Pollutants Environmental watering Program 4.2: Commonwealth Environmental Water Outcome 4: Improve the health of freshwater ecosystems (rivers, wetlands, flood plains) through research, education and environmental watering and strengthen the water resources knowledge base. Climate Change Develop and implement a national response to climate change Reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions Program 2.1: Reducing Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Outcome 2: Reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, to the impacts of climate change, contribute to effective global action on climate change, and support technological innovation in clean and renewable energy, through developing and implementing a national response to climate change. Program 2.3: Renewable Energy Technology Development Adapting to climate change Program 2.2: Adapting to Climate Change Antarctica Advance Australia’s strategic, scientific and environmental interests in the Antarctic Antarctic science, policy and presence Program 3.1: Antarctica: Science, Policy and Presence Outcome 3: Advance Australia’s strategic, scientific, environmental and economic interests in the Antarctic region by protecting, administering and researching the region. Energy Support the reliable, sustainable and secure operations of energy markets through improving Australia’s energy efficiency, performance and productivity for the community Energy security Program 5.1: Energy Outcome 5: Support the reliable, sustainable and secure operations of energy markets through improving Australia’s energy efficiency, performance and productivity for the community.1 Energy market reform and energy efficiency programs Relates to ‘Environment and Heritage’ and supports all other purposes Science, information and research Relates to Outcome 1, Program 1.2: Environmental information and research, and Outcome 4, Program 4.1: Water science and wetlands. Supports all other outcomes and programs. Performance against purposes and activities Environment and heritage Purpose: Conserve, protect and sustainably manage Australia’s biodiversity and heritage Activity: Investing in our environment and heritage
The Australian Government released the Australian Antarctic Strategy and 20 Year Action Plan in April 2016. The strategy and action plan set out Australia’s national Antarctic interests and actions to advance these interests over the next 20 years. The Department’s Australian Antarctic Division coordinates the implementation of the strategy and action plan. An interdepartmental committee, led by the Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, oversees its implementation. During 2016–17, we made significant progress towards achieving the year one commitments under the strategy: In October 2015, the Government announced that it planned to replace the Aurora Australis with a new icebreaker by 2020. The Government has finalised the contract arrangements and work on building Australia’s new icebreaker has started. To provide certainty for the Australian Antarctic Program, the Government has established sustainable, ongoing funding of $20 million a year for the program over the next 10 years. On 14 October 2016, the Government announced that, in addition to the $2.2 billion invested to support the Australian Antarctic Strategy and 20 Year Action Plan, it would invest $50 million in a new state-of-the-art research station on Macquarie Island. The new station will be the most advanced of its type in the Southern Ocean, capable of supporting the full scope of priority research and ensuring a permanent and recurring presence on the island. Due to its position as the only base between Australia and Antarctica, Macquarie Island is an important global monitoring location for scientific research, including monitoring southern hemisphere weather and climatic data. The new station guarantees continued support for high-priority science and long-term monitoring by the science community, including the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.