Officials grant approval for swathes of native forest near Barrier Reef to be bulldozed

Federal officials plan to back the destruction of almost 2000 hectares of pristine Queensland forest in a move that threatens the Great Barrier Reef and undermines a A$500 million Turnbull government rescue package for the natural wonder.

A draft report by the Department of the Environment and Energy recommends that the government allow the mass vegetation clearing at Kingvale Station on Cape York Peninsula. The area to be bulldozed is almost three times the size of the combined central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne.

The draft recommendation comes despite the department conceding the native forest is likely to contain endangered species, and despite expert warnings that runoff caused by the clearing may damage the reef.

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg will make a final ruling on the proposal. It will test his long-stated willingness to protect the reef from poor water quality, which is triggered by land clearing.

Last month the government announced it would spend more than A$500 million to protect the reef, including A$201 million to improve water quality through better farming practices.

A rejection of the Kingvale proposal would put Frydenberg at odds with Queensland Coalition MPs who have vocally backed the plan.

Kingvale Station owner Scott Harris wants to clear the land – mostly eucalypt forest and melaleuca swamplands – to make way for cropping and other activities.

The former Queensland Newman government approved the work in April 2014. However the federal government determined that the clearing must also be assessed under Commonwealth laws.

The government’s own experts warned the land clearing proposal might damage the Great Barrier Reef.

The department’s draft report, on which submissions closed this week, concluded the proposal should be approved, subject to conditions. A final recommendation will be made when submissions are considered.

Conditions include that clearing be limited to 1846 hectares and only take place on flat land to ‘‘manage the risks’’ of erosion and sedimentation. Clearing should not occur within 100 metres of a watercourse or wetland, contour banks must be used to manage water flow and erosion should be repaired before each wet season.

The proponent told the department the land clearing would not cause damage to the reef.

The clearing is proposed on land that drains into two rivers that run into the Great Barrier Reef 200km downstream.

The draft recommendation comes despite a governmentcommissioned expert warning that soil erosion from the work was ‘‘likely to contribute to poor water quality’’ in the reef world heritage area.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority also said that during floods the clearing ‘‘is almost guaranteed’’ to result in fine sediment entering Princess Charlotte Bay, where the rivers meet the reef.

Poor water quality is one of the most pressing problems facing the reef. It is largely caused by nutrient, pesticide and sediment run-off from agriculture. It can cause algal growth at the expense of coral, block light and smother corals, as well as exacerbate outbreaks of the venomous crown-of-thorns starfish, which are a major cause of coral loss.

The department also concluded that the clearing would affect a host of endangered species including the Northern quoll, and loggerhead and leatherback turtles.

Despite the concerns raised, the department concluded the likely impacts of the clearing ‘‘will not be unacceptable’’ if conditions were adhered to.

The department said the proponent had been charged in Queensland over illegal land clearing at another of his properties, Strathmore Station.

– Fairfax