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Great Barrier Reef

September

Megaport’s billionaire founder Bevan Slattery.

Bevan Slattery times the herd beautifully

The serial entrepreneur dumped 1.1 million Megaport shares in May. The company’s stock has since halved.

  • Mark Di Stefano

August

Collaborative monitoring pilot project at Moore Reef, off the coast of Cairns.

The IVF initiative saving the Great Barrier Reef

Scientists are making huge advances in restoring the reef by introducing what amounts to a vast IVF program for heat-stressed coral.

  • Hannah Tattersall

July

Novotel Brisbane Southbank Assistant Manager Michaela Barbeler. The hotel is experiencing high demand due to the origin decider taking place in Brisbane this week.

$2400 a night: Hotel prices soar as Origin fans flock to Brisbane

A perfect storm for the blockbuster rugby league series decider has sparked a surge in hotel rates across the city.

  • James Hall

May

CBA boss Matt Comyn has a flurry of ideas in his head about how AI will affect his industry and country.

Why CBA’s AI future needs more reimagining

A US trip left CBA chief executive Matt Comyn with questions to which he doesn’t have all the answers. It’s a common theme across the Australian business world.

  • Paul Smith
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Bevan Slattery

Rich Lister entrepreneur’s final start-up will build underwater robots

Bevan Slattery is arguably Australia’s most successful tech entrepreneurs of the last 20 years. He thinks he has one more start-up in him, and has big plans for reviving coral reefs.

  • Tess Bennett
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Blue-sky thinkers block the sun to fight climate change

It might sound like science fiction, but a mix of scientists and venture capitalists are working on plans to block the sun to slow global warming.

  • Peter Ker and Lap Phan

March

Alva Beach. The Great Barrier Reef has had five mass coral bleaching events in the past eight years.

How the McLaren F1 team is helping save the Great Barrier Reef

British Formula One race team McLaren deployed engineers to help the Great Barrier Reef Foundation speed up its coral spawning program.

  • Mark Ludlow

December 2023

The Cairns Airport reopened on Tuesday after the runway was inundated with floodwater.

Cancelled holidays hit Queensland tourism operators

Tourism operators around Cairns and Port Douglas are expected to lose $125 million as holidaymakers cancel their summer plans.

  • Tess Bennett and Sarah Mitchell

September 2023

China’s demand for renewables drives boom talk in the deep north

A nascent boom in Far North Queensland involving mining, processing, enhanced tourism and fresh food exports could also be a victim of US-China tensions.

  • Andrew Clark

May 2023

Leases for St Bees Island and Long Island Broad Sound off the central Queensland coast are now under state control after being purchased by the Palaszczuk government.

Qld govt purchases tropical islands to protect turtle, koala habitat

The Queensland government has snapped up two Great Barrier Reef islands because they are home to ecologically sensitive habitats for koalas and flatback turtles.

  • Robyn Wuth
Airtree and its investment company founders are on Hayman Island for an offsite this week.

Airtree takes a vacation from MilkRun disaster

It’s time for the hardworking Airtree venture capitalists and their visionary founders to take a break from the endless cheque-writing, cheque-cashing rat race.

  • Jessica Sier

March 2023

“Greens voters would actually be shocked to see Greens members of parliament getting ready to sit next to Peter Dutton and Barnaby Joyce to vote against action on climate change,” said Tanya Plibersek this week.

38 unloved trees and Tanya Plibersek’s poisoned chalice

Required by Anthony Albanese to approve gas and coal projects, the environment minister has a plan to protect her reputation.

  • Aaron Patrick

February 2023

Actor Claudia Karvan on Heron Island, doing her bit for Groundswell, a giving platform for climate activism.

Celebs are flocking to Heron Island for this invitation-only event

A Heron Island think tank on climate change has become a hot ticket for scientists, Indigenous leaders and creative types.

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  • Nina Karnikowski
Dr Taryn Foster has a goal of restoring one million corals per year using mass production and robotics.

Meet the WA scientist making a business out of restoring coral reefs

A Western Australian start-up is using traditional masonry manufacturing techniques, 3D design and robotic arms to rapidly regrow damaged coral.

  • Tess Bennett

January 2023

Chatbots might be able to generate only mediocre writing, but they dos a decent job of creating illustrations of robots writing.

It ‘could be decades’ before ChatGPT knocks out prize-winning thinking

The rapid adoption of the AI chatbot has experts concerned that the internet will drown under a torrent of untrustworthy and low-quality content.

  • Tess Bennett
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December 2022

“Titanic” film director James Cameron

Ray Dalio invests in submarines for the ultrarich

The billionaire joins Avatar filmmaker James Cameron to make submersibles for exploration-minded yacht owners.

  • Ortenca Aliaj

November 2022

Pacific Bio CEO Sam Bastounas (L) and chairman Graeme Wood. The group is focused on wastewater management, plant nutrition and sustainable aquaculture.

Can seaweed save the world?

After a rocky start, the onshore prawn farmer and wastewater management company, backed by entrepreneur Graeme Wood and the Liberman family, is looking to raise up to $20 million.

  • Carrie LaFrenz

August 2022

Clive Palmer: Sino Iron’s accounts suggest his Mineralogy group was paid $2.3 billion last year.

Plibersek moves to block Clive Palmer’s proposed coal mine

Clive Palmer’s open cut thermal and coking coal mine would likely have “unacceptable impacts” on the Great Barrier Reef and waterways.

  • Elouise Fowler
Woodside is only allowed to produce 128.2 million tonnes of net carbon emissions over 50 years as part of the EPA’s conditions for approval.

Activists try to halt Woodside’s ‘highly polluting’ gas project

The Conservation Council of Western Australia is challenging a decision to approve construction of the “unlawful” second Pluto LNG train at Scarborough.

  • Michael Ramsey

July 2022

Lindeman Island is a 40-minute boat ride from Airlie Beach.

This island near Airlie Beach could be yours ... for $20m

Situated near Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island, Lindeman Island was due to be home to a $600m resort, but its Chinese owner has abandoned those plans.

  • Larry Schlesinger

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/great-barrier-reef-5y0