| November 1966 – Liberal‑Country
Party Coalition Government takes office. |
| 8 October 1969 |
Prime Minister announces
decision to establish an Institute of Marine Science in Townsville,
Queensland (Qld) Prime Minister John Gorton
states that the institute ‘will become a centre of excellence’ and that one
of its first priorities will include ‘research in the area of the Great
Barrier Reef’. According to a media
report, the proposed institute is expected to launch ‘a major research
programme into the problem of the destructive crown of thorns starfish on the
Great Barrier Reef’. |
J. Gorton (Prime Minister),
Policy
Speech, Federal Election 1969, 8 October 1969, 11. ‘Institute
to Tackle Starfish Menace’, Australian, 10 October 1969. |
| 29 January 1970 |
Joint Commonwealth‑Qld enquiry
into oil drilling in the GBR announced The Australian and Qld
Governments agree to conduct a joint enquiry into the possibility of oil
drilling causing damage to the GBR. The Qld Government states it will not
prevent the oil drilling project in Repulse Bay from going ahead. However, it
is later reported that the Qld Government would agree to a suspension
provided the project companies agree and the state does not incur financial
liability. |
J. Gorton (Prime Minister),
‘Agreement
on Barrier Reef Oil Drilling Enquiry’, media release, 29 January 1970. J. Bennetts, ‘Judge
to Lead Reef Drilling Inquiry’, Canberra Times, 30 January 1970. W. Brown, ‘State
to Seek Drilling Halt Agreement for Reef Oil Study’, Courier‑Mail,
30 January 1970. |
| 29 January 1970 |
Australian and Qld Government
agree to establish a crown‑of‑thorns starfish Joint Committee |
J. Gorton (Prime Minister),
‘Agreement
on Barrier Reef Oil Drilling Enquiry’, media release,
29 January 1970. |
| 7 April 1970 |
Australian and Qld Government
crown‑of‑thorns starfish Joint Committee members announced The 6-member Joint Committee was
agreed to on 29 January 1970 and will investigate the problem of
crown‑of‑thorns starfish in the GBR. It will report to both governments
and be supported by each on a dollar for dollar basis. |
J. Gorton (Prime Minister),
‘Crown
of Thorns Starfish’, media release, 7 April 1970. |
| 5 May 1970 |
2 Royal Commissions
(Commonwealth and Qld State) to inquire into oil drilling in the GBR announced The Commonwealth and Qld Royal
Commissions will be established under the Commonwealth’s Royal Commissions
Act 1902–1966 and the Qld Commissions of Inquiry Acts 1950–1954, respectively.
The 2 Royal Commissions have identical terms of reference and the same Commissioners
and will inquire into the risk of damage to the GBR from drilling for
petroleum. Prime Minister John Gorton states
that the Royal Commissions ‘agreed terms of reference incorporate some
improvements and change of a drafting nature from the agreed terms announced on
29 January’. |
J. Gorton (Prime Minister),
‘Statement:
Great Barrier Reef Oil Drilling Inquiry’, media release, 28 April 1970. J. Gorton (Prime Minister), ‘Inquiry
Into the Risk of Damage to the Great Barrier Reef From Drilling for Petroleum’,
media release, 5 May 1970. |
| 17 June 1970 |
Australian Institute of
Marine Science (AIMS) established The Institute is established
under the Australian
Institute of Marine Science Act 1970. The Minister is
required to appoint an Interim Council to make recommendations concerning the
functions of the Institute and the constitution of its Council (responsible
for governing the Institute). Regarding the Institute’s functions, the
Interim Council must consider: … the need for information and
research in relation to the biological and physical aspects of marine
science, with particular reference to information and research concerning the
effects of exploration for, or exploitation of, oil and other minerals, and
of fishing operations, on or in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef. |
Australian
Institute of Marine Science Act 1970 Interim Council of the
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Marine
Science in Australia: Report, (Melbourne: Australian Institute of
Marine Science, 1972), 4. |
| 30 March 1971 |
Joint Committee report on crown‑of‑thorns
starfish in the GBR tabled in Parliament The committee believes that the
starfish ‘does not constitute a threat to the Great Barrier Reef as a whole’
and that any attempts to reduce their population throughout the entire Reef
‘is unwarranted at the present time’. It acknowledges that current reef
ecology knowledge is inadequate to fully assess ‘present and future problems
concerning the crown‑of‑thorns starfish and related matters’ and that
more research is urgently needed. The committee recommends the Australian
and Qld Governments establish a joint Research Trust Fund (for an initial
period of 3 years) and appoint an Advisory Committee to recommend funding
allocations. The governments agree to the recommendation. They each commit
$45,000 to the fund for its first year and agree to increase that amount by
$10,000 in each of the second and third years. The members of the Advisory
Committee are announced
on 18 August 1971. |
W. McMahon (Prime
Minister), ‘Crown
of Thorns Starfish’, media release, 30 March 1971. Commonwealth and Qld Governments
Joint Committee, Report
of the Committee on the Problem of the Crown‑of‑Thorns Starfish,
(Canberra: Commonwealth Government Printing Office, 1971), 6–7, 26. W. McMahon (Prime
Minister), ‘Appointment
of Crown of Thorns Committee’, media release, 16 August 1971. |
| July 1971 |
AIMS Interim Council releases
report The report recommends that
roughly $6.5 million be provided over 5 years to establish the Institute. |
Interim Council of the
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Marine
Science in Australia: Report, 10. |
| 2 January 1972 |
Australian Government commits
up to $8 million to establish AIMS Based on the proposal outlined in
the AIMS Interim Council report, the Australian Government commits up to
$8 million over 5 years to establish AIMS in Townsville. AIMS will initially focus on ‘matters
such as studies of the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea and the coast and
adjacent waters of North Queensland’. |
M. Fraser (Minister for
Education and Science), ‘Australian
Institute of Marine Science’, media release, 2 January 1972. |
| 9 June 1972 |
New AIMS Act enacted The Australian Institute of
Marine Science Act 1970 is repealed and replaced by the Australian
Institute of Marine Science Act 1972. AIMS is continued in
existence by the new Act, which sets out the institute’s specific functions (section 9)
and powers (section 10). |
Australian
Institute of Marine Science Act 1972 |
| December 1972 – Labor Government
takes office. |
| 1 November 1974 |
Royal Commissions into
petroleum drilling in the GBR present report to the Australian and Qld Governments For convenience, the report encompasses
both the Qld State and the Commonwealth’s Royal Commissions. It is over 1,000 pages
long and presented in 2 volumes. The Royal Commission concludes that, among
other things: •
drilling should not be permitted in a
marine or national park •
before any drilling is permitted there
must be co‑ordinated Australian, state and industry contingency plans. Of the 3 Royal Commission
members, 2 consider that drilling in designated areas of the Reef could
be permitted provided designated buffer zones and certain safety precautions
(including contingency plans) were adopted. The third Commission member, and Commission
Chairman: … considers it preferable that
petroleum drilling in the GBRP [GBR Province] should be postponed, and be
planned and permitted only in the light, and with the aid, of full scientific
knowledge of all the effects of oil pollution direct and indirect, short and
long-term, on the coral and other marine life of what was described … as the
complex and delicately balanced system of the Barrier Reef. |
G. Whitlam (Prime Minister)
and J. Bjelke‑Petersen (Qld Premier), ‘Great
Barrier Reef Petroleum Drilling Royal Commissions’, media release,
22 November 1974. G. Wallace, J. Smith
and V. Moroney, Royal
Commissions into Exploratory and Production Drilling for Petroleum in the
Area of the Great Barrier Reef: Report, vol. 1, (Canberra: Government
Printer of Australia, 1975), v. Wallace, Smith and Moroney, Royal
Commissions into Exploratory and Production Drilling for Petroleum in the
Area of the Great Barrier Reef: Report, vol. 2, 588. |
| 25 November 1974 |
Prime Minister announces
decision to create a marine park on the GBR The decision is attributed to
‘the urgent need to protect the reef from despoilation [sic]’. It includes a
commitment to ban drilling ‘in any area of the park where it was considered
harmful to the reef or to the environment as a whole’. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
acknowledges that the park should be ‘established in co‑operation with
the Queensland Government’ and states that the Australian Government wants to
create a GBR marine park authority, comprised of ‘members appointed jointly
by the Australian and Queensland Governments’, to administer the park. |
G. Whitlam (Prime
Minister), ‘Great
Barrier Reef’, media release, 25 November 1974. |
| 20 June 1975 |
Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Act 1975 (GBRMP Act) enacted The GBRMP Act establishes: •
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
(GBRMP) •
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority (GBRMPA) – comprising a Chairman and 2 other members •
a framework for planning and
management of the marine park, including zoning plans, plans of management
and a system of permissions. |
Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 |
| November 1975 – Liberal‑National
Country Party Coalition Government takes office.[18] |
| February 1976 |
Advisory Committee on research
into the crown‑of‑thorns starfish disbanded The Federal Minister for Science
states that the committee ‘would be disbanded to save administrative costs, but
its programs would be continued under the aegis of the Australian Institute
of Marine Science’. The Minister also notes that the ‘development of the
Institute's programs would be restrained to enable savings’. The Qld
Minister for Fisheries states that ‘the Queensland Government would continue
its longstanding interest in research activity through its Fisheries Service’. |
J. Webster (Minister for
Science), ‘Economy
Measures – Department of Science and Related Statutory Authorities’,
media release, 4 February 1976, 2–3. J. Webster (Minister for
Science), ‘Report
of the Advisory Committee on Research into the Crown of Thorns Starfish’,
media release, 2 March 1976, 2. |
| 4 June 1979 |
Prime Minister announces
temporary ban on further oil drilling and exploration in the GBR In line with the recommendations
from the Royal Commissions, the Australian Government decides that: … there should be no further
exploration for petroleum in the Great Barrier Reef Region and that there
should be no renewal of petroleum exploration permits in the Region until the
results of both short and longer term research are known. |
M. Fraser (Prime Minister),
‘Petroleum
Exploration in the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 4 June 1979. |
| 14 June 1979 |
First GBR Intergovernmental
Agreement (the ‘Emerald Agreement’) signed Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and
Qld Premier Joh Bjelke‑Petersen sign an agreement outlining the arrangements
between the 2 governments for managing the GBR. They agree to: •
establish a GBR Ministerial Council
(comprising 2 Commonwealth and 2 Qld Government Ministers) to
represent ‘tourism, marine parks, science and environment’ •
proclaim the Capricornia section as
the first section of the GBRMP. The Prime Minister and the Qld
Premier confirm in a joint media release that ‘it was the policies of their
respective governments to prohibit any drilling on the Reef or any drilling
