The bank’s precondition for considering funding of such a project is expected to be satisfied following next month’s annual meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche said.
Roche said he would be contacting Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions to ensure they had all the facts in front of them about Australia’s commitment to preserve the “Outstanding Universal Value” of the reef.
Based on its statement, it does not appear that Deutsche Bank has had any involvement with the planned port expansion, he said.
“Nevertheless, their requirement of an assurance from both the Australian government and UNESCO about protecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Great Barrier Reef can be readily met,” he said.
“It is simply unfortunate that advisers to the World Heritage Committee have overlooked or misunderstood that their requested comprehensive assessments of dredging options have already been done and have established that there will not be an impact on the Reef’s OUV.
“In the lead-up to the committee’s meeting in June, the Australian and Queensland government will ensure that all interested parties are fully briefed on this assessment work.
“While the committee’s draft decision clearly recognises the excellent work by state and federal government to protect and preserve the iconic reef – it would appear that the WHC’s advisers had not fully appreciated the extent of the peer-reviewed science, which has examined cumulative impacts of planned port development at Abbot Point.”
Roche said that given the bank was not involved in the port expansion, it was disappointing to see the activists once again “wasting their members’ donations on European vacations”
“The anti-mining activists seem to have a lot of money to travel the world to put lies and distortions in front of institutions,” Roche said.
“I would like to think the activist groups, with all this money to be swanning around Paris, Frankfurt and London getting dressed up in Nemo suits, would put their member’s hard-earned donations into proper research to eradicate the real threats to the reef, such as the crown-of-thorns starfish.
“We are confident that the World Heritage Committee will not want to adopt a decision containing the current errors.”
