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Will the new Australian PM kill the Great Barrier Reef?

A right wing, anti-immigration, ex-boxer named Tony Abbot recently becameAustralias new Prime Minister at the end of last year.Hes a very conservative, business-minded bloke, whos known for pervy, sexist

slips and anti-gay remarks

He and his Liberal party have made up a Liberal-National coalition were voted inon a comfortable majority and have ended six years of Labor government. Abbottis famous for his Stop The Boats policy, which aimsto put an end to peopleseeking asylum in Australia (despite only 3% of the worlds asylum seekers

actually being based in the continent). Not only is Mr Abbott making gays andwomen feel uncomfortable and every non-Aussie feel unwelcome, he is lookingto build nine of the biggest coalmines in the world along the Great Barrier Reef.

Hes got a funny old attitude towards environmental issues; one of his immediateactions is to get rid of the carbon tax, which was set at $23AUD per tonne ofgreenhouse gas emitted. This means he has essentially opened the floodgates forcompanies to excrete as many greenhouse gases into the sky as they wish. At fullcapacity, the nine proposed mines in the Galilee Basin would result in 705mtonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere, according to analysis undertaken byGreenpeace Australia Pacific. Lets compare this figure to the UK, which emitted549 million tonnes of CO2 from allof its sources in 2011. This colossal level ofemissions would exceed all but six nations in the entire world. This barefaceddisregard for climate issues shouldnt really come as a surprise as he once

famously described climate change as absolute crap.

However, the direct threat to the Reef increases as he also plans to build majorshipping channels along the area of the Reef for thousands of ships a year totransport coal in and out of Australia. This means theyre looking to dig up 3

million cubic metres (?!) of the seabed to make way for the ports and channels,which then will get dumped back within the Barrier Reef marine park. Its widelypredicted that the mud and sediment thats dug up will disperse and smother theReef causing big problems. This is extremely dangerous for the future of thelargest coral reef in the world, one that in the last 27 years has alreadydiminished to half of its size. The GBR is made up of 3,000 individual reefsystems that together make up the most complex and diverse mass of livingorganisms in the world. It is also home to a cornucopia of wildlife includingturtles, dugongs and dolphins.

In recent years, an abundance of crown-of-thorns starfish around the Reef hasbeen a problem as the creatures, that thrive on pollution, have been eating thecoral. Before being elected, the Abbott administration vowed that theydset up afund to tackle the problem of the starfish. This is an unarguably a good move butperhaps their focus is slightly misdirected. The menace of the starfish to the Reefis nowhere near as big as the threat of the mass dumping he plans to undertakewhen building the shipping channels and coalmines. Tens of thousands of

animals (many of which endangered) and their habitats will be upturned in the

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process and the risk of collisions and spillages dramatically increase with thenew flurry of coal ships.

I phoned the Liberal Party several times, including the MP for Queensland IanMacfarlane, to discuss the plans but each time they were increasingly sheepish

on the matter and continually referred me elsewhere. On their website theydescribe their environmental policies, We will adopt a more balancedapproach by setting up more rigorous assessments for new Marine ProtectedAreas that will mean the areas are assessed in accordance with objectivescientific, economic and social evidence. Our aim is to continue to protect marineenvironments and the fishing communities which rely on them.

They also state that they are to establish a 15,000-strong Green Army to protectthe environments in local communities throughout Australia, supplementingthe current land care efforts of councils, farmers and volunteers. Not once dothey directly refer to the plans for the Reef and all of their statements on theirenvironmental stance are as expected, very diplomatic and uncommitted.

We spoke to campaigner for Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Louise Matthieson,The new government have made it clear that they want to see an expansion in

coal mining and coal export and that theyre also determined to protect the GreatBarrier Reef. Really, those two aims are not compatible, you cant do both.

Greenpeace have set up a Save The Reef online petition online but whether theLiberal-National coalition will take notice is unknown. Matthieson is sure thatthe need to protect the Reef is at the heart of every Australian. In Australia, love

for the Great Barrier Reef crosses all political spectrums, no matter which partyyou vote for. In this day and age, its just not acceptable to be dumping millions of

tonnes of mud in a heritage marine park.

GetUp! (Action For Australia) campaigner, Fiona Maxwell, spoke to us to say,The climate implications along from all the proposed coal and coal seam gasdevelopment along the reef coast are of global significance. Increased shipping isalso a major issue and if these proposed developments go ahead the reef willbecome a shipping super highway. Just one collision, one mistake or one spillcould result in an environmental catastrophe in one of the seven naturalwonders of the world.

GetUp! have set up a similar petition that has received 240,000 online signaturesand theyre determined that the future of the Reef is a major concern. We have aglobal responsibility as caretakers of this natural wonder to ensure a healthyreef remains for future generations.The proposed mega-minesare hardly being considered with the everyman inmind. More than 83% of Australias coalmining industry is foreign-owned and itemploys less than 0.5% of the Aussie workforce.

North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp, the port operator at Abbot Point (one of the

sites of proposed expansion), have failed to reach a consensus with commercialfishermen about the best place for them to dump the spoil. The fishermen are

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adamant that wherever the seabed is dumped will be detrimental for the waterquality and fish stocks.

International markets have declared that coal is no longer the way forward. Thebiggest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton Ltd., even said back in 2010

that Australia needs to move away from coal in order to stay competitive in thefuture.

So, the Australian government has a hard choice to make. Whether to make ashameful short-term buck from the coal industry and potentially jeopardise thehealth of the Reef, or scrap it, get on board with Obamas Climate Action Plan and

do their bit to preserve one of Australias natural wonders.

The choices they make over the next few months will greatly affect the Australiathat younger generations inherit.

-Jak HutchcraftTwitter : @Jak_TH