Will the new Australian PM kill the Great Barrier Reef?

A right wing, anti-immigration, ex-boxer named Tony Abbot recently became Australias new Prime Minister at the end of last year. Hes a very conservative, business-minded bloke, whos known for pervy, sexist slips and anti-gay remarks He and his Liberal party have made up a Liberal-National coalition were voted in on a comfortable majority and have ended six years of Labor government. Abbott is famous for his Stop The Boats policy, which aims to put an end to people seeking asylum in Australia (despite only 3% of the worlds asylum seekers actually being based in the continent). Not only is Mr Abbott making gays and women feel uncomfortable and every non-Aussie feel unwelcome, he is looking to build nine of the biggest coalmines in the world along the Great Barrier Reef. Hes got a funny old attitude towards environmental issues; one of his immediate actions is to get rid of the carbon tax, which was set at $23AUD per tonne of greenhouse gas emitted. This means he has essentially opened the floodgates for companies to excrete as many greenhouse gases into the sky as they wish. At full capacity, the nine proposed mines in the Galilee Basin would result in 705m tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, according to analysis undertaken by Greenpeace Australia Pacific. Lets compare this figure to the UK, which emitted 549 million tonnes of CO2 from all of its sources in 2011. This colossal level of emissions would exceed all but six nations in the entire world. This barefaced disregard for climate issues shouldnt really come as a surprise as he once famously described climate change as absolute crap. However, the direct threat to the Reef increases as he also plans to build major shipping channels along the area of the Reef for thousands of ships a year to transport coal in and out of Australia. This means theyre looking to dig up 3 million cubic metres (?!) of the seabed to make way for the ports and channels, which then will get dumped back within the Barrier Reef marine park. Its widely predicted that the mud and sediment thats dug up will disperse and smother the Reef causing big problems. This is extremely dangerous for the future of the largest coral reef in the world, one that in the last 27 years has already diminished to half of its size. The GBR is made up of 3,000 individual reef systems that together make up the most complex and diverse mass of living organisms in the world. It is also home to a cornucopia of wildlife including turtles, dugongs and dolphins. In recent years, an abundance of crown-of-thorns starfish around the Reef has been a problem as the creatures, that thrive on pollution, have been eating the coral. Before being elected, the Abbott administration vowed that theyd set up a fund to tackle the problem of the starfish. This is an unarguably a good move but perhaps their focus is slightly misdirected. The menace of the starfish to the Reef is nowhere near as big as the threat of the mass dumping he plans to undertake when building the shipping channels and coalmines. Tens of thousands of animals (many of which endangered) and their habitats will be upturned in the

process and the risk of collisions and spillages dramatically increase with the new flurry of coal ships. I phoned the Liberal Party several times, including the MP for Queensland Ian Macfarlane, to discuss the plans but each time they were increasingly sheepish on the matter and continually referred me elsewhere. On their website they describe their environmental policies, We will adopt a more balanced approach by setting up more rigorous assessments for new Marine Protected Areas that will mean the areas are assessed in accordance with objective scientific, economic and social evidence. Our aim is to continue to protect marine environments and the fishing communities which rely on them. They also state that they are to establish a 15,000-strong Green Army to protect the environments in local communities throughout Australia, supplementing the current land care efforts of councils, farmers and volunteers. Not once do they directly refer to the plans for the Reef and all of their statements on their environmental stance are as expected, very diplomatic and uncommitted. We spoke to campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Louise Matthieson, The new government have made it clear that they want to see an expansion in coal mining and coal export and that theyre also determined to protect the Great Barrier Reef. Really, those two aims are not compatible, you cant do both. Greenpeace have set up a Save The Reef online petition online but whether the Liberal-National coalition will take notice is unknown. Matthieson is sure that the need to protect the Reef is at the heart of every Australian. In Australia, love for the Great Barrier Reef crosses all political spectrums, no matter which party you vote for. In this day and age, its just not acceptable to be dumping millions of tonnes of mud in a heritage marine park. GetUp! (Action For Australia) campaigner, Fiona Maxwell, spoke to us to say, The climate implications along from all the proposed coal and coal seam gas development along the reef coast are of global significance. Increased shipping is also a major issue and if these proposed developments go ahead the reef will become a shipping super highway. Just one collision, one mistake or one spill could result in an environmental catastrophe in one of the seven natural wonders of the world. GetUp! have set up a similar petition that has received 240,000 online signatures and theyre determined that the future of the Reef is a major concern. We have a global responsibility as caretakers of this natural wonder to ensure a healthy reef remains for future generations. The proposed mega-mines are hardly being considered with the everyman in mind. More than 83% of Australias coalmining industry is foreign-owned and it employs less than 0.5% of the Aussie workforce. North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp, the port operator at Abbot Point (one of the sites of proposed expansion), have failed to reach a consensus with commercial fishermen about the best place for them to dump the spoil. The fishermen are

adamant that wherever the seabed is dumped will be detrimental for the water quality and fish stocks. International markets have declared that coal is no longer the way forward. The biggest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton Ltd., even said back in 2010 that Australia needs to move away from coal in order to stay competitive in the future. So, the Australian government has a hard choice to make. Whether to make a shameful short-term buck from the coal industry and potentially jeopardise the health of the Reef, or scrap it, get on board with Obamas Climate Action Plan and do their bit to preserve one of Australias natural wonders. The choices they make over the next few months will greatly affect the Australia that younger generations inherit. Jak Hutchcraft Twitter : @Jak_TH