament, as the Minister for the Environment and Water, on Australia's international environmental leadership.

Delivering this annual ministerial statement was a 2022 election commitment by the Australian Labor Party.

After 10 years of coalition government—who, by the way, still can't decide if climate change is real and want to take a sledgehammer to Australia's climate action—Labor promised a fresh approach to leadership and the environment. We said that we would do things differently. And we have, transforming Australia from a global pariah on environmental matters, to a respected international partner.

We lead by example, practising what we preach.

Being a continent of incredible diversity, Australia has many natural and cultural assets that strengthen relationships beyond our borders, and must be protected.

Our remarkable sites, from the ancient rock art of Kakadu and Murujuga, to the world renowned Great Barrier Reef, tell the story of who we are, showcasing the things that make Australia unique and special.

As the home to species not seen anywhere else in the world, we have a crucial responsibility to protect and restore them.

And domestically, it doesn't matter if you live in the city or the bush, if you're eight or 80, rich or poor. The environment matters.

It matters for every living creature—the air that you breathe, the food that you eat, the water that you drink.

We're also talking about an issue at the heart of economic policy, health policy, housing policy, even national security.

That's why for more than three years, the Albanese government has made protecting and repairing nature a national priority, safeguarding nature where it still thrives and restoring what's been damaged.

And we're working with countries around the world who are doing the same.

This is the third report card on the Albanese government's ambitious agenda to protect nature and fix what is broken in our environmental system at the international level.

It's also the first of these statements that's been delivered in the Senate.

I'm proud to say this report demonstrates our continuing commitment to lead by example when it comes to protecting the environment.

We are committed to working collaboratively with state and territory governments, who hold many of the environmental levers in Australia.

And equally, we are committed to being a loud and active voice on the international stage, pushing for positive global environmental outcomes.

UNOC and oceans

My first opportunity to represent Australia's environmental interests internationally was at the United Nations Oceans Conference in June.

Right now, pressures on oceans around the world are intense and growing—climate change; illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; plastic pollution; and more.

I'm very pleased to say that Australia is recognised among the world's leading nations in oceans protection.

More than half of our ocean is now protected in marine parks.

That includes about a quarter of our ocean—1.3 million square kilometres—in highly protected areas.

At UNOC, Australia went further, committing to work towards lifting that to 30 percent by the year 2030.

We were among the first countries to sign the high seas biodiversity treaty, which we'll ratify in coming months, after the passage of legislation.

And at the same time, we are preparing for the first generation of high seas marine protected areas under the treaty, including by supporting a research symposium on the South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise in May this year.

This year we also announced that Australia will lead—with Chile—the 100 percent Alliance for Sustainable Ocean Management. This will encourage and support other countries to sustainably manage 100 percent of their ocean, including through the development of sustainable ocean plans.

Back at home we're leading by example, investing in the health of our ocean and the biodiversity that it supports—from reefs to threatened fish species.

And we're using our ocean leadership to be a leading advocate for the global protection of whales. That's why Australia is hosting and chairing the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission, in Hobart next September.

Much work has been done, but in the face of growing climate-related changes and other emerging pressures, there's still more to do.

Recycling

We continue to play an active leadership role in supporting negotiations towards both an international agreement on the high seas and on marine litter and microplastics.

As a member of the High Ambition Coalition, Australia remains committed to pursuing a meaningful and effective global approach towards a world free of plastic pollution.

No child should grow up on a beach littered with plastic waste.

It impacts our ecosystems, fisheries, coastal tourism, and harms human health.

Together with over 180 countries, Australia is a leading voice in the negotiations for an international treaty. Australia seeks for the treaty to tackle global plastic pollution across the entire life cycle of plastics, from design and production, to end-of-life and promotes a safe circular economy.

Although an agreement was not finalised in Geneva in August as we had hoped, the Albanese government will continue to push for global action alongside other nations.

We continue to take action here at home too, and support our Pacific family to do the same, such as through practical actions to address single-use plastics under the Pacific Ocean Litter Project.

In Australia, one of the ways we're taking action on plastic pollution is through packaging regulatory reform, and by increasing our plastic recycling capacity.

So far, we've increased recycling capacity by more than 1.4 million tonnes a year, stopping tyres, glass, paper, and hard-to-recycle plastics going to landfill.

And our government has committed to double Australia's circularity by 2035 under our Circular Economy Framework.

