WWF Australia - Help us save the Great Barrier Reef

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Hang in there turtles!

Will the next Queensland Government step up and save the Reef?

Our Great Barrier Reef should be a safe-haven for our threatened turtles, dugongs and dolphins. Sadly it's not.

By protecting the Reef, the next Queensland Government can make a critical investment in the continued security of our marine life and the coastal communities that depend on a healthy environment.

WWF-Australia is calling on all Queenslanders to treat the 2012 state election as a referendum on the future health of the Great Barrier Reef. You can help protect the Reef - send a letter to the major Queensland parties below.

We surveyed the major Queensland parties on their plans to protect the Reef. This is how the policies of the major Queensland parties currently rate in terms of taking action to protect our Great Barrier Reef.

⊕ Cut reef pollution

Set targets for key pollutants in the first year of government in line with 2020 abatement targets
Facilitate changes in on-farm management practices to reduce pollution sufficiently to meet 2020 targets
Maintain current levels of funding of $35 million per year to 2020 to continue investing in the already existing measures to protect the Reef.

⊕ End poor fishing practices

Invest $2 million over three years in the Trawl and Reef Line Fisheries so they can attain the global best practice standard of the Marine Stewardship Council
Increase the protection of dugongs, turtles, dolphins and other priority species by investing $9 million over three years to remove nets from critical habitats and to restructure the net fishery
Invest in robust science, monitoring and enforcement that underpins good decision-making
Invest $1.5 million over the next three years to install satellite tracking in all commercial fishing boats operating in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

⊕ Save turtles with
more reef rangers

Invest $30 million in ranger programs to tackle illegal poaching and pig predation

⊕ Stronger safeguards on
coastal management

Develop a strategic investment plan with stakeholders and scientists to boost Reef resilience
Undertake in partnership with the Federal Government a strategic assessment of the impacts of development on the Reef
Establish a Reef Bank to finance the plan so that mining and development can contribute to preventing a post-boom legacy of degradation.

⊕ Maintain existing legal, policy
and planning protection

Maintain legal protection of vegetation, pastoral land and wetlands in the Reef catchment
Maintain the targeted growth trajectory for parks and reserves in the Reef catchment
Maintain Reef marine and coastal planning and development assessment framework.

⊕ Maintain relevant
agency budgets

Maintain budgets for environment and resource management across government.

Methodology

A policy survey was sent to the major parties contesting the 2012 Queensland state election. The survey contained 17 questions and was designed to help WWF assess the degree to which the above six policies are aligned to each party's policy platform. CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR METHODOLOGY

We need your help!

Make your voice heard! Click here and send a message to Queensland's leaders that the failure to protect our turtles from pollution, poor fishing practices and illegal poaching is unacceptable, and that you demand better protection for our precious marine life.

Queenslanders: send a message to your Queensland leaders and help us save the Great Barrier Reef

Your Details:

*Your email address:
*Your first name:
*Your family name:
*Your postcode:

I am writing to you with extreme concern about the numbers of turtles dying on our Great Barrier Reef as a result of water pollution, poor fishing practices and illegal poaching. 

The recent Queensland floods have starkly shown the impacts of water pollution on the marine environment. Pesticide and mud pollution from out-dated farming practices has led to a massive spike in dugong and turtle deaths.  

In addition, poor fishing practices can still kill too many of our turtles and dugongs, and industrial development is proliferating along the coast and removing remaining habitats, such as sea grass meadows that turtles and dugongs depend on for their survival.

Over the past 12 months, more than 1,400 turtles and 180 dugongs have washed up on our beaches. Clearly our Reef is under enormous pressure and our wildlife is suffering. 

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage global icon and something that Queenslanders are proud to be the custodians of. It is unacceptable to many of us that the Reef would be under this amount of pressure. We're not alone in these concerns - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee also expressed serious concern recently about the long-term health of the Great Barrier Reef. 

In the 2012 Queensland election, we would support the following policy and funding commitments to improve the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef: 

-	$35 million annually to 2020 to continue reducing agricultural pollution.
-	$9 million to remove fishing nets from critical habitats for turtle and dugong.
-	$30 million for Indigenous Ranger programs to better manage Reef sea country.
-	Establish a Reef Bank to finance investment in high priority Reef protection actions.
-	Maintaining existing Reef protection programs.

By protecting the Reef, the next Queensland Government can make a critical investment in the continued security of our marine life and the coastal communities that depend on a healthy marine environment.

Yours sincerely,

Yes, I want to receive news and actions from WWF

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