Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, the party’s spokesman for healthy oceans, will move for a Senate inquiry into why the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was announced as the recipient of the record government grant without the funds being offered to existing government reef agencies. “No amount of natural resource management or science funding has ever been subjected to so little scrutiny as to where the money ends up.”No tender process for $444m Great Barrier Reef grant, Senate hearing told Read moreLabor’s environment spokesman, Tony Burke, said the opposition would talk to the Greens about the proposed inquiry. The foundation has come under scrutiny since the government announced it would receive the record grant prior to the federal budget in May. In statements provided to Guardian Australia last week it said it was focused on projects with large scale impact “that go to the heart of saving the Great Barrier Reef and that can also benefit coral reefs globally”. “The foundation is in the unique position of working across the entire science community and all levels of government, with leading scientists from different institutions, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – the reef managers,” a spokeswoman said.

Source: The Guardian May 28, 2018 18:00 UTC