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Conservationists have said they will not drop a legal challenge to dumping dredging sediment within the Great Barrier Reef’s waters, even though the environment minister, Greg Hunt, has indicated he may wave through a Queensland government plan to dispose of the waste on land.
On Monday, the Queensland government signed off on a plan to use 5m tonnes of dredged material to “enhance port development” at Abbot Point, near the town of Bowen.
The move follows an outcry by environmentalists and scientists at the federal government’s approval of a plan to dump the seabed sediment within the Great Barrier Reef marine park.
Queensland’s deputy premier, Jeff Seeney, said he expected North Queensland Bulk Ports, which is expanding Abbot Point and overseeing the associated dredging, to accept the new plan. It will be submitted to the federal government this week.
Seeney told Guardian Australia the land-based option will be “commercially attractive” for Abbot Point, as well as for other dredging projects at Cairns and Townsville.
“We believe this strategy will offer the opportunity for a range of proponents to consider land-based disposal of dredge material,” he said.
“Equally it offers the state government the clear opportunity to improve port facilities in the longer term.The state’s investment will depend on the scope of federal government approval.”
It is understood that the state government will fund a land-based facility for the dredged spoil, rather than pay for disposal of the sediment itself, in order to provide an attractive new option for the Abbot Point developers.
Hunt welcomed the new plan and said that onshore disposal was always his preference, despite approving the sea dumping plan late last year.
“Without pre-empting a decision, any proposal received will be considered in accordance with national environment law and as a matter of priority to ensure there is no unnecessary delay,” he said.
“The government is committed to the long-term protection of the Great Barrier Reef as one of Australia’s greatest natural icons and a vital asset for tourism and jobs in Queensland and Australia.”
But the North Queensland Conservation Council, which has launched a legal action against the sea dumping, has said it will wait before ditching its court action.
“We are waiting to see details so we are hanging in there,” said Wendy Tubman, co-ordinator of the NQCC. “It’s a step forward that they’ve recognised the damage caused by sea dumping but we’re concerned that this is a knee-jerk response that will just transfer damage from one area to another.”
The Caley Valley wetlands, a fragile ecosystem that is home to more than 200 bird species, including the threatened Australian painted snipe and white-bellied sea eagle, sits behind the Abbot Point site. Tubman said the spoil should not interfere with the wetlands.
“We need the details of the plan because at the moment it seems speed and private profit is the driving force rather than environmental health,” she said. “Seeney has said they’ve been looking at onshore disposal since 2012, but why have they supported sea dumping until now if that’s the case? It’s very strange.”
The Queensland and federal governments have stressed that the Abbot Point development will lead to about 28,000 new jobs through the export of coal and associated new mines in central Queensland. Plans under the state’s previous Labor government for a far larger port have been scaled back, reducing the amount of dredging required.
However, Unesco has expressed concerned over the plan to dump the dredged sediment into the Great Barrier Reef marine park. It has also emerged that scientists at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority advised against the dumping, only to be overruled.
Critics of the plan point out that dredged material can travel long distances and smother corals and sea grass. A recent study found that dredging near reefs can double the rate of coral disease.
WWF has called for dredging to be minimised, while the Greens want a complete ban on dredging and dumping.
The Queensland Resources Council said the onshore disposal plan should allay concerns in the tourism industry about the impact on the reef.
“However, we are already seeing on display the real agenda of the activist groups and the Australian Greens,” said Michael Roche, the chief executive of the QRC.
“After campaigning vociferously for onshore dredge material disposal, they have already shifted the goal posts to focus on the actual dredging at Abbot Point.
“Unlike the genuine community and tourism concerns, for the activists and the Greens this has always been about blocking coal exports.”
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