Katters Australian Party targets Save the ‘Great Barrier Reef’ industry
North Queensland readers would find it more than interesting the Cairns Post newspaper has ignored this story
KAP Candidate for Leichhardt, Daniel McCarthy has today called for a forensic audit to be carried out on all Barrier Reef government funding warning that the ‘rivers of gold’ crisis funding being allocated to save a reef that doesn’t need saving have flowed for far too long and it was time to reveal to tax payers just how their money was being spent.
A select few crisis-crying people have done exceedingly well from millions of dollars in tax payer funded grants whilst the rest of the marine tourism industry in Cairns and Port Douglas have suffered tremendously.
“We have the third largest territorial sea of any nation yet no politicians currently in Canberra have the slightest grasp on reality with our oceans, and it now seems government doesn’t know or has been turning a blind eye to where the reef funding money has been funnelled and a full and thorough forensic audit will determine what’s been going on with the $102 million been spent on Crown of Thorns alone,” said Mr McCarthy.
The negative publicity in the world wide media is a result of outrageous false and misleading claims made by those milking the gravy train has destroyed the reputation of the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.
“The knock-on effect caused by the reef’s trashed reputation has flowed through the North.
“Cairns Port expansion plans are held to ransom by the Federal governments Reef 2050 plan along with the unnecessary State Government vegetation management laws and increased green-tape where virtually every farmer in North and Far North Qld has also been vilified along the way.
“It’s high time to restore integrity into science, policy and research funding for the Great Barrier Reef.”
The current media reports of the sacking of Prof Peter Ridd by James Cook University is currently before the courts and is deeply troubling.
“As far as I am aware Prof Ridd was simply offering a scientific view that the science in relation to reef funding should be quality controlled.”
Recently the Crown of Thorns starfish funding had been under scrutiny in wide spread revelations in the media.
“We all want to protect the GBR that’s for sure. However, I have been inundated with phone calls from people across the marine sector and the public who are absolutely ropable over the reef funding scandal that has come to light.”
McCarthy has a deep understanding of the threats and the reality of what’s actually happening on the reef, having worked on it for most the last 30 years and in every sector of the marine industry.
“I have long been concerned that the relationships and arrangements for reef funding were ‘a little cozy’ between a couple of individuals and their organisations and members of parliament, but what has been revealed in recent wide spread media of late it appears the situation stinks of jobs for the boys to say the least.”
Hard working Australian tax payers are having hundreds of millions of their dollars directed into the ‘save the Reef’ industry.
Now it appears some of this money may have been funnelled into saving for retirement, penthouses, expensive luxury cars, hobby farms on the Tablelands, overseas holidays and election campaign funding for a select few. It certainly does not pass the pub test.
Mr McCarthy is furious at many of the matters being raised particularly with what equates to ‘Donor Democracy.’
“If what is alleged in these media reports is true I think it disgraceful. Australian’s are fed up with seeing their money being swallowed up in deceptive, self-interested projects under the guise of saving things,” he said.
“I support Dr Peter Ridd’s proposal that at least one per cent of the funding that goes to the Great Barrier Reef is spent on checking the science, verifying the findings and providing quality assurance.”
There are many further questions to be asked as to why the Federal Government gave $440 million to a private company that never asked for the money nor has the capacity or idea as what they intend to do with it.
There are many further questions to be asked as to why the Federal Government gave $440 million to a private company that never asked for the money nor has the capacity or idea as what they intend to do with it.
……. Would it have anything to do with Lucy Turnbull being on the Board
i agree but we need to go further there needs to be charges laid and these punks need to be locked up and those found guilty of treason be tried in a military court and held accountable.
Thanks Vic just what the Katters are saying. Editor
Walter Starck had an article published in July 1984 titled “Why We Don’t Need to Save the Barrier Reef”.
Since then he has published numerous articles regarding false claims of overfishing & declining water quality of the GBRMP, as well as its continuing demise needing lots of funding to address.
He has also written about scientific research misconduct (McCook et al. (2010), the report used to justify the spending of over $300million of taxpayer funds to unnecessarily expand the protected areas of the GBRMP in 2004).
The then Vice-Chancellor of James Cook University dismissed his concerns of conflict of interest in this report (all 21 were employed by or recipients of funding from GBRMP & reviewing outcomes of their own findings & recommendations), claims being contradicted by other more extensive work from the same researchers, major claim inconsistent with other evidence including that in the report, distortion of economic analysis, scant actual evidence to support claims and exaggerated claims regarding protected reefs. Walter’s website is http://www.goldendolpin.com if you wish to read his down to earth and comprehensible articles.
I support Ridds position 100% – He is one of the very few so called scientists who has any guts..Science has been bought out! And the money Turdball gave to his mates – what a surprise there are allegations of misappropration – is just criminal..