North Queensland Conservation Council

The Queensland Government recently announced a new policy regulating trans-shipping (unloading and reloading at sea) of coal off Queensland including within the Great Barrier Reef. While this looks like increasing protections it breaks a commitment by the Labor Party to not allow trans-shipping in reef waters by making exceptions for "designated ports", like Abbot Point. With a quick turn around date for the proposed regulation NQCC made a submission, available here: Trans-shipping_submission.pdf.

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NQCC submission on the Coral Sea Marine Park Draft Management Plan.

On 20 September public comments closed on the federal Department of Environment and Energy’s Draft Management Plan for the Coral Sea. This was an opportunity for NQCC to have its views heard along with groups and individuals from around the country and the full text can be found here.

You may recall, Australia was heralded as a world leader in 2012 when the Marine Park Network and particularly the Coral Sea Marine Park were declared by the Labor Government. The Australian public overwhelmingly supported their declaration. This followed some 15 years of research, advocacy and consultation including some 10 years work by consecutive governments of both major parties. It included campaigning by NGOs in Australia, such as former colleagues of mine at WWF, one of whom received a richly deserved AO in part for her role in the Coral Sea declaration. To see this good work partly unravel is disillusioning. But it is not over yet!

 This post originally appeared on NQCC Vice-President Peter Hanley's blog.

Last Saturday the North Queensland Conservation Council hosted a screening of “Chasing Coral”, a recently released film that documents the disastrous bleaching events that have destroyed large areas of coral reef around the world. Following the film there was a panel discussion featuring Dr John ”Charlie” Veron, Tony Fontes, a tourism operator from Airlie Beach and Dr David Wachenfeld, the Director of Reef Recovery at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Click here for our list of local hands-on environmental conservation volunteer projects.

Townsville/NQ groups are listed first on this page, then broader state, national and international groups. We have added a few words of description where their aims are not obvious from their names.

Other internet resources for environmental information and engagement are endless, of course, but we are still keen to add links to relevant local (NQ) organisations - please contact us if you are one or know one.

• Australian Youth Climate Coalition - Townsville branch on Facebook or national home page.
• Kittens for the Reef, a project of NQCC in 2015. On Facebook.
• Dry Tropics Biodiversity Group, Inc. (conserving natural environments, Townsville and NQ) http://www.drytropics.org/
• MINCA Magnetic Island Nature Care Association http://www.minca.org
• Wildlife Qld Townsville branch of Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld http://www.wildlife.org.au/contact/branch/townsville.html (National: http://www.wildlife.org.au)
• Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare Inc. Landcare group running conservation and revegetation activities around Townsville http://www.cdtli.org.au
• Permaculture Townsville http://permaculturetownsville.org/ and their Facebook group.
• Ecoville http://www.ecoville.org.au information about the environment, sustainable living, organic and locally grown food, wildlife, volunteering, recycling, etc, in the Townsville area.
• Lower Burdekin Landcare Association http://www.lowerburdekinlandcare.org.au/ based in Ayr.
• CAFNEC (Cairns and Far North Environment Centre) http://cafnec.org.au, an umbrella group like NQCC covering the area to our north.
• MCG Mackay Conservation Group http://www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au, an umbrella group like NQCC covering the area to our south.
• EDO NQ (Environmental Defenders Office North Queensland) http://www.edonq.org.au/, a non-profit, non-government community legal centre specializing in public interest environmental law, providing free environmental law advice and advocacy to members of the public.
• Wide Bay Burnett Environment Council https://wbbec.wordpress.com
• Sunshine Coast Environment Council http://www.scec.org.au, another group like NQCC but further south again from Mackay and the MCG.
• Queensland Conservation aka QCC http://qldconservation.org.au/ the umbrella group for the whole state. There's a big list of member groups (pdf) at http://qldconservation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/V12QCCMembersProfiles-Dec-2013.pdf
• National Parks Association of Queensland Inc. http://www.npaq.org.au/ advocates for the protection, expansion and good management of the protected areas in Queensland; offers a bushwalking and outdoor recreation activity program; and provides opportunities to participate in community conservation and Citizen Science projects.
• Environment Centre NT http://www.ecnt.org our neighbour to the north-west.
• Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub, https://www.facebook.com/NESPNorthern/, based at Charles Darwin University, Darwin. 

National and international

• Greenpeace Australia Pacific http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/
• The Wilderness Society http://www.wilderness.org.au
• Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) http://www.acfonline.org.au

Single-issue groups

Coal and Coal Seam Gas

• Bimblebox Nature Refuge, opposing Galilee Basin coal http://bimblebox.org
• Lock The Gate Alliance, national coalition of community groups opposing coal and CSG projects http://www.lockthegate.org.au

Marine Issues

• Sea Turtle Foundation http://seaturtlefoundation.org
• Ghost Nets, dealing with marine debris on Australia's northern coastline http://www.ghostnets.com.au
• Australian Marine Conservation Society http://www.marineconservation.org.au
• Fight for the Reef http://fightforthereef.org.au/
• Tangaroa Blue, https://www.tangaroablue.org/, focuses on beach clean-ups.

Renewable Energy

• Beyond Zero Emissions is a Melbourne-based not-for-profit research and education organisation working to design and implement a zero emissions economy for Australia.
• Solar Citizens is an off-shoot of 100% Renewable Energy; it's Australian, with a Sydney/Melbourne centre of gravity. Historical resources and information are still on the 100% Renewable Energy site but it is no longer being updated.
• The Transition Decade, an alliance of Victorian sustainability groups working on a ten year social and structural transition that enables the restoration of a safe climate.

