The most important health check in years warns the Great Barrier Reef’s prospects are “very poor” despite the government pouring millions of dollars into programs to help it cope with climate change and other threats.
The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report was released with little fanfare on Friday afternoon, minus commentary from the federal government.
The five-yearly report is a comprehensive assessment of the reef’s condition, threats and future and calls for urgent national and global action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or as close as possible.
It says climate change is the reef’s main threat, fuelling increasingly frequent marine heatwaves that bleach and kill coral and amplify other menaces including poor water quality.
“Even with the recent management initiatives to reduce threats and improve resilience, the overall future outlook for the Great Barrier Reef is very poor,” Ian Poiner, the chair of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, writes in the report.
The report says poor water quality continues to affect many coastal and inshore parts of the reef.
And while water quality has improved since 2019, progress has been slow and reflects “modest” improvements in land use.
There was no mention of the looming report at 9am on Friday when Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and the prime minister held a press conference in Townsville and announced an extra $192 million to address water quality problems.
The document was tabled in parliament not long afterwards about 2pm, which required ministerial sign off.
It went up on the authority’s website about that time but information wasn’t sent to media until about 4.30pm.
“The outlook report is a legislative document and is made publicly available once it is tabled. The Reef Authority published the report, along with supporting documents, on its website shortly after it was tabled,” it said.
Australian Marine Conservation Society reef campaigner Lissa Schindler says the handling of such a significant report is extremely disappointing.
“This report talks about the emotional connection and economic use of the Great Barrier Reef and how important it is to Australians,” Dr Schindler said.
“It’s disappointing that this is the way they let the public know.”
She welcomed the extra cash for water quality but added: “It really should have been done in acknowledgement of the state of the Great Barrier Reef rather than just an announcement that’s seen to be separate.
“They knew what was in the report. It’s almost trying to cover up what’s happening with the reef.”
AAP has asked when Plibersek first received the report.
In written comments, she said the government understood its responsibility to safeguard and restore the reef.
“We’ve legislated to reach net zero, with a 43 per cent emissions reduction target by 2030 and committed to reaching 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
“We’re funding projects that improve the reef’s ability to recover after a bleaching event … this includes the $192 million Clearer Water for a Healthy Reef program we (just) announced.”
Earlier this year, the World Heritage Committee decided not to list the reef as in danger, but Australia remains on notice over enduring threats including climate change and poor water quality.
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