Press conference, Cairns

MATT SMITH, MEMBER FOR LEICHHARDT: Morning, my name is Matt Smith. I'm the Member for Leichhardt here with Gareth from AMPTO, Assistant Minister Nita Green and of course Minister Murray Watt. This is a really exciting day for the Far North.

This investment into the Great Barrier Reef secures the local jobs. 77,000 jobs are directly related to the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Without the Reef, Far North Queensland would be on its knees. It is a cultural touchstone, economic touchstone, something that people come from all around the world to see.

I was with some children just before, they're heading out there today to learn about the Reef, maybe understand what kind of jobs are to them in the future, whether they want to work on the Reef boats, whether they want to be marine biologists, whether they want to be in the tourism industry. This funding sets them up for the future, sets up our current businesses for the future.

We need to make sure that the reef is protected. We need to make sure that our beautiful natural environment that we are the custodians of continues to be this landmark right across the world. As I said before, people will travel their entire lives to spend three hours out there in the most special place on the planet.

And us continuing to fund all of this into the Reef keeps our local businesses going, keeps the eyes of the world on the Far North and gives people that opportunity to experience the splendour that we can take for granted every day. On top of that, we get to announce today that yellow crazy ant funding will continue for another two years. This was a really important part of protecting our Wet Tropics area and something that we heard a lot from from the community.

I've worked hard to make sure that funding gets across the line and I'm really pleased that they'll continue to do a truly spectacular job eradicating this pest. The work that they've done with WTMA in getting rid of yellow crazy ants right across the Far North has been spectacular. People said that it couldn't be done but every day these guys go out and prove that it can be done.

From massive infestations where there are now no instances of yellow crazy ants at all, they will continue to be able to do this great work, continue to keep the wet tropics safe, which is just another weapon in our arsenal in making sure that the entire world wants to come here and spend time and money in the Far North. With that, I'll hand over to Minister Murray Watt to talk a little bit more about some of the announcements today.

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Thanks everyone for being here on another glorious Cairns day. I hear the weather has improved significantly over the last few days and that's terrific news not just for the locals here but also of course for the thousands of tourists who are in Cairns right now because they want to get to the Great Barrier Reef.

It's a pleasure to join Matt and Nita who have been so instrumental in lobbying the government, not just me but other ministers, to make sure that we do extend funding both for reef protection and also to tackle the yellow crazy ants that we have seen here in Far North Queensland. I think all Australians and everyone around the world knows that the Cairns region is such an incredible place from an environmental perspective.

And as Matt has outlined to you, that environment is a crucial backbone of the industry and economy here, not just in Cairns, but right across regional Queensland. There are towns up and down the Queensland coast - Cairns, Townsville, all the way down to the Whitsundays, all the way down to Bundaberg and Central Queensland as well, where reef tourism is an instrumental part of their economy.

We know that there are 77,000 jobs in Queensland that are dependent on the Great Barrier Reef so there's a very strong economic reason for us to be investing in ongoing reef protection, as well as course making sure that pristine spectacular environment is kept safe for generations to come. So that's why we're very pleased to announce that last week's Federal Budget contained two significant injections of funds for the environment here in regional Queensland.

Firstly, around 92 million dollars in extra funding from the Albanese Government to protect and restore the reef, and that will be put to work through very practical programs, like continuing to improve reef water quality, continuing to remove crown-of-thorns starfish, and also helping the Reef adapt to climate change through increased investment in things like coral spawning technologies that help the Reef recover from coral bleaching events.

In addition, as Matt has mentioned, we have extended the funding provided by the federal government to tackle yellow crazy ants. We know that they are a scourge for the natural environment and also our agriculture sector here in Far North Queensland. So that extra funding will add to the great work that the Wet Tropics Authority has been doing to try to get rid of yellow crazy ants from as much as Far North Queensland as we possibly can.

So in summary, these commitments today are a shot in the arm for the Reef, a shot in the arm for regional Queensland's economy, and a shot in the arm for all of those 77,000 jobs here that depend upon the Reef going forward. I'll hand over to Nita Green and we're happy to take some questions. NITA GREEN, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, TOURISM AND PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS: Thanks very much Murray, and thank you so much for being here today to talk about the Great Barrier Reef and how important it is to Far North Queensland.

