North Queensland Conservation Council is shocked by the figures revealed in today's Senate Estimates by the head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Dr Russell Reichelt . The 2016 coral bleaching event resulted in 30% mortality, and the results of the 2017 bleaching event surveys show a further 19% has died.

"Never before has a back-to-back coral bleaching event occurred on the Great Barrier Reef. Climate change isn't a future-tense possibility. It's happening. The climate has changed. It appears half of the Reef is dead" said NQCC Coordinator Maree Dibella.

"We need smart and swift action right now, otherwise we face losing the Reef within one generation. That means no new coal projects, and a rapid transition to renewable energy. This starts with stopping Adani" said Ms Dibella.

North Queensland Conservation Council responds to a story on ABC online that the Queensland Government is offering a royalty holiday to Adani that could cost the state $320 million in lost revenue.

Maree Dibella, Coordinator of North Queensland Conservation Council said:

“This is an outrageous move by the Queensland Government. All Australian’s own the resources in the ground and mining companies need to pay for it. Now Adani is getting our resources for free, on top of free water, and possibly free money too (via NAIF).”

“At a time when we need to be drastically reducing climate pollution, opening up a new mega coal mine is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. We need strong climate change action and that means no new coal.”

“This is a disgraceful decision by the Queensland Government to give preferential treatment to a dodgy company that already avoids paying tax, uses overseas tax havens, overstates job prospects for regional Queenslanders and will now have a break from paying for the coal.”

In this issue: memberships due – Stop Adani roadshow wrap up – Westpac rules out funding Adani – NAIF action – Minister’s Environment Roundtable wrap up – upcoming local events

The #StopAdani Roadshow returns to Townsville on 27 April after the original event was cancelled due to Cyclone Debbie. Organisers are expecting to the 400 seat theatre at Event Cinema.

“The momentum to Stop Adani just keeps growing. We are excited by how many North Queenslanders are getting behind this event and joining the movement to Stop Adani” says North Queensland Conservation Council coordinator Maree Dibella.

“Communities are putting on film screenings in Port Douglas, Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton. There are over 110 community groups leading campaigns in their towns and suburbs, with 12 just in regional Queensland.

Welcome to the April issue of Paperbark. Our thoughts and well-wishes are with the communities to our south who felt the full force of Cyclone Debbie.

In this issue: Guarding the Galilee film screening – Special General Meeting – Stop Adani Alliance launched – Adani roadshow returns – Queensland Women’s Week event wrap up – Minister’s Environment Roundtable – upcoming local enviro events

Date savers (more details below)

27 April – “Guarding the Galilee” premiere documentary screening.
2 May – Special General Meeting regarding Port of Townsville expansion project campaign
12 May – ‘The Food We Eat: its impact on environments and bodies’ free public discussion

This post is written by Liz Murphy-Forrester from Queensland Conservation Council. It orginally appears on their website. Queensland Conservation Council and North Queensland Conservation Council collaborated together to put on an event for Queensland Women’s Week.

In a culture where we are often focused on limitations, ‘Empowering NQ women for the Environment’ on Magnetic Island was an event that celebrated the incredible capacity of generations of NQ women standing up boldly for the environment.

This post is written by Liz Murphy-Forrester from Queensland Conservation Council. It orginally appears on their website. Queensland Conservation Council and North Queensland Conservation Council collaborated together to put on an event for Queensland Women's Week.

In a culture where we are often focused on limitations, 'Empowering NQ women for the Environment' on Magnetic Island was an event that celebrated the incredible capacity of generations of NQ women standing up boldly for the environment.

The weekend retreat, held during Queensland Women's Week, saw women from Mackay through to Cairns come together to share stories, skills and strengthen networks. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women shared stories, through dance, about their life journeys and caring for country.

Today in Canberra, veteran environmentalist Bob Brown will join community leaders from around the country to launch the ‘Stop Adani Alliance’ and build the biggest movement in Australia’s history to stop Adani’s dangerous coal mine and end coal for good.

North Queensland Conservation Council (NQCC) is a founding member of the Alliance.

NQCC co-ordinator Maree Dibella said, “It’s great to see people from around the country join our fight to stop the Adani’s mine from going ahead.  I know there is a lot of local support here in Townsville for this campaign, but I also know we can’t win this on our own.”

Welcome to the March edition of Paperbark. This month we are ramping up our #StopAdani campaign – read on to find out how you can be involved. We also have some great trainingopportunities coming up this month.

#StopAdani Roadshow – Monday 27 March

This is big. Our very own city is the FIRST stop for a week-long roadshow across Australia, building an unstoppable movement to stop Adani. Come along and learn about what action we can take to win this campaign. Inspiring speakers include:

LGAQ calls on governments to take control of flying fox issue

This article was written by ABC NQ's Nathalie Fernbach, and originally published here.

The peak body representing local government in Queensland is calling for state and federal governments to take control of flying fox management. The Local Government Association Queensland’s (LGAQ) call follows the release of the results of the federal parliamentary inquiry into management of flying foxes in the eastern states of Australia.

The Standing Committee on Environment and Energy’s Living With Fruit Bats report recommended the establishment of a co-operative body to co-ordinate national management and to identify policy and research priorities.