Great Barrier Reef Doomsday Claims Should Be Audited: Scientist

An Australian scientist says the Great Barrier Reef sustained ’record amounts’ of coral from 2022-23, but the government says the reef needs protecting.

The Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia, on March 7, 2022. Glenn Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Australian geo-physicist Peter Ridd says an additional $5 million (US$3.3 million) allocated to the Great Barrier Reef in this week’s budget would be better spent on “genuine environmental problems.”

The funding was handed down as part of Labor’s 2024 federal budget on May 14.