Anthony Albanese pledges millions in school excursion subsidies to help kids visit Great Barrier Reef

More children will be able to experience one of Australia’s most iconic natural wonders under a new Labor election pledge, as the prime minister takes his campaign to the Great Barrier Reef.

Anthony Albanese on Thursday hopped on a boat to announce $10 million to protect and promote the reef, with $6 million of that funding earmarked to help schools subsidise excursions to the UNESCO World Heritage site.

“The Great Barrier Reef is one of our most precious and unique assets,” Mr Albanese said.

“We want to ensure our young people can experience the beauty of the reef while also learning about the important role it plays in our ecosystem.”

Though environmental concerns have played second fiddle to the cost of living in the lead-up to the May 3 election, it remains an important issue.

Climate activists have gatecrashed Mr Albanese’s press conferences twice on the campaign trail, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been heckled over the issue.

The Great Barrier Reef is often viewed as a symbol of Australia’s natural beauty, but it can also be emblematic of a government’s action on climate.

The former coalition government came under fire when then-environment minister Sussan Ley lobbied to keep the reef off UNESCO’s “in-danger” list, after sea temperatures and other ecological issues caused it significant damage.

In July, the Labor government dodged another potential “in-danger” listing after the World Heritage Committee noted a change in Australia’s approach to climate change and marine management, but scientists have called for more action.

Coral reefs are home to about 25 per cent of the world’s fish and the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest, spanning an area roughly the size of Japan.

But a heatwave off the Queensland coast in 2024 led to the reef’s seventh mass bleaching event since 1998, and the fifth since 2016.

Any damage to the reef could also have a devastating impact on local tourism, which contributes about $6.4 billion per year to the national economy.

Labor has invested $540 million on water quality projects, $180 million to save the Reef Headquarters and other money on efforts to employ Indigenous rangers and reduce the impact of bycatch from fishing.

It has also legislated targets to reduce carbon emissions by 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050, which would help support the goal of keeping global average temperature rises to 1.5C.

But Australia has been urged to set more ambitious aims as a 1.5C increase could still cause coral reefs to decline by 70 to 90 per cent, according to a 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.