Extract from ABC News
The Queensland Premier has asked the Prime Minister to match funding for renewable energy jobs and water quality projects ahead of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's vote on whether to list the reef as "in danger" due to the impact of climate change.
Key points:
- UNESCO's World Heritage Committee is set to discuss the Great Barrier Reef in coming days
- Queensland is seeking a federal funding match for water quality projects
- The recent state budget allocated $270 million over five years for reef water quality schemes
Annastacia Palaszczuk wrote to Scott Morrison yesterday with a list of requests.
The most significant is a request to match Queensland's $2 billion commitment to create a Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund, which was announced in the most recent state budget.
Ms Palaszczuk also asked the federal government to match funding for projects under the Queensland government's $500 million Land Restoration Fund, in the hope of "doubling the effectiveness of our investments", and to match a commitment to keep funding for reef water quality improvement programs at current or higher levels for the next five years.
Queensland's state budget allocated $270 million over five years for water quality improvement programs.
The letter also calls for the reinstatement of the Great Barrier Reef Ministerial Forum as the joint governance body to oversee the progress of the Reef 2050 Plan.
The plan is undergoing its first five-year review, but the final updated version is yet to be released, despite being expected earlier this year.
The ministerial forum was abolished when National Cabinet agreed to overhaul former COAG councils and forums, a decision agreed to by the Queensland government at the time.
"There was a wholesale reform of all of the ministerial councils, but what we've seen since then … is a reduction in the ability to coordinate between levels of government," Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.
"We think it was a useful tool for governance … one of the things we could do to demonstrate to [the UNESCO committee] that the governments are working together would be to reconstitute that ministerial forum."
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee expressed its concern that, despite a strong commitment to the implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan and unprecedented levels of financial support, the deterioration of the ecosystem's long-term outlook had been more rapid and widespread than expected.
It noted the reef "suffered significantly" from coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
It
said the Reef 2050 Plan provided a "coherent framework" to improve
management, but progress towards achieving the targets had been "very
slow in many key areas".
Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley is holding meetings overseas with UNESCO delegates ahead of a World Heritage Committee session, which begins in China and online on Friday.
She has previously described last month's draft recommendation as a "blindside" and a "backflip", and has raised concerns about a lack of process and an absence of "proper" consultation.
A spokesman for Ms Ley said it was a time for all levels of government to work together in the interests of people whose livelihoods were tied to the reef.
The spokesman declined to say whether any of the state government's requests would be considered.
"The minister will continue to work constructively with the Queensland government to protect the Great Barrier Reef and to ensure that our joint efforts under the Reef 2050 plan, along with the latest reef science, are properly considered in any determination the World Heritage Committee makes on the status of the reef," the spokesman said.
The federal government is providing $2.08 billion of the $3.05 billion funding under the Reef 2050 plan and has said it is committed to ongoing funding strategies to protect the reef and its World Heritage status.
Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said she had had a "number of conversations" with Ms Ley since UNESCO's proposal was announced.
"What
we need with this newest proposal to put the reef on the in-danger
listing is more ambition from the Commonwealth government," Ms Scanlon
said.
"This is a much-loved treasure here in Queensland that we need to protect," she said.
"We've been very clear from day dot that we think there needs to be greater ambition in investment in things like renewable energy … while we continue to work together in the best interest of Queensland.
"Of course we'll also advocate for the science."
'We need to see urgent action'
The Australian Marine Conservation Society welcomed the move to seek greater funding to address water quality in the Great Barrier Reef, saying if funding was scaled up it could significantly benefit marine wildlife, communities and industries that relied on the reef.
"The Morrison government should not only match these funds, but commit to a national climate policy and plan that is compatible with no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming — a key threshold for the survival of the reef," society campaigner David Cazzulino said.
"We need to see urgent action by the federal government to dramatically cut emissions in the short term and to urge the rest of the world to do the same, to give our reef the best chance of survival."
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