AMCS Calls QRC to Stop Using Taxpayers Cash

The Australian Marine Conservation Society today called on the Queensland Resources Council to stop campaigning for taxpayer’s money to be used on dredging and dumping projects in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche today expressed disappointment on the 4BC radio news that the ALP was not going to use taxpayer funds on dredging and dumping at Abbot Point in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Felicity Wishart said it was welcome that the ALP wasn’t seeking to waste Queenslanders’ money on the shoddy economics of subsidizing mining companies for port expansions including dredging and dumping, and called on the LNP to match the commitment.

“If there were as many benefits from the mining industry as the Resource Council claims, then mining companies can well afford to pay for their own projects themselves. But they want to access the money from the sale of State assets,” said Ms Wishart.

“We are deeply concerned about the dredging and dumping planned for the Abbot Point port expansion because of the impacts on the Reef’s World Heritage waters, its wetlands and the consequences for the tourism and fishing industries.”

“We disapprove of the special treatment the mining industry gets – the fast tracking of approvals and the government’s offer to use taxpayers funds for the rail line, dredging in the Reef’s waters and dumping in sensitive wetlands right next to the Reef.”

“The Resources Council and Queensland government want to use taxpayers money on projects that some of the world’s biggest banks have rejected, financially and environmentally. Queensland risks being left with damage to the Reef’s fragile corals, seagrass and marine life, and its $6 billion tourism industry,” said Ms Wishart.

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