Fenton et al., 2007:

"The study by Fenton and Beeden of stakeholder beliefs about climate change in the GBR catchment is the only specific social assessment of climate change issues in the GBR. It identified a number of core issues associated with climate change in the GBR catchment.

While there was some recognition of the impacts of climate change for coastal development and planning, political and institutional constraints were identified as the key impediments to changes in existing coastal development and planning which would address climate change issues.

Most importantly, these participants identified institutional constraints and barriers as frequently inhibiting their response to climate change. For example, several participants indicated that there clearly should be no development allowed in flood prone or storm surge areas of the coast. However, pressures for increased development of the coastal zone and the significant capital investment being made in coastal regions meant that it was difficult at a political level to resist these development demands. In many instances, agencies found themselves being only able to provide advice or guidelines for new developments or building structures to protect existing developments."