THE HON TANYA PLIBERSEK MP
MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW
CAIRNS, QUEENSLAND
TUESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2024
SUBJECTS: Reef Clean-Up, Protection of Great Barrier Reef, renewable energy projects.
MATT SMITH: I’m Matt Smith, the ALP’s federal candidate for the seat of Leichhardt, and we’re here today by the mighty Barron River with the Tangaroa as a part of reefclean.org, which is really encouraging the community to get out and help clean up our waterways, to stop all the garbage getting out on to the reef, keeping the reef pristine and beautiful. Obviously, we all know how much the reef means to Cairns and the far north. It drives so much of our economy, so many of our jobs, and it’s kind of our playground, it’s our home. So, encouraging volunteers out there to get amongst it and make that little bit of a difference is a really great initiative brought to us by Tangaroa and, of course, funded by the Anthony Albanese Federal Labor Government.
Every piece of rubbish that is collected here today will likely save a creature. If you think about it in those terms, you’ve got bits of fishing line, ghost nets, plastic bags, which is representing something like 78 per cent of the work these guys do, they are a massive risk to our marine life – turtles, jellyfish, fish. I dive fairly regularly; it’s not unusual to see things tangled up. You’ve got to keep your knife with you to cut them open, to cut them off, to get them free again. This is the sort of stuff that really makes a difference in getting the rubbish before it hits the reef.
The program is going on until October 31st, and I’d encourage everyone to get involved and go to reefclean.org and register. It’s great just for families. You know, you go out there you’re making a tangible difference. This is based on science. All of the data collected goes back into their database. As they start to understand where the rubbish is coming from, they put together structures on how to stop it.
I’d like to thank Minister Plibersek and Senator Green for also being here today, Minister Plibersek coming all of this way to just get a bit of a better handle on what’s going out here on the ground. So, I’ll hand over to Senator Green now, and she’ll be able to explain more about this project.
NITA GREEN, SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND: Well, thank you, Matt, for that wonderful introduction. Matt is a fantastic candidate here in the seat of Leichhardt at the next federal election, not only because he is a community champion but he seems to know everyone in the community. And we ran into one of the fantastic Tangaroa Blue volunteers who Matt had worked for previously. It’s great to see those connections in the community.
I know how important the Great Barrier Reef is to a place like Cairns, and that’s why I have been honoured to be the Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef working alongside Minister Plibersek. And over the last two and a half years I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Tangaroa Blue while they’ve gone out there and improved the services that they deliver and now are delivering the ReefClean over the next month or so.
I want to talk a little bit about the program over the next month, because it’s really exciting and there’s so many ways that you can get involved. ReefClean is funded by the Australian government and it’s also delivered by Tangaroa Blue, an organisation that is all about volunteers and grassroots.
Now, over the next month you’ll have the chance to participate in a reef clean up. It’s not hard; it’s really easy to do. And I had my first reef clean up here on Machans Beach about two years ago, so I know that it can get a little hot and a little sweaty, but there’s so much that you can get out of an experience like this. You meet other volunteers, you get to support the work that Tangaroa Blue is doing, and you get to clean up the reef at the same time.
Now, we’re asking volunteers to register to be part of this year’s Great Barrier Reef Reef Clean-Up. It’s running until the 31st of October. You can sign up at reefclean.org, and you can hold your own event or you can participate in somebody else’s. We have events happening all across Queensland all the way down to the Gold Coast and all the way up to Cape York. So if you want to get involved over the next month, there’s plenty of opportunities to do it.
It's really easy to do, and Tangaroa Blue will step you through the process all the way. And at the end of the day, this is all about protecting the Great Barrier Reef, our most important national environment economic asset up here. It produces so many important things apart from jobs. It’s something that we are so proud to call home, and I’m really pleased the Minister has been able to come and see the really great work that Tangaroa Blue does on the ground. Thanks, Minister.
TANYA PLIBERSEK, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well, thank you so much, Nita, and thanks so much to Matt Smith for welcoming us today as well, and to Tangaroa Blue, the volunteers who are here today, it’s fantastic to see how much rubbish they’ve pulled off the beach in just the hour that they’ve been here. It shows what a huge challenge it is to keep our beaches and our beautiful Great Barrier Reef free of plastic debris in particular, and it shows just what a great job they’re doing. And with a whole month of this activity ahead, it shows just the difference that passionate volunteers, can make.