We're also taking action on harmful ghost nets, both here in Australia, particularly through our Indigenous rangers, as well as in international waters.

This includes through our $1.4 million commitment to support regional action, as well as another $300,000 this year to support transboundary coordination efforts with Indonesia, PNG and Timor Leste.

The Pacific

Australia takes its responsibility to be a good neighbour, and a good environmental partner, seriously.

As a Pacific nation, we share an ocean and a future with our Pacific family.

And we continue to listen closely to our region neighbours, working alongside them for peace and prosperity.

As a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia endorsed the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent as a long-term, strategic framework, including on climate change and disasters, on the ocean and the environment.

And we're investing in Pacific leadership to address environmental and climate challenges.

The government has committed $100 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific led initiative that delivers climate finance directly to communities.

Australia is supporting the region's transition to renewable energy by sharing climate adaptation technologies, and by building resilient infrastructure such as solar farms and hydropower stations, increasing energy independence.

We're strengthening Pacific climate and ocean resilience by equipping national meteorological and hydrological services with the data, tools, and skills needed to deliver accurate forecasts and early warnings.

And we're also backing the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity initiative, a Pacific led plan launched at COP28 to protect the ocean, build resilience and mobilise finance.

Antarctica

To the south, we continue to demonstrate our international leadership through scientific efforts.

The findings of Australian scientists in Antarctica are groundbreaking, and they are being shared with the world.

In May, the Australian Antarctic Program completed its first dedicated marine science voyage. Scientists were able to study the waters around the Denman Glacier, one of the largest and rapidly melting glaciers in East Antarctica.

This is important because that glacier could increase global sea levels by 1.5 metres if it melts completely.

And the RSV Nuyina is currently undertaking Australia's biggest campaign to the subantarctic—Heard Island and McDonald Islands—in two decades.

These islands form a marine reserve the size of Italy.

This reserve is a big win for ocean conservation and a big step towards improving the protection of glaciers, wetlands and the habitats of diverse and significant populations of penguins, seals and albatrosses.

Other achievements

There are many more projects underway that are making a difference, both in Australia, and overseas.

This speech is, of course, nowhere near long enough to address all of them.

But I will quickly put a few more on the record:

We're working hard to ensure First Nations voices are heard and respected in decisions which impact their rights and interests. This is happening through the expansion of the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples which supports First Nations peoples to travel to World Heritage Committee meetings. And we continue to work with UNESCO to embed meaningful participation in decision-making. I was very proud to be a part of securing the inscription of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape this year, which was a First Nations led nomination.

Internationally, we are working in partnership with other countries to deliver the framework and put nature on a path to recovery. Through a range of initiatives we have championed international collaboration and implementation of the global targets to achieve meaningful environmental outcomes at home and abroad.

And while doing this vital work, we remain alert to cross-border threats, including the H5 strain of avian flu. Australia is the only continent free of the highly infectious and deadly H5 strain that has killed millions of wild birds and tens of thousands of wild mammals, as well as significantly impacting poultry industries elsewhere across the world.

We have been fortunate to be able to learn from others' experiences in managing H5 bird flu outbreaks, and we are working closely with New Zealand, who are also H5 bird flu free, to share preparedness learnings for native species.

EPBC reform

Just finally, it would be remiss of me to talk about being a good global environmental actor without talking about the Environment Protection Reform Bill which the government introduced to the parliament last Thursday.

These are significant reforms, designed to fix Australia's broken environmental laws, and deliver real benefits for the future.

And this matters internationally because Australia is home to unique species, and significant natural sites protected under the EPBC Act.

Our reforms will deliver the modern laws that will better protect the environment, while increasing transparency and streamlining the approvals and assessments system.

Strong new national environmental standards will be part of this legislation.

And I'd encourage those in this place to work with the government to get them passed.

Conclusion

I'll conclude by saying this: protecting the environment is not easy, despite the good progress we've made.

The challenges are immense, but the alternative is surrendering Australia's future, and that's not an option.

We're getting on with this work because it is the right thing to do.

We owe it to every Australian and to the world.

The Albanese government will maintain the momentum, protecting and restoring the places that matter, the amazing plants and animals that call Australia home, the land, the ocean and the rivers that support life and livelihood, working collaboratively at home and alongside our international partners to build a future where a thriving economy and thriving ecosystems co-exist.

And we invite all Australians to be part of this effort.