A Rudd Labor Government will implement a $200 million Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan to help secure the Reef from climate change and declining water quality.
Federal Labor’s $200 million Plan will be the largest ever single financial contribution to help secure the long term future of the Great Barrier Reef.
Federal Labor’s $200 million Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan is a fully funded plan to:
- Invest $146 million in a new Water Quality Grants Scheme;
- Commit $12 million to significantly extend the Reef Partnerships Program;
- Provide $10 million in new grants for Water Quality Research & Development;
- Significantly strengthen the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting Program by investing an extra $22 million;
- Establish a new $10 million Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program; and
- Publication of an annual “Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Report Card”.
By helping to secure the Reef from climate change and declining water quality, Federal Labor’s Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan will have enormous benefits for the Reef, local landholders and farmers, the tourism and fishing industries dependant on the Reef.
Why we must take practical action now to rescue the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef makes a significant contribution to the Australian economy, generating more than $6 billion in GDP each year and employing more than 63,000 people in tourism, fishing, cultural and recreational related industries.
The Howard Government’s ‘Climate Change in Australia’ report identified the Great Barrier Reef as one of six key Australian natural icons at risk from climate change, reinforcing the views of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Despite the evidence, the Howard Government has failed to act on climate change and failed to take action to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Federal Labor understands that the Federal Government must take practical, comprehensive and decisive action immediately if we are to secure the long term future of the Great Barrier Reef.
That is why Federal Labor is committing $200 million from the Natural Heritage Trust to secure the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Federal Labor’s Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan covers the whole reef catchment area.
The Great Barrier Reef – covering 35 million hectares - is the largest natural feature on earth stretching more than 2,300km along the northeast coast of Australia from the northern tip of Queensland to just north of Bundaberg. It is quite simply Australia’s greatest natural treasure.
Stakeholders are united in support of a comprehensive reef protection plan. They include – the Queensland Farmers Federation, Canegrowers, Agforce, Cotton Australia and WWF Australia.
The Howard Government has been deaf to warnings of declining water quality on the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Excessive nutrients, pesticides and sediments from the run-off are degrading inshore reefs and making the entire system more vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
In 2002, Prime Minister Howard and the then-Premier, Peter Beattie announced a joint approach to the issue of land-based pollution affecting reef water quality, signing the 10-year Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.
In 2003, the Howard Government said it would “be making a major contribution to the plan”, but four years later, the Federal Government is yet to commit any funding to implement it.
The threat from coral bleaching caused by climate change is magnified by poor water quality. In this way, climate change and declining water quality combine to create a twin threat to the long-term health of the Great Barrier Reef.
Federal Labor’s Great Barrier Reef Rescue Plan
The $146 million ‘Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Grants Program’ will provide matching grants to landowners and managers in reef catchments for land management practices which improve farm productivity and reduce loss of nutrients and sediments. The grants program will be delivered in partnership with peak industry groups and existing regional Natural Resource Management groups.
The $12 million ‘Healthy Reef Partnerships Program’ will boost partnerships between a Rudd Labor Government and the state agencies, peak industry organisations and non-government organisations which support landowners with increased local expertise and extension staff. The partnerships program will build on existing programs in rural industry bodies and Non Government Organisations.
The $10 million ‘Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Research and Development Program’ is a competitive research funding program aimed at improving understanding of the link between land management practices and environmental impacts and will lead to the development and application of new water-quality monitoring techniques for nutrient, chemical and sediments.
The $22 million ‘Water Quality Monitoring & Reporting Program’ will expand existing monitoring and reporting of water quality in the Great Barrier Reef and provide additional funding for further development and implementation of a coordinated catchment-wide water quality monitoring program. This will include monitoring and reporting of land use, land condition and uptake of best management practices, and the publication of a Great Barrier Reef Water Quality & Land Condition Report Card.
The $10 million ‘Land and Sea Country Indigenous Partnerships Program’ includes at least $5 million for the employment of Sea Country Officers in indigenous communities and provides additional funding for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to strengthen partnerships with indigenous communities.