So far around 13,000 people have participated in the Beach Clean program over the last two years, and they’ve pulled out around 130 tonnes of debris. That’s the same as about five humpback whales. It’s an enormous amount of rubbish that would otherwise be floating around our Great Barrier Reef. And, of course, it would be a real hazard to the plants and animals that call the reef home.
As Matt said, of course, a lot of the dugongs, turtles, dolphins, and other larger animals, when they see a bit of plastic floating through the water might mistake it for jellyfish. Unfortunately, we find too many sea birds, too many dugongs, too many turtles with guts impacted with plastic. They sometimes starve to death because they don’t have any more room to swallow fish because their guts are so full of plastic. It’s absolutely vital to keep this stuff out of the water, and that’s why the Australian government has been pleased to invest $3.5 million dollars in this program to help more volunteers pull more rubbish out of our waters to better protect our reef.
Of course, this isn’t the only thing we’re doing to better protect our Great Barrier Reef. We’re investing $1.2 billion to make sure that our reef is properly looked after because of the jobs that it supports but also because it’s one of the great natural wonders of the world. It’s something that Australia is renowned for globally, and it’s why we’ve got a responsibility to protect it.
We’re doubling funding for reef science. We’re working on coral restoration adaptation. We’re supporting Indigenous rangers to pull crown of thorns starfish off our reefs. We’re rebuilding Reef HQ in Townsville after it was allowed to deteriorate and close under the previous Liberal and National governments.
When I say we’re doubling funding for reef science, again, the Australian Institute of Marine Science was on its knees under the previous government. We’ve doubled funding to restore the laboratories, restore the infrastructure and support the scientists that are looking after our reef.
And, of course, a lot of what affects the reef happens on land. We’re working very hard with landholders up and down the coast to make sure that the water that flows on to the reef is as clean and as pure as possible with reduced sediment and reduced pollution. All of this together is because we know that our Great Barrier Reef supports jobs, supports economic activity but is also our gift to the world and our responsibility to look after.
Any questions?
JOURNALIST: Yes, this is the sixth annual Reef Clean-Up. Are you hoping it will be bigger than ever before, and how so?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, we’re certainly hoping that Reef Clean-Up is bigger than ever before this year, and that means more volunteers getting involved and more rubbish off the coast and out of the water. And the wonderful thing about this is you don’t need any particular skills to do your bit to protect the reef; you just need a few hours and the preparedness to get your hands dirty or get your gloves dirty and do a bit of hard work.
Some of the volunteers we’ve been talking about have been doing this for many years, and they’re dedicating a lot of time to doing it. But you don’t have to be prepared to put weeks aside; you can make a commitment for a few hours in a day with a small group of people – just your family – or you can host something in your local community. And Tangaroa Blue will support you to do that, give you materials to advertise, the sacks, the gloves you need to do the clean up. So there’s a lot of support there for people to get involved, and all it takes is a bit of willingness and a few hours free.
JOURNALIST: And how much has been invested by the Federal Government in this?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: This is a $3.5 million commitment that will support this project over the next few years. And we really want to see it grow from year to year. We know that Tangaroa Blue make a fantastic contribution and have for many years.
JOURNALIST: Do you know how much money the Federal Government has put towards saving the reef altogether?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: $1.2 billion is our investment in protecting and restoring the reef. And that comes in so many different forms. It comes in supporting community activities like this. It comes in large-scale riverbank and gully stabilisation projects, protecting the landscapes that surround the reef, because we know that the quality of water that flows off the land on to the reef is really critical to reef health. It comes from doubling investment in science. It comes through a whole range of different projects because the reef is enormous, it’s complex and needs the best science, but it also needs, as Nita always says, boots on the ground and fins in the water to protect it.
JOURNALIST: About 127 tonnes of marine debris have been cleaned up during the six years. I guess, is there a target for this year, how much they hope to meet?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: That’s a question for Tangaroa Blue, but I’ll tell you, I’m sure they’re hoping to pull as much plastic and rubbish out of the water as they possibly can. And an important feature of this project is actually logging the debris that’s pulled out of the water because this teaches us how the rubbish is getting into the water, how it’s getting on to our beaches so that we can stop it at the source.
