 |
| What about the Barrier Reef? |
While desperate last minute moves are afoot by many, including the action group Avaaz , to try and prevent Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt from giving the okay for dredging to go head on the Great Barrier Reef, a Townsville- Magnetic Island ferry this week is strangely carrying posters to help the beautiful Bay of Islands , in the north island of New Zealand , live again??? Avaaz has sent out the following call to action :
Dear friends across Australia.
In days Greg Hunt could fast-track dredging of the Great Barrier Reef-and if he does , bulldozer's could be ready to roll on New Year's Day! By law he's been forced to hold a public consultation,but it closes in two days -let's overwhelm it with messages to stop the dredging and save the reef!
Right now the Abbott government is under fire from every direction, and the last thing the coalition back benchers want is another unpopular project costing them more political support. If we flood the consultation and backbenchers' inboxes ,with messages opposing the plan to dredge the waters of our national icon, Hunt will be under huge pressure by colleagues to walk away from fast- track approval.The consulation closes tomorrow - click below to send an urgent message now so we can stop the dredging and save the incredible Great Barrier Reef:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/gbr_abbot_point_sam_2/?bLNUBab&v=50059
Furthermore it is feared the Sydney siege has undoubtedly distracted the nation's attention from this looming threat to the Barrier Reef. Avaaz goes on to say:-
This rushed approval process makes no sense - the coal mines that the port is
being built for aren’t even financed yet. In fact, economists say the project
is a huge economic risk, not least due to the plummeting price of coal. A
growing list of the world’s biggest banks have publicly ruled out investing and
the State Bank of India - the only bank that has put up its hand to invest-
is facing huge opposition in India and around the world.
The government claims it is taking all necessary environmental precautions, but Greg Hunt’s attempt to fast-track approval suggests quite the opposite. When a similar approval was fast-tracked at Gladstone Harbour, environmental regulations were circumvented and fish were poisoned, devastating the local industry. We can’t let that happen again.
The government claims it is taking all necessary environmental precautions, but Greg Hunt’s attempt to fast-track approval suggests quite the opposite. When a similar approval was fast-tracked at Gladstone Harbour, environmental regulations were circumvented and fish were poisoned, devastating the local industry. We can’t let that happen again.