or mining which could damage the Reef’. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Great
Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement 1979, 1979. M. Fraser (Prime Minister)
and J. Bjelke‑Petersen (Qld Premier), ‘Great
Barrier Reef’, media release, 14 June 1979. |
| 21 October 1979 |
Capricornia Section of GBR is
proclaimed the first part of the GBRMP The section covers over 12,000 square
kilometres. Prime Minister Fraser’s media release states: The proclamation of this first
part of the marine park is further evidence of the Commonwealth's commitment
to the conservation of our environment. Over the past four years we have
taken decisions that will guarantee that our children and their children have
the opportunity to enjoy and experience the unique heritage of Australia. |
M. Fraser (Prime Minister),
‘Electorate
Talk - The Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 21 October 1979. J. Webster (Minister for Science
and the Environment), ‘First
Section of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’, media release,
21 October 1979. |
| 14 September 1980 |
GBR nominated for inclusion
on the World Heritage List To be included on the list as a
natural World Heritage site, the GBR site must demonstrate ‘outstanding
universal value’ (OUV) by satisfying one or more of the following criteria: •
be an outstanding example
representing the major stages on the earth's evolutionary history •
be an outstanding example
representing significant ongoing geological processes, biological evolution
and man's interaction with the natural environment •
contains unique, rare or superlative
natural phenomena, formations and features or areas of exceptional natural
beauty •
be the habitat where populations of
rare or endangered species of plants and animals still survive. |
M. Fraser (Prime Minister),
‘Great
Barrier Reef and the World Heritage List’, media release, 14 September 1980. |
| 26–30 October 1981 |
GBR added to the List of
World Heritage Sites The World Heritage Committee
(WHC) made the decision during its fifth session in Sydney. In its decision,
the WHC notes: … only a small proportion of the
area nominated for the World Heritage List had been proclaimed within the
Great Barrier Reef Region as defined in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Act, 1975, and
the Committee requested the Australian Government to take steps to ensure
that the whole area is proclaimed under relevant legislation as soon as
possible and that the necessary environmental protection measures are taken. |
GBRMPA, Nomination
of the Great Barrier Reef by the Commonwealth of Australia for Inclusion in
the World Heritage List, (Townsville: GBRMPA, January 1981). UNESCO, World
Heritage Committee: Fifth Session: Report of the Rapporteur, CC‑81/CONF/003/6,
(Sydney: 1982), 4. |
| March 1983 – Labor Government
takes office. |
| 19 March 1990 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ivor impacts
on the GBR[19] The cyclone crosses the coast of
Cape York Peninsula. Physical damage to the Reef is recorded as far as 40 km
to the north of the cyclone’s path and 10 km to the south. The impact is
most severe over a 50 km section of the outer reef in the northern section. |
‘Severe Tropical
Cyclone Ivor’, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), 15–26 March 1990. M. Puotinen, T. Done and W. Skelly,
An Atlas of Tropical
Cyclones in the Great Barrier Reef Region, 1969–1997, CRC Reef Research
Technical Report No. 19, (Townsville, James Cook University, 1997). T. Done, A. Ayling and R. Van
Woesik, Broadscale
Survey of Impacts of Cyclone Ivor on Coral Reefs, a report to the
GBRMPA, (Townsville: GBRMPA, June 1991). |
| 16 November 1990 |
GBR region designated as
first Particularly Sensitive Sea Area The designation by the Marine
Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) allows Australia to implement associated protective
measures such as a compulsory pilotage regime, and ship routing and reporting
systems. |
IMO, Identification
of the Great Barrier Reef Region as a Particularly Sensitive Area, Annex
17 to Resolution MEPC.44(30), adopted 16 November 1990. IMO, Report
of the Marine Environment Protection Committee on its Thirtieth Session:
Corrigenda, MEPC 30/24/Corr.1, 19 June 1991. |
| 20 July 1994 |
Twenty Five Year Strategic
Plan for the GBR World Heritage Area finalised It is the first major regional
plan to be released for the GBR. Developed via a joint decision‑making
process with all levels of government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples, industry (including tourism, commercial, and recreational fishing),
conservationists and scientists, the plan is intended to provide an
overarching, system‑wide perspective for managing the entire GBR. It outlines a vision for the
future of the Reef and the objectives and strategies needed to achieve this
vision. The 25‑year objective is: To ensure the persistence of the
Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area as a diverse, resilient, and
productive ecological system, while retaining opportunity for a diverse range
of experiences and uses consistent with Australia’s obligations under the
World Heritage Convention. |
GBRMPA, The Great
Barrier Reef: Keeping it Great: a 25 Year Strategic Plan for the Great
Barrier Reef World Heritage Area 1994–2019, (Townsville: GBRMPA, 1994), 15. P. Keating (Prime
Minister), ‘Launch
of the Great Barrier Reef Strategic Plan, Townsville’, media release, 20 July 1994. |
| 6 April 1995 |
New position on the GBRMPA
created for a representative of indigenous communities A range of amendments are made
to the GBRMPA Act, including to provide for an additional, fourth
member of the GBRMPA ‘appointed to represent the interests of the Aboriginal
communities adjacent to the Marine Park’ (section 5). |
Environment,
Sport and Territories Legislation Amendment Act 1995 |
| 27–29 November 1995 |
State of the GBR World
Heritage Workshop held The technical workshop is
intended to support the GBRMPA in producing its first report on the State of
the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The technical studies presented
during the workshop are intended to underpin this report, and provide overviews
on the Reef’s: •
climatic and oceanographic
characteristics •
water quality and terrestrial inputs •
status of key plants and animal groups •
management and use issues. |
D. Wachenfeld,
J. Oliver and K. Davis (eds), State of the
Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Workshop: Proceedings of a Technical Workshop
Held in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 27–29 November 1995, (Townsville:
GBRMPA, 1995), 1. |
| March 1996 – Liberal‑National
Party Coalition Government takes office. |
| 18 July 1996 |
Cargo ship Peacock grounds
on Piper Reef The grounding is the 30th marine
shipping incident to occur in the GBR and Torres Strait since 1985 and the
second time a cargo ship has run aground on Piper Reef in the same period. The
ship is grounded for 8 days before being successfully refloated on 26 July. According to the Australian
Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) incident report, no pollution occurred as a
result of the grounding. However, the incident report does not consider the
harmful pollutant effects of the estimated 1 tonne of antifouling paint
agent tributyltin (TBT) that is scraped from the ship’s hull and released
into the Reef.[20] |
P. Glover, ‘Marine
Casualties in the Great Barrier Reef: “Peacock”, “Bunga Teratai Satu” and
“Doric Chariot"’, Maritime Law Association of Australia and
New Zealand Journal 18, (2004): 60. ‘Grounding
of the Panamanian flag Peacock’, Australian Transport Safety
Bureau (ATSB). Great Barrier Reef Shipping
Review Steering Committee, Review
of Ship Safety and Pollution Prevention Measures in the Great Barrier Reef,
(The Committee, July 2001), 85–86. |
| 22 March 1997 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Justin impacts on the GBR The cyclone makes landfall as a
category 2 system northwest of Cairns. The slow‑moving system
caused heavy rain and gale to storm force winds. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Justin’, BOM, 6–24 March 1997. |
| 1998 |
First recorded major global mass
coral bleaching event occurs[21] The bleaching is the result of
unusually warm sea surface temperatures during the summer. The bleaching
event occurs globally and causes mass coral bleaching in the Indian Ocean and
Pacific. Aerial surveys in the GBR reveal
that bleaching has occurred on 21% of the offshore and 74% of the
inshore reefs surveyed. AIMS notes that ‘most reefs
recovered fully, with fewer than 5% of inshore reefs suffering high
coral mortality’; however, ‘the most severely affected reefs were in the Palm
Island area, where up to 70% of corals died’. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. GBRMPA, Coral
Bleaching Fact Sheet, n.d. T. Goreau et al., ‘Conservation
of Coral Reefs after the 1998 Global Bleaching Event’, Conservation
Biology 14, no. 1, (February 2000): 5–15. T. Hughes, J. Kerry and T. Simpson, ‘Large‑scale
bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef’, Coral Reefs 18, (April 1999):
55–60. |
| 23 February 1998 |
Australian National Audit
Office (ANAO) releases audit report on the Australian Government’s management
of the GBR The ANAO report examines the
‘efficiency and effectiveness’ of the Australian Government’s management of
the Reef as implemented by the GBRMPA. The ANAO found that the ‘complexity of
the Authority’s planning hinders the development of practical and useful
performance information for management and accountability purposes’. It also found that ‘the
Authority does not have adequate data to determine whether it is achieving
its primary objective of protecting, conserving and allowing for reasonable
use of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’. The ANAO makes 7 recommendations
to help enhance the effectiveness of GBRMPA’s governance. The GBRMPA agrees
with 6 of the recommendations and agrees ‘in broad principle’ with one. |
Australian National Audit Office
(ANAO), Commonwealth
Management of the Great Barrier Reef: GBRMPA, Auditor‑General
Report No. 33, 1997–1998, (Canberra: ANAO, 1998), xix–xxi, 12. |
| November 1998 |
First report on the State of
the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area released The report ‘represents the first
ever attempt to synthesise information on the state of the whole World
Heritage Area as well as human pressures on the environment and management
responses to those pressures’. |
D. Wachenfeld, J. Oliver
and J. Morrissey (eds), State
of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area 1998, (Townsville:
GBRMPA, November 1998), 7. |
| 25 May 1999 |
Environment Minister
announces a review of existing zoning within the GBRMP The review starts from the
premise that existing zoning offers insufficient protection to the full
extent of habitats and biodiversity now understood to make up the GBR.
Instead, a ‘Representative Areas’ approach to protection and management is
proposed. The Representative Areas Program
will identify the key habitats or ‘bioregions’ within the World Heritage Area
and assess how zoning should be amended to provide sufficient protection for
all habitat types. |
R. Hill (Minister for the
Environment and Heritage), ‘Protecting
the Diversity of the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 25 May 1999. |
| 2 November 2000 |
Container ship Bunga
Teratai Satu grounds on the Sudbury Reef The 184‑metre long, 22,000‑tonne
ship cuts a path through the reef, causing severe localised damage and destroying
an area of approximately 1,500 m2. The ship is grounded for
13 days before being successfully refloated on 14 November. Antifoulant TBT paint is scraped
from the ship’s hull and dispersed by currents and the vessel’s own propeller,
causing a relatively low level of contamination of 30,000 m2.