Climate Change

• The ABC is probably the most reliable source of Australian news on climate change. This link will take you to the latest news stories they have tagged "Climate Change".
• The Climate Council After thousands of Australians chipped in to Australia's biggest crowd-funding campaign, the abolished Climate Commission was relaunched as the new, independent Climate Council. Tim Flannery is the most visible member of the management team.
• Climate Reality Project Australia (formerly The Climate Project) is the Australian branch of Al Gore’s climate change leadership program.
• Australian Youth Climate Coalition, 'inclusive and diverse', but particularly focused on young people, and 'political but non-partisan'.
• 350.org A global climate movement. Online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are coordinated by a global network active in over 188 countries.
• Desmogblog The DeSmogBlog project began in 2006 and quickly became one of the world’s primary sources for accurate factual information about global warming misinformation campaigns.
• Skeptical Science, explaining climate change science and rebutting global warming misinformation, examines the many standard climate (pseudo-) skeptic arguments and exposes their weaknesses.

Volunteering opportunities

• Volunteering NQ links volunteers with non-profit organisations http://www.volunteeringnthqld.org.au
• Conservation Volunteers recruits volunteers from Australia, New Zealand and around the world to join important environmental and wildlife conservation projects. http://www.conservationvolunteers.com.au
• GoVolunteer is a government-supported initiative aiming to match people interested in volunteering with appropriate opportunities. http://govolunteer.com.au

Government agencies

Listed here because we often need to contact them for one reason or another.

• Federal Department of Sustainable Environment, Water, Population and Community
• The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) was split up in 2012 and its functions allocated as follows:
  • Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to the Department of National Parks, Sport and Racing. https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/
  • Natural resources areas to the Department of Natural Resources and Mines. https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/
  • Forestry management to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/
  • Environment and Resource Sciences to the Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts. https://www.qld.gov.au/dsiti/
  • Queensland Climate Change Centre for Excellence to the Department of Science, Information Techonology, Innovation and the Arts. https://www.qld.gov.au/dsiti/
  • Indigenous Cultural Heritage Co-ordination to the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs. https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/
  • Water supply policy areas to the Department of Energy and Water Supply. https://www.dews.qld.gov.au/
  • Water resource allocation areas to the Department of Natural Resources and Mines. https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au/
  • Remaining areas renamed as Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/

(With thanks to Together Qld for the list!)

North Queensland Conservation Council’s members and supporters gathered this morning outside a Reef Summit meeting being put on by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, dismayed at news reports this week that half of the Great Barrier Reef may already be dead. (See: Terry Hughes tweet, Dr Russell Reichelt in Monday’s Senate Estimates)

Dozens of concerned locals met at Townsville Bulletin Square to create a moving visual representation of coral mortality.

“This is an unprecedented tragedy. It appears half of the Reef may be dead following back-to-back bleaching events in 2016 and 2017” said NQCC Coordinator Maree Dibella.

“Climate change isn’t a future possibility. The climate has already changed by 0.7 degrees and we’ve seen how this small increase has devastated the Reef. It’s absolutely crucial we take every effort to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees if we have any hope of the Reef remaining for the next generation.”

“We need smart and swift action right now. This means no new coal projects. That starts by stopping Adani’s mine. Today we’re calling upon the State Government to rule out cutting a royalties deal with Adani. We are also asking the Federal Government to not hand Adani $1 billion of Australian taxpayers’ money to prop up this otherwise failing project.”

“People at the rally want to see the Reef survive bleaching events and sea temperature rise. We need to protect the near 70,000 jobs that rely on a healthy Reef ecosystem. We want investment in our region for long-term, sustainable jobs, not coal jobs liable to a typical mining boom and bust cycle.”

More photos in this photo album.

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.

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.

Protecting our ocean

Join us in celebrating the beautiful clear water of the northern tropics and safeguarding it from unnecessary dredging and other activities that muddy our wonderful Cleveland Bay – an ecological hotspot and fundamental to our unique lifestyle.

Clear Water Townsville is a partnership between North Queensland Conservation Council and the Magnetic Island Nature Care Association.

Let’s make one thing clear. We’re not here to close the Port of Townsville – just to make sure that excessive, damaging and unnecessary growth doesn’t destroy the wonderful marine environment and leisure activities we are privileged to enjoy in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Another busy month at NQCC! November will be another eventful month, with Maree attending the Environment Roundtables with other Queensland enviro groups, NQCC hosting an intern, and our unmissable trivia night on the 19th – don’t forget to purchase your tickets!

In this issue: Townsville Port expansion – radioactive contamination at Ben Lomond – Adani ‘critical infrastructure’ – Hell’s Gate Dam forum wrap-up – fisheries reform – Marine Park review – Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – NQCC’s trivia night – EOI for 2017 postcard exhibition.

Click here to view the Additional Environmental Impact Statement for the Port expansion.

Click here to add your name to save our local waters from the Port’s muddy plan!

Click here to make a detailed submission using our template.

NQCC’S ACTION ON PORT EXPANSION

Media alert for Port forum 24 October “Community gathers about Port expansion plans”

Media release 19 October “The Port’s muddy plan for local waters just got bigger”

Community forum at Magnetic Island RSL 26 October – RSVP here.