Fines for Doing Restricted Work in International Waters Without Permission or Hiding Marine Genetic Resources
High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026
Senate
House of Representatives
Assent
Topics
activity authorization criminal penalties environmental impact assessment environmental protection international waters marine environment marine genetic resources maritime safety resource extraction
Introduced by: Senator the Hon Murray Watt (ALP)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
The Debate
What different members said when this bill was debated:
Katy Gallagher ALP
“I table the explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech read as follows— Australia is an island nation, a maritime nation, with the ocean at the heart of our national identity for tens of thousands of years.”
Andrew Bragg LIB
“In making a contribution on behalf of the coalition on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026, I note the coalition’s longstanding desire to work with the government in a bipartisan way—over these last 20 years, in fact—to ensure that the high seas do not become a burying ground, for want of a better expression, for the world’s biodiversity that lives in the oceans.”
Dorinda Cox ALP
“I rise also to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026. Protecting our oceans matters deeply to me, as a Western Australian senator representing a state that’s shaped by the Indian Ocean. I want to begin with a story about maambakoort, what we call our sea country in Noongar language.”
“Eighty-five per cent of Australians live within 60 kilometres of a coast. The vast majority of us have had to travel over oceans to call this place home. The ocean is our identity. It shapes our coastlines, our climate and our cultures. It has fed families for tens of thousands of years.”
Andrew McLachlan LIB
“I rise to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026, which implements Australia’s obligations under the high seas treaty. The Liberal Party is supporting the bill, as am I. The treaty entered into force on 17 January 2026, and this bill seeks to enact certain provisions which will enable us to ratify the agreement.”
“Here comes yet another UN power grab for control over Australian sovereignty. The High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026 implements Australia’s obligations under the agreement made under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.”
Nick McKim GRN
“The Greens welcome this legislation, will be supporting it and regard it as a significant step forward. I want to acknowledge Australia’s environment movement and many of the groups that make up Australia’s environment movement, who have worked so hard to keep the pressure on the government to make this happen and to promote amendments to this legislation, which, I understand, will pass.”
“The Greens welcome this legislation, the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026, today to ratify the UN high seas treaty. It’s been 44 years since the last international agreement on ocean protection was signed, and this is a historic moment. It’s a symbolic moment, it’s a ray of light, and it’s some hope for people who love the oceans and have campaigned for the oceans all around the world.”
Murray Watt ALP
“I thank all the members who have contributed to this debate on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026, and I recognise in particular the contribution of Senator Whish-Wilson. We are all aware that Senator Whish-Wilson will be finishing up in this place over the next few months, and I recognise his long-term commitment to ocean conservation as one of the things he has fought for.”
Ms BELL
“I rise today to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill and to outline the coalition’s position on this important legislation. The coalition supports this bill.”
“I’ve got a quick question for you: What covers 3.8 million square kilometres? Or, in another way of putting it, what covers 52 per cent of Australian waters? The answer is, of course, the network of Australian marine parks.”
Sophie Scamps IND
“I rise to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026 and welcome this legislation to ratify the United Nations high seas treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. It has been more than four decades since the last major global agreement on ocean protection, so this is a significant moment.”
Renee Coffey ALP
“Our waterways tell a story about connection. What flows through our creeks does not stop there; it moves through wetlands and mangroves into the bay and out into wider marine systems that sustain biodiversity, livelihoods and communities far beyond our shoreline. When local habitat is degraded or pollution is allowed to build up, the consequences travel.”
Kate Chaney IND
“I rise today to speak to the High Seas Biodiversity Bill. Australia is an island continent with one of the world’s largest maritime jurisdictions and bordered by three major oceans. Our economy, our environment and our way of life are strongly shaped by the sea. For the people of Curtin, this connection is deep.”
Jo Briskey ALP
“When people around the world talk about Australia, they often talk about our oceans. They talk about our beaches, our reefs, our wildlife and our identity that is shaped by the sea. From the Great Barrier Reef to the Twelve Apostles and from the Ningaloo Coast to the Southern Ocean, many of our most treasured natural wonders are defined by water.”
Dr RYAN
“On 17 January 2026, the high seas treaty—formally known as the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or the BBNJ—entered into force, providing a framework for the common global governance of roughly half of our planet’s surface and 95 per cent of the ocean’s v…”
Sharon Claydon ALP
“I am delighted to raise my voice in strong support of the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026 that speaks not just to policy but to purpose. This is about leadership—leadership that respects science, leadership that values our natural world and leadership that acts with urgency, because the decisions we make now will echo for generations.”
Tom French ALP
“I rise to speak in support of the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026. This bill concerns areas beyond national jurisdiction, but its consequences are not distant. It goes directly to the health of the ocean systems that sustain Australia’s environment, economy and coastal communities. For my electorate of Moore, that connection is immediate.”
Simon Kennedy LIB
“The coalition proudly supports the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026. This legislation is necessary to finally put in place the UN high seas treaty after years of delay under Labor. The people of Cook are huge supporters of the ocean—as am I. Proudly announced as Australia’s best beach in 2026, Bate Bay is the pride of the Sutherland Shire, much of Sydney and much of Australia.”
Libby Coker ALP
“For my communities on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast, the ocean is part of everyday life. From surfers to fishers, from local cafes to tourism operators, the ocean shapes our economy and our identity. As a Surf Coast local for more than 30 years, I know just how deeply our communities care about our oceans and the need to protect them. They want to see marine life thrive.”
Carol Berry ALP
“I begin by paying my respects to First Nations people as the traditional custodians of both land and sea country in Australia. First Nations peoples have sustainably used and managed coastal land and sea for more than 65,000 years, and many continue to do so today. Their knowledge and stewardship of the marine environment is an essential element in Australia’s ocean story.”
Jerome Laxale ALP
“Last year, I attended the Australian launch of David Attenborough’s Ocean documentary. It was a stark lesson in the scale at which humanity is impacting our blue planet. I was struck by images of the bottom trawlers ploughing the seabed, scars so deep they can be seen from space, ripping coral to shreds and destroying ecosystems that took millennia to form.”
Patrick Gorman ALP
“It’s an honour to sum up the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026. I firstly want to thank the members who contributed to this debate. We heard from the member for Tangney about the amazing intelligence of Dolphins, reminding us of all the marine life that lives in our oceans that this bill will protect.”