I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet today, the Gimuy-Walaburra Yidinji People, and acknowledge the thousands of years of custodianship of traditional owners of the sea country we speak of today, I pay my respects to Elders past and present.
I would like to acknowledge Ambassador Roland Merar and all who have travelled to be here, especially our Pacific neighbours.
Thank you to Ocean Decade Australia for choosing to hold this important summit here in my beautiful hometown of Cairns.
The ocean is central to our identity and way of life in Cairns, so it is special to see so many of you who share our passion for the ocean and recognise the vital role a healthy ocean plays to our communities' cultures and livelihoods.
Australia's ocean estate is nearly 1.3 times larger than our land mass and stretches from the cold waters of the Southern Ocean around Australia's Antarctic Territory to the tropics in our north, and into the vast Pacific and Indian ocean basins to our east and west.
We now have 52 per cent of our ocean in marine parks – one of the largest marine protected area estates in the world, for which we should be proud.
But sustainable ocean management is about more than conserving and protecting the environment. It's about striking a balance between the environment, industry, communities, and national priorities.
Our coastal and ocean management arrangements identify and address threats, and support substantial economic activity across a growing range of sectors - from fishing and aquaculture, coastal and marine tourism, energy exploration and production, defence, to submarine cables, shipping and ports.
But we need to keep pace with the changing environment and evolving use of our ocean.
We want an ocean that is effectively conserved and restored to ensure its long-term health and resilience - where there is sustainable production and growth of our ocean industries - and ocean benefits are shared equitably among all Australians.
Our ocean industries provide thousands of local jobs, support communities, contribute to national food and energy security, and play a role in helping to protect and restore the marine environment.
This is critical to Australia's prosperity. The Great Barrier Reef alone supports 77,000 jobs and contributes $9 billion to the Australian economy in 2023–24. Across the nation, our ocean economy delivers $200 billion per year in economic output and more than 700,000 jobs each year.
Our ocean is under pressure from a range of threats, not the least from climate change.
Additionally, the ocean is becoming more crowded and increasingly contested.
If we want healthy and resilient coasts and waters, where we can make sustainable use of the ocean's resources and all share in the benefits, then we must continue to work together – nationally, within our region with our Pacific and Indian Ocean neighbours, and across all marine sectors.
Australia has committed to managing 100 per cent of our ocean sustainably, through the development of a sustainable ocean plan. And we are co-chairing with Chile the 100 per cent Alliance to encourage and support other nations to also adopt a 100 per cent approach to sustainable ocean management.
Many of you have contributed to the development of Australia's draft Sustainable Ocean Plan.
The plan will share an agreed vision to guide collective national action to grow our ocean economy sustainably and equitably, underpinned by a healthy and resilient marine environment. It will help us come together to address the complex issues no single jurisdiction, sector or group can tackle alone.
You will hear more about this tomorrow from Minister Watt.
Australia is a global leader in sustainable ocean management.
Our marine park and coral reef management, our restoration expertise, and our fisheries management, are examples to others.
An example of sustainable management is right here on our doorstep, and near to my heart: the Great Barrier Reef.
Managing and protecting the Reef is no small task—it is the world's largest coral reef system and one of most complex natural systems on Earth.
The Australian Government recently announced a further $91.8 million to bolster Australia's world-leading management of the iconic Great Barrier Reef, bringing our total Reef investment to $3.9 billion since 2014–15.
Our actions focus on strengthening the Reef's resilience to the cumulative impacts of climate change as well as local threats.
We know that reefs around the world are being affected by similar pressures.
Our Pacific region holds 27 per cent of the world's coral reefs, spread over vast areas, which some 8 million people rely upon, including for their food and livelihoods.
Across our region, we will continue to share our Reef expertise domestically and internationally – including with Pacific partners – to strengthen management and resilience in coral reef systems worldwide.
Sustainable ocean management for our region is not a 'nice to have' – it is a vital part of addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution for the health and security of future generations and underpins the culture, livelihoods and resilience of our Blue Pacific.
Pacific island countries are international ocean powerhouses.
In addition to instigating the first United Nations Ocean Conference and Sustainable Development Goal 14 (life below water), Pacific Leaders have committed to regional action under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific and the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity initiative.
Globally, our region has been instrumental in raising collective ambition through engagement in the UN Ocean Conference, the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, negotiations to land the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty, and securing global agreement to protect 30 per cent of our land and ocean by 2030 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Through our COP31 Partnership, we are working together to elevate the ocean–climate nexus under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and further drive global action to secure regional outcomes for the ocean.
COP31 will be a key milestone to showcase Pacific-led ocean initiatives and expertise and to amplify calls to boost ocean finance for climate action.
We recognise that this is a long-term commitment – one that will continue to require drive and determination beyond COP31 to the first conference of the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty, the fourth UN Ocean Conference and beyond.
Australia is invested in delivering sustainable ocean management and working together for national, regional and global outcomes for our ocean.
Our future ocean economy will look different to today's. Achieving a sustainable ocean future will require a shift in the way we plan, manage and use the ocean in the face of a changing climate.
We cannot do this in isolation.
For this reason, I again thank Ocean Decade Australia for hosting this event and enabling these valuable conversations.