At a recent briefing the LGAQ and nine reef catchment mayors raised concerns about the State and Federal Governments’ approach to protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
The briefing, also attended by the Department of Environment and Heritage, covered topics including the short and long-term implications from Cyclone Debbie and the 2016 and 2017 mass bleaching events.
Central to the discussion was the recent reported economic value of the reef of $56 billion per annum and what the LGAQ and its members councils believe is a comparatively low investment in its protection by the State and Federal Governments.
Queensland’s Minister for the Great Barrier reef Steven Miles said in a statement in June that the Government was taking steps to grapple with threats posed to the reef.
“The Palaszczuk Government has committed $100 million over 5 years in extra funding for reef water quality projects to improve the health and resilience of the reef. Mr Miles said.
“We have also banned capital dredging in all but four priority ports and banned the dumping of dredge spoil the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.”
The Australian and Queensland governments are jointly investing approximately $200 million annually to the reef.
The LGAQ have advocated for local government investment streams to be included within reef protection and delivery plans.
To find out more about how the reef is managed by State and Federal Governments go here.
To find out more about the LGAQ’s Qcoast2100 Program go here .
QCoast2100 will provide the funding, tools and technical support to enable all Queensland coastal local governments to progress the preparation of plans and strategies to address climate change related coastal hazard risks over the long-term.