CAIRNS, Australia (6 Mar 2003) -- Environmental groups vowed yesterday to fight plans to build an artificial island featuring water slides, snorkeling, scuba diving, fish feeding, a wedding chapel and an underground café on the Great Barrier Reef. Sunlover Cruises, a travel company, wants to construct a giant concrete pontoon and anchor it at Moore Reef, about 30 miles east of the resort of Cairns. The four-storey island, the size of a football field, would boast palm trees, luxury overnight accommodation, a health spa and an Aboriginal art gallery. It would be visible from 10 miles away. Environmentalists said the proposed "EcoReef Centre" would be an eyesore and would cast a huge shadow over the sea floor, depriving many marine creatures of sunlight. It would also generate large amounts of sewage that would be difficult to dispose of. "It sets a really bad precedent, and it opens the door up for really tacky theme park ventures to settle on one of the most significant reefs on the planet," said John Rainbird, a spokesman for the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre. The project has yet to win government approval and opponents have started a fighting fund to cover the cost of a legal challenge. The World Heritage-listed Barrier Reef – the world's largest chain of coral reefs – is one of Australia's premier tourist attractions, drawing thousands of visitors every week. Most of them take day trips out to the reef by boat. Sunlover claimed yesterday that the 42,000 sq ft, fish-shaped island would have no discernible impact on the area's ecology. The company said it would "look like an island and blend in with the surrounding scenery". The buildings would be a maximum of 50ft high. Terry Russell, the managing director, said the company had been taking tourists to the reef for more than a decade and was looking to the future. Sunlover had been managing and protecting Moore Reef for 12 years, pouring millions of dollars into its conservation. | | "I pronounce you husband, wife & coral reef rapists" The company already has a pontoon at the site, half the size of the proposed edifice. "We want to put something in to accommodate people – giving them more time and more space," he said. He said the "EcoReef Centre" – which the company hopes to complete by October next year – would open up the reef to more night-time excursions, particularly for the commercial conference market. It would be wheelchair-accessible and would include a research laboratory and facilities to teach people the story of the reef, he said. Sunlover, a subsidiary of a large international shipping line, knows development projects relating to the Barrier Reef evoke strong emotions, and is aware that it could face legal challenges. The plan would have to be approved by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, a government-funded agency that looks after the site. |
