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Right now, the Australian Government's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties is considering if Australia will ratify the Global Ocean Treaty – the most significant global ocean conservation effort of our lifetime.
Over 1,000 community members made a submission! We submitted your responses last week alongside Greenpeace Australia Pacific's submission.
If you'd like to keep supporting this campaign, please consider making a donation.
Submissions have now closed.
Thank you for taking the time to write to the government and ensure that your voice was heard.
Above image © Paul Hilton / Greenpeace
Tips for writing an impactful submission
1. Tell them why you care
In your submission, share why the global ocean is important to you, and why you want to see governments protecting international waters. The more personal, the better.
2. Make a recommendation
The Global Ocean Treaty can be a powerful tool for protecting the high seas but it must be ratified by June 2025 to ensure 30% of the global ocean can be protected by 2030.
3. Be polite
All submissions should be polite and respectful, and speak clearly to what you're hoping to see from the government.
World leaders must act urgently to secure the future of our oceans and all life on Earth.
Scientists have said that ocean sanctuaries can provide the solution - spaces where marine life and ecosystems can recover and thrive, restoring the health of our oceans.
Sign our petition to call on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Foreign Minister Penny Wong to urgently create a sanctuary for the South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise.
This report offers clear routes to action to get across the finishing line and help the oceans thrive again.
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More Information
Last year, world leaders adopted the first ever Global Ocean Treaty in an historic victory, heeding the calls of 5.5 million people from across the world who joined together to demand action to protect our oceans.
The Global Ocean Treaty is one of the most important international conservation agreements in history and the first focused on conserving marine life in international waters. This Treaty is an essential tool to make the global ambition to protect at least 30% of the oceans by 2030 a reality.
But the Treaty’s adoption does not mean that the work is done. This powerful tool, which can be used to create vast ocean sanctuaries where marine life can recover and thrive, will only enter into force once at least 60 governments have brought it into law.
What is Australia doing?
Australia officially signed the Global Ocean Treaty in September last year, a symbolic gesture indicating the government's intent to be a party to the Treaty.
Ratifying the treaty is the next step to make it legally binding in Australia, and requires domestic legislation to bring it into law. On June 24th, the Australian Government tabled the Treaty in Parliament and a published a 'Regulatory Impacts Statement' for consideration.
Now, it's open for consultation and the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties is preparing to make a recommendation to the government on if Australia should ratify the Global Ocean Treaty.
This is our opportunity, as ocean-loving Australians, to make sure the Treaty Committee knows just how much we care about our island home showing real global leadership on ocean protection.
What is Greenpeace Australia Pacific recommending?
Greenpeace will be writing a submission outlining further recommendations to the Treaty Committee, and will be including an ask for the government to:
1. Ratify the Treaty as a priority before the next federal election to ensure it is completed by June 2025.
2. Champion a high seas marine sanctuary between Australia and New Zealand to protect the rich biodiversity of the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea region.
How to have your say
You can have your say on the Government Submission website linked below (requires setting up an account), or we can submit your comments on your behalf alongside other members of the Greenpeace community.
Don't wait! Submit by 12 July.
Frequently Asked Questions
Australia signed the Global Ocean Treaty in September last year, but this is purely symbolic. To bring the Treaty to live, governments must make it legally binding. In Australia, that requires domestic legislation to bring it into law.
Right now, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties is preparing to make a recommendation to the government on if Australia should ratify the Global Ocean Treaty.
Whether you live by the sea, or hundreds of kilometres inland, the ocean affects all of us.
It's essential that the voices of ocean-lovers across Australia are considered when they make this recommendation, not just industry and special interest groups.
The oceans support all life on Earth. They keep our planet habitable, regulate our climate, provide food and livelihoods for billions of people and are home to unique, loved and undiscovered natural beauty.
But every day, the threats to the ocean worsen, with industrial overfishing, pollution and climate change all placing increasing pressure on vulnerable ecosystems above and below the waves.
The ocean is essential to all life on earth, and belongs to us all. This submission is an opportunity to write from the heart about why you care about the global ocean being protected, and why you believe it's important for the Australian Government to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty without delay.
To get your creativity flowing, here are some ideas you might like to think about when writing your submission:
- International waters covers two thirds of the world's ocean, yet less than 1% is properly protected.
- To reach 30x30 world leaders must protect more than 11 million KM2 of ocean every year.
- Every day, the threats to the ocean worsen, with industrial overfishing, pollution and climate change all placing increasing pressure on rare and vulnerable ecosystems in international waters.
- Many marine creatures regularly travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to feeding and breeding grounds through both national and international waters.
Greenpeace will be writing a submission outlining recommendations to the Treaty Committee, and will be asking the government to:
1. Prioritise ratification of the Treaty before the next federal election to ensure it is completed by June 2025.
2. Champion a high seas marine sanctuary between Australia and New Zealand to protect the rich biodiversity of the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea region.
Read more about the historic Global Ocean Treaty in our report, 30×30 From Global Ocean Treaty to Protection at Sea
Head to the government submission page to make your own submission. You can follow this guide to make a submission, and read more in the National Interest Analysis for the Treaty here.
You might also be interested in this excellent submission writing guide from The Commons.
Looking for more ideas on what to write? Read our 30x30 report about the Global Ocean Treaty here.
We will collate all of the comments received and submit them to the Joint Standing Committee Secretary ahead of the deadline on Monday, July 15.
Will you call on the Australian Government to protect our blue planet?
After years of campaigning, the first ever Global Ocean Treaty was approved, but governments now need to bring it into law, to make protected areas a reality at sea. Time is running out, and reaching this target will require a strong and urgent political response.
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