![]() ![]() ![]() “As a deepwater port that has been in operation for nearly 30 years, Abbot Point is better placed than other ports along the Great Barrier Reef coastline to undertake expansion as the capital and maintenance dredging required will be significantly less than what would be required in other areas,” said Dr Russell Reichelt, Authority Chairman. ![]() The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is 345,000 square kilometers in size and home to thousands of species of coral, fish, molluscs, jellyfish, sharks and whales.Ī statement released by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said the proposal was in line with directives to limit development of ports on the coast to existing facilities. The reef is the largest living structure on the planet, and is a hugely diverse ecosystem stretching 2,300 kilometers along the Queensland coast. Tony Abbott’s government has come under fire for a raft of environmental decisions lately, including an election pledge to rescind expansion of Tasmania’s World Heritage-listed forest reserve which has united environmental campaigners and the forestry industry, who see the plan as unworkable and damaging in the long term. The dredged material will come from the proposed expansion of the coal port at Abbot Point, south of Townsville on the Queensland coast.įinal approval came from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and is subject to “strict conditions.” The proposal, while controversial and opposed by environmental groups including Greenpeace, had already been approved by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt last month. The Australian federal government has approved a plan to dump 3 million cubic meters of dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Park. ![]()
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