Kuku Yalanji woman and Socialist Alliance candidate for Leichhardt Pat O'Shane condemned聽Prime Minister Scott Morrison's聽January 28 announcement to fund聽for the Great Barrier Reef, describing it as a vote-buying exercise.
Morrison travelled to Cairns with environment minister Sussan Ley to announce the $1 billion package. The money will be spent over nine years and is aimed at聽ground and water programs. It does nothing to address climate change,聽the biggest challenge facing the Reef.
鈥淢orrison is on the nose,鈥 O鈥橲hane said. 鈥淭his is an attempt to buy votes before an election and paper over his failures at the United Nations.鈥
The federal government waged a concerted international lobbying campaign last year 鈥斅爊ot to save the Reef, but to keep it off a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)聽鈥渋n danger鈥 list.
O鈥橲hane said that 鈥渨e can all see through鈥 Morrison鈥檚 tactic. 鈥淧rotecting our reef and our climate has never been on his agenda. The only people he protects are the big end of town.鈥
Socialist Alliance Queensland Senate candidate Renee Lees said:聽鈥淢orrison remains silent about the root cause of destruction of the reef 鈥斅燾limate change and fossil fuels鈥.
鈥淲hen he jets back to Canberra, the people of the Far North will continue to deal with heat stroke, sandbagging our island and coastal communities, and watching the life drain out of our reef and our economies.鈥
According to Lees, it is not simply a problem of inaction. 鈥淲e are talking about deliberate decisions to funnel billions of dollars of our public money to reef-destroying fossil fuels.
鈥淭his includes聽, plus direct handouts and public finance, absolutely dwarfing Morrison's announcement today of $1 billion spread over 9 years for the reef.
鈥淢orrison has picked his side, and it is not the side of people or the planet.鈥
The Socialist Alliance campaign is running on a聽聽that includes:
- A planned shift to 100% renewable energy within 5鈥10 years via public investment and emission reduction targets;
- Bringing power industries under public/community ownership and democratic control;
- Phasing聽out fossil fuels: ending subsidies, no new coal or gas projects, banning fracking; and
- Guaranteeing jobs with no loss in pay for workers in fossil fuel industries.