REEF PLAN A CLASS ACT
TTNQ believes proposal to subsidise school visits is a ‘shore thing’
SCHOOL students from across Australia would be subsidised by taxpayers to visit the Great Barrier Reef under a tourism body’s scheme to promote and protect the natural wonder.
SCHOOL students from across Australia would be subsidised by taxpayers to visit the Great Barrier Reef under a scheme which has been proposed to promote and protect the natural wonder.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland has unveiled the ambitious plan, modelled on the Federal Government’s Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER), that provides financial assistance for students to visit Canberra.
The rebate provides a subsidy for schools travelling more than 150km to visit the nation’s capital as part of a civics and citizenship education excursion.
Schools must visit Parliament House, Old Parliament House, and other Canberra attractions.
TTNQ chief executive Mark Olsen said the Australian Government needed to inspire the next generation of scientists to be involved in finding the solution to the problem of climate change.
“Every student in Australia should visit the Great Barrier Reef with a Master Reef Guide and be a part of the solution,” he said.
“This could be done by providing a travel subsidy for every Australian school student to visit the Great Barrier Reef, similar to PACER that provides financial assistance for students to visit Canberra.”
He said the government needed to take a proactive stance on the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, in light of recent research on the impacts of future climate change.
A report released on Friday by the High Level Panel for A Sustainable Ocean Economy predicts economic losses by the end of the century of more than 90 per cent for reef tourism around the world, due to climate change.
Leichhardt MP Warren
Entsch, who is also the government’s Special Envoy to the Great Barrier Reef, said the school visit scheme was a great idea, but not financially feasible for every school student in Australia.
“(TTNQ) are targeting the right market, but I think that initiative – as good as it is – could cost a $1 billion,” he said.
He said he had encountered issues with schoolchildren believing the entire Reef was dead.
“The thought process (of the scheme) is right: at least kids can have a look for themselves, and have a different perspective than that the protest movement and activists are teaching,” he said.