REEF SCULPTURE Worldwide effort for campaign
A FORMER US president and the world’s most respected documentary maker will be on the frontline of the global movement to protect the Reef.
The towering $1.1 million sculptural symbol of the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef campaign was unveiled yesterday morning, drawing more than 100 people eager to catch their first glimpse of the reflective “gateway” to the Reef.
The movement and its waterfront emblem were the brainchild of former Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Alex de Waal, who returned to Cairns for the launch.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he thought the idea was genius when Mr de Waal approached him two years ago.
“I thought it was absolutely brilliant, but I had no idea where we were going to get the money from,” he said.
“We did go up a lot of dry gullies and I actually used the election process as a lever to get the money that we needed.”
In the end, the cost was shared between all three tiers of government.
The long-anticipated unveiling means the campaign can finally go public. Tireless background work has helped secure such high-profile ambassadors as Barack Obama and Sir David Attenborough.
“Obama will be a citizen, for sure. We have Attenborough, Bob Irwin – we’ve already stitched him up. He’s an old friend of mine,” Mr Entsch said.
“There’s a whole list of very high-profile movie actors, people like that.”
The stars will be one of the movement’s many public faces, using their vast social media presences to call fans and followers to action to protect the Reef and take up citizenry of their own.
Multinational companies, small family businesses and everyday individuals across the planet will be brought into the fray, asked to take ownership of the Reef, even if they live on the other side of the world.
Citizens CEO Andy Ridley hoped the campaign would harness the people power to create impetus for some of the world’s biggest polluters to change their ways.
As co-founder of the Earth Hour environmental campaign, which now spans more than 7000 cities, he has the right experience for the job.
“We have a massive, incredible challenge ahead of us. But there is hope,” he said.
“We’re the first generation in human history that is able to connect globally around a common purpose.
“We’re only just beginning to witness the power of digital and social movements.”
Artist Brian Robinson’s Woven Fish sculptures at the Esplanade Lagoon have become some of the most enduring symbols of Cairns since they were erected in 2003.
It should not take long for his Citizens Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef artwork to eclipse them in terms of international exposure.
“A sculpture of this sort of size, as well as the overall budget that went to creating it, really stamps the priority on this social movement that will hopefully gain momentum,” he said.