Great Barrier Reef: Mega Ports or Marine Park?Dear Norma
At a time when the reef needs stronger protection, the Queensland Government is fast tracking port developments and giving special treatment to the mining industry.
Join us on Wednesday 14 May for a free Q&A event with four prominent experts to discover the risk these developments pose to the reef, the local tourism industry and Queensland’s economy.
You’ll hear about the threats the Great Barrier Reef faces, from port expansion, dredging, dumping and increased shipping to the Reef, and what you can do to help.
Hear insights from a former CEO of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, learn about current legal actions against dredging and dumping in the Reef, get the latest on the port expansion on the Reef and hear an underwater perspective about the state of the Reef from an experienced dive instructor.
- Wednesday 14 May at 6.30 pm
- Queensland Museum Theatre, Melbourne St, South Brisbane
- Tickets are free, but limited.
Hope to see you there,
Darren Kindleysides
Director, AMCS
Speakers
John Tanzer (WWF international)
John Tanzer is Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme and has extensive experience in research, policy and natural resource management. John was the Executive Director of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for 10 years and was responsible for the oversight of the spatial rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. John joined WWF in 2011 and has helped reshape its global strategy to focus on sustainable development and a blue economy, where marine conservation is key to providing ecosystem services for people.
Jo-Anne Bragg (Environmental Defenders Office)
Jo-Anne is the principle solicitor of the QLD EDO and is the longest serving EDO solicitor in Australia. Jo has provided invaluable legal advice and legal education to members of the public and community and environment groups, and has made critical contributions to reforming Queensland’s environmental laws.
Laura Eadie (Centre for Policy Development)
Laura is the Research Director of CPD’s Sustainable Economy Program, which aims to identify options for Australia to make a rapid transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable economy. Laura is the author of: Too many ports in a storm, and All Boom No Benefit which analyse the current Reef port expansion plans and consequences for the Queensland economy.
Tony Fontes (Whitsunday dive instructor)
Tony moved from California to Australia in 1981 after falling in love with the Whitsundays. He has worked as a dive instructor in the Whitsundays (Airlie Beach) since 1981, training over 2000 instructors in the beautiful waters of the Great Barrier Reef. In 1994 Tony co-founded OUCH Volunteers (Order of Underwater Coral Heroes, 1994), a not for profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of the local marine environment. For its reef protection work, OUCH won the Reader’s Digest Environmental Award for Australia.