E&OE….
Topics: Great Barrier Reef
CARRIE BICKMORE:
Well Greg Hunt is the Environment Minister and he joins us now. Welcome.
GREG HUNT:
Thank you very much and congratulations on the Logie…
CARRIE BICKMORE:
Oh thank you.
GREG HUNT:
And much more importantly, congratulations on Evie.
CARRIE BICKMORE:
Oh thanks so much. Alright, let's get to it.
GREG HUNT:
Alright.
CARRIE BICKMORE:
What are you guys doing to protect the reef?
GREG HUNT:
Look there are three big things we're doing. Firstly there's a Reef 2050 plan which means for the first time we've planned out until the mid-point of the century, and that's doing really practical things; cleaning up crown-of-thorns, reducing sediment, reducing nutrient, these are the things that really either hurt, or if they're removed can protect the reef.
Secondly yep, there's a significant amount of money, a little bit over $2 billion, but it's not the money, it's getting the communities involved, and then, I think, most importantly we inherited five massive dredging plans for the reef, all of those are gone, and instead we've put in place a ban forever for all of the Marine Park, which is the size of Italy. So that ban came into force, into law a few weeks ago, and I don't think there will ever be dredge disposal in this enormous area ever again in Australia's history.
WALEED ALY:
So can we talk about the dredging? Can we talk about the dredging, because you're not talking about a ban on dredging per se, it's on the dumping of the spoil from the dredging right?
But the Australian Academy of Science has been critical of that because they've said that what the plan doesn't include is a ban on the dumping of the spoil from maintenance dredging, which is significant, there's no limitation on it, and we're looking at projections from your own figures even of about 100 – what is it 100 million tonnes – or 1 million tonnes per year of that dredging spoil. So that's a very significant impact on the environment.
GREG HUNT:
Ah no, with respect, the big thing that Australia is facing, and when I came in and opened the files it was an incredible surprise to see that there was a total of 60 million tonnes of dredge disposal which would have been put into this enormous Marine Park area. That's all gone.
Now in order to ensure that ships don't run aground there is actually a very minor, what you'd call maintenance dredging, but that is one scintilla of the size of what had previously been planned. And you have to do that so as there's no grounding of ships, there's no ships running aground. That's one of the most important things you could do to protect and save the reef in the next 100 years.
WALEED ALY:
I understand your point, but there's no limitation on the dumping of it.
GREG HUNT:
Ah yes there is, yes there is.
WALEED ALY:
And that's the point that the Academy of Science are…
GREG HUNT:
…we're actually reducing it dramatically. So we inherited two things; massive dredge proposals, all gone now, and then maintenance which is being reduced and which we are reducing dramatically as well.
So people should feel really proud that things which had never happened in the last 100 years are happening now, and that's what the UN recognised; that we inherited a reef which was on track to being in danger, and four years later the UN after probably the most comprehensive study in the world's history has said – in terms of reefs – that Australia should be praised, and we're on track to really making a big difference over the next 50 years.
WALEED ALY:
Well they've deferred their ‘in danger’ assessment, and their ‘in danger’ listing. You've got to report back in a few years, that's the way the process works.
GREG HUNT:
No, no, with respect, all reference to in danger has gone, and there's praise for Australia, and every five years each property has to report.
WALEED ALY:
Right, so there's no guarantee that it won't be in danger in the future, it depends on what we do now, and that's why you have to report back. But your own report said that the overall outlook for the Great Barrier Reef – this is a year ago – is poor, has worsened since 2009, and is expected to further deteriorate into the future.
GREG HUNT:
And what's interesting is just over the last weekend the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said that there's been an enormous recovery since Cyclone Yasi for example. Coral growth at much faster the rate than anybody had expected, 4.5 per cent recovery in the two years following the cyclone. Sediment and nutrient and nitrogen which harm the Marine Park are all down significantly.
So what we see is that those were problems we inherited, and because this is such an important issue – for me it's the work of my life – we are turning those things around. And for the long term we have a lot to feel proud of. Yes there are challenges, real challenges, but are we doing more than anybody ever before? Absolutely.
STEVE PRICE:
What do you say about the argument that the proximity of coal mines to the reef itself, and the potential for damage?
GREG HUNT:
Sure I think there's one recently which is being reported as if it were next to the reef – that's 300 kilometres inland in one of the driest, dustiest, most remote areas of Australia you could imagine. And so there was a lot of misrepresentation about that. There's nothing that is near the reef itself, everything is significantly inland.
These are all of course inherited projects from other people. But on our watch we have ended the dredging, we have made radical inroads into crown-of-thorns, and we've reduced the nutrients and other things flowing in.
STEVE PRICE:
You seem quite defensive. I'm not quite sure why you are. Do you worry that you don't get credit for trying hard to do what you're doing?
GREG HUNT:
Look I understand that these are contested matters. I actually feel extremely proud of what's happened over the last two years. Putting in place a ban after 100 years of dredge disposal – nobody believed that was possible two years ago, and that's something that we've been able to do, and most importantly turning around nutrients and sediment…
WALEED ALY:
Hey Minister, it's not a total ban. This is the problem; it's not a total ban. So you…
GREG HUNT:
No, look for all intents and purposes it is. And I don't want you to be too filled with doom and gloom. You should feel pretty good about the fact that massive, massive volumes which were going are all gone. And now to ensure that we don't have ships coming aground there's a very minor process of taking sand out of sand corridors, that's not an issue.
WALEED ALY:
So are you saying the Australian Academy of Science are full of doom and gloom?
GREG HUNT:
Ah, no I'm not at all, they've done a great job. I'm just saying that you may not be entirely representing them accurately.
WALEED ALY:
Oh right, this is the part where I read out their press release. Which we don't have time to do, we'll put it up on our website.
PETER HELLIAR:
And the fossil fuels have gotten to Carrie it seems here, she's – you okay?
CARRIE BICKMORE:
Fine.
WALEED ALY:
Would you like to wrap it?
CARRIE BICKMORE:
Yeah, with a cough. Thank you so much for joining us.
GREG HUNT:
It's a pleasure.
(ENDS)