MEDIA RELEASE 5 July 2024: An alliance of 27 environment groups* today welcomed the Albanese Government’s plan to expand Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands marine park near Antarctica, but said strong protection was missing for key feeding grounds for penguins, seals and albatross.

The dry heat and dirt, cawing crows and corrugated iron fence at our house in Hanbury Street Kalgoorlie in the late 1960s mining boom are my first memories of life—along with dreaming of when it would be time to follow summer’s siren song to the south coast for its breathtakingly white sand and sparkling seas. […]

Wednesday 17 May 2023 The royal penguin is as Aussie as the kangaroo and koala – a little-known fact that polar adventurer TimJarvis AM hopes to change as he starts a national film tour in Brisbane today, advocating for Australia toboost protection for its unique Southern Ocean marine life. In his latest journey to the […]

Thurs 23 Feb 2023 An alliance of 27 leading environment groups has welcomed the Albanese Government’s announcement to increase protection for Australia’s World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island.   “Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement today opens the door to a once-in-a-decade opportunity to increase protection for one of the most unique environments on the planet,” said Fiona […]

Growing global momentum to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing could be undermined by Australia, warns renowned conservationist David Suzuki and more than 1,461 other scientists. Australia is currently considering the world’s biggest downgrading of a protected area with a reduction in the size of its network of marine reserves. “If Australia does something progressive in […]

Many environmental and industrial groups have made submissions on the Federal Government’s draft marine parks management plans. A group of nearly 1,300 scientists — both from Australia and overseas — say they are deeply concerned about the draft plans and they have signed a joint submission. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/scientists-concerned-about-plan-for-marine-parks/8969430

A submission on the Government’s proposed changes to marine parks raises doubts about the economic benefit for the fishing industry. The Australia Institute has prepared a paper critical to opening up some marine parks to fishing. It suggests the changes would see a boost of just $4 million in the value of fish taken in […]

The following is a statement from the Ocean Science Council of Australia, an internationally recognised independent group of university-based Australian marine researchers, and signed by 1,286 researchers from 45 countries and jurisdictions, in response to the federal government’s draft marine parks plans. We, the undersigned scientists, are deeply concerned about the future of the Australian Marine Parks Network and […]

The campaign against proposed changes to Australia’s marine park network is gathering weight, with marine science heavyweights from around the world backing a statement of concern about draft management plans. The Government is not planning to shrink park boundaries from those outlined in 2012, but it is planning zoning changes within the boundaries, claiming the […]

Conservationists are outraged over the Federal Government’s draft plans for 44 Australian marine parks, saying it almost halves the protections set five years ago. Under the new proposal, mid-water trawling will be allowed and more areas will be opened to commercial and recreational fishing. Green zones, which offer the highest protection, will be reduced but […]