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World Ocean Day

Published on: September 2023

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-134847

World Ocean Day

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (13:03:27):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Acknowledges that Friday 8 June was World Ocean Day.

(2)Notes that 11 different marine and environmental groups joined together on World Ocean Day to support the New South Wales Liberals and Nationals' proposed legislation to prevent offshore coal, gas, mineral and petroleum mining, and exploration in New South Wales waters.

(3)Notes that our local communities have been long opposed to offshore drilling for gas.

(4)Recognises that the Opposition are committed to ensuring our coastline remains pristine and protected.

Oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the Earth's surface, providing us with life‑sustaining resources, shaping our climate and offering a sanctuary for an astonishing diversity of marine life. We know that the health of our oceans is inextricably linked to the health of our planet as a whole. Our oceans have some of the most incredible marine ecosystems, which are precious and also easily damaged. Overfishing, pollution and climate change threaten the delicate balance of those vast marine ecosystems. World Ocean Day aims to rally communities around the world to raise awareness about the importance of our oceans and encourage actions to preserve and conserve them. It serves as a reminder of the vital role that oceans play in regulating our climate, providing food and livelihoods and supporting diverse ecosystems.

Many World Ocean Day initiatives involve beach clean‑ups or coastal restoration projects and other conservation efforts. In recognising World Ocean Day this year, I also acknowledge the incredible work of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science [SIMS] for its efforts in marine conservation. I am very fortunate that the institute calls my community home. One of its key projects is the Living Seawalls project, which includes an amazing new invention of panels fixed to man‑made structures along our harbour. It is now being rolled out in harbours around the globe. The panels mimic natural features such as rockpools and crevasses. They allow for a variety of marine life to thrive in what would otherwise be urban environments. The institute also recently released over 400 endangered baby white seahorses in Chowder Bay in my community. The team at SIMS have reported they are doing well so far. I know they have a day coming up soon for the community to check out the seahorses in their underwater hotel.

This year I was grateful to spend World Ocean Day with a number of my colleagues—some of whom are in the Chamber today in support of the motion—the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Pittwater, the member for Vaucluse and the member for Manly, and a range of organisations that care about our oceans and our environment, including Australian Parents for Climate Action, Surfers for Climate, Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action and 1 Million Women. On that day the Liberals reaffirmed our commitment to introduce legislation that would put a stop to offshore goal, gas, mineral and petroleum mining in New South Wales waters. I acknowledge the member for Pittwater, who is in the House today, for all of his work in preparing that legislation and introducing it to the House. I look forward to it coming back to this place for consideration and I will be supporting it.

But why are we opposed to offshore coal, gas, mineral and petroleum mining off our beautiful coastline? Why are we choosing to take a stand on it? The NSW Liberals know that New South Wales boasts some of the most breathtaking coastal landscapes in the world, with our golden beaches and our pristine waters. Offshore drilling is notorious for the disastrous consequences it can have on marine ecosystems. Oil spills, leaks and accidents can lead to catastrophic damage to marine life, fisheries and coastal habitats. Surveying activities such as seismic blasting as close to a few kilometres off our coast could also take place for those operations. We know that marine life is abundant in that stretch of coastline. I have seen many photos recently of different dolphins and whales, but there are also seals, penguins, rays and sharks. Seismic blasting in particular can have a devastating effect on those marine species, with the barrage of noise causing hearing loss and disturbing some of their natural behaviour such as navigation, communication, and feeding and breeding cycles.

We also know that offshore drilling is inconsistent with public opinion and what our communities expect of us. Time and again local communities in our electorates and many others across New South Wales have told us that they are opposed to offshore drilling, particularly PEP 11. The fact that the area that the PEP 11 licence covers is over 4½ thousand square kilometres is concerning to many. That region stretches from Manly to Newcastle. It is such a vast area of pristine marine ecosystems. Those ecosystems are all threatened under the shadow of PEP 11. Our beaches and coastal regions are not just a source of natural beauty, although we do love them for that, and they are not just important for the tourism industry, although they are the backbone of that sector in many areas.

Visitors from all over the world come to Australia and New South Wales to enjoy our gorgeous beaches and coastal waterways. We know that offshore drilling jeopardises the tourism sector, which provides countless Australians with a livelihood and contributes significantly to our economy. We must not be swayed by the promise of potential—not confirmed, but potential—short-term economic benefits that any offshore drilling may offer. The potential for environmental damage, the long-term consequences of climate change and the threat to our vibrant coastal communities far outweigh any potential temporary financial gains. Prior to the recent State election, when the Liberals were in government we committed to ending PEP 11 off the coast of New South Wales. We did this because it is the right thing to do. It is the right policy outcome for the people of New South Wales and for the marine ecosystems off our coast.

We listened to our communities and we backed in their views. We listened to the science and the evidence, and we backed in that advice. The New South Wales Liberals are still committed to ensuring that our coastline remains pristine and protected, and we will work to ensure that happens. Obviously, we are working to ensure that happens through legislation in this place, and I call on Labor members to recognise the importance of such legislation and support it. World Ocean Day is the perfect global initiative aimed at promoting awareness, education and action to protect our oceans and ensure their sustainability for current and future generations. We can all come together as individuals, communities, organisations and parliaments—even members from different parties can come together—to take concrete steps to safeguard our precious oceans and what our oceans do for our health, wellbeing, environment and future.

