A report from
Queensland's auditor-general has questioned the State Government's claim that
water quality on the Great Barrier Reef is improving.
The auditor-general's
report examines the
Queensland Government's handling of agricultural run-off from farms over the
last 12 years.
It found the State
Government's response has been uncoordinated, lacks purpose, and holds no-one
accountable.
The auditor-general's
report said Queensland was yet to design a program for its contribution to the
Reef Plan, which was developed 12 years ago.
It said a 2014 reef
report card's claims the decline in water quality had been reversed was not necessarily
true.
In his
recommendations, auditor-general Andrew Greaves said there was a need for more
stringent monitoring on farms and the suite of water quality programs must be
reviewed to ensure they were working.
The report also
called for the new Office of the Great Barrier Reef to be held accountable for
the health of the reef.
WWF-Australia said in
a statement the auditor-general's report exposed government failures that
resulted in the Australian people and Unesco being misled on the Great Barrier
Reef.
It said "for the
last few years government reef report cards have told Australians and Unesco
that pollution levels were improving".
In the report, Mr
Greaves found these report cards of improvements could not be relied on as
fact.
"The regular
public reporting fails in this regard, lacking transparency at best, and being
misleading at worst," the report said.
WWF-Australia CEO
Dermot O'Gorman said the auditor-general's report clearly validated
"Unesco's latest decision on the reef that puts Australia on probation
until real results are achieved including actual reductions in pollution
levels".
"Given the
auditor-general's findings on the high level of uncertainty, it would be wrong
to continue to quote these as reef facts," Mr O'Gorman said.
"Governments
must ensure that under the Reef 2050 plan they guarantee that the reporting
system for pollution flowing to the reef will be completely independent, with
all data released immediately each year, and regulations enforced to stem
pollution.
"WWF calls on
the government to fully implement the auditor-general's
recommendations."
Premier Annastacia
Palaszczuk said she was taking action.
"My Government
is committed to spending $100 million in improving the water quality of the
Great Barrier Reef [and] also stopping the capital dredge spoil being dumped
into the World Heritage area," she said.
Successive
governments have been trying to control nutrient and sediment run-off that
diminishes water quality and boosts the numbers of crown of thorns starfish –
one of the biggest risks to the reef.
In March, the federal
and Queensland governments released a long-term plan for the Great Barrier
Reef.
The Reef
2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan
satisfied one of the key recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee
and formed a key plank in the governments' bid to avoid the site being declared
"in danger" by Unesco.
Previously, a draft
version of the report was criticised by some scientists as being a plan for
sustainable development rather than protecting and conserving the reef.
The Queensland
Government also sought urgent changes to that draft to include its $100 million
election commitment to improve water quality.
In May, Unesco
recommended that the Great Barrier Reef not be placed on the World Heritage
"in danger" list.
Source:http://www.abc.net.au