E&OE….
Topics: Great Barrier Reef
LUKE GRANT:
Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has welcomed the decision. He's in fact about to fly to the Whitsundays for a bit of snorkelling, I'm told, on the Great Barrier Reef. He's on the line. Minister good morning.
GREG HUNT:
G'day Luke. I in fact have a conference that I have to speak out, but I am going to steal an hour or two in the water. It's important I think to see this magnificent reef. But it's a fantastic decision for Australia.
LUKE GRANT:
It is. Is it what you expected?
GREG HUNT:
It's what we'd hoped for. It is in fact better than we had anticipated. It's- A number of things. The World Heritage Centre, which is a body under what’s called UNESCO, has not only recommended that the reef not be listed ‘in danger’, there's no reference to ‘in danger’ at all, we're back to an ordinary five year reporting cycle and most significantly they have praised Australia's management of the reef, and in particular the once in a century decision we've made to end the dumping of dredge disposal, a hundred year practice, in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
LUKE GRANT:
Is there any reason why when this goes to the meeting in Germany in a few weeks, the World Heritage Committee won't accept the recommendation. Does that happen at all? Or not?
GREG HUNT:
No. That is exceptionally unusual. In this case you have the technical officials you have the senior UN officials and you have the 21 countries that are all saying the same thing to us. Australia is now a model of not just reef management but how you respond to some of these issues. We are being held up around the world as the example of how a country should respond to a challenge. Australia went on to the watch list in 2011 under the ALP. It has come off the watch list in 2015 under the Coalition.
I'm really pleased about that. Most importantly it's not the diplomacy, it's the fact that in the real world, on the reef, a massive investment program in water quality, a long-term plan and then I think the thing which has really fuelled the international outcome is this difficult but once in a century ban on dredge disposal in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
LUKE GRANT:
Good stuff. Why, before I let you go, why then was the Opposition so keen to suggest that in fact this was going to go the other way? I'm pretty sure I was hearing Labor Members of Parliament suggest that, well, not that you'd blown it, but it looked obvious that the World Heritage Committee would have to say no it is on the ‘in danger’ list.
GREG HUNT:
Well, it was a little ironic I thought, because it went on to the ‘in danger’ list under Federal Labor and it came off the ‘in danger’ list under us. I suspect that some of that was a little bit of a diversion. Folks were embarrassed that under Labor the reef was put on the watch list, and nearly endangered and under us it's come off.
And more importantly than that to me, even more importantly is that in the real world, the physical world, reductions in sediment, reductions in nitrogen, reductions in pesticides and then a dramatic campaign to wipe out as many of the crown of thorns starfish through directly attacking them with a single shot poison. So it's really important stuff that's occurring right up and down the reef now.
LUKE GRANT:
Good stuff. Good to catch up. Happy snorkelling.
GREG HUNT:
Thanks so much Luke. Take care.
(ENDS)