Whole scenario reminds me of Vevo's "How Bizzare" and a couple of Tony Abbott's equally odd "Captain's Calls".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGUMsxVt4YU

Weird IMO.

Makes me cross though, after so many years snorkelling the reef, I don't think it's a place we should be "trifling" with ... such a magical place and so very, very tragic if it's lost IMO.

 

 

Ridiculous, to even consider making a donation of that size without a tender process. What are they thinking?? There is no strategic plan and a staff so small and are known to have links to big business is very suss. Nothing wrong with the provision of that huge sum of money to help save the barrier reef, BUT, for the government to make such a grant to an organisation that did not even make an application is mind blowing.

 

 

 

Well done Malcolm Turnbull  

The Great Barrier Reef has Australia’s most iconic environments, and is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth.

Global Warming caused by humans is a threat to this wonderful piece of nature and must be preserved.

 

The reef is a disgrace and it has been abused for decades -- there should be NO anchoring over it -- and NO big tankers near it -- it is pure neglect and uncaring and the $$$ the Governments are getting from who what and were that has ruined this beautiful natural wonder --  they should be drawn and quartered.

I think it is beyond repair -- and a bloody disgrace!

Thank God I saw it when it was perfect.

 

Although I am happy for funds for the reef..I am not too convinced we shall see them used in the right way. It appears little thought has gone into this and I fear that it might be money down the drain... unless they get on board experts who have the reef's best interests at heart.

It should be pointed out when any organisation gets a government grant..it's usually as a result of a tender process and also the money is not given in one go. The money is meted out according to milestones achieved at various intervals. What milestones should we expect? So many unanswered questions..

How Michael Myer can have any traction in this is a joke, his business history shows a lack of judgement.. He has not been on the Board for 16 years. The fact that he was even there is now totally irrevelant, The quality of the people who are looking after the Foundation are beyond reproach. The Greenies are out in the cold and Mr Myer made a bad headline

The grant is wrong in so many ways. Firstly, an application should have been made outlining the use of the funds and the expected outcome. I am not sure if a tender process would have been applicable as grants are usually made on the basis of need and outcome. Secondly, where is the proof that the Great Barrier Reef is in crisis overall? Sure there are parts of it under stress but those parts are very small in proportion to the total area. Parts of the reef bleach from time to time and all of those areas eventually recover despite what the Greenies propoganda tells us. Turnbull is wrong and when Parliament resumes next week, he will be embarrassed by expected questions from the Opposition. The grant should be suspended pending an application setting out the needs and outcomes by the GBRF.

In the 1960's it was claimed that the reef was being destroyed by plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish. This was immediately attributed to human activity. In the meantime we have learned that reefs rapidly recover from these outbreaks and geological evidence suggests that the crown-of-thorns plagues have been around for millennia.

The same reaction is evident in relation to coral bleaching. Actually, corals like it hot. These same corals live in much warmer water closer to the Equator around Indonesia and Thailand where the water temperature reaches 29.0 celsius compared with an 27.4 C in the northern part of the GBR and 25.0 C in the South. Despite the alarmism by scientists who have a vested interest in seeking more funding, it is apparent that a few degrees of warming will not necessarily harm the reef. 

Coral bleaching seems to have effected quite a bit of the GBF recently to me.

According to GBRMPA at http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/reef-health.

The reef has been repairing itself since 2012.

I cannot believe this grant, no tender, small organization, what will they do with this money? Check out who it really is going to and who is involved in this decision.

Copied from an article I just read:

What is the Great Barrier Reef Foundation?

The group, which had just six full-time employees at the time of the massive funding injection in the May federal budget, is a small and obscure charity that almost nobody had heard of until a few months ago.

Its board of directors include current or former employees of AGL Gas, Origin Energy, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Boeing and Qantas, while the Chairman’s Panel has links to Orica, Peabody Energy, and Shell.

The foundation says it “started with a small group of businessmen chatting at the airport while waiting for their flight” in 1999.

However, that story seems to be a bit of a creative flourish.

The foundation said its mission is to find “real solutions to the threats facing Australia’s great natural wonder and coral reefs globally”, and to “ensure a Great Barrier Reef for future generations”.

But while the group has business heft, the process by which a tiny group which reportedly had just $8 million in turnover in 2017 scored $444 million in the budget is still murky.

What is the $444 million for?

The group was tapped to administer funding for reef projects including action on the crown of thorns starfish outbreak, pollution and work to mitigate effects of climate change. The foundation has been given the massive funding to dole out grants to other organisations like the CSIRO, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science — not the usual way of doings things, with the department usually responsible for such funding allocations.

 

Sounds all a bit fishy to me.

PM fends off Lucy’s links to $444m reef grant recipientsMalcolm Turnbull with his wife Lucy at the Melbourne Chinese New Year Festival. Picture: David GeraghtyAndrew ClennellNSW Political Editor@aclennellGeoff ChambersCanberra Bureau Chief@Chambersgc12:00AM August 10, 2018505 Comments

Malcolm Turnbull’s office has confirmed that two of the directors of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation — the recipient of a $444 million grant from his government awarded without tender — may have been hosted at the Prime Minister’s home by wife Lucy.

The Australian can reveal the head of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s philanthropy committee, Stephen Fitzgerald, a one-time head of Mr Turnbull’s former investment bank Goldman Sachs, was on the board of the European Business Advisory Council at the same time as Mrs Turnbull.