As the Assistant Minister for Tourism, I'm incredibly excited about the announcement that we're making today because it helps the tourism industry in a multitude of ways, but I want to talk about one particular part of the announcement that we've made today, and that's the five million dollar extension of the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative. This is a program that I am so proud of, and I'm so proud to have championed this program over many years.

It's a program that delivers real results in the water, in the Reef, because it means that we've got tourism operators who are out there already on the water conducting reef protection activities. It means that we've got more people out on the water, more people protecting the reef and doing things that are making a real difference. Now, we've got lots of great stories from this program to talk about and that's why I think the government was willing to extend the program.

Of course, it provides opportunities for training and to make sure that people who are working on reef boats get the opportunities to do things that they really love to do. It provides extra wages and work when it might be a bit of a shoulder season and we're not seeing as many people out there on the water. But it's the results for the reef that really matter, and in the lifetime of this program we've seen 10,000 crown-of-thorns starfish killed through the processes and we've seen almost half a million Drupella snails removed from the Reef.

Drupella snails suck, they are the worst and they do terrible things to the reef. They're tiny and they're really hard to remove unless you have people out there every day doing it. And so, these are the types of things that this program will continue to do, and that's why I'm really proud to have championed the program.

I just wanted to say also about the broad package that is being announced today. I just want to pay tribute to Murray and Matt for doing such a good job on delivering a huge amount of money to the investment that our government has already made to the Reef. But of course, it's actually the partnership and the partners that we have on the ground that will deliver this work and deliver this funding.

So, my final word really is to them and to say thank you for all the advocacy, particularly from AMPTO, all the work that is done by our Master Reef Guides out there on the water, and all of the people that work in the reef catchments to make sure that we have the best water quality flowing into the Reef. We know that this work would not happen without them. Our money has meant that we will have more boots on the ground and more fins on the water, but we couldn't do it without the incredible people who work on the Reef every day, working to protect it for generations to come.

GARETH PHILLIPS, AMPTO CEO: Thank you. That's a hard act to follow everyone. Thank you very much for coming out today, but I must first extend the industry's thanks, not only from the tourism operators, but also all the tourism staff.

To Minister Watt, Minister Green, and Matt. Thank you very much for all your support for the reef. It's meant a lot for those jobs and for the operations.

The marine tourism industry's passion is the Great Barrier Reef and its health. That's why we do what we do. We want to showcase its beauty to Australians and the world and, in that way, get people connected to the Reef.

Part of our role is not just showcasing the Reef. It's actually what we do in helping protect it, and we can only do that in partnership with science, Traditional Owners, government and management. The program, the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative, was born out of the efforts that the tourism operators do, but we needed the additional support to scale that up in a changing climate.

This extension of funding is just critical to maintain our partnerships with the Reef Authority as the managing body and the government and the science community to play that role, and our visitors, our guests, support us to do that. Without them coming out on our vessels, on our island resorts, getting out to the Great Barrier Reef, we wouldn't have the great staff we have, the great infrastructure we have, to be out on the water to actually protect the Great Barrier Reef and show it to everyone.

So this extension of $5 million for the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative has been really warmly and gratefully welcomed by the industry because it means we can continue to play that role and, in the future, grow on the work we've been doing. Protecting the Great Barrier Reef and showing it to the world is key to its long-term conservation and protection. Again, thank you to Murray, Nita, and Matt, and also to the Reef Authority for all the work you're doing in that partnership.

JOURNALIST: Is this 92 plus 5? MURRAY WATT: No, so the $5 million that we're putting towards extending the TRPI program that Gareth's members undertake is part of that $92 million package, and that brings to a total, the funding from the Federal Government for the reef since 2014, to nearly $4 billion. Every single dollar has been well spent because we know the importance of protecting this really special environment, and of course the jobs that come with it.

JOURNALIST: So the World Heritage Organization is going to make its decision on the ‘in danger’ listing of the Great Barrier Reef in July, a few weeks away. Are you feeling lucky? MURRAY WATT: Well, we will continue to strongly argue to UNESCO that it would be a big mistake to list the Great Barrier Reef as in danger.

