Sally Sara: A marine park in the Southern Ocean around the remote Heard and McDonald Islands is set to quadruple in size. The Federal Government is planning to protect an extra 300,000 square kilometres of ocean around the sub-Antarctic islands, providing a haven for sea life and bird life. Marine ecologists say it's a terrific expansion but are worried some critical areas have been missed. National Affairs Editor Melissa Clarke has this exclusive.
Melissa Clarke: It's hard to find a more remote place in the world than the Heard and McDonald Islands. Specks in the Southern Ocean, they're 4,000 kilometres south-west of Western Australia. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek describes the territory as unique and extraordinary.
Tanya Plibersek: These waters are absolutely vital for a range of threatened species including blue whales, southern right whales, albatross seals.
Melissa Clarke: Currently, 17% of the waters around Heard and McDonald Islands are classified as a sanctuary zone that is closed to the public. The Federal Government is proposing to create new National Park and Habitat Protection Zones in most of the remaining waters around the islands. It would mean 90% of the surrounding waters would be protected to some extent.
Tanya Plibersek: We're proposing to quadruple the area of waters protected around Heard and McDonald Islands, adding around 300,000 square kilometres to those protected waters.
Dr Andrew Constable: It's a terrific expansion.
Melissa Clarke: Dr Andrew Constable from the Centre for Marine Socio-Ecology at the University of Tasmania was the lead author of a recent independent report into the islands' marine ecosystems. While welcoming the proposal, he is worried that the areas with the strictest protections aren't quite in the right place.
Dr Andrew Constable: Yes, they are important and we welcome their protection, but there are other areas of higher priority.
Melissa Clarke: He would like to see an area of shallow water that is important to fur seals made a sanctuary zone, along with underwater ridges and canyons that are vital for penguin breeding and seafloor organisms. Richard Leck leads WWF Australia's campaigns to protect the ocean, and he says moving some of the proposed boundaries of the sanctuary zone could make a significant difference.
Richard Leck: There's some key habitats that are important to penguins, particularly the macaroni penguin, that remain unprotected under the new proposal. Australia is incredibly fortunate to be a custodian of this incredible place and we really should be giving it the protection it deserves.
Melissa Clarke: Marine conservationists emphasise that the biggest threat to vulnerable species in the sub-Antarctic region is climate change. Dr Constable is pleased the government's plans include funding for a research expedition in the next year or two, saying it will help them understand what changes are already happening.
Dr Andrew Constable: So polar regions are most at peril. The best thing that governments can do in these polar regions is to provide areas where there is no exacerbation of the climate change impacts from other activity.
Melissa Clarke: The proposed marine park expansion is open for public consultation until the 5th of September.
Sally Sara: That's Melissa Clarke.