The Labor Government has been caught claiming Coalition funding for the Great Barrier Reef again following the recent funding announcement for Reef HQ.

This included $80.1 million that the Coalition committed towards the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to refurbish Reef HQ starting as far back as the 2019-2020 MYEFO, and a shifting of $100 million that was earmarked for the Townsville Concert Hall but has now been gutted by Labor. This totals $180 million in funding commitments that Labor are claiming from the former Coalition Government.

This follows constant claims by Minister Plibersek that she is allocating $1.2 billion to improve Reef Health when $1 billion of that is a direct result of Coalition funding.

Shadow Environment Minister Jonno Duniam says he is sick of the Labor Government claiming Coalition funding, especially when it comes to the Great Barrier Reef:

“There is no new funding for Townsville out of this announcement. The Prime Minister is being tricky with numbers and is pretending to save Reef HQ when his Government were the ones that withheld funding for Townsville for two years.”

“We allocated over $80 million while we were in Government to refurbish Reef HQ because that’s what was needed to get it back up and running. But Labor pulled this funding and kept Queenslanders in the dark about whether it was ever coming back.”

“The only reason this funding has resurfaced is because of Phillip Thompson’s advocacy. He’s the one that secured this funding, not Labor.”

“Claiming Coalition funding for the Great Barrier Reef has become a familiar playbook by the Environment Minister. We had record investments in conserving the Reef, including our 10-year, $1 billion investment in January 2022. Tanya Plibersek claims that $1 billion for herself every day.”

“Prime Minister Albanese and Minister Plibersek are being loose with the truth. They can’t take credit for Coalition projects all the time and need to come up with their own ideas.”