The clean-up effort was carried out in 2 phases from
9 January 2001 to 27 March 2001. |
‘Grounding
of the container ship Bunga Teratai Satu’, ATSB. ‘Decision 25 BUR V.106‑112’,
24th session, World Heritage Bureau, UNESCO World Heritage Convention, 2001. GBRMPA,
‘Clean-up
at Sudbury Reef’, media release, 19 December 2000. |
| 6 November 2000 |
Review of measures to promote
ship safety and pollution prevention in the GBR announced The review is ‘tasked with
developing practical and enforceable ways to strengthen the existing
regulatory regime for shipping and develop new initiatives aimed at
continuously improving shipping performance in safety and environment
protection in the Great Barrier Reef region’. The review will be overseen by a
steering committee comprising senior officials from the GBRMPA, AMSA, the Department
of Transport and Regional Services and the Qld Government Department of
Transport. |
J. Anderson (Minister for
Transport and Regional Services), ‘Review
of Great Barrier Reef Safety and Pollution Prevention’, media release,
6 November 2000. J. Anderson (Minister for
Transport and Regional Services), ‘Improvements
in Great Barrier Reef Safety’, media release, 24 November 2000. |
| 21 June 2001 |
Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Amendment Act 2001 receives
royal assent The Act strengthens GBR
environmental protection from ship groundings, oil pollution and illegal
fishing by introducing new offences that cover some of these activities and
by increasing some of the penalties for these offences. It also replaces the definition
of ‘compulsory pilotage area’ within the GBRMP Act to allow the area to
be defined and amended via Regulation, rather than needing to amend the Act
itself. This change would allow the government to adjust the definition more
quickly in response to new information or threats. |
Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2001 A. Martyn, ‘Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Bill 2001’, Bills Digest, 128,
2000–01, (Canberra: Parliamentary Library, 17 May 2001), 4, 9. |
| July 2001 |
Review of Ship Safety and
Pollution Prevention Measures in the Great Barrier Reef released The review notes the ‘response
to the Bunga Teratai Satu incident clearly demonstrated the weaknesses
and complexities’ of the current management arrangements concerning shipping
in the Reef. It recommends establishing a GBR Shipping Management Group to
develop a coordinated Shipping Management Plan to: … clarify the legal regime and
responsibilities of Commonwealth and State authorities, and establish broad
objectives and policy parameters for shipping to guide management of the
region and regulation of the industry. The review also recommends that
the group ‘develop a study of the economic, environmental and social impact
of shipping, including indigenous considerations, in the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park and Torres Strait’. |
Great Barrier Reef Shipping
Review Steering Committee, Review
of Ship Safety and Pollution Prevention Measures in the Great Barrier Reef,
(the Committee, July 2001), ii, iii, 1–3. |
| 2002 |
Second recorded mass coral
bleaching event occurs Aerial surveys reveal bleaching
in a higher proportion of offshore reefs (nearly 41%) and 72% of the
inshore reefs counted in the census. Less than 5% of the reefs counted suffered
high coral mortality, and recovery after the event is considered ‘generally
good’. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. |
| 7 May 2002 |
First formal community participation
phase of the Representative Areas Program (RAP) commence The first phase of public
consultation is undertaken on the proposal to prepare a new (single) Zoning Plan
for the entire GBR, based on enhanced protection for all bioregions
identified in the RAP. The consultation runs until 7 August 2002
and results in 10,190 written submissions from the public, the largest
number ever received by the GBRMPA for a management planning exercise. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park: Zoning Plan 2003, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
May 2004). GBRMPA, The
Great Barrier Reef: Representative Areas, program poster, (Townsville:
GBRMPA, 2004), 2. |
| 29 July 2002 |
Bulk coal carrier ship Doric
Chariot grounds on Piper Reef The 225‑metre long, 73,000‑tonne
ship cuts through the reef, creating a grounding scar approximately
50 m long and 70 m wide and destroying over 3,500 m2
of coral reef. Toxic antifoulant TBT paint is scraped from the ship’s hull
and released into the environment. The ship is grounded for
9 days before being successfully refloated on 6 August. Clean up and remediation efforts
take place from 27 October to 30 November 2002. |
Glover, ‘Marine
Casualties in the Great Barrier Reef: ‘Peacock’, ‘Bunga Teratai
Satu’ and ‘Doric Chariot’’, 69–72. GBRMPA, ‘Remediation
of Piper Reef Following the Grounding of the “Doric Chariot”’,
media release, n.d. |
| 2 June 2003 |
Minister for Environment and
Heritage releases draft Zoning Plan The draft plan proposes to
increase the proportion of the GBR zoned as ‘no-take’ (known as Green Zones)
from 4.5% to around 30%. It is based on ensuring representation of
all 70 bioregions within these ‘no-take’ areas. A second phase of public
consultation follows, with the public invited to make submissions by 4 August 2003. |
D. Kemp (Minister for the
Environment and Heritage), ‘Kemp
unveils Great Barrier Reef Protection Plan’, media release, 2 June 2003. GBRMPA, Draft
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
June 2003). |
| 2 June 2003 |
Second formal community participation
phase of RAP commences The GBRMPA’s second round of
community consultation on the draft Zoning Plan includes: •
more than 360 meetings and information
sessions •
the distribution of 76,000 maps •
57,000 submission forms •
29,000 explanatory brochures •
more than 2,100 CDs. A total of 31,500 submissions
are received across the 2 phases of public consultation, making the RAP ‘one
of the largest examples of public involvement in any environmental planning
process in Australia’s history’. |
GBRMPA, The
Great Barrier Reef: Representative Areas, poster, 2. GBRMPA, Report on
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
2005), 2. |
| October 2003 |
Reef Water Quality Protection
Plan released The plan aims to halt and
reverse the decline in GBR water quality within 10 years. It outlines
multiple actions and strategies to achieve this. The plan has 2 main
objectives: •
reduce the load of pollutants from
diffuse sources in the water entering the Reef •
rehabilitate and conserve areas of
the Reef catchment that have a role in removing waterborne pollutants. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Reef
Water Quality Protection Plan: For Catchments Adjacent to the Great Barrier
Reef World Heritage Area, (Brisbane: Qld Department of Premier and
Cabinet, October 2003), 6. |
| 20 October 2003 |
ANAO releases follow-up report
on its 1997–98 audit report on the Australian Government’s management of GBR The report assesses the extent
to which the GBRMPA implemented the recommendations made by ANAO in its
earlier 1997–98 audit report. The ANAO finds
that the Authority has implemented 6 of the 7 recommendations and
has ‘made good progress’ towards implementing the last one. |
ANAO, Commonwealth
Management of the Great Barrier Reef Follow-up Audit: The GBRMPA, Audit
Report No. 8, 2003–04, (Canberra: ANAO, 2003). ‘Commonwealth
Management of the Great Barrier Reef Follow-up Audit: The GBRMPA’, ANAO. |
| 21 April 2004 |
Amalgamated GBR section
proclaimed All 33 existing sections of
the GBRMP (which include the 5 main sections and 28 new coastal sections)
are united to form one section, called the Amalgamated Great Barrier Reef
(AGBR) section. |
Commonwealth
of Australia Gazette, Special, No. S 119, 21 April 2004,
(see pdf pages 55–63). |
| 1 July 2004 |
GBR Marine Park Zoning Plan
2003 commences Enacted under the GBRMP Act,
the plan was created by the GBRMPA on 26 November 2003 and tabled
in Parliament on 3 December 2003. It provides a single, consistent
zoning plan for the entire Marine Park and is the primary planning instrument
for the conservation and management of the Marine Park. The plan divides the AGBR
Section into 8 zones and dictates the purposes for which each zone can
be used or entered. The plan is expected to increase the total area of the
park that is protected from practices such as fishing and collecting (so
called ‘no-take’ or Green Zones) from 4.5% to 33.3%. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
May 2004). D. Kemp (Minister for the
Environment and Heritage), ‘Reef
Protection Increased Six‑Fold’, media release, 3 December 2003. GBRMPA, Report on
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
November 2005), 2. |
| 5 November 2004 |
GBR Coast Marine Park and
Zoning Plan commence Enacted under the Qld Marine
Parks Act 1982 (now repealed and replaced by the Marine
Parks Act 2004), the new
GBR Coast Marine Park amalgamated the 4 existing Qld marine parks with
new areas so that the Marine Park runs the entire length of the Commonwealth
GBRMP Zoning Plan from just north of Baffle Creek (near Bundaberg) to Cape
York. The Marine
Parks (Great Barrier Reef Coast) Zoning Plan 2004 complements the
GBRMP Zoning Plan by adopting similar zone objectives and entry and use
provisions. |
‘Great
Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park’, Qld Government, updated
22 October 2021. |
| 9 March 2005 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Ingrid impacts on the GBR The cyclone crosses far northern
part of the GBR and makes landfall as a category 4 system. It is the
strongest cyclone to cross this part of the GBR since 1918. It has a tightly
defined core, with wind gusts of up to 250 km an hour, generating estimated
wave heights of over 5 m within the GBR lagoon. According to the results of
surveys conducted post-cyclone: The worst-affected inshore reefs were
reduced to extensive rubble fields. On the worst-affected outer-shelf reefs,
more than half of the surfaces of crests and outer slopes were stripped off their
framework down to solid substratum, ~0.5 m below previous living coral
surface. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Ingrid’, BOM. K. Fabricius et al., ‘Disturbance
Gradients on Inshore and Offshore Coral Reefs Caused by a Severe Tropical Cyclone’,
Limnology and Oceanography 53, no. 2 (2008): 691, 696. |
| 10–17 July 2005 |
29th session of the WHC held
in Durban, South Africa The committee notes petitions received
from concerned non‑government organisations requesting that the GBR
(and 3 other World Heritage properties) be listed as in danger ‘on the
basis of climate change and associated impacts’. The IUCN notes the petition’s
key issues and technical background ‘seem well founded and properly
referenced’. However, it also states ‘that it would be premature to accept
the petitions outright’, arguing that ‘[t]here is insufficient technical data
and evidence on the impacts of climate change on the properties’ and noting
that climate change impacts on coral reefs globally and is not unique to the
GBR. The WHC adopts the IUCN’s draft
decision, including noting that climate change is affecting many properties
and ‘likely to affect many more’ and encouraging Parties to ‘seriously
consider the potential impacts of climate change within their management
planning’. |
UNESCO, State
of conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, WHC‑05/29.COM/7B.Rev,
(Paris: 2005), 2–3. UNESCO, Decisions
adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 29th session, WHC‑05/29.COM/22,
(Paris: 2005), 55–56. |
| 22 July 2005 |
IMO approves extension of GBR
Particularly Sensitive Sea Area to the Torres Strait |
IMO, Designation
of the Torres Strait as an Extension of the Great Barrier Reef Particularly
Sensitive Sea Area, Resolution MEPC.133(53), adopted 22 July 2005. |
| 23 August 2005 |
Minister for the Environment
announces review of the GBRMP Act The review implements the Howard
Government’s 2004
election commitment ‘to improve the performance of the [GBRMPA], its
office holders and its accountability frameworks’. The review’s terms of reference
are focused on: •
the role of office holders •
the functions of the GBRMPA •
accountability frameworks •
consultation mechanisms. |
I. Campbell (Minister for
the Environment and Heritage), ‘Review
of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act’, media release, 23 August 2005. Liberal Party of Australia and
the Nationals, Supporting
North Queensland, Coalition policy document, Election 2004, 2. D. Borthwick,
B. Belcher and J. Hutson, Review of
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975: Review Panel Report, (Canberra:
Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2006), 5. |
| 2006 |
Localised coral bleaching
event occurs Bleaching occurs in the southern
region of the GBR. Despite being confined to a smaller area, surveys reveal
that the bleaching event is worse than in previous years, with up to 98% of
corals bleached on some reefs, resulting in high coral mortality. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. |
| 20 March 2006 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry
impacts on the GBR The cyclone makes landfall as a
category 5 system close to Innisfail. It has damaging effects on reefs
between Hinchinbrook and Cairns, with severe damage recorded on several
inshore reefs, but less damage on offshore reefs in the cyclone’s path. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Larry’, BOM, 17–20 March 2006. A. Chin, J. Davidson and G. Diaz,
