The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has approved a proposal to dump dredge spoil from the Abbot Point coal terminal in the Marine Park area.
The latest facepalm from the government will see three million cubic metres of dredge spoil dumped within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The reason? To create one of the world’s biggest coal ports for companies mining the coal reserves of the Galilee Basin.
Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer are reportedly negotiating leases for the area.
‘Environment’ Minister Greg Hunt has said he would demand “a 150 per cent net benefit requirement for water quality” in the reef area. Wendy Tubman from the North Queensland Conservation Council thinks that the target is unachievable.
“You’ve got water of a certain clarity, then you add three million cubic metres of dredge spoil, finds, sands, sludge … Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t see how that’s going to improve water quality.”
Right on sister. She actually uses logic, unlike Greg Hunt, who uses Wikipedia.
The mining industry claims that up to 25,000 jobs will be created if the development of the coal terminal goes ahead, along with other developments in the Queensland coalfields. That’s 25,000 jobs for people working in an industry that isn’t renewable and has a high likelihood of doing irreversible damage to one of our greatest national treasures. A treasure that has brought tourists to our country for years.
It’s a sad decision for anyone who loves the Great Barrier Reef.
Photo: Mark Kolbe via Getty
Via ABC
