Good news for marine life - massive Great Keppel Island development refused

What were they thinking? The massive Great Keppel Island Resort Pty Ltd proposal included a 300-room hotel and day spa, 1700 resort villas, 300 resort apartments, a 560 berth marina and yacht club, ferry terminal, retail village, golf course and sporting oval.

WWF Australia writes:

Environment Minister Peter Garrett's decision not to allow a massive resort development on Great Keppel Island is welcome news at a time when the Great Barrier Reef faces enormous threats from coastal developments and wildlife across the country continues to decline.

There are currently 110 proposed marine infrastructure areas planned along the Queensland coast with 45 of these in or adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Meanwhile the Federal Government has released a report today that reveals all of Australia's threatened species are in continued decline.

"It's very welcome news that Minister Garrett has knocked back the proposal for an unacceptably large tourist resort on Great Keppel Island," said Lydia Gibson, WWF's Marine Policy Manager.

"We hope this is an indication that the government will show a similar level of consideration for the future development proposals in the area."

However, Minister Garrett's decision to protect Great Keppel Island comes amidst continuing and precipitous species declines across Australia, as recognised by the Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment released today.

The report notes that "There were no cases of real improvement in the status of listed (terrestrial) taxa at the national level."

"Today's Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment Report clearly shows that Australia's wildlife is still in massive decline. We must clearly do a better job of protecting our marine life than we have of protecting our terrestrial species," said Averil Bones, WWF's Biodiversity Policy Manager.

Coastal development was considered one of the major threats to the reef in the recent Reef Outlook Report, which painted a grim picture for the reef's future unless such pressures were reduced.

The report also identified a lack of integrated planning, resources and enforcement in managing coastal development that was seriously compromising the protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

The massive GKI Resort Pty Ltd proposal included a 300-room hotel and day spa, 1700 resort villas, 300 resort apartments, a 560 berth marina and yacht club, ferry terminal, retail village, golf course and sporting oval.

"What is urgently needed is a fundamental strategic approach to avoid the mass industrialisation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area," Ms Gibson said.

"The impacts of this scale of development on coral communities, coastal wetlands and marine species when combined with the additional pressures of climate change and farm run-off, would push the reef to the point of no return." More information

Charlie Stevens, Press Officer, WWF-Australia Mobile: 0424 649 689

http://wwf.org.au/news/great-keppel-decision/

Contributed by Tim Hochgrebe added 2009-11-03