An Albanese Labor Government will commit $163 million to conserve the Great Barrier Reef and support the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on it.
\nThe Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia\u2019s national icons. It is central to Queensland life and the Queensland economy. In a normal year, the Reef supports 64,000 jobs and generates $6.4 billion in income.
\nPreserving national assets like the Great Barrier Reef is an important part of Labor\u2019s plan for a Future Made in Australia.
\nIn protecting the reef, we are also protecting our future.
\nTo immediately boost conservation efforts and jobs, Labor will commit $85 million to scale up \u2018shovel-ready\u2019 work for coral to coast reef resilience and land restoration projects in Reef catchments.
\nTo defend the Reef against the risk of being added to the World Heritage \u2018in danger\u2019 list, Labor will commit to funding the Reef 2050 program through to the end of the decade, committing an extra $63 million over the forward estimates.
\nThe current Liberal National Government handed almost half a billion dollars to a tiny, ill-equipped, private foundation in a backroom deal, without a tender.
\nLabor will terminate the much-criticised funding arrangement with that private foundation, and reallocate any unspent funds, while retaining worthwhile programs.
\nThe future of our reef cannot be dependent on a dodgy Liberal jobs-for-mates deal.
\nLabor will commit $15 million to marine research in the Southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, to scale up the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre in Gladstone.
\nThe Reef faces significant conservation challenges, in addition to climate change, which remains the greatest threat to Reef health.
\nAlongside these environmental risks, perceptions about Reef health as well as the COVID-19 pandemic have meant extraordinarily tough times for tourism operators, environmentalists, traditional owners, and regional communities.
\nThe Morrison-Joyce Government has gone missing when it comes to backing North Queensland through this tough time. And they have no plan for what happens next.
\nAustralia\u2019s incredible natural environment is part of who we are as a country and is a drawcard for tourists all over the world. We need to shore up the future of these natural assets just like we do other parts of the economy.
\nOnly an Albanese Labor Government can be trusted to stand up for the Reef and the jobs and communities it supports.
\nOnly Labor will build a better future for Queensland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Albanese Labor Government will commit $163 million to conserve the Great Barrier Reef and support the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on it. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia\u2019s national icons. It is central to Queensland life and the Queensland economy. In a normal year, the Reef supports 64,000 jobs … Continue reading “Labor will protect the Great Barrier Reef”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}