The controversial issue of where to dump dredge spoil from the Abbot Point coal port expansion was the focus for hundreds of North Queenslanders who want to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the environmental impacts the dredging will cause.
On October 19, boats and kayaks formed a flotilla at the beach as others rallied onshore. After progressing a couple of hundred metres, the flotilla and the marchers were surprised to be joined by a group of scuba divers who emerged from under the water and made their way to the beach to join the rally on land.
A separate rally and flotilla was held at Airlie Beach on the same day. Organisers believe recent rallies are having an impact.
The Queensland government has recently backed down from the original plan to dump the dredge spoil at sea but the new plan to dump it at the Caley Valley Wetlands has been labelled as “bizarre” by the North Queensland Conservation Council.
NQCC coordinator Wendy Tubman said: “The Caley Valley Wetlands are listed as a nationally important wetland and one that, if healthy, provide an important water filtering and fish breeding area for the Great Barrier Reef.
“There appears to be no end to the lengths to which our governments go to support the coal industry, a dying industry that is the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef.”
Speaking at the rally, Tubman called out the Coalition state and federal governments, specifically environmental ministers Jeff Seeney and Greg Hunt.
“It is ridiculous to pretend that they are protecting the reef while subsidising the coal industry,” she said. “This is corporate welfare gone mad.
“The coal industry only provides about 4% of Queensland’s revenue.”
Seeney’s recent decision to dump the spoil on land is being hailed as a victory of sorts, but the current proposal will cause more conjecture.
“He has transferred the problem from one area to another,” Tubman said. “This is ludicrous. We will stop it, we are not going away.”
Rally organiser Ahri Tallon said: “We are on the way to victory but there is so much more work to be done.”
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