Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that the Australian government is set to invest $1 billion into the Great Barrier Reef in order to protect it from future destruction.
According to the media release it will support 64,000 jobs in Queensland while also introducing new technology in climate adaption, water quality and management systems. Mr Morrison said of the investment that it will play a significant part in protecting the Great Barrier Reef and its industry in the coming years.
“We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, hospitality providers and Queensland communities that are at the heart of the reef economy,” he said.
“This is already the best managed reef in the world and today we take our commitment to a new level,”
“Funding will support scientists, farms and Traditional Owners, backing in the very latest marine science while building resilience and reducing threats from pollution in our oceans and predators such as the Crown of Thorns starfish.”
The investment will be spent over a nine-year period with $579 million for water quality, $252 million for reef conservation, $92.7 million for research and $74.4 million for indigenous community-led projects. While the announcement would push the Reef 2050 Plan’s total investment to more than $3 billion, people have been quick to point out that saving the Great Barrier Reef will be down to taking action on climate change.
Twitter user @SuDharmapala said “You know what will really help the Great Barrier Reef? Not money- but real action on climate change and stopping mining barons from building ports along it”. Minister for Environment Sussan Ley had the opposite to say stating on twitter that “The @ScottMorrisonMP government is deeply committed to protecting the #GreatBarrierReef and the communities who rely on it for their livelihoods”.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) the reef has lost over half its coral cover due to “deadly starfish outbreaks, pollution and global warming” over the past 30 years. Spanning 344,000 square kilometres the Great Barrier Reef brings approximately $6 billion to the economy on an annual basis.
