Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand here proudly as the member whose electorate is situated right on the Great Barrier Reef. The jobs, the tourism, the economy and the wonders that the Great Barrier Reef provides to my community clearly demonstrate that there is arguably no other entity that creates such diverse economies whilst being incredibly spectacular. I am immensely proud that one of the greatest wonders of the world is located, as I said, on my doorstep. So I must stand in this place and fight to protect the Barrier Reef from the Turnbull government.

I note the member for Capricornia's first sentence in this motion reads 'that the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef is the planet’s greatest living wonder'. The question then must be asked: why are the member and her government determined to undermine and kill this great natural wonder? The Turnbull government is responsible for the largest removal of heritage listing in the entire world, and this is happening on our Great Barrier Reef. This government is responsible for removing and unwinding protections for the Great Barrier Reef, and it is putting at risk more than 70,000 jobs and billions upon billions of dollars that flow into the North Queensland economy.

Labor is the party that protects the reef, and Labor will always be the party that fights for the reef. On top of removing vital protections, the Turnbull government have also given almost half a billion dollars to an organisation without any tenders, without knowing how many staff work at the organisation and without the organisation itself even asking for the funds. In Senate estimates, the Department of the Environment and Energy could not explain how or why $444 million is being allocated to one organisation, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

The budget for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation will be increased by 45 times. Their revenue for 2015 and 2016 was $9.6 million and $8 million respectively. The foundation has only six full-time members and five part-time members, who have described this grant as 'like winning the lotto'. Almost half a billion in taxpayers' money should not be likened to winning the lotto for grant recipients. They should have prior knowledge, they should be invited to compete for that funding and it should be done in a transparent way. It is rare and surprising funding for one organisation with only six full-time staff. It begs the question: how will they manage such an influx in funding? Yet the Turnbull government is proposing to give that funding in one payment. This brings a whole new meaning to 'a fish out of water'. The cavalier attitude to the granting of $444 million taxpayer dollars without a public grant process, an open and transparent process, a competitive process or consideration of whether the authority, rather than the foundation, could have carried out this work shows arrogance and a complete lack of understanding of the importance of the Great Barrier Reef by the Turnbull government.

I think everybody can, and will, agree: something certainly smells fishy. And that is why federal Labor is making freedom of information requests into the Turnbull government's discussions regarding the funding to be provided to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Senate estimates have—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:01 to 12:15

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