Federal election 2016: Labor makes $500m reef rescue a priority

Bill Shorten will turn the Great Barrier Reef into an election battleground issue as he outlines Labor’s $500m plan to protect the coral.

Bill Shorten will turn the Great Barrier Reef into an election battleground issue as he outlines Labor’s $500 million plan to protect the natural wonder from the “disastrous” effects of climate change.

Labor’s three-pronged approach builds substantially on the government’s investment in the reef after the Coalition committed $171m over six years in the May budget to address key threats.

With coral bleaching of the reef at historic levels, the Opposition Leader today will declare a future Labor government would make protecting the reef one of its “highest priorities”.

The “action plan” will be financed through a $500m fund over five years, including “reprioritising” $123m of government money and investing $377m in new money.

Asked where that new money would come from, an ALP spokeswoman said the party had made a range of announcements to improve the budget bottom line, including on housing affordability and by rejecting most of the Coalition’s company tax cuts.

Mr Shorten said voters should see the money as a “down payment” on Labor’s promise to look after the reef.

“It is unacceptable that the Liberals have stuck their heads in the sand when it comes to protecting the reef,” he said.

“Malcolm Turnbull used to say he believed in climate change, but he has sold Australians out and let our country down. A party without a credible plan to take action on climate change is a party without a plan for the future.”

The Labor strategy includes a $50m “targeted” funding boost to the CSIRO to conduct reef-specific science and research, as well as money to improve water quality, land management, agricultural and environmental effects, and up to $100m to fix the “fragmented and unco-ordinated” governance of the reef. A Labor government would work closely with the Queensland government and other stakeholders, with the federal environment minister leading the rollout.

Mr Shorten said the reef attracted more than two million visitors a year, contributed $5.7 billion to the economy and supported about 70,000 jobs.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says 93 per cent of surveyed reefs have been bleached to some extent, ranging from minor to severe, but it will be several months until the full impact on the wider ecosystem is known.