I had the opportunity only yesterday to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef, and I can assure you that the coral, clams, fish, turtles that I saw yesterday are flourishing. And we need to make the argument to the world that governments, communities, businesses are doing everything possible to protect this international icon for generations to come. I think one of the things that's really special about the way Australia manages the Reef is the involvement of such a wide range of parties towards its protection.

This is the best managed coral reef in the world. We're proud of what we do, and we'll be strongly making the case to UNESCO that an in danger listing would ignore the efforts being made to protect the Reef and would do nothing whatsoever to protect the Reef from the threats that it faces. JOURNALIST: And what does $92 million get you these days on the Great Barrier Reef?

MURRAY WATT: So the funding is a mixture of continuing to extend programs that have been very successful in the past, such as the removal of the crown-of-thorns starfish, that funding that's going towards the tourism industry to help in that effort, continued effort towards improving reef quality, that backs in the important law reforms that we made at the end of last year to, for the first time, require federal environmental assessment and approval of agricultural land clearing in the Great Barrier Reef catchment if that clearing may impact on the Reef.

That is a profound change for the reef water quality moving forward. No government has been prepared to do it until the Albanese Government did, and we did that last year. So, that funding that we're announcing today, as I say, will extend some of those existing programs for crown-of-thorns starfish, reef water quality.

But also it's about investing in new technologies that can play a really important role in helping the Reef adapt to warmer temperatures. That is a reality that we are facing. We don't want to see that negatively impact on the Reef, and that investment in technology will allow for new ways of spawning coral to ensure that it remains vibrant and healthy for generations to come.

JOURNALIST: So current recipients are getting more money, or is there any new recipients? MURRAY WATT: There's a mixture. So, current recipients, including the tourism operators that we've been talking about, will now be able to continue receiving funding that they've been relying on, but also we’ll be able to fund new organisations and undertake new funding ventures, particularly towards those measures that are about helping the Reef adapt for climate change as well.

So, it's not simply business as usual. We are funding the things that are working, but we're also starting to move more towards funding adaptation activities to make sure that the Reef remains really strong and healthy. JOURNALIST: AMCS, the Australian Maritime Conservation Society, today protests against legal, they say legal, harvesting of coral reef.

They estimate 190 tonnes. Is that accurate? Does that happen?

And they want it stopped. Can you stop it? Why is it allowed?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I'm certainly aware of AMCS' position on this. As a government, our view is that it is important to undertake the use of new technologies that are all about making sure that the Reef remains healthy into the future. As a government, of course, we are taking serious action to deal with climate change.

But this is something that is affecting not just the Great Barrier Reef but every single coral reef around the world. And that's why we do need to invest in those new technologies that allow for new forms of coral development and coral spawning. That's the way that we want to be able to make sure that the reef remains healthy.

And we think that an opportunity to export some of that knowledge and technology to other countries that are facing the same issues as well. JOURNALIST: So, no change? MURRAY WATT: You know, we'll continue to listen to what the likes of AMCS have got to say.

But we believe very strongly in the use of those technologies to aid the Reef going forward. JOURNALIST: Yellow crazy ants. It took a while to get confirmation that there will be considered funding.

Was there any hesitation in funding that program? MURRAY WATT: No, none whatsoever. And again, I can't tell you how strongly Matt and Nita have advocated not just to me, to other ministers about the need to extend that funding.

The issue is that governments make funding decisions in their budgets. We've just landed our budget. That is the time to make those commitments towards yellow crazy ants and range of other programs, and it's good news that that work will now be able to continue beyond 30 June.

The Wet Tropics has done a terrific job. You know, I think they've managed to remove yellow crazy ants from over 60 hectares just of the World Heritage-listed areas and about 1200 hectares more generally. That's work that we support and now the funding is there to do so.

JOURNALIST: I want to move to Toowoomba, if that's okay. MURRAY WATT: Sure. If you want to move to Toowoomba, it's a very nice town.

JOURNALIST: Mayor Geoff McDonald, seeking a meeting with you over funding for safety upgrades to Cressbrook Dam. Very controversial after it missed out on funding in the Budget. Will you meet with him?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I've actually discussed this before with Mayor McDonald and my office has also met with him about this. I'm very clear that the Mayor of Toowoomba would like to see us spend hundreds of millions of dollars of federal taxpayers’ money upgrading the safety of a dam in his council area. Not surprisingly, pretty much every mayor around the country would like us to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on investing in water infrastructure in their council.

