2016-04-20
With the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce finding 93 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef has coral bleaching, the Greens have renewed calls for job-rich clean energy.
Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson, said:
"This is the worst ever bleaching on the Reef, which is putting almost 70 000 peoples' jobs and the spectacular biodiversity of this World Heritage icon at risk.
"The science is clear - it's coal or the Reef.
"The Labor and Liberal parties' approval of the Southern Hemisphere's largest coal mine to export through the Reef flies in the face of the science and community expectations.
"In Parliament this week, Senator Brandis actually questioned what the cause of coral bleaching was.
"The government must wake up to the scientific reality that global warming is destroying the Reef and that continuing with Tony Abbott's woeful climate policies won't help it.
"The coal industry is dying and leaving workers in the lurch, while in contrast the clean energy industry is taking off and can provide thousands of new jobs without sacrificing our Reef or our very way of life.
"The Greens have developed a transition plan to achieve 90 per cent renewable energy by 2030 with training and employment opportunities for workers losing their jobs in the coal industry," Senator Waters said.