Australian Marine Conservation Society condemns inquiry into Reef Science

The Australian Marine Conservation Society has condemned the passage of a motion in the Australian Senate to establish a Committee inquiry into the science of farming impacts on water pollution of the Great Barrier Reef.

The motion was proposed by the Federal Government and supported by the Centre Alliance and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. It was opposed by Labor, the Greens and Senator Jacqui Lambie.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society (ACMS) feels that science is long settled on the threats to the Great Barrier Reef from water quality and climate change, citing the recent Federal and Queensland Government's release of a Report Card on Reef water quality which gave the inshore Reef a ‘D’ score for overall condition.

The ACMS highlights that the "Federal Government’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority downgraded the outlook for our most famous natural asset to ‘very poor’, yet just a few days later, (it) establishes an inquiry into the science behind these detailed and multi-year assessments."

The ACMS added "cutting farm pollution and cleaning up the Reef’s water is essential to give the Reef and its extraordinary wildlife a fighting chance to survive climate change."