Mr DAVID MEHAN (The Entrance) (13:10:47):

I thank the member for North Shore for bringing this motion to the House to highlight the importance of World Ocean Day to the people of this State and the planet. I thank the organisers of World Ocean Day and the people in the United Nations who support it, including the youth advisory committee, which really drives the agenda for World Ocean Day. I think they would like me to acknowledge their aims. They state:

World Ocean Day rallies the world for action on 8 June and throughout the year. We work in partnership with youth leaders and organizations, zoos, aquariums, museums, conservation and community organizations, and a huge range of other diverse organizations and businesses from all sectors in a growing global network. Together, we effectively engage the public, inform policymakers, and unite the world to protect and restore our one shared ocean and climate. World Ocean Day belongs to all groups and individuals, collectively, everywhere. It's about how, by working together, we can create a better future with an abundant ocean and a stable climate.

In that spirit, we welcome the opportunity to highlight the importance of World Ocean Day in this Parliament. However, my colleague the member for Gosford will move an amendment to the motion to bring it back to what it should be focused on, and that is recognising properly the importance of World Ocean Day—the way it is used to build consensus and better understanding in the community and the idea of working together and building agreement across the board to make sure we do all we can to protect our world's oceans and improve the climate of the planet.

In that regard, it is a little disappointing that the motion has been used to support a piece of legislation that is currently before the House, which I will talk about in a minute. Some would say the motion has a partisan tone. We will address that with an amendment, which my colleague the member for Gosford will move. I ask members to support that amendment because it is important that the House sends a clear message that we support the ideals of World Ocean Day. We want to work together in a spirit of consensus, rather than use the event for partisan or political gain. This Government acknowledges the significance of World Ocean Day, which provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the benefits we derive from our oceans and our collective responsibility to manage them sustainably for future generations.

Members should be aware that in 2008 the United Nations General Assembly adopted World Ocean Day as a day that should be recognised, and it set up the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council to drive the agenda of World Ocean Day across the globe. In New South Wales the Government's focus is on managing our magnificent coastal and marine environment. That is so much a part of our way of life in this State. Let us face it, most of us in this State live in the coastal environment. The management of our coastal areas can be challenging. Improving our coastal environment is about supporting initiatives to help all levels of government as well as industry and the community play their part in conserving our coastline and marine environment.

That is why, at the environmental Ministers meeting the day after World Ocean Day, this Government agreed to strengthen Australia's marine protection and identify shared marine and coastal protection pollution abatement and restoration actions to include in a national sustainable ocean plan. The Government will work positively with the Australian and other State and Territory governments to develop and deliver the national sustainable ocean plan by 2025. As a new government, we will look at what can be done in New South Wales as work on the sustainable ocean plan progresses. I encourage all members in this place to engage with their communities about the development of that plan and to take whatever action they can to make a positive contribution to the development of the plan.

We are committed to the sustainable management of our network of six marine parks and 12 aquatic reserves, which represent around 35 per cent of the marine estate in this State. I note that in her contribution to debate on the motion the member for North Shore referred to the Minerals Legislation Amendment (Offshore Drilling and Associated Infrastructure Prohibition) Bill 2023. The member will be well aware that on 29 June this House referred that bill to the Legislative Assembly Committee on Environment and Planning for investigation. The remit of that investigation was for the committee to investigate any constitutional and unintended consequences of the bill, whether there are any other ways to achieve the intended outcomes of the bill, enforcement and compliance issues, and the environmental impacts of offshore drilling. The committee will report its findings by 21 November this year.

That being so, it would be entirely premature for this House to pass judgement on that bill, as this motion does today and as suggested by the member for North Shore. I also bring to the attention of the House the current New South Wales offshore exploration and mining policy, created on 23 February—so only this year—which I am sure the member for North Shore is aware of. The policy does not support the exploration and mining for minerals, coal or petroleum in New South Wales waters for commercial purposes. That is the current policy of the State. I assume the member for North Shore still supports that. Government members are doing a bunch of things—

Mr Adam Crouch:

Not many.

Mr DAVID MEHAN:

—as we get our feet under the desk to improve our environment and live up to the objectives of World Ocean Day. I note that this House has already referred the bill that was mentioned in debate to a committee, and that those opposite seek to interject during my contribution. The House has made a decision about how to handle that bill, which was referred to in debate on the motion. My colleague the member for Gosford will move an amendment that seeks to return the motion to what it should be about, which is promoting World Ocean Day for the betterment of the planet.

Ms KELLIE SLOANE (Vaucluse) (13:17:55):

I am pleased to contribute to debate on the motion. I thank my friend the member for North Shore for raising this important matter. On World Ocean Day I was in Manly with members representing the electorates of Manly, Pittwater, Cronulla and North Shore. We joined 11 environmental, community and sporting organisations to reaffirm our commitment to the oceans and the environment. We are getting on with the job of doing what our communities expect, such as introducing legislation to prohibit offshore drilling in New South Wales waters and putting nails in the coffin of PEP 11. The member for Pittwater introduced the Minerals Legislation Amendment (Offshore Drilling and Associated Infrastructure Prohibition) Bill 2023, and I thank him for the work he has put into that.

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