Press conference, Sydney

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Thanks everyone for coming along today. Today we're at the beautiful Georges Head overlooking Sydney Harbour, and also over my shoulder you can see the beginnings of the Pacific Ocean. And today we have another really important announcement from the Albanese Government about what we're doing to protect Australia's ocean.

All Australians know that Australia is an island nation. Our ocean is key to our national identity, to so many industries and jobs in Australia, and of course, to our beautiful natural environment that we're known around the world for. And today, the Albanese Government is announcing new steps to take more action to protect our ocean forevermore.

What we are announcing today is a proposed expansion of existing Australian national marine parks around Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. Right now, Australia has several national marine parks which are designed to ensure that the species that live in those areas, whether it be those beautiful whales, fish, sharks or plant species, are protected. And what we're announcing today will increase the level of protection for those species forevermore.

As I've said, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island already have marine parks at a national level surrounding part of their territory. What we're doing today is announcing a proposal to extend the area of that marine park around those two islands and also to lift the level of protection for the ocean territory around those islands to make it highly protected. The significance of them being highly protected is that means that there can be ‘no take’ and no extractive activity.

So no fishing, no seabed mining, no wind farms, no other energy resources activity, giving the natural environment in that area that’s highly protected a chance to flourish and survive well into the future. We know that those island territories and the oceans surrounding them have incredibly unique species that are only found in those parts of the world, and we want to make sure that they are protected forever and that's what we'll achieve through expanding the marine park and converting some of that ocean to highly protected area.

Now, as I say, it is critical that we do this, and lift that standard and protection and extend the area of the marine park for the survival of those threatened species. But it's also really important for the long time survival of those coastal communities, to the tourism industry, and indeed to the fishing industry which requires sustainable long-term species and populations to be able to survive well into the future.

So this is an investment in our natural environment but also an investment in those tourism, fishing and other jobs that rely on a sustainable ocean into the future. What we're doing in numerical terms is proposing an additional 670,000 square kilometres of ocean would be protected, and subject to the feedback that we've received in this consultation, that would lift the overall amount of Australia's ocean that is protected and highly protected to over 3 million square kilometres.

And that is an area the size of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria combined. So that would be a massive extension of the amount of Australia's ocean that is protected for the benefit of the environment and those jobs that depend upon it. Also importantly, subject to this review and this consultation of course, if we deliver the amount that we are proposing to do, that will mean that Australia has achieved ahead of time the commitment we made in our first term to protect and highly protect 30 per cent of Australia's ocean by 2030.

The consultation on the maps that we're releasing today for the proposed marine parks will end in 60 days. We will then, of course, take that feedback into account and move towards declaring the increased size. But as I say, we expect that as a result of this process, we will achieve that target of 30 per cent of our ocean being highly protected, not by 2030 but by several years in advance, which is a great outcome for our natural environment.

Now, there of course will be consultation with local communities, the fishing industry, environment groups and all who care about this, and it’s important to mention that we will be consulting the fishing industry about what forms of business assistance may be needed for any impacts on their catch and their industry development. I also want to recognise the strong support that we've received already from the local community on both Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island for these extensions.

It's really important that this work is undertaken in strong cooperation and with the support of those local communities. They could not have been louder in saying that they support these proposals, so we're very pleased to be able to work with them in taking it forward. Just finally, the only other thing I wanted to say is that this doesn’t mean that it will be tools down on the other marine park reviews that we are undertaking.

Australia has five national marine park networks right across the country. We're also commencing today the consultation, the first round of consultation on proposals to extend those marine parks. That consultation is also open for 60 days, and it's our intention to complete the reviews of the marine parks for the Coral Sea and also the Temperate East Marine Parks in this term.

So, a lot happening today and a lot kicking off to extend the protection of our ocean environment. Labor is very proud of our legacy when it comes to protecting our ocean environment, and these steps today are another step towards Labor's legacy and more importantly for the Australian community protecting that beautiful ocean that we are so proud to be the custodians of.

Can I now introduce Dr Tony Worby who is Australia's Ocean Sherpa. Tony is an internationally recognised expert when it comes to ocean and marine ecology, and we recently appointed him as our Ocean Sherpa which means that he is Australia's international advocate for the protection of our ocean and he'll be able to talk to you about the importance of this announcement as well.

Thanks, Tony. DR TONY WORBY, AUSTRALIA’S OCEAN SHERPA: Thank you, Minister. Good morning, everyone.

As the Minister mentioned, I've recently been appointed as Australia's Ocean Sherpa. And in that capacity, I'm working with other governments and other partners internationally to really build practical, implementable solutions for not only Australia's ocean and for our ocean economy, but also working with a lot of other like-minded countries to do the same thing.

One of the really practical ways that we're doing that at the moment is through the development of sustainable ocean plans. These plans have been agreed by about 20 countries now and they really build on the concept that we should be actively managing every square kilometre of our exclusive economic zone, but we need to manage it in very different ways. One of the ways that we do that is to have certain areas that are very important ecologically set aside as highly protected marine areas, as has just been described by the Minister, while also recognising that other parts of the ocean must be available for sustainable development, whether that's fishing, whether it's aquaculture, whether it's renewable energy.

So getting the framework in place is incredibly important to help ensure that the right development is happening in the right areas and the right protections are happening in the right areas. The value of marine parks is really not contested anymore. We know from many, many years of experience now that if you look at an area that's had a high level of protection in the ocean for more than a decade and then you look at adjacent areas that have not had those same protections, that there's more fish, bigger fish, older fish, more biological diversity, healthier ecosystems in the areas that have been protected.

