Ben Morton, MP
Member of the Australian Parliament for Tangney
Address
18 May 2022
Dear Ben Morton,
I am writing to you about a smart approach to take better care of the Great Barrier Reef.
I’m concerned about the issues at the Great Barrier Reef. There are many problems occurring at the Great Barrier Reef that we can mitigate against. Our Great Barrier Reef is an irreplaceable and crucial part of our ecosystem – and our economy. Made up of 3,000 individual reefs, it protects our coastlines and is home to thousands of species of marine life. The Great Barrier Reef is also one of the largest carbon sinks in the world. Its mangroves and seagrasses absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it, cleaning our air and helping mitigate the effects of climate change. The Reef attracts more than two million tourists a year, contributes $6.4bn to the Australian economy and supports 64,000 jobs.
The problems in the Great Barrier Reef have been happening for years, we must stop them now. These problems consist of, coral bleaching, Industrialisation, fishing, and star fish outbreaks.
As a member of your 4rd, I’m asking that you take some of these solutions into further account. These solutions are only some of many ways we can stop the issue on the Great Barrier Reef. Here are the solutions:
Coral bleaching
Global warming is the cause of coral bleaching so in order to stop global warming there are many things we can do. Global warming is caused from the emissions in greenhouse gases to stop this we can do things such as:
-Save energy at home
-Walk, cycle or take public transport
-Change your homes source of energy
-Switch to an electric vehicle
Industrialisation
Industrialisation is caused by the production of new ports along the reef, we can stop this by enforcing a law that makes any construction that will harm the reef should not be happening.
Fishing
Poor fishing commercial management and overfishing can easily be stopped. We can stop the poor fishing commercial management by setting up groups and organisations that can look after the threatened species and guide fishers to know where they can fish and not. To stop overfishing we can easily add a law that can determine how many fish you can catch in one day.
Starfish outbreaks
Scientists have discovered that outbreaks in starfish are caused by runoff from polluted rivers. This pollution comes from chemicals used to fertilise crops that is washed into rivers after big rains. The pollution helps plankton grow in large numbers and this plankton is the perfect food for young Crown of Thorns Starfish. We can stop this by:
-Wash your car on the lawn, not on the driveway or road, to minimise detergent runoff into drains.
-Use environmentally-friendly cleaners and fertilisers.
-Keep gutters, sinks and drains free of chemicals and rubbish as what washes down sinks and drains could end up on the reef.
-Minimise water run-off by planting trees, garden beds and ground cover around your home.
I urge you to ensure that these solutions can be taken into use at the Great Barrier Reef and anywhere else needed.
Yours sincerely
Diego Bagworth
Diego.Bagworth@allsaints.wa.edu.au
Ewing Ave, Bull Creek WA 6149
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