Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Board of Management Functions) Bill 2025

Senator COX (Western Australia) (17:44): I want to continue talking about the 40-year celebration that we just held in relation to the handback at Uluru-Kata Tjuta. The generosity continues today. When Australians visit Uluru, Kakadu or Booderee, they are not just visiting a national park; they're stepping onto living country, guided by people whose ancestors have walked there since time immemorial.

Given that landmark celebration 40 years ago and the importance of that country—the handback gave the Anangu people restoration of the rightful relationship with that sacred land. That was restored. That moment, and the generosity of sharing Uluru with all Australians, reminds us that caring for country is both an ancient responsibility and a shared national privilege.

That responsibility and care is not just something of the past; it continues today, and this bill ensures that it will continue into the future. This bill may be small in size, but it means a great deal to our people and to the future of our national parks. It makes sure that the boards of management for the Kakadu National Park, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Booderee National Park can keep making decisions about their country, even when a management plan expires.

Right now, when a management plan runs out, the decision-making powers of those boards actually stop. That means that traditional owners, who make up the majority of every board, lose their authority to guide the protection of their own land. That is not right.

That is not what partnership looks like. That is not what respect for self-determination looks like. But this bill aims to fix that.

It allows those Indigenous led boards to keep leading, to keep deciding and to keep caring for country without interruption until a new management plan is in place. These boards are more than just committees. They are the living expression of partnership between traditional owners and the Australian government, and each is chaired by a traditional owner.

They express and represent the deep cultural knowledge and the modern management skills that make our national parks thrive. When you go to Kakadu, you see that partnership in action. You see the burning patterns of the dry season and the fire used carefully and deliberately to protect wildlife and to reduce the late-season blazes.

That knowledge isn't new; it's ancient. It's fire as medicine, not as a threat. In Booderee, on the South Coast of New South Wales, you see community members restoring coastal health and managing invasive species.

You see cultural camps teaching young people about seasonal changes and native foods and languages. At Uluru-Kata Tjuta, you see Anangu rangers welcoming visitors, interpreting rock art and keeping our sacred sites safe. You see a deep respect for the living culture that makes that landscape all so powerful.

But you actually have to go and see that. You can't stand in this place and just read reports about it, because it's the expression of that that is so powerful. The work that these boards do in fire management, conservation, tourism and the protection of those sacred sites is vital.

It keeps country healthy and culture strong. What this bill says very clearly and very proudly is that Indigenous leadership in managing our national parks is not just symbolic; it is essential. It is recognition that no-one knows this land better than the people who have walked it for millennia.

It is an affirmation that self-determination works and that, when traditional owners have real authority, we get better outcomes for country and for the community. This bill reflects the Albanese Labor government's approach, built on respect, partnership and delivering real, practical reforms that last. We have made it clear that we want environmental laws that work better for everyone—for the environment, for business and for our communities.

Those big reforms are underway, but this bill stands alone. It is being progressed now because the management plans for Booderee and Kakadu are due to expire soon, and we could not wait. We won't risk silencing Indigenous voices in the management of those sacred places—not even for a day.

It is the difference between this government and the last one. We act early, we act responsibly and we act in partnership with the people whose knowledge and leadership make this work possible. Since 2022, the Albanese Labor government have taken real action to protect the environment and to support Indigenous stewardship of country.

We've doubled funding in our national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru. We've invested $1.3 billion to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program and double the number of rangers who manage feral animals, weeds and, in fact, fire on country. We've committed more than $600 million to protect threatened species and restore critical habitats.

We've established Environment Information Australia so that environmental data is transparent and accessible. We set up the world's first Nature Repair Market, making it easier for businesses and community to invest in regenerating country. We are delivering the biggest reform to our environmental laws in a generation, making them stronger, fairer and much more effective.

We are designing those reforms in consultation with traditional owners, environmental scientists and industry because real change must be built in partnership and not imposed from above. All of this is part of a bigger story, one where Labor is rebuilding trust, protecting nature and putting traditional owners at the centre of decision-making. When we talk about country we are talking about responsibility and about what we owe to the generations before us and the ones that are still to come.

For our people, country is not something you own; it is something you belong to. It cares for you, and, in return, you care for it. That's what joint management is about.

It's not about a legal arrangement. It's about a relationship. It's about a partnership between traditional owners, the Director of National Parks and the Commonwealth.

It is a partnership that takes time. It takes patience, and, above all, it takes respect. It means listening to the community, making spaces for cultural practice and understanding that country has its own rhythms and its own law.

This bill honours that relationship. It keeps it strong and continuous. It ensures that Indigenous voices don't fall silent because of an administrative gap.

It might sound like a small technical fix, but, for the boards and communities affected, it means stability, confidence and respect. It means that traditional owners won't wake up one morning to find that their authority has vanished because the date on a document has passed by. It means that our national parks, the beating heart of our environmental and cultural heritage, will continue to be managed with care, with knowledge and with continuity.

It also sends a very clear message that this government trusts and respects Indigenous leadership and that we are building an environmental system grounded in partnership not paternalism, because partnership means walking together. It means sharing responsibility and also sharing decision-making. It means recognising that our future prosperity, our health, our climate and our biodiversity depend on the strengths of the oldest continuing culture on earth.

This is a good bill. It is a practical bill. It is a respectful bill.

It keeps traditional owners in charge of managing their country. It provides continuity and stability for our jointly managed national parks, and it, above all, reflects the Albanese government's commitment to real environmental reform that protects nature, empowers people and strengthens culture. We often say that caring for country means caring for each other, and this bill makes sure that this continues.

When our national parks are cared for properly, everyone benefits—the visitors, the local communities and the next generation of Australians who deserve to inherit a healthy environment and a living, thriving culture. When we empower traditional owners, we empower Australia. I commend this bill to the Senate.