Rowley Shoals—Coral bleaching
Statement
Hon Sophie McNeill (8:51 pm): I rise this evening to talk about the recent unprecedented and record-breaking marine heatwave and give a brief update on some really important conversations I have been having with the Kimberley Marine Tourism Association. There are approximately 10 tour operators in Broome that take divers and snorkelers out to the Rowley Shoals. This is a stunning chain of three coral atolls. It is about a 12-hour boat trip from Broome, and the "Rowlies" are known as one of Australia's best diving locations. The tours that these Broome operators run out there normally book out two years in advance—that is how popular they are. Guests pay between $6,000 and $8,000 each to go to the Rowlies. It is really serious business, top-end tourism and really important for our Kimberley region and for Broome.
Visitors come from overseas and from all over Australia to go to the Rowlies to see the stunning untouched coral reef. The photos and videos of this place are really incredible. The season to go out to the Rowlies runs from September through to November every year. The guests for this year's season are due to arrive within a couple of weeks. Some are travelling all the way from the US. However, last week came the news from the Australian Institute of Marine Science that 90% of the coral at the Rowley Shoals is now dead. It was bleached, and 90% of it has now died in the wake of an unprecedented and record-breaking marine heatwave. A senior marine scientist from the department told me that they struggled to find any live coral left at the Rowlies—Australia's best diving spot, here on our beautiful Kimberley coast.
However, the Broome tour operators running these tours and the Kimberley Marine Tourism Association have not yet been briefed by the state government about the state of the reef and how it could impact their businesses. They have not heard a word, and they are really worried. They are deeply worried about what this means for their industry, their jobs and their livelihoods. Questions that I asked in Parliament last week revealed that the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has briefed officials at fossil fuel giant Chevron Australia about the impacts of the marine heatwave, but it has still not briefed the Kimberley Marine Tourism Association or the Broome community. Fossil fuel giant Chevron has been briefed, but not the Kimberley Marine Tourism Association. It is simply unacceptable that this government has briefed Chevron but not these operators. I wonder what Chevron would have been briefed on. One can only assume that it was trying to get on top of damage control, because it is fossil fuel companies like Chevron that are responsible for this death and destruction of our beautiful reef.
The Kimberley Marine Tourism Association estimates that losses for the Rowley Shoals operators could run in the millions. It is not just those operators facing losses because that estimate does not include the wider benefits that these kinds of cruises and visitors bring to the whole Broome community, with guests often staying on in town after visiting the Rowley Shoals.
It again raises the question: What will it take for this Labor government to act on climate and reduce its emissions? How much more of the reef will have to die and how many jobs will have to go before Labor finally acts? Our state's natural beauty is being decimated by the impacts of climate change. More than 100,000 Western Australians work in tourism but only 3,400 work at Woodside. Why is this government focused on protecting the profits of gas companies rather than the jobs of hardworking Western Australians employed in green, sustainable good jobs on our Coral Coast—jobs that are really critical to regional towns throughout Western Australia.
This state urgently needs a climate act and a plan to start reducing emissions. Our reefs are so precious. They are irreplaceable and priceless. We have to protect what is left, not just for our children and the incredible marine life that depends on them, but for the more than 100,000 hardworking Western Australians who work in tourism and the many who rely on our state's amazing natural beauty to make a living.
