Secret files obtained by Greenpeace under Freedom of Information laws have exposed how Reef authorities repeatedly warned our government of the unnecessary and irreversible harm dredging and dumping would cause to our Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Reef authorities called the project “unacceptable”. Yet instead of listening to the advice of its own experts, our government approved it anyway. And a few months later, despite claiming that “absolutely no political pressure” played a role, the Reef authority fell into line [1]. We know something’s gone really wrong when our own government looks away from the risks, then the authority charged with protecting the Reef backflips and does the same. We’ve launched an emergency petition urging Environment Minister Greg Hunt to revoke approvals at Abbot Point and launch an immediate inquiry into how this dreadful mess could happen. ADD YOUR NAME TODAY Here’s a basic breakdown of the Marine Park Authority’s earlier advice to government, revealed under the FOI request: Dumping 3 million cubic metres of sediment would cause unnecessary and irreversible harm to areas of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Coral reefs and other marine life are already fragile from damage caused by bleaching and ocean acidification. Studies by coal port developers into the damage dredging would cause are deficient and unreliable. There are alternatives to dredging and dumping at sea, so the project as it stands should not be approved. Shockingly, these crucial facts were kept under lock and key, until now. So with crystal-clear evidence that Reef authorities advised the government to reject this dodgy dredging plan, why did they approve it? Sorry Minister Hunt, but we’ve caught you out. It’s time to pull the plug on destructive dredging and dumping in the Reef for good. Since the final permit came through in January, the public pressure to save our Reef has been ramping up like never before. Community groups are now challenging the dredging in court. Even mining companies including Lend Lease and BHP Billiton are getting cold feet, publicly withdrawing their interest in coal projects that would require dredging in the first place. There’s no doubt the government is embarrassed by the headlines this week. They should be. But if we speak out together today, we can turn this explosive new evidence into more that just a bad day in the press. We can make it into a critical turning point. Sign our emergency petition to demand our government act on the advice it should have listened to all along, and revoke approval for dredging and dumping in our Reef at Abbot Point. With determination, Louise Matthiesson Queensland community campaigner Greenpeace Australia Pacific [1] Great Barrier Reef authority argued against dredge dumping, FOI reveals, The Guardian, 3 March 2014. https://greenpeace.org.au/action/?cid=65&src=SHEM1
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 07:41:17 +0000