Great Barrier Reef

_{13 May, 2008}

Ms JARRATT (Whitsunday—ALP) (11.40 am): According to that great online font of wisdom
Wikipedia, the Great Barrier Reef is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and islands stretching for
2,600 kilometres along the Queensland coast. Visible from out of space, it is the world’s biggest single
structure created by living organisms, and evidence suggests that the reef has existed in some form for
around 600,000 years while the current reef began growing around 20,000 years ago. No wonder CNN
has labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world and it has been declared both a World
Heritage site and a state icon of Queensland.

More than this, the Great Barrier Reef is central to Queensland’s success as an international
tourism destination of choice. It is estimated that the Great Barrier Reef generates in excess of $5 billion
in tourism revenue every year. It supports a range of tourism operators from dive companies to charter
and bareboat operators to whale-watching and sea-kayaking ventures. The Great Barrier Reef truly is
one of the world’s great wonders, but as we have been aware for some years now it is under threat on a
variety of fronts including crown-of-thorns starfish, climate change and terrestrial run-off. This run-off
contains sediment, chemicals and pollutants that directly affect water quality in the reef lagoon and have
negative impacts on the delicate ecosystem that supports the reef system.

In recognition of the dire consequences of inaction, and in one of the few examples of state and
federal cooperation over the past decade, the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan was born in 2003 as a
joint initiative of the Howard and Beattie governments. Through the plan, the governments and key
stakeholders set out to address the progressive decline in the quality of water entering the reef lagoon
and to restore the reef to full health. Understandably, these objectives could not be achieved overnight,
nor could they be realised without the absolute cooperation of a variety of government agencies and
non-government stakeholders including natural resource management groups, peak industry bodies,
community groups and volunteers, and Indigenous groups.

We are now at the halfway mark in the rollout of the reef plan, and I am pleased to report that
progress has been made and initiatives are in place to meet the target of water quality improvement
along Queensland’s coastal river systems and waterways. In the Mackay-Whitsunday region,
government agencies including the EPA, the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, the
Department of Natural Resources and Water and the Department of Infrastructure and Planning have
been working with the Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group, the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Authority, local catchment management groups, Seagrass Watch groups and a swag
of dedicated volunteers to measure, monitor, model and manage water quality strategies for streams
and waterways within the region.

Exhaustive studies have been undertaken in rivers, streams and wetlands across the region to
establish baseline data that reflects the overall health and specific issues associated with the quality of
water that eventually makes its way into the reef lagoon. Generally speaking, the studies reflect that
mainland activities including grazing, cane growing, horticulture and urban development have impacted
water quality through increased inputs of sediment, nutrients and herbicides. Where development within
a catchment is more intensive, episodes of blue-green algae blooms, increased occurrence of exotic
weeds and even fish kills are associated with a reduction in water quality.

That is the bad news. But the good news is that, thanks to the political will of the state and federal
governments, and thanks to the hard work of a lot of dedicated people—and, notably, John Drewry, Wil
Higham and Carl Mitchell from the Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group—a plan
to address these water quality issues has been developed.

I was very pleased to attend the launch of the Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Improvement
Plan last Friday. Based on hours of water monitoring and the establishment of baseline statistics, the
plan sets out a series of management initiatives for the rehabilitation of priority habitats and reduction of
pollutant loads from diffuse and point sources. The major sources of sediment and pollutants have been
identified as emanating from land use practices including grazing and cane growing, so it is appropriate
that the plan sets out a range of management interventions that aim to improve the quality of water that
ultimately flows into the reef lagoon.

Strategies to assist landowners include improved industry leadership and knowledge dispersal,
financial support and support for an informed decision-making process at the farm operation level. It is
important to say that most landholders are willing participants in this change process, and industry peak
bodies like Canegrowers and AgForce are fully supportive of the plan’s objectives.

We should not forget, however, that reef water quality is, at the end of the day, the responsibility of
each and every one of us. As we were reminded by Ecokids’ representative Bianca Large last week, we
all need to do our bit by thinking about what we put down our drains, by not throwing cigarette butts on
the ground and by keeping plastic bags out of the marine ecosystem. She is right, of course, and if we
all work together we just might help save the Great Barrier Reef for future generations to enjoy.

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