Queensland’s peak resources sector body has backed the science-based decision of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to grant dredge permits under strict conditions for the expansion of the Port of Abbott Point. Chief Executive of the Queensland Resources Council Michael Roche says he was always confident that GBRMPA would base the decision on the overwhelming scientific evidence available and the fact that all available evidence shows that port dredging over the past 30 years has not resulted in a permanent negative impact on the reef. ‘I’m pleased that GBRMPA has not been swayed by the emotive activists’ campaigns,’ said Roche. ‘This is not the first decision GBRMPA has had to make in this regard, and it won’t be the last.
‘Dredge sediment won’t be removed from or deposited on the reef, seagrass meadows or any other areas of high conservation value identified by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
‘The federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt previously imposed some unprecedented environmental conditions on the dredging project including that 150% of the total amount of fine sediments potentially available for re-suspension in the marine environment must be offset by a reduction in the load of fine sediments entering the marine environment from the Burdekin and Don catchments.
‘The minister has also imposed a cap of 1.3 million m3 of sediment that can be dredged or disposed of in a year and those activities can only be undertaken between 1 March and 30 June each year to protect water quality during critical times for seagrass growth and coral spawning.
‘The Great Barrier Reef is an Australian icon that must be protected and governments have rightly set the bar high to ensure that developments along the reef don’t put it at risk.
‘It’s unfortunate that the debate over this dredging project has diverted attention from the real risks to the reef which remain poor water quality, the crown of thorns star fish, storm damage and coral bleaching.
‘The dredging project goes hand in hand with the development of new coal reserves in the Galilee Basin where proposed projects have a forecast investment of $28.4 billion and would provide more than 15,000 jobs during construction and 13,000 operational jobs.’
The council has also welcomed the release of the Australian Government’s progress report to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef (‘the State Party Report’). Roche says the report outlines the significant progress made by Australia in the past 12 months to comprehensively deliver on the requests of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) concerning the management of the Reef.
‘The State Party Report again documents the real threats to the reef as being extreme weather events, the potential effects of climate change, the crown of thorns starfish infestations and nutrient and sediment run-off from land clearing and broad-scale agriculture,’ he said.
‘Flying in the face of the hysterical reaction from some quarters to the granting on Friday of a dredging permit at Abbot Point, the State Party report identifies impacts from port development and dredging as minor, temporary and localised.’
Roche congratulated the Australian and Queensland Governments and their partners in industry and the research community for the fine work being done to turn around the health of the reef, particularly with the efforts on controlling the crown of thorns infestations and improving agricultural practices. ‘I urge everyone interested in the health of the reef to read the State Party Report. The report documents for example the severe impacts of cyclones and the resultant flood plumes.’
Roche said the report also outlined the measures being pursued with industry support to further enhance shipping safety and reduce the environmental impacts of shipping, under the North East Shipping Management Plan. ‘Industry also has lent its support to the Queensland Government’s ports strategy, which restricts any significant port development to existing ports such as Abbot Point and Gladstone.
Roche said that one gap in the State Party Report was that it overlooked the economic contribution of the resource sector operations that rely on ports adjacent to the Reef. ‘In 2012-13, Queensland resources operations directly injected spending of A$38 billion into the Queensland economy, and was responsible for one in four dollars of the Queensland economy and one in five jobs.’
