That Coal Tanker, The Australian Marine Conservation Society and You

What was your reaction to the news that a coal tanker had run aground inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park last week? Dismay, frustration, anger? I think most of us would have asked the familiar question: how could this possibly have happened?

Given the amount of shipping along our coastline (by all accounts about to increase too!) this incident can best be used as a real wake-up call.

Do you feel like doing something but not sure what?

Well, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) prompted me to take ‘e-action’ this week in response to the grounding of the Shen Neng 1 east of Great Keppel Island - in this case an email to Mr Albanese MP, the Federal Minister for Transport (etc). With author Tim Winton as its Patron the AMCS works tirelessly to monitor and protect Australia’s marine environment.  (Last year I wrote about their booklet Sustainable Seafood Guide.)

Dismay is probably a good word to describe how we feel. I think we all expect the Federal and Queensland Governments to ask the tough questions as to how this incident occurred and, more importantly, take the appropriate steps to stop it from happening again.

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