Community
25 March, 2025
Labor’s $80m Reef promise
AN extra $80 million in funding to protect the Great Barrier Reef has been pledged by Labor.
Labor senator and envoy for the Great Barrier Reef Nita Green, Labor candidate for Leichhardt Matt Smith and Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek were in Cairns last Friday to announce their intentions to protect the Reef and the jobs it produces with extra funding to go towards the Reefwise’s wetland and urban programs.
It will be split $50m to a wetlands program and $30m to an urban program.
“We know that the Great Barrier Reef is an international icon but it’s also a really important economic driver for jobs in this community,” Ms Plibersek said.
“I’m very pleased to announce an additional $80m of the funding for the Reefwise wetlands program and the Reefwise urban program because we know that we do here, on land, matters for what’s happening in the waters in the Great Barrier Reef.
“One of the big threats to the Reef is water quality so the investments that we see on land to protect the Reef are really important to the health of the Reef and for local jobs.
“When we invest in rehabilitating wetlands we’re creating jobs, the biggest risk to jobs in the Reef is a Dutton Liberal government.
“You don’t need imagination for this, you just need memory. When we came to government three years ago 100 jobs at the Australian Institute of Marine Science were at risk, they were closing laboratories.
“We know that the other great risk to Reef jobs is Peter Dutton’s expensive, nutty, nuclear plan because all it does is delay climate action, it adds costs to local businesses and homes and there are additional risks like hot water entering our environment from the nuclear reactors.
“The Reefwise programs will shortly be open for applications and what we do is work along with councils rebuilding these wetlands by providing reeds and mangroves down to the ocean which will prevent sediment from going into the Reef and provide beautiful recreation areas for local communities.”
Mr Smith also announced his attendance at the Reef forum and encouraged other candidates to do the same and have a debate on reef safety and securing the jobs of reef workers.
