Election 2013 Issues: Looking after Australia
Welcome to the **The Conversation Election 2013 State of the Nation* essays. These articles by leading experts in their field provide an in-depth look at the key policy challenges affecting Australia as…
Primary Results
From ‘Australia’s Titanic’ to deadly mutineers: 4 infamous shipwrecks found on the Great Barrier Reef
Throughout the past 230 years, over 1,200 vessels met their end on the reef – but only 114 have been found.
$500 million for the Great Barrier Reef is welcome, but we need a sea change in tactics too
The federal government’s new $500 million funding package for the Great Barrier Reef seems predominantly focused on the tactics that are already being tried, without much success.
Green tape reform ‑ dangers but also opportunities
The last few weeks have seen an extraordinary cross party agreement that environmental regulation of development needs reform. The Prime Minister wants coordination with the states streamlined; the Leader…
Worried about Great Barrier Reef water pollution? Look at mining, not agriculture
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is both a national marine park and a World Heritage Area. But next to the reef, a catchment of 400,000km2 is almost completely developed for agriculture, predominantly beef…
Government runs unconvincing rearguard defence against Obama’s Barrier Reef intervention
Barack Obama certainly hit a sensitive domestic nerve when, speaking at the University of Queensland last weekend, he highlighted the threat climate change poses to the Great Barrier Reef. The Abbott and…
Tanya Plibersek killed off Clive Palmer’s coal mine. It’s an Australian first – but it may never happen again
The mine was not refused on climate change grounds. So without legal reform, other fossil fuel projects may still go ahead.
Climate change must be a catalyst for reform of the World Heritage system
Rising temperatures and extreme weather pose an existential threat to many UNESCO World Heritage sites, but widespread discussion is needed for meaningful change.
Nine things you love that are being wrecked by climate change
People tend to pay attention when things get personal, so you need to know how climate change is damaging things in your life.
New report on climate ‘overshoot’: what it means for Africa and how faster action can limit the damage
The world is likely to pass 1.5°C of warming. Africa faces worse heat, drought and floods, but faster cuts to emissions can still limit the overshoot damage.