Mr Fitzgerald is also on the council of advisers for the US Studies Centre in Sydney — where Mrs Turnbull is patron — and was on that council while Mrs Turnbull held the role of deputy chair between 2012 and 2015.

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The chair of the philanthropy committee for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation before Mr Fitzgerald, Stephen Roberts, was also on the council of advisers for the US Studies Centre at the same time Mrs Turnbull held ceremonial roles. Mr Roberts resigned from his foundation role in June after being charged with ­alleged criminal cartel conduct.

Asked yesterday whether Mr Fitzgerald or Mr Roberts had been to the Turnbulls’ home, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “Prior to 2015, as deputy chair of the US Studies Centre, Mrs Turnbull occasionally hosted USSC directors and advisers at her home.”

The revelations will raise more questions about the grant to the foundation but the Prime Minister’s office insists the decision was not a result of connections.

The Australian understands Mrs Turnbull concedes she knows Mr Fitzgerald but says she has not seen him for more than three years and cannot “recall” discussing the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with him.

“Mrs Turnbull is not a director of the European Australian Business Council and has not been for more than a year,” a spokesman for the Prime Minister said.

“The PM’s parliamentary disclosures reflect this. (Mrs Turnbull) has not spoken directly with either man for several years, and does not recall discussing the funding of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with them.”

He said: “The PM has not discussed this issue with Mr Fitzgerald or Mr Roberts. The government is preserving the Great Barrier Reef for future generations. This initiative will secure jobs and improve the health of the reef. The foundation is the best-placed body to deliver on these goals.”

Asked whose idea the grant was, Mr Turnbull’s spokesman would only say: “The proposal was developed within the Department of the Environment and Energy in consultation with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Finance, Treasury, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.”

The Australian does not suggest the grant was made improperly.

Mr Turnbull has conceded he knows Mr Fitzgerald but says he does not know another Goldman Sachs boss, Keith Tuffley, who was on the Great Barrier Reef Foundation board until he resigned on federal budget day, May 8.

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg repeatedly refused to say on 2GB yesterday whether the decision to give the $444m to the foundation without tender was Mr Turnbull’s idea. “It’s the government’s idea and it was one of the major announcements … in the budget because we want to save the Barrier Reef,” he said.

“This is the single largest ever investment in the ­Barrier Reef.”

Labor senator Kristina Keneally said: “There is something fishy about this grant.

“How does a prime minister give away $444m of public money without due diligence, competitive tender or grant application?”

“If Malcolm Turnbull and his family has a personal relationship with one or more of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation board members, that’s even more reason (he) should have ensured this grant decision was taken at arm’s length from him, with the highest standards of probity and contestability, so as to give the public confidence in the decision.”

-

Malcolm Turnbull
Prime Minister, former head of Goldman Sachs Australia 1997-2002.

Lucy Turnbull
Former deputy chair and director of US Studies Centre 2012-15 and on the board of directors of the centre 2007-15, including a time when both Great Barrier Reef Foundation directors Stephen Fitzgerald and Stephen Roberts were on the council of advisers for the US Studies Centre. Also on the board of the European Australian Business Council at the same time as Mr Fitzgerald was a fellow director.

James Brown

The Turnbulls’ son-in-law. A former non-resident fellow at the US Studies Centre.

James Brown. Picture: Craig Wilson

Stephen Fitzgerald

Former chairman of Goldman Sachs after joining in 1992. Named a managing director in 1998 and a partner in 2002. The current chair of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Board’s philanthropy committee. On the board of the European Australian Business Council at the same time as Lucy Turnbull. On the council of advisers for the US Studies Centre at the same time Mrs Turnbull was on the board of directors. The PM’s office confirms Mr Fitzgerald may have been hosted by Mrs Turnbull at the Turnbulls’ home.

Stephen Fitzgerald.

Stephen Roberts

Former head of Citigroup. Was charged with alleged criminal cartel conduct related to his time at Citigroup. Was chair of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation philanthropycommittee in 2016 and 2017. Resigned from Great Barrier Reef Foundation board in June after he was charged. Was on the council of advisers for the US Studies Centre at the same time as Mrs Turnbull was on the board of directors. The PM’s office confirms he may have been hosted at the Turnbulls’ home.

Stephen Roberts

Alex Turnbull
The Turnbulls’ son. Worked for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. The PM’s office says Alex Turnbull ‘does not recall meeting Stephen Fitzgerald’ and ‘they did not work together at Goldman Sachs’.

Alexander Turnbull.More stories on this topicReef millions are ‘value for money’Reef boss link not relevant: PMReef grant ‘passes the test’  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/pm-fends-off-lucys-links-to-444m-reef-grant-recipients/news-story/68c8c63db1fdd7420118a2fc5e4c6ce5?nk=9458777f7e9cd30ba992c9d6e906a215-1534046741

 

I agree with Kristina Keneally, something very fishy is going on here. I am totally disgusted with this and feel it is so wrong and I am wondering why more is not being done to investigate it. This money could have been better spent elsewhere. The so called charity did not even ask for it. Tender processes should have been in place. If this is allowed to go ahead then it sets a precendent of more of this happening without tenders and public discussions. There is no transparency here.

Thanks for for post PlanB but would have preferred without the photos, I can't stand looking at these people, so much greed.

Agree with many others here re the "fishiness" and oddity of this grant.

Should be withheld and be re-evaluated through the normal grants process IMO.

Quite a bizarre call, as I said initially here.