It’s really much better if we can prevent this stuff ending up in our environment in the first place rather than chasing after it once it’s already on our beaches and in our water. And that’s the reason the Australian government is taking such a strong global leadership position in the global plastics treaty negotiations as well. We want to see less plastic produced in the first place, less of it entering our environment, and particularly those problematic plastics that are particularly hard to recycle. We really want to see a reduction in the production and use of those plastics.
JOURNALIST: I have some out of catchment inquiries, if you might oblige.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Sure.
JOURNALIST: How far away are you on a determination on a section 10 application for Lake Torrens in South Australia?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I don’t comment on individual projects that are before me at any particular time. I’ll make a decision once I’ve considered all of the information before me. When it comes to any decision, whether it’s under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act or whether it is under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, I’ll make a decision according to the facts and the evidence before me.
JOURNALIST: And can you confirm that a report recommended that you make an application for a protective order on parts of Lake Torrens?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, I’m not going to speculate about any decision that’s before me.
JOURNALIST: So no?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: I’m not going to speculate about any decision that’s before me.
JOURNALIST: Okay. How badly does the government want Orpheus Mining’s operations to proceed?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, as I say, I’m not going to comment about individual projects that may be before me, and I’m not going to speculate about any decision that I might be making.
JOURNALIST: Now, in April you were seeking a detailed report into the Borumba Pumped Hydro and its environmental impacts. Has your department received that report yet?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Once again, I don’t comment on individual projects that may be before me. As a decision-maker, it is quite improper for me to be offering commentary along the course of considering information that’s before me.
JOURNALIST: Okay. But you concede that the community has inquiries and concerns about these projects and want to know whether they’re proceeding.
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, as I say, it would be quite improper for me to talk about decisions that may be before me and to offer running commentary. I’m a decision-maker; I’m not a commentator on these things. And it is not proper to give running commentary while decisions are being made.
JOURNALIST: Does the Federal Government support the $14.2 billion Borumba Pumped Hydro Project?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Like I say, any project that comes before me as Environment Minister must be considered on the basis of the facts and the science before me. I don’t offer opinions or commentary.
JOURNALIST: Landholders in the Daintree are concerned about a high number of feral pigs in the area after a few good wet seasons. What’s the Federal Government doing about it?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Too right they are, and we’ve got about $550 million focused on dealing with feral animals and weeds, protecting our landscapes from these real pests that do so much damage. Today we’re talking about the reef; people wonder how it can be that feral pigs affect the Great Barrier Reef, but, of course, they do. The damage they do to gullies and stream banks and water courses is really very damaging for the quality of water that flows on to the barrier reef. Of course, pigs are also particularly dangerous when it comes to attacking ground-dwelling animals, eating eggs out of the birds nests that are on the ground, going after all sorts of creatures. We’re working with local Landcare organisations to deal with feral pigs, feral goats, cats, in particular, are also a particular problem and some of the insect species, like some of the imported ant species that have done so much damage in our natural environment.
JOURNALIST: Britain’s closed its final power station yesterday –
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: It’s final coal-fired station I think you mean.
JOURNALIST: Coal-fired power station, of course, correct. That would be trouble, wouldn’t it? Their final coal-fired power station. How far away is Australia from closing its coal-fired power stations?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, the previous government were warned that 24 coal-fired power stations are closing. They were given closure dates for those coal-fired power stations, and they did nothing to prepare for those closures, and now the coalition is running around saying, “Oh, we’ll build nuclear power; it will be ready in 20 or 30 years’ time.” What Labor is doing right now is preparing for those coal-fired power stations to close, for fossil fuels to play a smaller and smaller role in our energy sector.
So far as Environment Minister I have approved more than 60 renewable energy projects. That is enough to power around 7 million homes. That’s what the energy transition looks like in practice. If we’d got a head start, if we’d actually seen the previous Labor Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme approved rather than blocked by the Greens and the Liberals voting together, we would have had a much faster head start on this. We would be much further down the road to achieving our goal of 82 per cent renewable energy. But we’ve hit 40 per cent, over 40 per cent, renewable energy, and so we are getting on with this massive transition that’s underway in the Australian economy.
