4 corners Monday Night Gladstone and barrier grief

[rayke1938]

Just got this via email from FFSAQ.

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Great Barrier Grief

By Marian Wilkinson and Clay Hichens

Updated November 3, 2011 10:51:00

Great Barrier Grief

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the great natural wonders of the world. Thirty years ago, Australia willingly made the Reef a World Heritage Area. That listing was intended to protect the Reef. Any changes to its management, or developments that might affect it, should be notified in advance to the World Heritage Committee.

In this report, Marian Wilkinson travels to Queensland to assess claims that at least six major port developments - either being planned or currently underway - could potentially put the Reef in jeopardy and destroy industries, like fishing, that rely on their proximity to it.

Coal seam gas is a massive undertaking. It's estimated there are now close to 4,000 wells in Queensland. That number will grow tenfold over the next 20 years. The plan is to take a lot of that gas to Curtis Island, off Gladstone in the World Heritage Area, where it will be processed and exported.

To service the huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and expand its coal loading capacity, Gladstone Ports Corporation is now undertaking the biggest dredging operation ever attempted inshore from the Great Barrier Reef.

Part of the spoil dredged up will be taken out to sea to a dump site within one kilometre of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Reporter Marian Wilkinson examines why the Federal Government did not tell the World Heritage Committee in advance about the planned port expansion, given the potential to impact on the World Heritage Area.

She also investigates what impact the dredging will have on marine life around Gladstone Harbour and how it might affect the Reef. She speaks to local fishermen who believe the dredging is responsible for a startling outbreak of fish disease in the Harbour waters. And she questions Government officials who say the water is fine and the disease is a result of natural causes.

The southern end of the Great Barrier Reef is just one area feeling the pressure. Hay Point, near Mackay, is in line for a massive port expansion that will see another dredging and dumping operation that could affect the Reef. Port Alma, at the mouth of the Fitzroy River near Great Keppel Island, is also looking to expand and Bathurst Bay, north of Cooktown, could be the site for a big new coal loading facility in the pristine waters of the Northern Reef.

Experts warn this expansion will lead to a substantial increase in shipping through the Reef, increasing the possibility of groundings and oil spills in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

'Great Barrier Grief', presented by Kerry O'Brien, goes to air on Monday 7th November at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is repeated on Tuesday 8th November at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 at 8.00pm Saturdays, on ABC iview or abc.net.au/4corners.

This is the final Four Corners for 2011. We will return in on Monday 6 February, 2012. In the meantime you can revisit selected Four Corners from the past 50 years, on ABC News 24, commencing Saturday 19 November at 8pm. You can also visit the special 50 Years of Four Corners website for many more programs, interviews and stories from the program's archive.

Tags: electricity-energy-and-utilities, mining, oil-and-gas, climate-change, endangered-and-protected-species, environmental-management, water-pollution, environmental-health, marine-parks, great-barrier-reef, biological-diversity, environmental-impact, environmental-policy, water-management, qld

First posted November 3, 2011 10:48:00
/>http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/11/03/3355047.htm

[ellicat]

Thanks for the tip off. Should be good viewing, Ray. There's something dodgy happening at Gladstone.

[tugger]

Yeah like thousands of new jobs through construction and long term jobs when finished this is great for the economy of the area, qld and australia as a whole this is greenies stiring more headlines and the media beating it up. The dredging has been happening for shipping for the last50+ years in qld this is just a bit bigger and the fish desease has not been proven it could have ocurred because of all the flooding we/ve had washing chemicals off farm land.

Thanks for the tip off. Should be good viewing, Ray. There's something dodgy happening at Gladstone.

[ellicat]

May well have something to do with the floods. That is what I first thought too (and still do). From what I have been reading the initial diagnosis of the crook fish has proven incorrect. So it will be interesting to see how up to date the 4Corners report is and, if it is, what it is now thought to be.

Might have to filter out the Greens argument/'thinking' as usual though.

[elops]

Removing 46 million cubic meters of the substrate with its bacteria, associated macrophytes and macroalgae in one massive effort and it having no effect on water quality or parameters is an interesting concept. :whistle:

[Do$tylz]

won't something think of the sea kittens in all of this.... oh the travesty.

sorry... couldn't help myelf.

Epic dredging with it being dumped close to the barrier reef?? Surely it will have some sort of affect?? Anyone got got more info on this?? Tugger - they've been doing this for a while, have they always been dumpng the dregs at the spot they've ID'd?

[elops]

"surely it will have some sort of effect"

You have some experience with saltwater systems Henry, easy to replicate.

Turn off your biological filtration, disturb your substrate as much as possible then place a brand new powerhead in the tank :sick:

[tugger]

Gladstone has been dredge since the first steel ship went in there decades ago i'm not certain if they'll use the same spoil ground like they used up until the new project started but the original one's were all outside the harbour near the reef. This will have a short term effect without a doubt but i'm sure it will bounce back quickly

IMO the gain outways the pain

won't something think of the sea kittens in all of this.... oh the travesty.

sorry... couldn't help myelf.

Epic dredging with it being dumped close to the barrier reef?? Surely it will have some sort of affect?? Anyone got got more info on this?? Tugger - they've been doing this for a while, have they always been dumpng the dregs at the spot they've ID'd?