Barrier Reef under threat
The Great Barrier Reef is being destroyed to stuff the coffers of coal barons. The federal government has approved the expansion of the Abbot Point deepwater coal port in north Queensland.
The dredging project shows the contempt that the Liberals and the coal mining capitalists have for preserving the Great Barrier Reef, which is the world’s largest coral formation and supports a wide range of unique wildlife.
The project will cause irreparable damage to the reef, which has already shrunk dramatically due to climate change and pollution from industrial farming.
The Abbot Point expansion is the latest of a number of projects in the area to increase coal exports. Rather than pay the costs of transporting coal from different harbours, the industry is destroying the Barrier Reef because it is the most profitable location for shipping from the Bowen Basin.
Previous port expansions have devastated the reef. Last year’s expansion of Gladstone Harbour at Curtis Island has already had a detrimental effect on surrounding wildlife. The dredging caused such an epidemic of disease in fish that a ban on fishing had to be introduced.
The local dolphin population plummeted by 40 percent. The dredged spoil was deposited behind a bund wall to contain it and prevent contamination of the surrounding environment. However, due to faulty construction and lack of monitoring, spoil already has begun leaking from the containment area.
The impact of the Abbot Point expansion could be much worse. The dredging will remove 3 million cubic metres of the seabed, a volume larger than the Great Pyramid. The waste will be dumped 1 kilometre from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Unlike the Gladstone Harbour expansion, no containment wall will be constructed. The dredge spoil will travel significant distances. The impact will push several species – in particular the flat-back turtle, which nests on Abbot Point beach, and the dugong, which has suffered a population decrease of 60 percent since 1960 – closer to extinction.
At the heart of the issue is the reckless drive to expand coal mining profits. The export of coal from Australia is predicted to treble from 240 million tonnes this year to 787 million tonnes in 2030.
The expansion of the port and the boom in coal mining show that big business is prepared to see the planet burn before taking a hit to its profit margins. The government’s claim to have imposed “stringent environmental controls” would be laughable if the effects weren’t so grim.
Since the approval for the dredging project was granted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, attention has been drawn to several GBRMPA board members who either founded or have significant stakes in mining firms.
With the expansion of the coal mining industry, there is more dredging slated for Townsville, Dudgeon Point and the Fitzroy delta. The Barrier Reef is threatened with even more devastation at the hands of corporate greed.