Initial
Survey of the Impact of Tropical Cyclone Larry on Reef and Islands in the
Central Great Barrier Reef, (Townsville: GBRMPA, 10 April 2006). AIMS, ‘Great
Barrier Reef Damaged by Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry’, media release, 10 November 2006. |
| 2 October 2006 |
Review of the GBRMP Act released The reviewers make 28 recommendations
to strengthen the future accountability and transparency of the GBRMPA. The first recommendation includes
making the Authority’s primary objective ‘the long‑term protection,
wise use, understanding and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef’. |
I. Campbell (Minister for
the Environment and Heritage), ‘Review
of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act’, media release, 2 October 2006. Borthwick, Belcher and Hutson,
Review
of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975: Review Panel Report,
167–175. |
| 2007 |
GBR Climate Change Action
Plan 2007–2012 released The plan outlines ‘a way forward
for the Australian Government to comprehensively act to maximise the
resilience of the Reef’. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Climate Change Action Plan: 2007–2012, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
2007), 3. |
| 1 July 2007 |
Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Amendment Act 2007 enacted The Act amends the governance,
accountability and transparency requirements in the GBRMP Act. In
particular, the amendments require: ·
a five-yearly, peer-reviewed 'Outlook
Report' to document the overall condition of the marine park to be tabled in
Parliament and published ·
an enhanced process to engage
stakeholders in the development of zoning plans for the marine park ·
zoning plans to be 'locked down' for
a minimum of seven years from the date they come into force to provide
stability for business, communities and biological systems. |
‘Managing
and protecting the Great Barrier Reef’, DCCEEW. Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2007 |
| December 2007 – Labor Government
takes office. |
| 13 May 2008 |
Reef Rescue program launched The program, to be funded from
2008 to 2013 as part of the ‘Caring for our Country’ initiative, receives
$200 million in funding, to be distributed as follows: •
$146 million for water quality
grants •
$12 million for the Healthy
Reefs Partnerships Program •
$22 million for water quality
monitoring and reporting •
$10 million for water quality
research and development •
$10 million for the Land and Sea
Country Indigenous Partnerships Program. |
T. Burke (Minister for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), ‘$200m
to Rescue the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 13 May 2008. Australian Government, Australian
Government Reef Achievements 2008–2013, (Canberra: 2014). |
| October 2008 |
Scientific consensus
statement on GBR water quality released The statement concludes that,
among other things, ‘water discharged from rivers to the GBR continues to be
of poor quality in many locations’ and ‘current management interventions are
not effectively solving the problem’. |
J. Brodie et al., Scientific
Consensus Statement on Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef,
(Brisbane: Reef Water Quality Protection Plan Secretariat, October 2008),
2. |
| 12 November 2008 |
Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 enacted The Act ‘put in place a modern,
future‑focused regulatory framework to secure the long-term protection
and ecologically sustainable management of the reef’. |
‘Managing
and protecting the Great Barrier Reef’, DCCEEW. Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 |
| Summer 2008–2009 |
Significant freshwater coral
bleaching event occurs Heavier than usual summer
rainfall in the region leads to flooding and large amounts of freshwater being
discharged to local inshore reefs. Localised coral bleaching occurs as a
result of stress due to changes in salinity. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. GBRMPA, Observed
Impacts From Climate Extremes on the Great Barrier Reef–Summer 2008/2009, (Townsville:
GBRMPA, 2010). |
| 8–9 March 2009 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Hamish impacts on the GBR The cyclone moves into the GBR
lagoon as a category 5 system and tracks parallel to the coast for 500 km (or
about 25% of the length of the GBR). AIMS’ surveys found that ‘reefs within
30km of the cyclone eye sustained most damage, with around half of the 500 reefs
in [that] area exposed to destructive waves and suffering significance
damage’. The measured effects are
variable, with reductions in coral cover ranging from 10% to 70% on some
reefs. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Hamish’, BOM, 5–12 March 2009. AIMS, ‘Research
Reveals Cyclone’s Ravages on the Reef’, media
release, 20 August 2009. |
| June 2009 |
Updated GBR Intergovernmental
Agreement signed The new agreement updates and
replaces the 1979 ‘Emerald Agreement’, and includes 3 main
objectives: •
provide long-term protection and
conservation of the environment and biodiversity of the GBR ecosystem •
allow ecologically sustainable use of
the GBR ecosystem, subject to the ‘objective of long‑term protection
and conservation’ •
meet Australia’s international
responsibilities for the GBR World Heritage Area under the World Heritage
Convention. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Great
Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement, 2009. |
| September 2009 |
Reef Water Quality Protection
Plan 2009 released The updated plan changes the
initial goal outlined by the 2003 Plan to: •
an intermediate goal ‘to halt and
reverse the decline in water quality entering the Reef by 2013’ •
a long‑term goal ‘to ensure
that by 2020 the quality of water entering the Reef from adjacent
catchments has no detrimental impact on the health and resilience of the
Great Barrier Reef’. The plan also identifies 3 priority
work areas and multiple specific actions and deliverables to be completed between 2009
and 2013. |
Queensland Department of the Premier
and Cabinet, Reef
Water Quality Protection Plan 2009, (Brisbane: Reef Water Quality
Protection Plan Secretariat, September 2009), 14. |
| 2 September 2009 |
GBRMPA releases first GBR
Outlook Report The report identifies the
following priority issues that are reducing the resilience of the GBR: •
climate change •
continued declining water quality
from catchment runoff •
loss of coastal habitats from coastal
development •
impacts from fishing, illegal fishing
and poaching. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009, (Townsville: GBRMPA, 2009), i. P. Garrett (Minister for
the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) et al., ‘A
Renewed Outlook for the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 2 September 2009. |
| 3 April 2010 |
Bulk coal carrier ship Shen
Neng 1 grounds on Douglas Shoal The 230-metre long ship is
grounded for 10 days and causes extensive and severe physical damage to
the shoal and significant TBT contamination. Over 400,000 m2
of habitat is damaged and an estimated 115,000 m2 of that
habitat is found to be severely damaged or completely destroyed. The incident
creates the largest ship grounding scar in the GBR to date and, according
to GBRMPA, ‘possibly the largest reef‑related impact in the world’. In October 2016, GBRMPA secures
$35 million in an out-of-court settlement with the ship’s owners and
insurers arising from a civil damages case. Surveys and planning to determine
how best to restore the grounding site do not begin until 2019. Offshore
remediation activities for the site were completed in September 2023,
and onshore remediation activities were expected to be completed at the end
of 2023.[22] |
‘Shen
Neng 1, 3 April 2010’, AMSA. GBRMPA, Grounding
of the Shen Neng 1 on Douglas Shoal, April 2010: Impact Assessment Report,
(Townsville: GBRMPA, June 2011), 1. ‘Douglas
Shoal environmental remediation project’, GBRMPA, updated 16 October
2023. Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Public Works, [Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority—Douglas Shoal Environmental Remediation],
Report 3, 2022, (March 2022). |
| 22 October 2010 |
Australian Government approves
gas project within the GBR World Heritage Area The project involves a number of
components, including constructing a liquefied
natural gas processing plant and export facility and other supporting
infrastructure on Curtis Island (which is located within the GBR World
Heritage Area), as well as an underground
gas transmission pipeline from the gas field to the facility on the Island. |
T. Burke (Minister for
Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPC)), ‘Federal
Environmental Approval for Coal Seam Gas and Gladstone Projects’, media
release, 22 October 2010. ‘Queensland
Curtis LNG Project’, Qld Government. |
| 2010–2011 |
Another freshwater coral
bleaching event occurs Higher than average summer
rainfall in Qld again results in local inshore reefs being exposed to flood
plumes and receiving an influx of freshwater, causing localised freshwater
bleaching. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. |
| 2–3 February 2011 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi impacts
on the GBR The cyclone crosses the coast
near Mission Beach as a category 5 system. Just over 13% of the
GBRMP is exposed to destructive or very destructive winds and 6% of the total
reef area in the Marine Park is severely damaged. Most of the damage occurs in
the region between Townsville and Cairns. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Yasi’, BOM, 30 January–3 February 2011. GBRMPA, Impacts
of Tropical Cyclone Yasi on the Great Barrier Reef: a Report on the Findings
of a Rapid Ecological Impact Assessment, (Townsville: GBRMPA, July
2011), 1, 3. |
| 19–29 July 2011 |
35th session of the WHC held
in Paris, France The Committee expresses ‘extreme
concern’ at the approval of liquefied natural gas processing and port
facilities within the region (on Curtis Island) and expresses regret that
Australia did not inform it of the decision as per its Operational
Guidelines. It urges Australia to: ... undertake a comprehensive
strategic assessment of the entire property, identifying planned and
potential future development that could impact the [OUV] to enable the
long-term plan for sustainable development that will protect the [OUV] of the
property. It also requests that Australia invite,
as soon as possible, a joint World Heritage Centre and IUCN reactive
monitoring mission (RM mission) to ‘consider the state of conservation of the
property as a whole, and to contribute to the strategic assessment process’. |
UNESCO, Decisions
adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session, WHC‑11/35.COM/20,
(Paris: 2011), 55–56. ‘Policy Compendium: Extract
172’, UNESCO. |
| 16 February 2012 |
Joint comprehensive strategic
assessment for the GBR World Heritage Area announced The Australian
and Qld Government Environment Ministers sign agreement to undertake
a comprehensive
strategic assessment of the GBR and its adjacent coastal zone in accordance
with section 146 of the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).[23] The strategic assessment will
include: •
a marine component – led by the
GBRMPA •
a coastal zone component – led by the
Qld Government. |
T. Burke (SEWPC Minister)
and V. Darling (Qld Environment Minister), ‘Development
Pressures on Great Barrier Reef to be Assessed’, media release, 18 February 2012. ‘Great
Barrier Reef strategic assessment’, DCCEEW. |
| 6–14 March 2012 |
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
and IUCN undertake joint RM mission to the GBR The RM mission’s team finds that
the GBR ‘does not currently meet the requirements for inscription on the List
of World Heritage in Danger, but risks meeting those requirements if remedial
measures are not undertaken’. The team makes 14 recommendations
for the Australian Government, including that it: •
commission an independent review of the
environmental concerns of developments in Gladstone Harbour and on Curtis
Island •
develop and adopt ‘clearly defined
and scientifically justified targets’ to improve the Reef’s state of
conservation •
commission an independent review ‘of
the overall institutional and legal mechanisms that provide coordinated
planning, protection and management’ of the GBR. |
F. Douvere and
T. Badman, Mission
Report: Reactive Monitoring Mission to Great Barrier Reef (Australia): 6th to
14th March 2012, (UNESCO and IUCN, June 2012), 6, 8, 59–60. |
| 16–27 June 2012 |
36th session of the WHC held
in Saint‑Petersburg, Russia The Committee ‘notes with great
concern’ the ‘unprecedented scale of coastal development currently being
proposed within and affecting the property’ and requests that Australia: •
prohibit ‘any new port development or
associated infrastructure’ (excluding developments within ‘long‑established
major port areas’) if it would impact the OUV of the property •
complete a strategic assessment and
provide, by its 39th session (in 2015), a long‑term plan for
sustainable development •
undertake an independent review of
the management arrangements for Gladstone Harbour •
provide, by 1 February 2013,
an updated report on the state of conservation of the GBR and progress on
implementing its requests and the RM mission recommendations. The WHC will consider the updated
report at its next session and warns that ‘in the absence of substantial progress’,
it will consider inscribing the GBR on the ‘List of World Heritage in
Danger’. |
UNECSO, Decisions Adopted
by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th Session, WHC‑12/36.COM/19,
