The Palaszczuk Government will provide an additional $100 million over five years to improve the Great Barrier Reef water quality.
Dr Steven Miles , the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection, National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef , said that the Budget delivered on the Government’s promises to tackle some of the key threats facing the Reef and to help coastal communities prepare for rising sea levels, storm tides and erosion.
“ We have committed an additional $100 million for Reef water quality initiatives, scientific research and tools to help business transition to better environmental practices ,” Dr Miles said.
Dr Miles added that the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce was on track to deliver an interim report to the Government by December, advising on the best investment strategies for the $100 million commitment to achieve the Government’s ambitious Reef water quality improvement targets.
“ We have also put an extra $2 million over the next two years towards a cutting-edge project that gives people near real time information about the quality of water in the Great Barrier Reef ,” Dr Miles said.
On top of the $100 million to improve Reef water quality, the Government has committed an additional $6 million over four years to expand the regional report cards program to include Cairns and Townsville.