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General News Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Reef

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by SongshiQuan, Jan 31, 2014.

  1. SongshiQuan

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    Hi everyone. What do you all think about this? The Australian Environment Minister has approved a plan today to dump sediment inside the boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The government-owned North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp. is dredging the port in Abbot Point to improve traffic flow for coal ships. They plan to dump approx. 106 million cubic feet of sediment inside the Reef, but apparently in area devoid of coral or seagrass beds. The NQBP Corp. has stated that it has extensively tested the sediment and found it contaminant-free. Environmentalists argue that this action would threaten the already fragile ecosystem, stating that shifting sediment could smother coral and seagrass. They also claim that increased shipping traffic in the area raises the threat of hazardous cargo spills and reef collisions.

    Link to the article below:
    Plan to Dump Sediment on Great Barrier Reef OK'd - ABC News
     
  2. Stridenttube

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Is this sediment shaped sediment? I need some for a cake I'm baking...



    People are always dumping crap in the ocean. Its never going to stop.
     
  3. malachite

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Can't wait for this planet to just up and die on us one day
     
  4. Aussie792

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Yes, of course. They're only in government because the same mining companies paid for their campaign, so they might as well destroy national resources and one of Earth's greatest natural habitats to give their friends thanks. They've already slashed thousands of jobs and tried to cut education to give the same handful of miners eight billion dollars. This has been an inevitability since September.

    NQBP Corp. has a vested interest in increasing the amount of shipping and other goods going through, so we know why they were charged with doing/fiddling the figures on the environmental impact.
     
  5. SongshiQuan

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Hi Aussie792. Is the NBPQ Corp sort of the equivalent of a Port Authority? Also, are the coal mines government owned as well?
     
  6. Nicholas1991

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    This government seems intent on killing everything (and they'll wonder why theres less tourists when the barrier reef is just a dead patch of coral). Theyre already trying to get rid of the heritage listing on tasmania's old growth forests, if you guys heard about that one.
     
  7. Aussie792

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Port authority is small-scale and often private, but under the umbrella of Ports Australia, which represents public and private ports. I doubt that they'd do anything; their mission statement is clear that they support the profits of the associated ports. NBPQ Corp is obviously privatised, which means that, under dual conservative governments in Queensland and the Federal Government , they have nothing to stop them doing shabby stuff to support other corporations, especially when those corporations are the donors to the Liberal Party.

    And coal mines in Australia are mostly or all private, but they need authority from the relevant state and the Commonwealth to exploit natural resources.
     
  8. SongshiQuan

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    Re: Australian Government Approves Plan to Dump Dredged Sediment in Great Barrier Ree

    Thanks for the reply. Sorry it took me so long to write back, I was traveling a lot this weekend. I can see now how it would be relatively easy for the NBPQ Corp to push approval of this through. Still, I wonder if the Marine Park Authority considered the fact that with ocean currents and such the sediment probably won't stay in that exact spot. I mean doing this to any coral reef is bad, but the Great Barrier Reef is like no other reef on the planet. They really only get one shot at preserving it.