(Saint‑Petersburg: 2012), 57–58. |
| 31 August 2012 |
Terms of reference for the
comprehensive strategic assessment of the GBR announced The strategic
assessment will ‘assess all matters of national environmental
significance in the coastal area including world heritage values’ and: … investigate the adequacy of
existing management arrangements to protect the Great Barrier Reef World
Heritage Area as well as the Queensland Government’s coastal management,
planning and development framework. Both the marine and coastal
components of the joint strategic assessment are required to deliver a Program
Report and a Strategic Assessment Report. |
Department of Sustainability, Environment,
Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPC), Great
Barrier Reef Strategic Assessment Fact Sheet, (Canberra: DSEWPC, September 2012),
4. T. Burke (SEWPC Minister),
‘Meeting
the Challenges of the Future on the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 31 August 2012. GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Region Strategic Assessment: Terms of Reference,
(Townsville: GBRMPA, August 2012), 3. |
| December 2012 |
GBRMPA releases GBR Climate
Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan 2012–2017 The plan builds on the previous
2007 Action Plan and outlines the Australian Government’s strategy to
address the threat of climate change in the Reef. It describes a plan of action
to be undertaken by the government over the next 5 years. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan (2012–2017),
(Townsville: GBRMPA, 2012). |
| 1 February 2013 |
Australian Government
announces independent review of the Port of Gladstone The review addresses the request
made by the WHC at its 36th session. In addition to examining the Port’s
‘current and future planning for development, as well as management,
monitoring and reporting programs’, the reviewers will also investigate ‘environmental
concerns in the area, including the environmental performance of developments
and operations and the impacts of other significant threats affecting the
Great Barrier Reef’. |
T. Burke (Environment
Minister), ‘Labor
Protects the Great Barrier Reef’ media release, 1 February 2013. T. Burke (Environment
Minister), ‘Terms
of Reference Finalised for Independent Review of the Port of Gladstone’,
media release, 19 February 2013. |
| 16–27 June 2013 |
37th session of the WHC held
in Phnom Penh, Cambodia The Committee welcomes
Australia’s progress toward undertaking the strategic assessment, and the
establishment of the independent review into the management of Gladstone
Harbour. However, it also ‘notes with
concern’ the ongoing coastal development on the Reef and Australia’s limited
progress in implementing its other key requests and recommendations proposed
by the 2012 RM mission report. The WHC again requests that
Australia provide, by 1 February 2014, an updated report on the
Reef’s state of conservation and progress towards implementing its requests
and the RM mission report’s recommendations. The WHC will consider the
updated report at its next session and warns that ‘in the absence of
substantial progress’, it will consider inscribing the GBR on the ‘List of
World Heritage in Danger’. |
UNECSO, Decisions
adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session, WHC‑13/37.COM/20,
(Phnom Penh: 2013), 64. |
| 10 July 2013 |
Reef Water Quality Protection
Plan 2013 released The updated plan marks
10 years since the release of the initial 2003 plan. The Plan
commits to achieving the 2020 long‑term goal and identifies new
water quality and land and catchment management targets to be achieved
by 2018. The Australian and Qld
Governments commit $375 million over 5 years to help achieve the
goals and targets outlined in the plan. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Reef
Water Quality Protection Plan 2013, (Qld: Office of the Great Barrier
Reef and World Heritage, July 2013). M. Butler (Environment
Minister) and A. Powell (Qld Environment Minister), ‘A
Plan to Protect the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 10 July 2013. |
| 30 July 2013 |
Report on the findings of the
independent review of the Port of Gladstone released The reviewers find that the
environmental management and governance within the Port to be ‘generally
comprehensive’ but note that ‘the multiple layers and mechanisms in place can
contribute to stakeholder confusion and mistrust’. It identifies 3 main
areas for improvement: 1. the need to incorporate world
heritage and other environmental protection considerations in a single,
comprehensive and consultative port planning process 2. the need for assessment and
consideration of cumulative impacts 3. the need for meaningful and
ongoing stakeholder engagement to improve information and community
confidence in environmental management and governance. The Australian Government releases
its response to the Review in August 2015 and agrees, or agrees ‘in
principle’, with all of the recommendations that fall ‘within the Australian
Government’s jurisdiction’. |
A. Tinney et al., Independent
Review of the Port of Gladstone: Report on Findings, (Canberra: DSEWPC,
July 2013), x–xi. ‘Independent
Review of the Port of Gladstone’, DCCEEW. The
Australian Government Response to: the Independent Review of the Port of
Gladstone (July 2013) and the Independent Review of the Bund Wall at the
Port of Gladstone (April 2014), (August 2015). |
| September 2013 – Liberal‑National
Party Coalition Government takes office. |
| 1 November 2013 |
Draft strategic assessment of
the GBR World Heritage Area released for public comment The media release announcing the
consultation states ‘the Strategic Assessment will also guide the
Commonwealth Government’s Reef 2050 Plan and priorities for the
Reef Trust which will inject money into projects for long-term
sustainability’. |
G. Hunt (Environment
Minister), ‘Strategic
Assessment Will Help Protect the Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
1 November 2013. |
| 25 March 2014 |
Inquiry into the efforts to
protect the GBR The Senate asks the Environment
and Communications References Committee to inquire into the adequacy of the
Australian and Qld Governments’ ‘efforts to stop the rapid decline of the
Great Barrier Reef’. |
Senate Environment and
Communications References Committee, ‘Great
Barrier Reef’, inquiry homepage. |
| 11 April 2014 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita impacts
on the GBR The cyclone moves across the GBR
lagoon as a category 5 system weakening to a category 4 system just
prior to making landfall near Cape Flattery. It is the strongest cyclone to
impact the GBR since cyclone Yasi 3 years earlier. According to data collected from
outer reefs by AIMS, the 3 recent ‘unusually intense cyclones [Hamish,
Yasi and Ita] caused record destruction of corals and great loss of fishes
over >1000 km [of the Reef]’. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Ita’, BOM. AIMS, ‘More
Intense Cyclones Pose Threat to the World’s Coral Reefs’, media release, 27 January 2017. |
| 5 June 2014 |
Qld Government releases Qld
Ports Strategy The Strategy establishes
5 Priority Port Development Areas (PPDAs) – in Townsville, Abbot Point,
Hay Point and Mackay, Gladstone, and Brisbane – where future port development
will be concentrated. Outside these PPDAs, the Qld Government will prohibit
(over the next 10 years) any ‘dredging for the development of new, or
the expansion of existing port facilities’ within and adjoining the GBR World
Heritage Area. The Qld Government plans to
introduce legislation to state parliament to enshrine the strategy’s key
actions in law. |
J. Seeney (Qld Minister for
State Development, Infrastructure and Planning), ‘Ports
Strategy to Protect Reef and Grow Jobs’, media release, 5 June 2014. Qld Department of State
Development, Infrastructure and Planning, Queensland
Ports Strategy 2014, (Brisbane: Qld Government, May 2014),
vi. |
| 15–25 June 2014 |
38th session of the WHC held
in Doha, Qatar The committee welcomes
Australia’s progress on the strategic assessment, endorsement of the
2013 Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, release of the Scientific
Consensus Statement, and intent to focus port developments to PPDAs. However, it also ‘notes with
concern’ the recent approvals for coastal developments in the region,
including the dumping of 3 million cubic metres of dredged material, and
that the Qld Ports Strategy provisions cannot be applied retroactively. It
requests that Australia (among other things): •
completes an independent review of
the institutional and management arrangements for the GBR (as was recommended
by the RM mission) •
provides, by 1 February 2015,
an updated report on the state of conservation of the GBR including progress
towards implementing its requests and RM mission recommendations. The WHC will consider the
updated report at its next session ‘with a view to considering, in the case
of confirmation of the ascertained or potential danger to its Outstanding
Universal Value, the possible inscription of the property on the List of
World Heritage in Danger’. |
UNESCO, Decisions
adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session, WHC‑14/38.COM/16,
(Doha: 2014), 116– 117. |
| 23 April 2014 |
Australia Government releases
Reef Trust Discussion Paper The Australian Government
commits to provide an initial $40 million investment to the Reef Trust. The Trust was an election
commitment announced as a part of the broader Reef 2050 Plan. |
G. Hunt (Environment
Minister), ‘Reef
Trust Discussion Paper Released’, media release, 23 April 2014. |
| 11 August 2014 |
GBR final Strategic
Assessment Programs endorsed The GBRMPA
and the Qld
Government’s strategic assessment programs are endorsed by the Federal
Minister for the Environment. |
‘Great
Barrier Reef strategic assessment’, DCCEEW. |
| 12 August 2014 |
GBRMPA releases second GBR
Outlook Report The report finds that, since 2009,
‘continuing investment in management of the Reef has had some positive
results … [however] the greatest risks have not changed’. |
GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014, (Townsville: GBRMPA, 2014), v. G. Hunt (Environment
Minister), ‘Strategic
Assessment Bolsters Protection of the Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
12 August 2014. |
| September 2014 |
Independent review of
institutional and legal mechanisms that provide coordinated planning,
protection and management of the GBR World Heritage Area released The reviewers find that the legislation
for the protection and management of the GBR is generally comprehensive but
note that ‘gaps exist in the areas of climate change and agriculture’. They
note that the declining condition of the Reef ‘does not appear to be solely a
consequence of gaps in the legislation or institutional management
arrangements’ but rather ‘a consequence of systemic and long term pressures
that are a legacy of past and current activities’. While the WHC warns for a third consecutive
year that it would consider putting the GBR World Heritage Area on the ‘In
Danger’ list, the reviewers state that the Reef ‘is generally considered to
be in good condition by international standards’. |
A. Tingay et al., Institutional
and Legal Mechanisms That Provide Coordinated Planning, Protection and Management
of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, (Brisbane: Jacobs,
September 2014), 1, 55. |
| 3 September 2014 |
Senate Committee releases
report on Australian and Qld Government’s GBR management The Senate Committee makes 29 recommendations,
including that the Environment Minister consider the introduction of a cap or
ban on the disposal of dredge spoil in the GBR World Heritage Area (Recommendation 2)
and that the Australian Government ‘take strong action, and an international
leadership role, on the issue of climate change’ (Recommendation 13). |
Senate Environment and
Communications References Committee, Management
of the Great Barrier Reef, (Canberra: The Senate, September 2014),
ix, x. |
| 7 October 2014 |
North-East Shipping
Management Plan released The Plan, developed over 2 years,
‘outlines measures currently in place to manage safety of shipping in the
sensitive marine environments of Australia’s north-east region and proposes
options and action to further minimise the environmental impacts of these
activities and related risks to the [OUV] and integrity of the [GBR World
Heritage Area] in the years to come’. |
W. Truss (Minister for
Infrastructure and Regional Development), ‘Safer
Seas Along Australia’s Northern Coastline’, media release, 7 October 2014. ‘North-East
Shipping Management Plan’, AMSA, 6 October 2014. North-East Shipping Management
Group, North-East
Shipping Management Plan, (Canberra: AMSA, 2014). |
| 20 February 2015 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Marcia impacts on the GBR The cyclone makes landfall at
Shoalwater Bay as a category 5 system, impacting on inshore reefs south
of Mackay. Large waves and storm surge cause significant coastal damage
and erosion. |
‘Severe Tropical
Cyclone Marcia’, BOM, 15–21 February 2015. GBRMPA, Marine
Monitoring Program summary report: results for 2014–2015, (Townsville:
GBRMPA, 2016), 2. |
| 19 March 2015 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Nathan impacts on the GBR The cyclone passes over the
northern section of the GBR as a category 3 system. It is small
in size and only impacts over a limited scale. However, it causes significant
loss of coral cover at impacted sites, including those around Lizard Island,