He's got a job to do to advocate that. I've got a job to do, which is to work out what money is available and where it can be best spent. One thing I will say, and I've made this point clear to the Mayor, is that the Federal Government has not been in the practice of investing in the safety of dams.

That is something that has traditionally been a responsibility of councils and in some cases state governments. We've made that clear to him already. But of course, I'm happy to keep discussing that with him.

JOURNALIST: So, you're ruling out additional funding for the dam, [inaudible]? - MURRAY WATT: We certainly haven't committed any funding towards that in this year's Budget, and I make the point that federal governments have not traditionally invested in the safety of dams because they are the property of state and local governments and they are responsible for their ongoing maintenance.

JOURNALIST: Can I move overseas? MURRAY WATT: JOURNALIST: To Gaza. What's your reaction to the footage of Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunting activists on board the Gaza aid flotilla?

And what action has Australia's Ambassador to Israel taken in response? MURRAY WATT: Yeah, I think all Australians are appalled to see that footage of an Israeli government minister treating Australians who are currently in detention in Israel with such demeaning conduct. It's worth remembering that this Israeli Minister has been sanctioned by our government because of his past actions and statements.

But for him to now take out that on Australian citizens who are in Israeli jails is completely unacceptable and shocking. Our Ambassador in Israel has already been making representations on behalf of those Australian citizens and will continue to do so. We don't think they should be detained, and they absolutely should not be demeaned in the way that they were by an Israeli government minister overnight.

JOURNALIST: Do we need to start boycotting Israel or talking about it? MURRAY WATT: That's not the policy of our government, but we will always stand up for the interests of Australian citizens overseas when they are put into detention, whether that be in Israel or any other country. JOURNALIST: The UN General Assembly has voted to pass a resolution on a landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate change.

Why did Australia decide to vote yes? Why did we not co-sponsor, and what does it mean for climate litigation here? Australia's responsibility to cut emissions [indistinct]?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I certainly aware of the ICJ decision on this matter. In fact, Australia, in my recollection, is that we co-sponsored the resolution that was put by Vanuatu on this. As I've said, we take seriously our obligations as an international citizen to reduce our emissions.

It's why we're on track to reduce the 43 per cent emission reduction target that we took to the election, and it's why only last year we increased our emissions reduction target to getting to around the 65 per cent mark by 2035. So you know, we take seriously those obligations. That's why we're moving so fast towards renewables.

I have to say that what we saw last week in the Federal Budget Reply from Angus Taylor is the Opposition's plan to tackle climate change and to protect the reef. And what that involves is abandoning our commitment to net zero emissions. It involves extending the life of coal fired power.

It involves walking away from renewables investments. So the Opposition have a plan for the Great Barrier Reef, and that's to see climate change make it even worse. That is not our plan.

It's why we're investing in this today and it's why we'll continue to be a good international citizen when it comes to reducing emissions. JOURNALIST: Just another local question, if that's okay. Cairns lost our Bedminster plant recently, which is at the dump.

Goes through our red top bins, takes out all recyclables, and that burns down. And we need that to reduce the amount of waste that we have to cart up the hill through the Wet Tropics management area and into the dump at Mareeba. Can the Federal Government assist Cairns Council with that environmental disaster?

MURRAY WATT: Well again, certainly, if Matt or Nita would like to add something here from a local perspective, they shall do so. What I can say generally, again, is that federal governments have not traditionally invested in the recovery- waste recovery facilities of councils. That is a core responsibility of councils.

However, as a government, we recognise that the growing amount of landfill going to dumps right across the country is a challenge for the country. It's why, just this week, I participated in a roundtable with two other cabinet ministers with representatives of the waste industry and the manufacturing sector to talk about how we can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

So that's [inaudible] role we can play at a national level. As I say, if either of the local reps would like to add there, they're very welcome to. MATT SMITH: I meet with council on a quarterly basis, and the Bedminster plant has come up multiple times.

Council has [inaudible]. They are discussing their options with a number of providers to see what the best result for Cairns will be and what that will look like. They've made no representations to the Federal Government because they understand this is a council responsibility, and they're putting in the work and doing what they’re meant to do as a good responsible council should.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.