JOURNALIST: Apart from rifling through bags of rubbish, what else are you doing in the far north?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Well, rifling through bags of rubbish is always my favourite thing to do whenever I visit the local community. I’ll also be with Matt and with Nita looking at some other projects that the Australian government is funding, including some riverbank and land restoration projects. And later this afternoon I’m looking at a terrific blue carbon project on the outskirts of Cairns Airport. We know that blue carbon will make a huge contribution not just to the planet achieving its carbon pollution reduction goals but also to improving biodiversity. Blue carbon is a huge opportunity for Australia and a huge opportunity for our Pacific neighbours and our neighbours to the north.
Australia is home to more than 10 per cent of the world’s blue carbon. That’s, of course, mangrove forests, seagrass, giant kelp, and these blue carbon environments are very good at sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They’re also really critical to providing habitat for all sorts of animals right around the coastlines of Australia. So they’re really important for biodiversity. And they’re also, in a place like Cairns, having, you know, had a terrible experience with a cyclone not so long ago, they are also a really important barrier to storm surges and rough weather.
So there’s so much to be pleased with, with the expansion of blue carbon projects, and I’ll be talking to international experts this afternoon about how we can do more in Australia and how we can continue to support efforts right across our region and globally where Australia’s consistently played a leading role in expanding blue carbon projects.
JOURNALIST: I have some questions for Senator Green, if that’s all right. And if Minister Plibersek could also listen in and answer accordingly.
There are concerns about a $1.5 billion takeover bid for Korea Zinc, known as Ark Energy and Sun Metals, a sink refinery near Townsville. Now, Ark Energy’s Chief Executive Michael Choi has expressed concerns that the attempts for the takeover by a private equity firm NVK and Young Poong Group will affect Sun Metals’ operations in north Queensland. Have you met with Mr Choi?
SENATOR GREEN: I have met with Mr Choi. He is the CEO, as you say, of Korea Zinc, but most people in Townsville know that company as Sun Metals. It’s a company that’s been operating for well over 20 years, particularly in north Queensland but in Townsville it supports hundreds of jobs, has a really good safety record and the interaction that I’ve had with the company over the last couple of years is because they are investing an enormous amount in renewable energy and hydrogen projects and they are making an incredible commitment to North Queensland as a renewable energy super hub and pulling together with other members of the community.
So they’ve got a good record. They’re supporting thousands of jobs, local jobs, through their supply chain. And so that’s why I met with Mr Choi, because I am concerned about any ownership change and what that might mean for the people of Townsville. The people of Townsville really embrace companies like this who call Townsville home and support local jobs and invest back into the community itself. And that’s what we’ve seen through Sun Metals.
So it is something that I am watching and I am making sure that I’m keeping up to date with any new steps that are happening. It is something that it really is up to the company at the end of the day who owns it, but the people of Townsville are pretty vocal when it comes to what happens to their town, so I’m sure that they have concerns as well.
JOURNALIST: And when did you meet with him, and what did he say?
SENATOR GREEN: Well, I met with him a few weeks ago. Obviously this has all happened in the last couple of weeks. And I was seeking some information about the next steps about what is entailed in this ownership dispute. But the most important thing that I asked him is what his commitment was to North Queensland, and they are committed to North Queensland. They’re committed to investing in renewable energy projects and creating more jobs and jobs of the future.
We want to see – as a government, we want to see more advanced manufacturing jobs in North Queensland. We want to see more renewable jobs in North Queensland, and this company is committed to that. That’s why I’ve worked with them in the past and I’ll continue to do that and hopefully they’ll have a long future in North Queensland.
JOURNALIST: And have you brought concerns to the Federal Treasurer about this?
SENATOR GREEN: Well, it’s not a matter for the Treasurer. I’ve raised with Minister King, who’s the Minister for Northern Australia, who’s also been to the site there at Sun Metals. They’ve had a role to play from a Northern Australia point of view, and it’s something that I understand the government is watching. But at the moment it is – from me, from a local point of view, as a local Senator, as a North Queensland Senator, I will continue to express my concerns publicly until this matter is resolved.
JOURNALIST: Has the Federal Environment Minister got any comment on the takeover?
MINISTER PLIBERSEK: Senator Green has covered it.
SENATOR GREEN: Thank you very much, everyone.
END
