David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Watt. Minister, the government has made some very welcome commitments to zero new extinctions and protecting 30 per cent of land and seas by 2030, yet, according to the Biodiversity Council, just 0.1 per cent of our federal budget, or $474 million, was spent on nature protection in 2025. At the same time, on the most recent figures, $26 billion in subsidies are flowing to activities that actually harm biodiversity. Can the government meet its environmental commitments without a substantial increase in funding for nature, including the Saving Native Species program?

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

Thanks, Senator Pocock. It's nice to get a question about the environment, so thank you for asking the question. The Albanese government has committed substantial funding over the last four years towards the preservation of our native species. When we think about how Australia is thought about internationally, of course, very often, when people think of Australia, they think of those unique native species that we have here, whether it be kangaroos, koalas, a range of reptiles, mammals, fish et cetera. It's not only for that reason, of course, that we believe in supporting the preservation and recovery of these species, and it is exactly why we went to the 2022 election with a new funding program around saving native species. I've actually had the privilege of meeting some of the people who have played a really big role in captive breeding programs and other programs that we've been funding to aid the recovery of critically endangered species. It wasn't that long ago that I was at Melbourne Zoo, for example, seeing the good work around the recovery of the Lord Howe Island stick insect and the Victorian grassland earless dragon, just to name a couple of species whose recovery is being supported through the funding provided by our government.

Now we are of course at that point in the budget cycle where a range of groups are making a range of asks regarding funding for existing and new programs. I think this week alone I've had about seven different groups in my office asking for different funding for different kinds of programs, and we'll weigh all those requests up as we make these sorts of considerations during the budget. But whether it be through that program or through the historic environmental law reforms that this parliament passed last year, the Albanese government's record in protecting our native species is second to none.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Pocock, first supplementary.

David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Minister, we're hearing that the Saving Native Species program faces a funding cliff. I've been hearing from on-the-ground conservation organisations that they're already letting staff go because their funding is coming to an end. Given how critical this on-the-ground work is to the government's goals when it comes to biodiversity, can the government provide these organisations with some certainty that the Saving Native Species program will continue to be funded?

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

Thanks, Senator Pocock. I suspect that the groups who are speaking to you about this program are the very same groups who've spoken to me and indeed to the Minister for Finance as well, and the Treasurer, about the importance of this program. So, as I said, we are at that point in the budget cycle where all these things are being considered. It is the case that the Saving Native Species program was funded for four years after our election in 2022. That means that the funding for the current program expires on 30 June this year. And of course that, along with a range of other measures, will be considered by the government as we finalise this year's budget.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Pocock, second supplementary.

David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, as I said, organisations are having to let staff go because of that funding cliff. Does the government believe that 0.1 per cent of the federal budget is enough, given that we're a megadiverse country and a world leader in extinction?

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

Thanks, Senator Pocock. Well, I haven't verified that figure, and I'd want to make sure that it does truly reflect the broad range of funding programs that exist, not just in my department but in a range of other departments of this government, that go towards protecting biodiversity. In addition to those funding programs, as I've mentioned, we've reformed our environmental laws. We've put in place targets around protecting 30 per cent of—

I'm not sure, Senator Henderson, if you'd really want to be talking about extinct species. But this government has laws, has policies, has funding programs in place towards the preservation and restoration of biodiversity, and I'm sure that a range of those programs will exist post-budget.