500 million big ones will finally be allocated to the Great Barrier Reef by the Turnbull Government to try and improve the seriously worrying conditions the GBR are in at the moment.
The efforts will be Australia’s single biggest environmental protection package and will be further detailed and officially confirmed in next month’s budget.
To tackle the growing problem of crown-of-thorns starfish, water pollution, and reef damage, the government will team up with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation where $444 million will be allocated to these particular areas.
Crown-of-thorn starfish have been discovered eating their way through coral on the southern end of the reef.
$56 million will also be allocated to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Department of the Environment and Energy.
Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg told ABC News,
“We must improve water quality. We must address crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. We must ensure our reef managers and scientists are better equipped to manage and monitor our reefs, working smarter than ever before… And we must unlock new scientific insights that can help restore the reefs that have suffered damage.”
In a further breakdown of the $444 million, $201 million will go into improving water quality, $100 million will go into reef restoration science, $58 million to combat the crown-of-thorns starfish, and $45 million for community management and engagement. This also includes Indigenous traditional knowledge for sea country management. The remaining $40 million will be used to monitor reef health.
Frydenberg also stressed the importance of the reef to the Australian economy.
“The reef supports some 64,000 jobs, over $6 billion it is worth to the economy, and attracts more than 2 million visitors a year.”
The Libs have since posted the below to their twitter.
Our record $500 million Great Barrier Reef investment will improve water quality, tackle coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and implement scientific reef restoration. This will also protect jobs that rely on this critical national asset. #auspol pic.twitter.com/2cqNyipf4D
— Liberal Party (@LiberalAus) April 29, 2018
Upon re-election in 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull invested $6 million as part of The Reef Trust during the early stages of combating the crown-of-thorns starfish. The $6 mill went toward an additional vessel for divers who inject the starfish with a lethal saline solution.
