Senator SIEWERT (Western Australia—Australian Greens Whip) (22:08): I rise tonight to speak about the threats posed to our rich marine environment in Western Australia. The Ningaloo Reef is one of the world's last healthy coral reefs. It is home to over 700 reef fish species, 300 documented coral species and 650 mollusc species. Ningaloo is a haven for dugongs, turtles, manta rays, orcas and humpback whales. Each year, around 300 to 500 whale sharks congregate in the reef area. In 2011, the Ningaloo Coast was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of the outstanding values of the area's diverse and abundant marine life and amazing cave fauna. I've been part of a longstanding campaign to protect Ningaloo Reef, and I understand the area well. Sadly, this precious reef is under threat again. Just around the corner from Ningaloo Reef itself is the Exmouth Gulf, which is a rare and precious estuarine system that was much underrated in the past. However, a recent study by the University of Western Australia and Oceanwise Australia revealed the incredible biodiversity of the Exmouth Gulf. The research has found the estuary is home to more than 1,800 fauna species. The gulf is also an important nursery for a range of vulnerable and endangered species. It supports the endangered juvenile hawksbill turtle species and is one of the world's most significant whale nurseries. The gulf has played an essential part in the recovery of humpback whale populations. The lead researcher of the study, Dr Ben Fitzpatrick, said: Exmouth Gulf is even richer and more significant than we anticipated. In terms of bony fish alone, it has nearly twice as many species as Ningaloo Reef, which is a World Heritage Area … The Exmouth Gulf's diversity is unique to Western Australia's Pilbara and globally important for the conservation of sea life, especially threatened species. However, the study warns that there is still much that we do not know, and calls for further scientific research and more funding to better understand this previously understudied area. We know that the area is spiritually important for the local First Nations people, and that it supports sustainable activities such as ecotourism and fisheries. However, the threat of climate change and coastal development can jeopardise this finely balanced ecosystem. These issues aren't the only threats to the gulf. A multinational corporation called Subsea 7 is proposing oil and gas pipe fabrication in the Exmouth Gulf. The pipelines will be towed straight through the calving and resting grounds for humpback whales. They will also be dragged through the World Heritage Area of the Ningaloo Reef. The oil and gas pipes would pose devastating risks and put pressures on the marine and terrestrial environment. We must protect the Exmouth Gulf, which is home to a significant ecosystem that must be protected for its biodiversity value. The government needs to act to protect this precious area from industrial development, and the Exmouth Gulf, which has been ignored for so long, should be included, as it should have been all along, in the Ningaloo World Heritage site. Down the coast from the Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef is another special area, which I have spoken about in this place before, and that is Shark Bay—a place extremely close to my heart. Shark Bay is another critically important marine environment located 800 kilometres north of Perth, in the Gascoyne region of WA. Having been heavily involved in the campaign to have Shark Bay listed as a World Heritage site, I have a fairly good understanding of the values of this area and I want to ensure they are protected. Shark Bay is one of the handful of World Heritage properties around the world that meet all four natural criteria for listing. In particular, its vast seagrass beds are the largest and richest in the world. It provides an important habitat for fish and marine mammals. This includes five species of endangered mammals and globally significant populations of the endangered green turtle and the vulnerable dugong. We know this area is critically important for endangered species and that it is threatened by climate change. In 2009 a federal government report outlined the potential effects of climate change on Shark Bay. It predicted that rising sea temperatures would mean that marine life moved south. Two years later, in 2011, Shark Bay suffered from an intense marine heatwave. This catastrophic marine heatwave destroyed 900 square kilometres of seagrass, which was 36 per cent of the area's total coverage. Many of the areas that were covered with seagrass are now bare. What's more, Shark Bay could now be transitioning from a subtropical to a tropical marine ecosystem. Those who know that area will know that it's the boundary of that subtropical and tropical marine ecosystem, which is part of the reason why it's such an important area. A 2018 workshop convened by the Shark Bay World Heritage Advisory Committee found Shark Bay had the highest—the highest!—category of vulnerability to future climate change. This means extreme marine heat events were classified as 'very likely to occur', while the capacity of Shark Bay to adapt to heat events was very low. The threat from higher intensity and more frequent climatic events in the future only underscores the problem. People across the world have heard of the devastating coral bleaching suffered by the Great Barrier Reef, yet few people have heard of the devastating impact of the marine heatwaves threatening our World Heritage ecosystem in WA forever. This is unacceptable. Australia has an international obligation to protect, conserve, rehabilitate, present and transmit to future generations the World Heritage values of Shark Bay. It is our responsibility as a signatory to the World Heritage convention, an issue that Australia understands given we have so many areas of World Heritage value on the list. Just over a week ago we had National Threatened Species Day, which should remind us all about the extinction crisis in this country. Exmouth Gulf, Ningaloo Reef and Shark Bay provide the habitat for many threatened species, yet we are not taking the threat of climate change in this country seriously enough. Our governments have failed us in the past and they continue to fail to address the implications of climate change for these absolutely critical habitats and ecosystems. We need to see action before we see more species driven to extinction. We must do more to protect our precious places across Australia from the threat of climate change and industrial development. We need to invest in further research in Exmouth Gulf and Shark Bay so we can properly understand these ecosystems, understand the impacts of climate change and invest to protect these areas. Importantly, we need to listen to the younger generation, who are out there talking about climate change. They know the risks. They are calling for change. So, again, I encourage everybody to turn out on Friday for the strike, because it's our young people who see the dangers. They are standing up for these environments. They are standing up for the planet, for threatened species. They are saying: 'Take time out. Attend the strike. Show you care for the planet, show you care for these environments and show you care that this government and future governments take action now to stop places like Shark Bay and Exmouth Gulf from disappearing forever.' Senate adjourned at 22:17