2015-12-16
The Australian Greens condemn the Liberal Government's plan to allow companies to brand the Great Barrier Reef.
Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens climate change spokesperson, said: "What's next, naming rights, like for football stadiums?
"While private donations for Reef protection are welcome they shouldn't be in exchange for advertising rights and they must be on top of adequate public funding, not in place of it.
"The most alarming part of this proposal is the potential for companies which are threatening the Reef to buy positive Reef branding to try to avert the reputational damage they deserve.
"Letting coal companies sponsor our Great Barrier Reef would be like letting tobacco companies sponsor hospitals.
"The state and federal governments are pushing ahead with the Southern Hemisphere's largest coal mine to turn the Reef into a coal ship highway and to supercharge the greatest threat to the Reef, global warming.
"Instead of allowing damage to the Reef and then asking for private money to clean it up, the state and federal governments shouldn't allow this damage in the first place.
"It's sadly ironic that this proposal is coming from the same government that is trying to give away its legal responsibility for the Reef to state governments, and take away the tax deductibility of Australians' donations to environment groups," Senator Waters said.