Fertiliser use curbed near Barrier Reef

Tony Moore, Brisbane Times 29 Jan 09;

New state laws aimed at preventing fertilisers and pesticides from running into rivers that flow towards the Great Barrier Reef will be introduced later this year.

Premier Anna Bligh told reporters near Cairns this morning that the steps could give the reef an extra 70 years before coral bleaching became a regular event, and provide time for climate change measures to have an impact.

"An 80 per cent reduction in run-off of fertiliser nitrogen would buy the Great Barrier Reef as much as 65 to 70 years before catastrophic bleaching becomes a regular event," the Premier said.

"I want my grandchildren to see this natural wonder, and I want to be able to say to them that we did everything we possibly we could to protect it."

Ms Bligh said without tough measures, the reef would be dead within 40 years.

The new laws will also clamp down on farming practices, including over-grazing, tree clearing along creek lines and overusing fertilisers.

In October, Ms Bligh signalled her decision to move towards tougher regulations for the use of fertilisers and pesticides in north Queensland.

The new legislation will be ready in June, following public consulation about steps to improve water quality in north Queensland finished in February.

She said the laws would also protect tens of thousands of jobs that relied on the reef's longevity and minimise the impact of climate change on the area.

"Climate change is real and it is a threat that we all know it is coming," she said.

"Some temperature rise is locked in and we need to make sure we are doing all we can to help our reef prepare for this looming threat.

"I want to make sure we are doing all we can to make the Reef more resilient to climate change."

Speaking in Brisbane this morning, Federal Climate Change Minister Penny Wong said the high temperatures in South Australia and Victoria this week proved the accuracy of warnings by climate change scientists.

The Queensland Government has promised $175 million over the next five years to better manage the Great Barrier Reef, which includes $25 million on water quality.

The Australian Government has already committed $200 million to improve farming practices around the reef.

Australia cracks down on Great Barrier Reef pollution
Yahoo News 29 Jan 09;

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia announced a crackdown on pollution of the Great Barrier Reef Thursday as the World Heritage-listed site comes under increasing threat from toxic chemicals and climate change.

Farmers who allow pesticides and fertilisers to run off into the seas around the reef -- described as the world's largest living organism -- will be fined under new conservation laws, officials said.

"I want my grandchildren to see this natural wonder, and I want to be able to say to them that we did everything we possibly could to protect it," said Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh.

Under a voluntary plan adopted five years ago, farmers in the northern state which borders the reef said they had reduced fertiliser use by 20 percent.

But Bligh said the voluntary measures had not gone far enough, and legislation was required.

"An 80 percent reduction in run off of fertiliser nitrogen would buy the Great Barrier Reef as much as 65 to 70 years before catastrophic bleaching becomes a regular event," she told reporters.

The 345,000 square kilometre (133,000 square mile) tourist attraction, off Australia's northeast coast, was suffering "long-term decline" from soil, fertilisers and pesticides, Bligh said.

Laws would be introduced by June restricting the level and type of damaging chemicals allowed to run into waterways that flowed into the reef.

Farm practices such as over-grazing and tree-clearing would also be regulated, and water monitoring would take place to ensure compliance.

Any breach would be met with a fine, she said.

Conservation group WWF last week estimated that up to a million megalitres of pollution had flowed into the reef following a recent cyclone, equivalent to 400,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Coral growth has slowed markedly on the reef since 1990, believed to be caused by warmer seas and higher acidity -- the result of global warming.