http://www.couriermail.com.au/video/id-1nMHV0cTqJL9Fax1iE6rDOo1St6po2DL/Expert-says-Bishop%27s-reef-claims-defy-science
Julie Bishop lobbies nations with heritage sites to block Great Barrier Reef danger call

Steven Scott

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Expert says Bishop’s reef claims defy science
Expert says Bishop’s reef claims defy science

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop will declare the Great Barrier Reef is not “in danger” as she today heads off an international push to blacklist the national icon.

Ms Bishop will warn world leaders to back off, arguing a push to list the Australian icon will put their own heritage sites in the firing line.

The Foreign Minister believes a successful ruling against Australia would set a precedent activists will use to list key world heritage sites across the world.

“Every country that has an environmental icon that activists seize upon would be at risk,” she said.

In a bid to prevent UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee declaring the Reef “in danger” next year, Ms Bishop plans to lobby each country on the committee that the ruling would set a precedent for their own nations.

Ms Bishop will hold meetings with other world leaders on the sidelines of a climate change summit which begins in Lima, Peru today.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will head off a push to blacklist the Great Barrier Reef.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will head off a push to blacklist the Great Barrier Reef.

Her message suggests major tourist attractions including Peru’s Machu Picchu and the US’s Yellowstone National Park could be threatened as a result of a negative listing for the Reef.

Ms Bishop will argue Australia has provided a “textbook case” on how to address environmental threats with its policies to protect the Reef and should not be punished by an “in danger” ruling that would have “significant implications” for Queensland’s tourism, coastal development and mining.

“There is no justification for an ‘in danger’ listing by the World Heritage Committee,” Mr Bishop told The Courier-Mail.

“It would send a message around the world that even if you meet all of the criteria set out by the World Heritage Committee, there is still a risk that they will place an area on the ‘in danger’ list.

“It would have significant implications for Australia but it would also set a very dangerous precedent for countries who don’t have the opportunity to take the action that Australia has.”
Bishop takes Obama to task on reef
Bishop takes Obama to task on reef

The World Heritage Committee will meet next June to decide whether to formally declare the Reef “in danger”.

UNESCO has been investigating threats to the Reef from development since 2012 and has called for a ban on new port developments in Queensland until 2015.

Ms Bishop said Australia had already addressed all warnings about the Reef by banning the dumping of port dredge waste, limiting agricultural run-off and targeting the crown of thorns starfish.

She will tell world leaders our steps in emissions reduction should be taken into account.

She will also seek support from others not on the committee, including the USA, and warn a negative ruling about the Reef could have implications for other marine ecosystems not on the World Heritage list, such as the coral reefs off Honolulu.