2018-01-22
Greens Senator for Queensland Andrew Bartlett says Malcolm Turnbull’s pledge of millions of dollars to protect the Great Barrier Reef is a wasteful publicity stunt aimed at distracting attention away from those who continue to put the Reef at risk.
“The real beneficiaries of this blatant publicity stunt are the fossil fuel giants and their Liberal Party mates who will continue to go about their business as usual - certainly not the Reef or the public, who are footing million dollar bills for wasteful projects that are doomed to fail.
“Malcolm Turnbull has continued to spend millions of dollars of public money on projects that were condemned by his own advisors as potentially harmful or proven failures.
“If Malcolm Turnbull was serious about protecting the Great Barrier Reef he would listen to scientists and transition away from the real reef-killer: the fossil fuel industry.
“But we know this transition to a renewable energy future would threaten the Liberals’ receipt of millions of dollars in fossil fuel donations, and as a result we see band-aid solution projects rolled out again and again so the Liberal Party can keep face.