The agency responsible for protecting the Great Barrier Reef is expected to make a decision today about whether it approves a plan to dump millions of cubic metres of dredge spoils in the World Heritage Listed area.
ABC News has obtained a discussion paper prepared for the environment minister’s office in May last year showing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) was likely to refuse the dredge-dumping plans.
The World Heritage status of the Great Barrier Reef is under question by the United Nations body responsible, UNESCO, and in June this year it will consider changing the status to World Heritage in Danger.
A report from WWF Australia yesterday said the Australian and Queensland governments had put the Great Barrier Reef’s status “on the line” because they had largely ignored the UN’s advise.
The North Queensland port of Abbot Point exports millions of tonnes of coal every year and its owners are seeking to expand the port.
The owners are planning to dredge up to three million cubic metres of sediment.
Late last year, the Environment Minister in Australia’s conservative Liberal-National government, Greg Hunt, approved the initial expansion, but where the dredge spoils should be dumped was out of his hands.
That decision is up to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
ABC News reports an internal presentation prepared by the authority for the advisors of then-Labor government Environment Minister Tony Burke shows the Authority considered it unlikely it would approve the dumping.
The briefing paper also details possible lower-risk alternatives such as extending the jetty or disposing the spoils on land.
The 70-page report makes clear that it is not policy and for discussion purposes only.
ABC News reports the GBRMPA declined to comment due to the imminent announcement of its decision.
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