Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth

Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth, with the Albanese Labor Government signing off a massive 310,000 km2 expansion of the sub-Antarctic Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Park.

The decision means that for the first time ever 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.

This decision cements Australia’s role as a global leader in marine conservation. It is the biggest contribution to ocean conservation anywhere on the planet this year.

The Heard and McDonald Islands marine reserve will quadruple in size, an increase of almost 310,000 km2 – an area larger than Italy – and will provide greater protections for an environment unlike anywhere else in the world.

Heard and McDonald Islands are home to glaciers, wetlands, Australia’s only active volcanoes, and diverse and significant populations of penguins, seals and albatrosses.

This decision comes after extensive consultation with researchers, conservationists and the fishing industry. The design supports the sustainable, well-established fishery in the region.

Minister Plibersek will now recommend the updated marine park design to the Governor-General for proclamation.

Last year the Albanese Government tripled the size of Macquarie Island Marine Park – another sub-Antarctic wildlife wonderland. This was the largest contribution to ocean conservation anywhere in the world in 2023.

In this year’s Budget the Government funded a research voyage to Heard and McDonald Islands for the 2025-26 Antarctic season, to support Australia’s ongoing management of this globally important region.

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

“I’m proud that Australia now protects more ocean than any other country on earth.

“This is not just a huge environmental win for Australia, it’s a huge environmental win for the world.

“We delivered the biggest contribution to ocean conservation in the world in 2023, and we’ve done the same again this year – it’s an enormous achievement for nature.

“From the Great Barrier Reef to sub-Antarctic wildlife wonderlands like Heard and McDonald Islands, there are so few places on earth that can be described as truly pristine wilderness. Heard and McDonald Islands is such a place.

“Nature thrives there without us. It’s free from feral species and has had minimal human intervention. Not only do the islands contain Australia's only active volcanoes, but huge populations of marine birds and mammals numbering in the millions.

“Quadrupling the size of the Heard and McDonald Islands marine park protects more of our oceans around the island and the seals, albatross and whales that call the waters home.

“This is a unique and extraordinary part of our planet. We are doing everything we can to protect it.”