List of recommendations

Recommendation 1

6.12       The committee recommends that all unspent Foundation Partnership funds be returned to the Commonwealth immediately; and that these funds be earmarked for expenditure on projects to protect and preserve the Reef, to be expended by 30 June 2024.

Recommendation 2

6.16       The committee recommends the Commonwealth Government undertake a review, to be completed by 1 July 2019, of the structure of Commonwealth funding to protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef. The committee further recommends that the expenditure of unspent Foundation Partnership funds be guided by the outcome of this review.

Recommendation 3

6.77       The committee recommends that the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments publish an updated Reef 2050 Plan Investment Framework that provides current figures on established funding by source and priority area.

Recommendation 4

6.81       Should a Government decide to maintain the Foundation Agreement, the committee recommends that all necessary steps be undertaken to ensure that the Foundation's investment of public funds precludes investment in sectors or funds that directly or indirectly contribute to climate change, particularly companies that generate energy from or undertake mining of fossil fuels.

Recommendation 5

6.85       Should a Government decide to maintain the Foundation Agreement, the committee recommends that the Senate order:

That—

  1. There be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Energy, by no later than 31 October each year:
    1. an annual performance statement for the previous financial year that provides information about the Great Barrier Reef Foundation's performance in achieving the purposes of the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program; and
    2. independent and audited financial statements for the previous financial year for all receipts and payments relating to the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program funds, including any co‑financed contributions.
  2. If the Senate is not sitting when a statement is ready for presentation, the statement is to be presented to the President under standing order 166.
  3. This order has effect until the end of the last financial year in which the Agreement is operative, following the cessation of the Partnership.

Recommendation 6

6.98       Should a Government decide to maintain the Foundation Agreement, the committee recommends that the Auditor-General undertake a second audit of the Partnership in late 2019–20 once the design aspects of the Partnership have been finalised.

Recommendation 7

6.104    The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government take steps to address and effectively tackle climate change as an underlying cause of economic, social and environmental damage to the Reef and the Australian environment more broadly.

Navigation: Previous Page | Contents | Next Page