Today, the new Environment Minister Greg Hunt was sworn in. The decisions he makes in the first 100 days on the job will leave a lasting legacy on our reef.
Thanks to you, our petition to Save our Reef has exploded. Last night, it hit 200,000 signatures. At this rate, it could be GetUp's biggest petition ever.
Know someone who might want to join the fight to save our reef? Forward them this email, or:
Click here to share the campaign on Facebook
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Forward this link to your friends & family: http://www.getup.org.au/petition-savethereef
The future of our fragile reef now lies in the hands of our new Government. Already, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has urged Prime Minister Abbott to "get out of the way" on mining developments, asserting his first priority was "the need to see the massive Galilee Basin coal projects approved as soon as possible."1
He's speaking of developments like turning Abbot Point into the largest coal port in the world, where 3 million cubic metres of seabed would be dredged and dumped in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
He's speaking of decisions which would see Australia more than double our coal exports, obliterating emissions targets and hurtling us towards catastrophic climate change.
He's speaking of creating shipping superhighways where thousands of coal ships will drive through our Reef every year.
We are up against a State Government hell-bent on destroying our unique and precious reef. It is crucial we get on the front foot and demonstrate the power of our movement to the new Federal Government. GetUp's largest ever petition would be a great way to start.
Share the petition to Save Our Reef now, and we'll deliver it to our new Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
Prime Minister Abbott has promised to create a "one-stop shop" for environmental approvals, handing over all decision making powers to the states. States led by friends of the mining industry like Campbell Newman.
This is not a campaign that will be won or lost in a day, but we need to make sure the pressure is on Minister Hunt from the moment he steps into office. Let's show him just how much Australia cares about our reef.
In the last two months GetUp members like you have flooded the former Environment Minister's inbox, letterbox and voicemail imploring him to protect the reef. Together, we've filled the streets of Brisbane with a 4000-strong rally, and featured the reef on more than 2 million election day scorecards and placards all over Queensland.
GetUp members have already helped make the reef a major election issue - now let's make it a major issue for the new government: www.getup.org.au/petition-savethereef
We know we've got to take this fight wherever it needs to go. We're willing to fight in the courts, in the pages of the newspapers read by investors, in the halls of Parliament and in support of communities around Queensland.
Let's do this,
the GetUp team
PS - Help make the campaign to Save our Reef so big and obvious, it will be impossible to ignore. If we raise enough money, we can take out a billboard ad in a high traffic area of Brisbane, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. If you can, chip in here.
[1] Get out of our way on huge mines, Abbott told, The Age, 12 September 2013