Great Barrier Reef Dredging Spoils to be Dumped on Land Following Adverse Senate Inquiry Findings

A lengthy environmental debate over the proposed dumping of dredging spoils into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Area appears to be reaching a compromise, following the delivery of an adverse report by the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications into the Great Barrier Reef, and media reports that the Queensland Cabinet is to consider a plan by Queensland Deputy Premier Mr Jeff Seeney to dump the dredge spoils from the Abbot Point coal port expansion on land instead of within the waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Senate inquiry followed from concerns expressed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee that it was of the view that the Great Barrier Reef was endangered by mining and port expansion related activities being sponsored by the Queensland Government, and the introduction into the Senate earlier this year (13 February 2014) of a Greens Private Members Bill; namely, the Great Barrier Reef Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 (the Bill) by Greens Senator Ms Larissa Waters which focused attention on the matter.

Background

The Private Members Bill sought to implement into the national environment laws the key recommendations made by the World Heritage Committee to ensure the Great Barrier Reef does not get added to the “world heritage in danger list"; and further sought to prohibit the approval, after 31 December 2013, of any dumping of port dredge spoil within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The Bill has not progressed beyond second reading stage, however; and on 25 March 2014, the Senate referred the matter to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by August 2014 (since extended to 3 September 2014).

The reference for the Senate Committee inquiry was stated as consideration of the ".  .  . adequacy of the Australian and Queensland Governments’ efforts to stop the rapid decline of the Great Barrier Reef, . . " including key matters like:

• management of the impacts of industrialisation of the reef coastline, including dredging, offshore dumping, and industrial shipping, in particular, but not limited to, current and proposed development in the following regions or locations:
• Gladstone Harbour and Curtis Island,
• Abbot Point,
• Fitzroy Delta, and
• Cape Melville and Bathurst Bay;
• management of the impacts of agricultural runoff;
•  management of non-agricultural activities within reef catchments impacting on the reef, including legacy mines, current mining activities and practices, residential and tourism developments, and industrial operations including Yabulu;
• ensuring the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has the independence, resourcing and capacity to act in the best interest of the long-term health of the reef;
• the adequacy, timeliness and transparency of independent scientific work undertaken to support government decisions impacting the reef;
• whether government decision processes impacting the reef are consistent with the precautionary principle;
• whether the strategic assessments currently underway are likely to protect the reef from further decline;
• the identification and protection of off-limits areas on the reef coastline to help protect the health of the reef;
• consistency of efforts with the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations on what is required to protect the reef;
• the extent to which government decisions impacting the reef, including development of the strategic assessments and Reef 2050 Plan, involve genuine, open and transparent consultation with the Australian community, affected industries and relevant scientific experts, and genuine consideration of the broader community’s views in final decisions; and
• any other related matters.

Recommendations

In all, 29 recommendations were made by the Senate Committee. The full list of recommendations is available at the Parliament of Australia website, however, the main points are that there should be a temporary ban on dumping dredged spoil in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and no further cuts to the government agencies that protect the world heritage-listed area. The report also recommends that the “precautionary principle” demands that seabed sediment not be disposed of in the Great Barrier Reef world heritage area until further analysis of its impact is concluded.

Some of the key recommendation of the Senate Committee are:

Why the Queensland Government Changed to a Land Dumping Plan?

The Australian reports the Queensland Deputy Premier's plan as "a dramatic development" in which "the Queensland government is moving to sack the state-owned authority overseeing the expansion of the coal port and abandon Federal Government-approved plans to dispose of the dredged material within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park".

The land dumping plan is, according to the press, being held up as a win for the environment, the Queensland State Government and the miners, in other words a win for all sides or more realistically, a compromise.

Certainly, as the Australian further reports, it is a move no doubt intended to soften if not ". . . blunt the national and international controversy over the impact of the dredge spoil on the reef and avoid a looming court challenge brought by conservation groups".

Further, hopes for the Deputy Premier's plan are reported as being that it will convince UNESCO not to list the Great Barrier Reef area as an "in danger" area in the next year, following from its previously raised particular concerns about the dumping of the dredging spoils and waste into the marine park.

Next Steps

The Queensland Deputy Premier is to put the plan to Queensland Government's Cabinet today (8 September 2014) before taking the matter to the Federal Environment Minister for his approval.

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• Dredge spill moves from Great Barrier Reef to Abbot Point port (The Australian - 6 September 2014)
• Abbot Point dredging: Qld Cabinet to consider onshore dumping of spoil (ABC News - 8 September 2014)
• Great Barrier Reef: Senate inquiry calls for halt to sediment dumping (The Guardian - 4 September 2014)
• Great Barrier Reef Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 and supporting material as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service
• Great Barrier Reef Inquiry Terms of Reference (Senate Committee website)
• Great Barrier Reef Inquiry Recommendations (Senate Committee website)