Australia is poised to protect a larger portion of its ocean territory than any other nation, following a decision by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to expand a sub-Antarctic marine park by more than 300,000 square kilometers. This announcement comes ahead of a global summit on nature conservation in Sydney, where Plibersek confirmed that the Heard and McDonald Island Marine Park, located approximately 4,000 km southwest of Perth, would see a fourfold increase in size.
This expansion will place 52% of Australia’s ocean territory under protection, significantly surpassing the international goal of safeguarding 30% of marine areas by 2030, a commitment Australia made two years prior. Despite this progress, scientific organizations are expected to use the summit to underscore their concerns about inadequate investment by the government to protect the environment. A recent governmental review found that the condition of Australia’s ecosystems is poor and continuing to deteriorate.
Conservationists have broadly approved the marine park expansion. The Save Our Marine Life alliance, a coalition of 27 environmental groups, expressed its general support for the decision but raised concerns that some areas critical to species such as albatross, penguins, seals, and fish have not received the highest levels of protection. While the expansion increases habitat protection zones and national park areas, some high-priority regions have been left out of the sanctuary-level protections that scientists had recommended.
Fiona Maxwell, the national oceans manager for the Pew Charitable Trusts, emphasized that the Heard and McDonald Islands are havens for wildlife, and the expansion would prevent activities such as mining and the establishment of new pelagic fisheries targeting species like mackerel icefish and Patagonian toothfish. However, she noted that underwater canyons and seamounts remain vulnerable due to the absence of sanctuary protections. According to Maxwell, even the government’s own scientific assessments recognized the need for better protection of seafloor habitats, albatross foraging zones, and macaroni penguin habitats.
Plibersek, however, remains proud of the decision, describing it as a major victory not only for Australia but for global environmental efforts. “This is a unique and extraordinary part of our planet. We are doing everything we can to protect it,” she stated. Heard and McDonald Islands, located about 1,700 km from Antarctica, are home to glaciers, wetlands, and Australia’s only active volcanoes. Scientists consider these islands to be among the least disturbed ecosystems on Earth.
The expansion follows a public consultation period that began in June, building on the government’s earlier efforts to triple the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park, another sub-Antarctic region. The newly added zones are roughly equivalent in size to Italy, and they provide various levels of protection, including some areas designated as national park zones. However, some conservationists, like Richard Leck, head of oceans at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), expressed reservations. Leck welcomed the expansion but voiced concerns that fishing would still be permitted in certain areas with high conservation value. He described the decision as a missed opportunity for world-class protection in the region.
As the global summit convenes, attention will shift to broader issues of environmental protection and funding. The Australian government is currently working to pass legislation that would define the term “nature positive” and establish an environmental protection agency. However, critics argue that the government’s financial commitment to conservation efforts is insufficient.
The 30 by 30 Alliance, a coalition of conservation, land management, and scientific experts, highlighted the need for a dramatic increase in funding if Australia is to meet its goal of protecting 30% of its land and ocean territories by 2030. Alliance representative Jason Lyddieth called for significantly higher investments, stating that the Albanese government currently allocates only 0.1% of its budget to nature protection. Lyddieth, along with other conservationists and scientists, advocates for dedicating at least 1% of the federal budget to environmental conservation, which includes a $5 billion fund for the purchase and protection of land of high biodiversity significance.
The Biodiversity Council also weighed in, noting that a preliminary assessment had revealed the Australian government spends 50 times more subsidizing environmentally harmful activities—such as land clearing for mining, agriculture, native forest logging, and road construction—than it does on biodiversity protection. Advocates argue that increasing financial resources for environmental protection is crucial for halting species extinctions and ensuring the long-term health of Australia’s ecosystems.