where one study recorded 97% coral mortality. As the second severe cyclone to
impact the northern section of the Reef in less than a year, it leaves the
region in a weakened state to deal with an ongoing crown‑of‑thorns
outbreak and future bleaching events. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Nathan’, BOM. ‘GBR Condition Summary 2017–18’,
AIMS. A. Baird et al., ‘Effects
of tropical storms on the demography of coral reefs’, Marine Ecology
Progress Series 606 (15 November 2018), 29–38. |
| 21 March 2015 |
Additional funding announced
on release of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan The plan, informed by the
results of the comprehensive strategic assessment, provides the overarching
strategy for managing the GBR World Heritage Area to 2050. It outlines
multiple targets and objectives to address 7 overarching themes:
ecosystem health; biodiversity; heritage; water quality; community benefits;
economic benefits; and governance. It also establishes 2 advisory
bodies – the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) and the Reef 2050 Advisory
Committee (RAC) – to provide scientific and expert advice to the Ministerial
Forum, and support for the implementation and review of the Plan. The inaugural Chair of the IEP
is Professor Ian Chubb, the former Australian Chief Scientist. The inaugural
Chair of RAC is the former Governor of Qld and former Australian Ambassador
for the Environment, Penelope Wensley. The Australian Government
commits an additional $100 million in funding to the Reef Trust to
support the implementation of the plan. Under the Plan, the Australian and
Qld Governments’ investment in the GBR is expected to be more than
$2 billion over 10 years. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Reef
2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, (Canberra: 2015). Tony Abbott (Prime Minister), ‘Additional
$100 Million to Protect the Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
21 March 2015. ‘The
Reef 2050 Plan, Advisory bodies’, DCCEEW. |
| 15 May 2015 |
IMO approves extension of GBR
and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area to the southwest Coral Sea |
IMO, Designation
of the south‑west Coral Sea as an Extension of the Great Barrier Reef and
Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, Resolution MEPC 268(68),
adopted 15 May 2015. |
| 17 May 2015 |
Ban on dredge disposal implemented The ban, implemented by the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Amendment (Capital Dredge Spoil Dumping) Regulation 2015,
‘applies to all past and future applications for capital dredge spoil’. The media release notes the Qld
Government’s commitment to also ban the practice in areas under its
jurisdiction. |
G. Hunt (Environment Minister),
‘Hunt
Signs Great Barrier Reef Permanent and Historic Dredge Disposal Ban’,
media release, 17 May 2015. |
| 27 June 2015 |
Updated GBR Intergovernmental
Agreement signed The new Agreement updates and
replaces the 1979 Agreement. The Agreement re‑commits the
Australian and Qld Governments to protecting and conserving the GBR World
Heritage Area and reflects the shared vision for the future outlined in the Reef
2050 Plan. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Great
Barrier Reef Intergovernmental Agreement 2015, 2015. G. Hunt (Environment Minister),
J. Trad (Qld Deputy Premier) and S. Miles (Qld Minister for Environment),
‘New
Intergovernmental Agreement Gives Reef 2050 Plan Strong Legal Status’,
media release, 27 June 2015. |
| 28 June – 8 July 2015 |
39th session of the WHC held
in Bonn, Germany The Committee ‘notes with
concern’ the 2014 Outlook Report findings that the GBR’s overall outlook
was poor, including ‘that climate change, poor water quality and impacts from
coastal development are major threats to the property’s health’. However, it welcomes
efforts to create the Reef 2050 Plan and the commitment to
establish a permanent ban on dumping of dredged material. It requests that
Australia: •
‘rigorously implement’ all the
commitments made under the Reef 2050 Plan, ‘including where
necessary through their inclusion in legislation’ •
provide, by
1 December 2016, an update on the implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan
‘to confirm that the inception of the plan has been effective’ •
provide, by 1 December 2019,
a report on the overall state of conservation of the GBR, ‘including a 1‑page
summary, on the state of conservation of the property demonstrating effective
and sustained protection of the property’s [OUV] and effective performance in
meeting the targets established under the [Reef 2050 Plan]’, to be
considered at its 44th session (in 2020). |
UNESCO, Decisions
adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session, WHC‑15/39.COM/19, (Bonn: 2015), 68–69. |
| 13 August 2015 |
ANAO releases audit report on
the GBRMPA’s regulation of permits and approvals The ANAO identifies shortcomings
in the GBRMPA’s regulatory processes and practices across a broad range of
GBRMPA’s regulatory activities, ‘including its assessment of permit
applications, monitoring of permit holder compliance and response to non‑compliance’.
The ANAO notes that these shortcomings ‘undermine the effectiveness of the
permitting system as a means of managing risks to the Marine Park’. The ANAO makes 5 recommendations
to address these shortcomings and the GBRMPA agrees to them all. |
ANAO, Regulation
of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals, Report No. 3,
2015–16, (Canberra: ANAO, 2015), 15, 25–26. ‘Regulation
of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals’, ANAO. |
| 2016 |
Third recorded mass coral
bleaching event occurs Record warm sea surface
temperatures cause one of the worst mass bleaching events recorded on the GBR.
Most surveyed reefs exhibit some degree of bleaching but at varying
intensities (with bleaching observed in less than 10% of coral cover in
some regions to over 90% in others). The northern third of the Reef (north
of Port Douglas) experiences the worst heat stress and, on average, over half
of the bleached corals in that region are lost. Across the entire GBR,
studies estimate that 30% of
shallow-water coral is lost. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019, (Townsville: GBRMPA, 2019), 24. AIMS, ‘Taking
Stock of the 2016 Mass Coral Bleaching Event’, media release, 29 November 2016. |
| 3 May 2016 |
Australian Government commits
additional $70 million to the Reef Trust The new funding brings the total
investment committed by the government to the Reef Trust to $210 million. |
G. Hunt (Environment
Minister), ‘Budget
Boost for the Great Barrier Reef to Antarctica’, media release, 3 May 2016. |
| July 2016 |
Costs of achieving water
quality targets for the GBR estimated at $8.2 billion Consulting company Alluvium
estimates the costs out to 2025 to meet the fine sediment and dissolved
inorganic nitrogen targets in the Reef 2050 Plan. |
S. Skull et al., Costs of Achieving
the Water Quality Targets for the Great Barrier Reef, prepared by Alluvium
Consulting Australia for the Qld Department of Environment and Heritage
Protection, (Brisbane: July 2016). |
| 24 November 2016 |
ANAO releases audit report on the design and implementation of the Reef Trust The ANAO finds that the Department
of the Environment and Energy (DEE) has been largely effective with both its
design and implementation of the Reef Trust. It makes one recommendation that
the department ‘should strengthen its Reef Trust Performance Monitoring
and Reporting Plan to clearly indicate how the impact of the Reef Trust
will be assessed’, which the Department agrees to. |
ANAO, Reef
Trust—Design and Implementation, Report No. 27, 2016–17,
(Canberra: ANAO, 2016), 7, 10. ‘Reef
Trust—Design and Implementation’, ANAO. |
| 2017 |
Fourth recorded mass coral
bleaching event occurs Following on from the 2016
bleaching, this event marks the first back‑to‑back mass bleaching
recorded on the GBR. The bleaching is most severe in the central third of the
Reef. Collectively, the 2016 and 2017
bleaching events affect two‑thirds of the GBR, with the southern region
avoiding the worst of the heat stress in both years. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. ‘Timeline
and actions’, GBRMPA. GBRMPA, ‘Second
Wave of Mass Bleaching Unfolding on Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
10 March 2017. GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019, 24. |
| 7 March 2017 |
Independent Review of the
Governance of GBRMPA announced The Review will focus on the
role and composition of the GBRMPA’s Board in supporting the Authority’s functions. |
J. Frydenberg (Environment
Minister), ‘GBRMPA
Governance Review’, media release, 7 March 2017. ‘Independent
Review of Governance of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’,
DCCEEW. |
| 28 March 2017 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Debbie impacts on the GBR The cyclone makes landfall near
Airlie Beach as a category 4 system. It is the first major cyclone to
hit the southern region of the GBR since Hamish in 2009. The resulting waves
cause damage to shallow reefs in the Whitsunday area, with some areas
recording losses of up to 97% of coral cover. |
‘Tropical
Cyclone Debbie’, 27–29 March 2017, BOM. GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019, 24. |
| 2–12 July 2017 |
41st session of the WHC held
in Krakow, Poland The Committee: •
welcomes the progress on the
implementation of Reef 2050 Plan •
‘strongly encourages’ Australia to accelerate
efforts to meet the interim and long‑term targets of the Reef
2050 Plan, in particular, the water quality targets •
notes ‘with serious concern’ the 2016
and 2017 coral bleaching events in the GBR. The WHC makes no new requests
but reiterates its earlier 39th session request that Australia provide, by
1 December 2019, a report on the GBR’s overall state of
conservation demonstrating the ‘effective and sustained protection’ of the
Reef’s OUV and ‘effective performance’ in meeting the targets under the Reef
2050 Plan. |
UNESCO, Decisions
adopted during the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee,
WHC/17/41.COM/18, (Krakow: 12 July 2017), 100. |
| September 2017 |
2017 Scientific Consensus
Statement released The impacts of land use on the
GBR water quality and ecosystem condition are examined. The overarching
consensus is that major GBR ecosystems continue to be in poor condition. |
J. Waterhouse et al., 2017
Scientific Consensus Statement: Land Use Impacts on Great Barrier Reef Water
Quality and Ecosystem Condition, (Qld: 2017). |
| 5 October 2017 |
Final Report of the
Independent Review of Governance of the GBRMPA released The review makes
24 recommendations, including changes to improve the corporate
governance arrangements of the GBRMPA, and the legislative amendments needed
to implement those changes. In its response
to the review (released 30 November 2017) the Australian
Government agreed, or agreed ‘in principle’ to all the recommendations. |
W. Craik, Review of Governance
of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, (Canberra: DEE,
2017). ‘Independent
Review of Governance of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’,
DCCEEW. J. Frydenberg (Environment
Minister), ‘New
Arrangements for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’, media
release, 30 November 2017. DEE, Government
Response to the Review of Governance of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority, (Canberra: November 2017). |
| 13 December 2017 |
GBRMPA releases GBR Blueprint
for Resilience The Reef Blueprint signals a
change in GBRMPA’s management strategy, with the Authority now adopting an
approach that involves managing the overall ‘resilience’ of the GBR in the
face of multiple stressors. |
GBRMPA, Reef
Blueprint: Great Barrier Reef Blueprint for Resilience, (Townsville: GBRMPA,
2017). GBRMPA, ‘Top
10 Actions to Protect the Great Barrier Reef Released Today’, media
release, 13 December 2017. |
| 5 March 2018 |
Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Amendment (Authority Governance and Other Matters) Act 2018 enacted The Act implements recommendations
made by the independent GBRMPA Governance Review to improve the authority’s governance
arrangements. This includes the establishment
of a new statutory position of Chief Executive Officer (separate from the
Chair of the Board). |
Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment (Authority Governance and Other Matters)
Act 2018 S. Power, ‘Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment (Authority Governance and Other Matters)
Bill 2017’, Bills Digest, 72, 2017–18, (Canberra: Parliamentary
Library, 6 February 2018). |
| 29 April 2018 |
Australian Government
announces $443.3 million partnership with the GBR Foundation The $443.3 million grant
funding will be provided over 6 years via the government’s Reef Trust to
the GBR Foundation to fund projects that ‘tackle crown‑of‑thorns
starfish, reduce pollution into the Reef and mitigate the impacts of climate
change’. The grant will also be used to
leverage private and philanthropic investment, with a fundraising target of
$357 million. |
M. Turnbull (Prime
Minister) et al., ‘Record
Investment in the Great Barrier Reef to Drive Jobs’, media release, 29 April
2018. DEE, Grant
Agreement Between the Reef Trust and Great Barrier Reef Foundation, (Canberra:
Australian Government, June 2018). |
| 19 June 2018 |
Senate inquiry into the GBR
2050 Partnership Program The Senate refers the ‘Great
Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program’ 2018–19 Budget measure to
the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry.
