Australia’s environment minister wants to ban fishers and drillers from more ocean – and avoid a culture war

Conservationists hope Murray Watt’s review of national marine parks will ‘right the wrongs’ of previous downgrade of protection

• Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here

The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has pledged to put an extra half a million square kilometres of Australia’s ocean out of reach of fishers and drillers in a step conservationists hope will “right the wrongs” of an Abbott-era downgrade of marine protection.

Watt confirmed last year Australia would put 30% of its ocean estate under a high level of protection that bans extractive industries as part of an international agreement to protect 30% of the planet’s oceans.

Source: Guardian - World News