Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek hopes new funding measures for the Great Barrier Reef will turn around the health of the natural wonder.
The government has announced $1.2 billion will be spent on the reef in the upcoming budget.
The previous coalition government had pledged to spend $1 billion on the reef, but Labor has committed to an extra $200 million.
The additional funds will help address gaps in long-term sustainability plans and speed up protection activities.
Ms Plibersek said while cooler weather in the area had given the reef breathing space, more work was needed to be done to protect it.
“We know the reef has been under pressure from climate change, poor water quality and in some cases, inappropriate fishing, and we’re going to work together with the Queensland government to protect the reef,” the minister said on Friday.
Ms Plibersek said while Labor had agreed with the previous funding commitment by the coalition, it was not enough to properly protect the reef.
Some of the funding will go towards measures like restoration projects for seagrass, fishery management and new reef vessels.
“We need to make sure the reef is there for our kids and our grand kids. With the Queensland government we will continue to invest to make sure that happens.”
The minister said stronger action was needed on climate change to be able to ensure the reef’s protection, and reaching net-zero emissions was crucial.
The government previously legislated to enshrine net-zero emissions by 2050, along with a 43 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.
Researchers are also on board with the government’s renewed commitment to protecting the reef and believe the additional funding will assist in streamlining targeted approaches.
Dean Miller, managing director of the not-for-profit Great Barrier Reef Legacy, said the overall goal is to make the Reef naturally resilient again.
“The targets that are put in place are more specific this time and they’re trying to achieve definite goals that helps us get to a point in 2050 where the reef can start to hopefully look after itself,” he told AAP.
James Cook University Associate Professor Dr Scott Heron said the budget allocation in support of the reef is welcomed, but it still doesn’t address its greatest threat.
“I liken it to standing on one side of a fire with a hose – and this funding is is good in trying to deal with an issue,” he told AAP.
“But at the same time standing on the other side of a fire with a blowtorch, and that blowtorch is the continued investment and opportunity in the causes of climate change: fossil fuel based energies.”
Australian Conservation Foundation chief Kelly O’Shanassy said the additional money was welcome, after environment spending had been slashed by 40 per cent over the decade.
But support for new gas projects undermined the government’s efforts, she said.
“It would make no sense at all if the federal budget also includes money to support the growth of fossil fuels, which are driving climate change and inflicting repeated bleaching events on the reef’s corals.”
© AAP 2022