The committee is also tasked with inquiring into the GBR Foundation,
including its proficiency and capacity ‘to deliver components of the Reef
2050 Plan’. |
Senate Environment and
Communications References Committee, ‘Great
Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program’, inquiry homepage. |
| July 2018 |
Updated Reef 2050 Long-Term
Sustainability Plan released The revised plan is released
following the mid‑term review. It adopts the approach outlined in
GBRMPA’s Blueprint for Resilience and includes new actions for immediate
attention between now and 2020, focusing on adapting to a changing climate. |
Australian Government and Qld Government,
Reef 2050
Long-Term Sustainability Plan, (Canberra: DEE, July 2018). |
| July 2018 |
Reef 2050 Water Quality
Improvement Plan 2017–2022 released The plan is ‘nested’ within the Reef
2050 Plan and builds on the previous plans by: •
including all sources of land-based
water pollution (that is, agriculture, industry, urban and public lands) •
incorporating the human dimensions of
change (that is, social, cultural, institutional and economic factors) •
creating separate targets for
reducing water pollution from each catchment, to better prioritise actions. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Reef
2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017–2022, (Canberra: Department
of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE): 2018). |
| 16 January 2019 |
ANAO releases first audit
report on the $443.3 million GBR Foundation partnership The ANAO examine whether the
award of the $443.3 million grant ‘was informed by appropriate
departmental advice and through processes that complied with the grants
administration framework’. The ANAO finds that the decision
to award the grant to the GBR Foundation was informed by departmental advice,
but notes that aspects of that advice had shortcomings, ‘partly as a result
of non‑compliance with elements of the grants administration
framework’. |
ANAO, Award of a
$443.3 Million Grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation,
Auditor‑General Report, No. 22, 2018–19, (Canberra: ANAO, 2019), 7–8. ‘Award
of a $443.3 million grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’,
ANAO. |
| 13 February 2019 |
Senate Committee releases
inquiry report on the GBR 2050 Partnership Program The committee, with majority membership
from the Australian Greens and ALP, is critical of the government’s $443 million
GBR Foundation partnership, labelling it ‘a highly irresponsible
decision’. It recommends all ‘unspent Foundation Partnership funds be
returned to the Commonwealth immediately’ and ‘earmarked for expenditure on
projects to protect and preserve the Reef, to be expended by 30 June 2024’. The Coalition Government Senators’
dissenting report states the Senators ‘do not support the findings of the
majority committee report’ and that the view of the Coalition Government was ‘that
the grant was the most effective way to make a significant and urgent
investment in the Reef, while also managing the Commonwealth Budget’. |
Senate Environment and
Communications References Committee, Great
Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program, (Canberra: The Senate,
February 2019), vii, 93, 109–110. ‘Great
Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program’, inquiry homepage. |
| 23 March 2019 |
Severe Tropical Cyclone
Trevor impacts on the GBR The cyclone crosses the coast as
a category 4 system south of Port McArthur. Surveys conducted by AIMS in
the Princess Charlotte Bay sector of the GBR as part of their Long‑term
Monitoring Program show minimal damage from the cyclone, but most of the
surveyed reefs are well south of the cyclone’s track. |
‘Severe
Tropical Cyclone Trevor’, BOM. ‘Report
on surveys of the Princess Charlotte sector of the Great Barrier Reef’,
AIMS. |
| 26 May 2019 |
Special Envoy for the GBR
announced Prime Minister Scott Morrison
announces Warren Entsch as the Special Envoy for the GBR. Over the next 2 years, the
Special Envoy delivers 4 reports to the Minister for the Environment: •
June
– December 2019 •
January
– June 2020 •
July
– December 2020 •
January
– June 2021. |
S. Morrison (Prime
Minister), ‘Ministry’,
media release, 26 May 2019. |
| 25 June 2019 |
GBRMPA releases a position
statement on climate change The Authority declares: Climate
change is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Only the strongest
and fastest possible actions to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions will
reduce the risks and limit the impacts of climate change on the Reef. Further
impacts can be minimised by limiting global temperature increase to the
maximum extent possible and fast-tracking actions to build Reef resilience. |
GBRMPA, Position
Statement: Climate Change, (Townsville: 25 June
2019), 1. |
| 15 July 2019 |
North-East Shipping
Management Plan reviewed and revised The review, conducted by
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), found ‘no substantial change to
the risk profile of shipping since the 2014 plan’. To address existing and
emerging risks, the review outlines new and revised actions for the plan, based
on updated shipping activity information. According to the AMSA: The revised plan focuses on
further enhancing ship and navigation safety, greater incident response
capabilities, improvements to traffic management, better quality nautical
charts and the implementation of marine biosecurity best practice management. |
‘Shipping
plan aims to deliver improved marine protection’, AMSA,
15 July 2019. AMSA, Review
of the North‑East Shipping Management Plan, (Canberra: AMSA, July 2019),
31, 40–41. |
| 30 August 2019 |
GBRMPA releases third GBR
Outlook Report The report finds: The Great Barrier Reef is already
a changed system — the effects of climate change are happening now. The
Region’s current long‑term outlook is for continued deterioration: this
could be altered with urgent and coordinated actions to curb greenhouse gas
emissions.… The Reef can recover from major
impacts if its broader resilience is high and it experiences adequate
disturbance-free periods. However, disturbances are becoming more frequent
and are undermining recovery in many places. Mitigation of threats and
resilience‑based management on global and local scales remains
essential to reinvigorating recovery of the system. |
‘Outlook
Report 2019’, GBRMPA. GBRMPA, Great
Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019, 271. S. Ley (Environment
Minister), ‘Supporting
the Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 30 August 2019. |
| 2020 |
Fifth recorded mass coral
bleaching event occurs The event is the second-worst
mass bleaching event recorded on the GBR (the worst being in 2016). For
the first time, severe coral bleaching is observed across all 3 regions
(northern, central and southern) of the GBR.[24] Severe bleaching occurs in 25% of surveyed reefs, and a further 35% of
surveyed reefs have moderate levels of bleaching. However, overall coral
mortality resulting from the bleaching event is low. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. GBRMPA, ‘Statement:
Coral Bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
26 March 2020. T. Hughes and M. Pratchett,
‘We
Just Spent Two Weeks Surveying the Great Barrier Reef. What We Saw Was an Utter
Tragedy’, Conversation, 7 April 2020. |
| 16 April 2020 |
R&D phase of the Reef
Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) launched The Australian Government
commits $100 million from the $443.3 million GBR Foundation‑Reef
Trust Partnership to the 10‑year program, with an additional $50 million
to be provided in matching in‑kind investments by the R&D sector. The RRAP aims to develop
safe and effective new interventions for the GBR ‘before they become
critically needed’. The
interventions will provide
a 3-point approach: •
cooling and shading the Reef to help
protect it from the impacts of climate change •
assisting Reef species to adapt to
the changing environment •
supporting natural restoration of
damaged and degraded reefs. |
S. Ley (Environment
Minister) and W. Entsch (Special Envoy for the GBR), ‘$150 Million
to Drive Innovations to Boost Reef Resilience’, media release, 16 April 2020. ‘Our
Research’, Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). ‘The
Program’, RRAP. |
| 14 July 2020 |
Further $96 million from
the GBR Foundation Partnership committed The $96 million will be
distributed as follows: •
$23 million to support the RRAP
initiatives •
$39 million to improve the
quality of water flowing into the Reef and deliver water quality innovation
projects •
over $15 million to launch a ‘Crown‑of‑thorns
Starfish Control Innovation Program’ and support control activities •
over $7 million for the ‘first
phase of a Traditional Owner-led water quality program’ •
over $3 million to engage the
community in GBR citizen science and local action projects •
over $7 million to initiate a ‘Technology
Transformation Fund’ and improve the quality and cost‑effectiveness of
reef monitoring. |
S. Ley (Environment
Minister) and W. Entsch (Special Envoy for the GBR), ‘Working
Together to Protect the Reef in 2020–21’, media release, 14 July 2020. |
| 5 May 2021 |
ANAO releases second audit report
on the $443.3 million GBR Foundation partnership The ANAO examines if the design
and early delivery of the Australian Government’s partnership with the GBR Foundation
has been effective. It is found to be only ‘partially effective’. ANAO makes
7 recommendations to the GBR Foundation – 3 of which also
include the DAWE – addressing ‘bank deeds, fundraising, subcontracting the
delivery of reef protection projects and administration costs’. The
foundation and department agree to all recommendations. |
ANAO, Implementation
of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership, Auditor‑General
Report, No. 35, 2020–21, (Canberra: ANAO, 2021). ‘Implementation
of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Partnership’, ANAO, 5 May 2021. |
| 17 June 2021 |
ANAO releases follow-up
report on its 2015–16 audit of GBRMPA’s regulation of permits and approvals
report The follow-up audit assesses if
the GBRMPA has implemented the ANAO’s recommendations to establish an ‘appropriate
permissions system to manage risk and preserve the environmental, social and
economic significance of the Marine Park and its World Heritage listing’. ANAO finds that the GBRMPA’s
regulation has been only ‘partially effective’ and that it has not fully
implemented the ANAO’s recommendations. It makes 7 more recommendations and
the GBRMPA agrees to all of them. |
ANAO, Regulation
of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals – Follow‑up,
Auditor‑General Report, No. 44, 2020–21, (Canberra: ANAO, 2021). ‘Regulation
of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Permits and Approvals – Follow-up’,
ANAO, 17 June 2021. |
| 16–31 July 2021 |
44th extended session of the
WHC held online and in Fuzhou, China Following media reporting of
intense lobbying by the Australian Government, the WHC decides, against the recommendations
of the IUCN and World Heritage Centre, to not include the GBR on the ‘In
Danger’ list, but notes: •
‘with the utmost concern and regret’
that the long‑term outlook for the Reef’s ecosystem has further deteriorated
and the deterioration ‘has been more rapid and widespread than was previously
evident’ •
‘with the utmost concern’ that the
progress on meeting key targets of the Reef 2050 Plan ‘has been
largely insufficient’ and that the water quality targets have not been met •
that ‘climate change remains the most
serious threat to the property’. The WHC requests that Australia
invites a joint RM mission to ensure the updated Reef 2050 Plan
addresses the threat of climate change. It also requests, by 1 February 2022,
an updated report on the state of conservation of the GBR. |
D. Normile, ‘Great
Barrier Reef Escapes “In Danger” Listing After Intense Australian Lobby’,
Science Insider, 23 July 2021. UNESCO, Decisions
