MELBOURNE – (Reuters) – Australia’s Great Barrier Reef watchdog is to decide by Friday whether to allow millions of cubic metres of dredged mud to be dumped near the fragile reef to create the world’s biggest coal port and possibly unlock $28 billion in coal projects.
A dumping permit would allow a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have $16 billion worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin.
The Galilee Basin could double Australia’s thermal coal exports and see it overtake Indonesia as the world’s top coal exporter, further fuelling China’s power plants and steel mills that have underpinned Australia’s decade-long mining boom.
If the permit is not granted it would add to uncertainty over $28 billion in proposed Galilee Basin projects, already delayed due to difficulty raising funds with coal prices down.
The plan has sparked protests from environmentalists and scientists who fear the sensitive marine park will be damaged by the dumping and an expanded port, would nearly double shipping traffic through the reef, increasing the risk of accidents.
“The corals could stop growing or potentially die, depending on how long the mud stays there,” said Louise Matthieson, a campaigner for Greenpeace Australia.
Enough mud will be dredged from Abbot Point, that if dumped on land, it would be bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Approval to dump 3 million cubic metres of mud within the marine park could place at risk the World Heritage-listing of the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia’s major tourism drawcards with an estimated economic value of $5.7 billion.
WORLD HERITAGE LISTING AT RISK
UNESCO, which awarded the reef its heritage listing, last year postponed a decision to June 2014 on whether to put the Great Barrier Reef on its “in danger” list or even cancel its World Heritage listing. It is awaiting a report from the national government on steps taken to address its concerns.
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