So they do deliver enormous value not only to the conservation community but to all Australians, to everybody in the world who values a healthy ocean because without that level of protection in certain areas, we don't get the downstream follow-on effects that enable sustainable activities in the other 70 per cent. Australia is also really a major proponent of what we're calling the 100% Alliance, which really captures those same principles around ensuring that we do actively manage 100 per cent of our marine estate in different ways.

We also have been talking about the High Seas Treaty a little bit. This is the area beyond Australia's jurisdiction. It's the area that is actually the global commons when it comes to oceans.

And as is so often the case with a global commons, it can fall through the gaps. It's everybody's responsibility and it's therefore nobody's responsibility. And the High Seas Treaty really tries now to create the framework that will enable much better regulation and monitoring of activities that are happening in those high seas areas.

And so, Australia very much at the forefront of helping to drive that international agreement and ensuring that over time, we have better oversight and better management of areas that are beyond national jurisdiction. MURRAY WATT: Thanks Tony, that's terrific. Just before I take other questions, I might just add one other point that one of the journalists who was unable to attend wanted me to cover, and that is what is the impact of this proposal on the fishing industry.

For starters, as I've mentioned, we will be consulting very closely with the fishing industry, along with everyone else who's got an interest in this proposal, about the proposed expansion of this marine park, particularly about what assistance may be necessary in terms of adjustment. But it's important to recognise that the most impacted fishery from this proposal is the Eastern Tuna Fishery, but it's a very small impact.

Only about 3 per cent of the Eastern Tuna Fishery catch comes from the areas that we're looking to expand the marine park, and the vast majority of that catch is exported. So it's extremely unlikely that there would be any serious impact on Australian consumers of seafood. And as I say, we will be working closely with the fishing industry along with everyone else who’s got an interest here to make sure that we get this right.

But it is in the long-term interests of the fishing industry that we protect our marine environment, because as Tony was saying, the more we can protect our marine environment, the more we can guarantee a sustainable stock of fish both for the natural environment and for consumers to enjoy moving forward. Happy to take any other questions. JOURNALIST: Are we all right to move to other topics of the day?

MURRAY WATT: JOURNALIST: Can we just get a quick update on bird flu? MURRAY WATT: Yeah, for sure. I'm obviously working very closely with the Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, who's the lead minister from the Australian Government's point of view around the bird flu outbreak that we're now experiencing.

We’ve been talking about this now for a number of weeks since the first outbreak in Australia was recorded. What I can advise is that as of today, there are 33 confirmed cases of bird flu in Australia, with 22 suspected cases, just relying on final testing of those. It is reasonable to expect that we are going to see more now that bird flu has arrived on Australian shores.

And you may have seen this week as well is that it has been confirmed that there has now been local transmission of bird flu, which means that it is likely that we are going to see those numbers escalate. As we've said a number of times, Australia is very well prepared for this. We have been the last continent in the world to have bird flu reach our shores, and what that has meant is that it has given us time to work with industry, environment groups and the general community to make sure that we are well prepared.

So we've invested as a government around $113 million already in preparedness activities, and we're working with the states already and have been over the last couple of years to roll that funding out to make sure that we're well prepared. It’s a serious matter both for our wildlife and more generally. It’s important to recognise that there have been no mass mortalities at this point reported, and also there’s been no reported impact on our poultry industry.

But it’s something we all need to take seriously, and again, can I just remind Australians the key message is to avoid contact with birds or mammals that appear to be infected, record what you see and report it so that we can all work together to stay on top of this. JOURNALIST: Today is the deadline for the Tasmanian Government to provide a refuelling solution for the Nuyina in order for the government to receive a $2 million milestone payment.

Has the government provided a solution? And if it hasn't, how disappointed are you about that? MURRAY WATT: Yeah.

You would be aware that for some time now, in fact, a number of years, we’ve been in negotiation with the Tasmanian Government to provide a permanent refuelling solution for the Nuyina, Australia’s leading Antarctic marine research vessel. Up until now, we haven't received a concrete proposal from the Tasmanian Government, which has been disappointing. I would say that in recent weeks, especially due to the intervention of the Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, we have seen some progress in those negotiations.

I'm confident that we will reach a solution to this quite soon based on those negotiations, but the reality is that we haven't got there by the deadline of 31 July. So I again urge the Tasmanian Government to work with us constructively to reach a solution, because the future of the Nuyina and the fantastic research that it delivers is really dependent on that.

JOURNALIST: Has the Tasmanian Government provided any indication as to when they will have that solution for you? And if so, what are the solutions? MURRAY WATT: Yeah, look, we expect that to be provided and finalised very soon, and I do want to recognise the Premier's involvement in bringing forward these negotiations and bringing forward more constructive solutions.

It's probably a little premature for me to say exactly what that is going to be, but we are pleased with the progress of negotiations. We just want to get this finalised as quickly as we can. JOURNALIST: The ABC has Freedom of Information documents that show expeditioners on Heard Island were issued with substandard clothing and leaking tents.

How concerned are you about that, and what do you want the Australian Antarctic Division to do to ensure it doesn't happen again? MURRAY WATT: Yeah, I have seen those reports in the media today. Of course, as an employer of Australians, we want to see the very best possible working conditions for all Australians in the workplace, whether that be in a factory, in a shop, or indeed as Antarctic expeditioners.

We know that those Antarctic expeditioners experience very difficult weather conditions, incredibly low temperatures, incredibly gusty winds, and we want to make sure that they're protected. So I think it's important that we learn from mistakes that may have been made in the past and we want to make sure that going forward, those lessons are learned to ensure that Antarctic expeditioners get the high quality equipment that they deserve.

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.