adopted at the 44th extended session of the World Heritage Committee,
WHC/21/44.COM/18, (Fuzhou: 2021), 186–7. S. Ley (Environment
Minister), ‘World
Heritage Committee Rejects Proposed UNESCO in Danger Listing for the Great
Barrier Reef’, media release, 23 July 2021. |
| 20 December 2021 |
Updated Reef 2050 Long-Term
Sustainability Plan 2021–2025 released The updated plan identifies 4
main threats to the GBR: •
climate change – considered the ‘most
significant threat to long-term outlook’ •
poor water quality – due to land‑based
run‑off •
direct human use – such as
unsustainable and illegal fishing and marine debris •
coastal development. It outlines multiple goals to
address these threats. |
Australian Government and Qld
Government, Reef
2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan 2021–2025, (Canberra: 2021), 7. S. Ley (Environment
Minister), ‘Updated
Reef 2050 Plan Released’, media release, 20 December 2021. |
| 28 January 2022 |
Government announces $1 billion
package to protect GBR The package will be delivered over
9 years (from 2021–22 to 2029–30) and will include: •
$579.9 million to improve
water quality •
$252.9 million for reef
management and conservation •
$92.7 million to research
and deploy reef resilience science and adaptation strategies •
$74.4 million for strengthening
partnerships and stewardship. |
S. Morrison (Prime
Minister), S. Ley (Environment Minister) and W. Entsch (Special
Envoy for the GBR), ‘Billion
Dollar Reef Investment Backs Queensland Communities’, media release,
28 January 2022. |
| 21–30 March 2022 |
Joint visit to the GBR by the
World Heritage Centre and IUCN RM mission The mission’s main objective is
to assess the updated Reef 2050 Plan and ensure it addresses
threats to the GBR from climate change (and other factors) and ‘determines a
pathway for accelerated action’. The WHC will examine the RM
mission report and recommendations at its next (45th) session, initially
scheduled for June 2022 but later postponed to
September 2023. |
UNESCO, ‘UNESCO
Sends Reactive Monitoring Mission to Great Barrier Reef’, media release,
17 March 2022. ‘Extended 45th session of the
World Heritage Committee’, UNESCO. |
| 2022 |
Sixth recorded mass coral
bleaching event occurs The first mass bleaching event
to occur during a La Niña year (which are typically associated with
cooler ocean temperatures and more cloud cover). Severe levels of bleaching occur
in 43% of surveyed reefs, with the central region of the GBR impacted the
most. |
‘Coral
bleaching events’, AIMS. |
| 30 March 2022 |
World Heritage Centre and
IUCN release joint report of its RM mission The mission team finds that the
GBR meets the criteria for inscription on the List of World Heritage in
Danger and recommends it be placed on the list. They note that, despite
Australia’s recent ‘unparalleled science and management efforts’, the
region’s OUV: … is significantly impacted by
climate change factors. The resilience of the property to recover from
climate change impacts is substantially compromised, in particular – but not
exclusively – due to degraded water quality. |
E. Carter and H. Thulstrup,
Report on
the Joint World Heritage Centre/IUNC Reactive Monitoring Mission to the Great
Barrier Reef (Australia): From 21 to 30 March 2022, (World Heritage
Centre and IUCN, March 2022), 4–5. ‘Report on the Reactive
Monitoring Mission to the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), 21–30 March 2022’,
UNESCO. |
| May 2022 – Labor Government
takes office. |
| 31 May 2022 |
Special Envoy for the GBR
announced Following the change of
Government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces Senator Nita Green as
the Special Envoy for the GBR. |
A. Albanese (Prime
Minister), ‘Transcript
of press conference: Parliament House, Canberra: 31 May 2022’, media
release, 31 May 2022. |
| 21 October 2022 |
Government announces an
additional $204 million funding for the GBR The funding committed to in the
October 2022–23 Budget includes: •
$96.9 million over 4 years
to measures that support implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan •
$91.8 million over 5 years
for ‘shovel ready’ projects that accelerate reef protection and restoration
activities, including gully and streambank restoration. The money is in addition to the
$1 billion package of measures announced by the previous government in
January 2022. |
T. Plibersek (Minister for
the Environment and Water), N. Green (Special Envoy for the GBR), ‘Record
Budget Boost to Protect Great Barrier Reef’, media release, 21 October 2022. Australian Government, Budget
Measures: Budget Paper No. 2: 2022–23, 74, 76. |
| 24 January 2023 |
Reef Trust Special Account
extended for 10 years The instrument commences on 8 March 2023. |
PGPA (Reef
Trust Special Account 2014) Determination 01. |
| 5 June 2023 |
Australian and Qld
Governments commit to making the GBR ‘gillnet free by mid‑2027’ Over $160 million is
committed to ‘significantly reduce net fishing and other high risk fishing
activities impacting the Reef’. Among other things, the funding will also be
used to create ‘net‑free zones’ in the northern GBR region and parts of
the Gulf of Carpentaria. The decision is welcomed by UNESCO. The Australian Government also
requests the Qld Government declare endangered hammerhead sharks a
no-take species for commercial fisheries within state waters. In Qld,
hammerhead sharks (great
and scalloped) are already classified as a no‑take species for
recreational fishers. |
T. Plibersek (Minister for
the Environment and Water) et al., ‘Tackling
the Risks to the Reef’, media release, 5 June 2023. UNESCO, ‘Great
Barrier Reef: Australia to Put in Place Urgent Safeguarding Measures Requested
by UNESCO’, media release, 6 June 2023. ‘Protected
and no-take species’, Qld Government. |
| 17 July 2023 |
Qld Government announces Chair
of Future Fishing Taskforce The Taskforce will develop
industry assistance packages for those impacted by the phasing out of gillnet
fishing in the GBR (as well as the Great Sandy Marine Park rezoning). |
M. Furner (Qld Minister for
Fisheries) and L. Linard (Qld Minister for the Environment and the Great
Barrier Reef), ‘Independent
Future Fisheries Taskforce Chair Named’, media release, 17 July 2023. |
| 31 July 2023 |
UNESCO recommends that the
WHC re‑evaluate if the GBR should be listed as ‘in danger’ UNESCO’s draft decisions do not
include the RM mission recommendation to place the GBR on the List of World
Heritage in Danger, citing Australia’s progress since the mission, including
‘the range of new, but still recent commitments that have been made and
actions initiated’. However, it also notes that the GBR still ‘remains under
serious threat and urgent and sustained action to implement the priority
recommendations of the mission is essential in order to improve the long‑term
resilience of the property’. The draft decision proposes that
Australia submit a progress report on its commitments for examination by the
WHC at its 46th session in 2024, ‘including the possible
inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger’. The WHC will consider
the draft decisions at its next session scheduled for 10–25 September 2023. |
UNESCO, State
of conservation of properties inscribed on the of [sic] World Heritage List,
(Paris: UNESCO, July 2023), 26–27, 30. |
| 10–25 September 2023 |
45th extended session of the
WHC held in Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The WHC adopts UNESCO’s draft
decision including noting ‘with serious concern’, Australia’s slow progress
in achieving the GBR water quality targets and requesting Australia submit a
progress report on the implementation of its recent commitments by 1 February 2024,
for examination by the committee at its 46th session. |
UNESCO, Decisions
adopted during the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, WHC/23/45.COM/19, (Riyadh: 2023), 113–114. |
| 17 October 2023 |
New Special Envoy for the GRB
delivers first report to the Minister The report, tabled in parliament
on 17 October
2023, identifies 4 priorities: ·
Ensuring that threats to the Reef,
including climate change and water quality, are identified and appropriately
managed; ·
Strengthening the role of First
Nations people in caring for our land and sea country; ·
Working with the tourism sector to
encourage visitation to the Reef; and ·
Improving Australia’s international
reputation as custodians of the Reef as a World Heritage Listed site. |
N. Green
(Special Envoy for the GBR), Report
to the Minister for the Environment and Water: A report from the Special
Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef: July 2022 to June 2023, 17 October 2023, 5. |
| 16
November 2023 |
Qld Government announces
support for fishers affected by the phase-out of gillnets The Qld Government accepts all
recommendations of the Future Fishing Taskforce and announces a joint funding
package of measures with the Australian Government totalling $185 million. The Qld Government will provide $125 million
of the funding ‘to implement the phasing out of gillnets on the Great Barrier
Reef, rezoning the Great Sandy Marine Park, and increasing protection from
gillnet impacts in the Gulf of Carpentaria’. The remaining $60 million
in funding from the Australian Government will be used for additional
programs to implement independent data validation and further reduce by-catch
in high-risk fisheries. |
‘Future
fishing’, Qld Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. M. Furner (Qld Minister for Fisheries) and
L. Linard (Qld Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef),
‘Measures
Build Sustainable Future for Fishing Industry and Protect Great Barrier Reef’,
media release, 16 November 2023. |
| 21 November 2023 |
Government announces an
additional $50 million to improve GBR water quality The additional funding brings
the total amount committed to the Albanese Government’s ‘Landscape Repair
Program’ to $200 million. |
T. Plibersek (Minister for
the Environment and Water) and N. Green (Special Envoy for the GBR), ‘$200 Million
to Improve Water Quality on the Reef’, media release, 21 November 2023. |
| 2024 |
GBRMPA releases GBR Blueprint
for Climate Resilience and Adaptation The Reef Blueprint 2030 is
a strategic roadmap to strengthen reef resilience and contains 5 strategic
goals for the Authority to adapt its management in the face of climate
change. |
GBRMPA, Reef
Blueprint 2030 – Great Barrier Reef Blueprint for Climate Resilience and
Adaptation, (Townsville: 2024). ‘Reef
Blueprint’, GBRMPA. |
| 2 February 2024 |
Australian Government submits
GBR Progress Report to the WHC The report, provided in response
to the WHC request made during its 45th extended
session, sets out the progress made on actions committed to by the government
in May 2023. |
Australia Government, Great
Barrier Reef Progress Report to UNESCO World Heritage Centre, (Canberra,
February 2024). T. Plibersek (Minister for the Environment and
Water) et al., ‘Progress
Report on the Great Barrier Reef Delivered to UNESCO’, media release, 2 February 2024. |
| 16 February 2024 |
New Chair of the Reef 2050
Independent Expert Panel (IEP) appointed Professor Margaret Sheil takes
over from Professor Ian Chubb, who had chaired the IEP since its
establishment in 2015. |
T. Plibersek (Minister for
the Environment and Water) et al., ‘New
Chair for Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel’, media release, 16 February 2024. |
| 8 March 2024 |
Seventh recorded mass
bleaching event underway The GBRMPA declares that aerial
surveys have confirmed a widespread coral bleaching event is unfolding across
the Reef: This unfolding coral bleaching
event follows similar reports from reefs around the world during the past 12 months.
Reefs in the Northern Hemisphere have suffered coral bleaching as a result of
climate change which has driven elevated sea surface temperatures, amplified
by El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean. |
GBRMPA, ‘Aerial
Surveys Confirm Widespread Bleaching Across the Great Barrier Reef’,
media release, 8 March 2024. |