The Australian Greens will put a motion to the Senate today to establish what the Environment  Minister meant when he said he would ‘draw a line in the sand’ on dumping in the Great Barrier Reef.

“Minister Hunt’s vague statement about drawing a line in the sand on Reef dumping is full of holes,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

“The Minister refers to ‘future’ dumping without specifying whether this includes projects that have been applied for but not yet approved.

The Palmer United Party looks set to allow the Abbott Government to gut national environment protection.

“PUP Senators have an opportunity to  block Tony Abbott’s plan to give state governments the final say over whether environmentally destructive projects should go ahead,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

“But PUP looks set to pass Tony Abbott’s plan to remove federal approval powers for environmentally destructive projects through the Senate.

The Australian Greens are alarmed by a report today that a former coal baron was allowed to dredge in the Great Barrier Reef after donating $150 000 to the Queensland LNP a week before.

“It’s clear the big end of town is running the Newman Government at the expense of everyday Queenslanders and the Great Barrier Reef,” Queensland Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

The Abbott Government’s approval of Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin, to export through the Great Barrier Reef, is an environmental and climate disaster.

“Off the back of repealing effective action on climate change, the Abbott Government has ticked off on a proposal for Australia’s biggest coal mine to cook the planet and turn our Reef into a super highway for coal ships,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

Environment Minister Hunt must revoke his approval of the Abbot Point coal port in the Great Barrier Reef, given new research by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies out today that shows dredging doubles the frequency of coral disease.

“This landmark study busts the misinformation campaign being run the Queensland Resources Council and the Newman Government wide open,” Australian Greens environment spokesperson, Larissa Waters, said.

The Australian Greens are alarmed by a proposal submitted to the federal government to build a coal port less than 50 metres from homes near Mackay and to load the coal from barges into ships offshore in the Great Barrier Reef.

“Now the big mining companies want to use the Great Barrier Reef as a drip tray for coal spills,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

The Abbott Government’s Threatened Species Commissioner announcement today is a fig leaf with no legal backing to try and cover up Tony Abbott’s anti-environment agenda.

“We welcome the appointment of Gregory Andrews as Threatened Species Commissioner and wish him the best with the mammoth task the government is asking him to achieve with insufficient funding and no statutory authority,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

News of Adani’s precarious financial position in The Financial Review today calls into question how environmental conditions attached to the Abbot Point coal port expansion approval will be funded.

“It’s incredibly concerning that not only do the Abbot Point offsets appear impossible to achieve and are unlikely to be enforced but there might not even be the money to pay for them,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said. 

The Auditor General’s report on environmental protection shows the federal environment department is under-resourced and failing to enforce environmental conditions.

“The Abbott Government constantly approves environmentally destructive projects claiming that all of the damage will be offset by environmental conditions, but the report shows those conditions often aren’t enforced,” Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

The World Heritage Committee has tonight given the Abbott and Newman Governments one more chance to stop destroying the Great Barrier Reef or it will be placed on the World Heritage ‘In Danger' list next year.

"This is the third and probably the final warning from the World Heritage Committee for the future of our Reef," Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens environment spokesperson, said.

"UNESCO's message to the Abbott Government is clear - this is your last chance to pick up your act and save the Reef from ending up on the ‘In Danger' list next year.