Author

• Peter Ridd

Peter Ridd came all the way from Australia to the Oslo conference in 2019 to tell the truth about whether the Great Barrier Reef was threatened.

The popular news media have in recent years been deluged with stories claiming that the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is severely damaged and has a very poor outlook for the future. Major threats to the reef supposedly include rising temperatures, ocean ‘acidification’, and pollution (sediment fertiliser and pesticides) from agriculture on the adjacent coast.

Government regulations aimed to ‘save the reef’ now affect every major industry in north Queensland -mining, sugar, beef cattle and others. In addition, bad publicity about the reef affects the tourist industry because Queensland’s biggest tourist attraction, the Great Barrier Reef, is constantly maligned in the media.

In fact, the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef, and its present condition, is far more encouraging than
the public has been led to believe.