Queensland’s planned new coal mine could impact the climate, the Great Barrier Reef, water, and local species. Yet still it has been declared as ‘critical infrastructure’ by the state government.
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Great Barrier Reef – Analyses
Months after record breaking coral bleaching, research teams are taking stock of the damage on the Great Barrier Reef.
Once upon a time dead coral was something to be celebrated on the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia has the third largest marine jurisdiction in the world, a vast ocean territory that contains important natural and biological resources. And it needs protecting.
Member of the Climate Council this week returned to one of the areas of the Great Barrier Reef that was worst affected by this year’s coral bleaching. What they found was far from encouraging.
Just like humans, corals live with myriad microscopic organisms. We are just starting to understand this unseen world.
As scientists make a renewed push for greater action on climate change, a new installation at the Australian Museum brings home the fragility of our world.
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C already looks out of reach, so where do we go from here?
The ailing health of the Great Barrier Reef may be attracting more tourists, at least in the short term, with a survey showing many visitors were motivated to see it while they still have the chance.
A groundbreaking new economic study has found that investing A$8.2 billion would get us very close to hitting targets to cut water pollution into the Great Barrier Reef by 2025.
Not all of the world’s coral reefs are in dire straits. Reef fisheries tend to do better in areas with strong ownership rights, and where people are closely involved in managing their local reefs.
Australia’s conservation laws presume that we can preserve everything in its natural state. But in a changing world, we’ll have to be more flexible than that.
Coal dust and oil can spread toxic chemicals hundreds of kilometres out to sea. But Australia’s monitoring guidelines do not meet the standards used in countries such as the United States.
There’s been a deafening silence in recent Australian elections over the environment. But it hasn’t always been the case.
The Coalition has ramped up the race to fund the Great Barrier Reef’s protection. All three major parties have promised hundreds of millions of dollars, but where from, and what will they be spent on?
You’ve heard of cap-and-trade schemes for greenhouse gases. Perhaps we also need one to limit the amount of fertiliser runoff onto the Great Barrier Reef.
To win government, Labor needs a net gain of 19 seats nationally – and that’s the exact number of marginal seats being fought over in Queensland this election.
Political engagement in Australia has changed enormously over the past decade. New organisations such as GetUp! have taken the lead in channelling citizen voice into politics.
Australia’s government has lobbied hard to avoid the Great Barrier Reef being described internationally as being in danger. But that publicity wouldn’t necessarily hit tourism that hard anyway.
What are the issues facing rural and regional Australia? The challenges are many and varied – and only some have made the national political agenda – but these areas deserve better than neglect.
There are several areas where Australia could be a world leader in innovation. If we can identify them and focus our efforts there, we could generate some genuine benefits here and abroad.
The recent severe bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef has also affected anemones, which provide homes for clownfish.
An estimated one-third of corals have now died in the parts of the Great Barrier Reef hit hardest by bleaching, meaning recovery could take years or even decades.
All mention of Australia has been removed from an international report on climate change on the grounds that it would damage tourism. Here’s the evidence.
Efforts to combat water pollution on the Great Barrier Reef aren’t working, according to a new government report.