Turbocharging ocean protection in south-east Australia

The Albanese Government is proposing to strengthen protections for 73,000 km2 of seas in Australia’s south-east – an area bigger than Ireland.

This is another huge win for our oceans, just a day after the government signed off on the intention to massively expand Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Park that puts more than half of Australia’s oceans under protection.

The South-east Marine Parks Network is a 700,000 km2 area made up of 14 marine parks off the coast of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – home to rare and protected species such as pygmy blue whales, shy and wandering albatross, and the southern elephant seal.

The Network includes the Macquarie Island Marine Park, which the Government tripled in size last year. It was the biggest act of environmental conservation anywhere in the world in 2023.

The new draft South-east Marine Parks Network management plan proposes to:

• establish 11 new no-take zones in 10 of the marine parks – bringing the total no-take area to the size of Ireland
• bring the entire South-east network to 86 per cent in highly protected, or ‘no-take’ zones
• more than double national park protections for the valuable shelf zones
• open specific areas to low impact sustainable fishing
• prevent new oil and gas titles
• prevent new deep-sea mineral mining and other industrial developments.

Existing oil and gas acreage rights and licenses are completely unaffected by this proposal.

Australia already protects more ocean than any other country on earth.

The expansion of sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Island Marine Park means more than half (52 per cent) of Australia’s oceans are now under protection, blitzing a 30 per cent target the Government signed up to as part of a UN nature treaty in 2022.

It cements Australia’s role as a global leader in ocean protection, which includes progressing ratification of the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty. The Treaty will help to establish marine protected areas on the high seas, which will complement Australia’s own network of domestic marine parks.

Consultation on the draft management plan opens on 11 October and closes on 14 November.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:

“Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth – and now we’re proposing to strengthen protections for an area bigger than Ireland.

“The South-east Marine Park Network is a jewel of Australia’s natural heritage, including the rugged and dramatic coastal cliffs, secluded coves, towering kelp forests and magnificent array of marine ecosystems.

“We want to protect more of these precious ecosystems and wildlife, from black coral trees and offshore oceanic golden kelp forests to pygmy blue whales and southern elephant seals, for our kids and grandkids.

“These oceans and marine life are extraordinary, and we are doing everything we can to protect them.”