Tuesday, 2 May 2023

 Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (13:36): (106) My question is to the Minister for Environment. It has been reported recently the government is about to unveil a budget that will threaten the jobs of up to 5000 public sector workers. Departments have been reportedly told by the Secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance to cut their budgets by 10 per cent. Minister, our natural environment is facing catastrophic threats from climate change and habitat loss. The recent parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s extinction crisis issued a dire warning for the state of Victoria’s threatened species, which consist of 49 mammal species, 104 birds, 40 reptiles, 15 amphibians, 37 fish, 124 invertebrates, 1500 vascular plants, 60 non-vascular plants and eight fungi and lichen species. Minister, with these predicted job cuts, how will you decide which of Victoria’s nearly 2000 threatened species will be saved?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (13:37): I thank Dr Ratnam for her question and her interest in these important matters, and of course I do agree in the sense that we are at a critical point in terms of the impacts of climate change on our precious environment in Victoria. It is an absolute priority for me to continue the important work that my predecessor, Minister D’Ambrosio, started back in 2017, when she released the Biodiversity 2037 plan, which is a 10-year plan about turning around the loss of biodiversity in our state and improving outcomes for our precious threatened species, and that will continue to be a significant focus for me in my work in the environment portfolio.

I think it is important just to contextualise this and point out that since coming to government in 2014 we have invested over $560 million in biodiversity programs across the state, and that is very significant. That is the most significant investment by a Victorian government ever in biodiversity initiatives. There have been a range of important programs that we are continuing to pursue, including the BushBank program, which is all about restoring our private land, revegetating it and making it a more conducive environment on both public and private land for our threatened species to prosper. Of course tackling issues such as invasive species and weeds is part of protecting biodiversity in our state.

I had the absolute privilege just last Friday to witness the release of up to 20 helmeted honeyeaters in the Yarra Ranges National Park. It was an absolutely special event to be a part of. That was work that our very clever people within DEECA, at Zoos Victoria and at Healesville Sanctuary, have been leading. It is part of our $6 million support for the emblem species protection program. That is just one small example of the significant contributions that we continue to make in the biodiversity space.

I am not in a position to pre-empt the outcomes of the budget, Dr Ratnam. That will be announced by the Treasurer on 23 May, but you can be assured that I will have a strong focus in the environment portfolio on continuing the important goals that are set out in Biodiversity 2037.

 Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (13:40): Thank you, Minister, for your response. Speaking of Biodiversity 2037, this strategy was cited by your government as the road map for species protection in Victoria to halt the extinction crisis. However, a quick search reveals that the government has stopped reporting on progress against this strategy, with the last report provided in 2020, and we understand that targets are being earmarked to be removed from the strategy. Minister, there was already nearly a billion dollars earmarked to cuts to the department in last year’s budget. Have those budget cuts resulted in the biodiversity strategy already being weakened?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep, Minister for Environment) (13:41): No, I do not accept the premise of your supplementary question, Dr Ratnam. The Biodiversity 2037 plan continues to be a key road map for how we will continue to address biodiversity. I think it is important also to acknowledge the significant commitments that the federal government has just made internationally in terms of addressing loss of species, and we will certainly be an active participant in that work with the federal government around protecting 30 per cent of land, sea and endangered species. I think it is absolutely commendable that the federal government have got very strong ambitions in this space, and we look forward to working with them and continuing the good work of our department right across the regions and right across the state to continue the important programs to protect our precious environment.