Mining export boom threatens to wreck Great Barrier Reef [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Mining export boom threatens to wreck Great Barrier Reef
Saturday, June 16, 2012
By Mel Barnes

Coal and gas developments proposed in Queensland are putting Australia's Great Barrier Reef at risk, says a report by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The report, released on June 1, said there were “a number of developments that, were they to proceed, would provide the basis to consider the inscription of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger”.

This is a serious warning that could risk Queensland's tourism industry, which relies heavily on the reef. The report said “decisive action is required to secure its long-term conservation. The rapid increase of coastal developments, including ports infrastructure, is of significant concern.”

The developments referred to are part of a huge expansion in coal and gas exports linked to several mega mines in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. As well as the mines, there are also plans for a new 495 kilometre railway from central Queensland to Abbot Point on the coast, new port facilities and up to 10,000 export ships travelling through the reef every year.

More:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/51343