Wednesday May 12 2004

A generous boost in funding for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, in this year’s Federal Budget, was today welcomed by scientists and staff at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Townsville.

The Howard Government has allocated more than $20million over three years in additional funding to help ensure the ongoing protection of the reef.

GBRMPA chair, Virginia Chadwick, said the additional funding would be used for a wide range of projects but particularly the enforcement of newly allocated protected areas, which is a six fold increase and comes into force on July 1 this year.

“The Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s gift to the world. We are very fortunate to have a Federal Government that has demonstrated its commitment by providing the highest level of protection seen on any reef system in the world,” Mrs Chadwick said.

The additional funding includes $13million for the implementation of the new zoning plan including education and enforcement.

“The additional funds will assist us with more sophisticated means of enforcement. We will build on and improve our relationships with other agencies including; Customs Coastwatch, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and State and Federal Police,” she said.

More than $6million has also been allocated for water quality monitoring and $900,000 has been allocated for the control of Crown of Thorns Starfish.

The GBRMPA has maintained it’s base funding with a total of $23.4million allocated for the financial year.

“We at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority are very privileged to be the custodians of this great icon. We are delighted to receive this commitment from the Minister for Environment and Heritage, Dr Kemp, on behalf of the Australian people. By protecting the reef the Federal Government is also strengthening the resilience of reef dependent industries such as tourism and fishing,” Mrs Chadwick said.