Secret China plot to declare the Great Barrier reef as ecologically 'in danger' threatens to wipe $6billion from the Australian economy and destroy 60,000 jobs
A secret push by China to have Australia's Great Barrier Reef declared 'in danger' could cripple the Far North's multi-billion dollar tourist economy and affect over 64,000 local jobs.
Beijing has been plotting with a China-chaired United Nations committee to have the environmental health status of the world-renowned coral reef downgraded, in a blatant effort to bypass the normal channels of the World Heritage Committee.
This has happened without proper scientific scrutiny or consolation, it is claimed, with any downgrading likely to threaten tourism and jobs.
The ploy took Australian government officials by surprise, who first learned about the clandestine scheme on Friday, The Australian reported.
An unscrutinised push by China to have Australia's Great Barrier Reef (pictured) declared 'in danger' could cripple the Far North's multi-billion dollar visitor economy
Beijing has been plotting with a China-chaired United Nations committee to have the environmental health status of the world-renowned coral reef downgraded, in a blatant effort to bypass the normal channels of the World Heritage Committee
The man at the centre of China's latest efforts to economically punish Australia after the Morrison government called for an independent inquiry into the origin of the Covid pandemic in April last year, is China's Vice-Minister for Education Tian Xuejun.
Mr Tian is the chairman of UNESCO - the global body which oversees the 21-nation World Heritage Committee of which Australia is a member.
The organisation's role is to safeguard important natural and manmade sites around the world.
But Beijing is known for stacking UN committees with Communist Party loyalists who carry out the authoritarian state's bidding.
For over a year China has been locked in an ongoing campaign of economic coercion against Australia, slapping key exports with over $20billion worth of arbitrary bans and tariffs.
Among the sectors under attack are wine, barley, coal, seafood, copper, timber and cotton.
The man at the centre of China's latest efforts to economically punish Australia after the Morrison government called for an independent inquiry into the origin of the Covid pandemic in April last year, is China's Vice-Minister for Education Tian Xuejun (pictured)
For over a year China has been locked in an ongoing campaign of economic coercion against Australia, slapping key exports with over $20billion worth of arbitrary bans and tariffs. Pictured: People's Liberation Army troops
Beijing officials have even warned Chinese students against travelling to Australia, labelling it a 'racist' country.
It now appears Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef will be the next in the firing line.
The decision on the reef is expected to be presented at the 44th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in China on July 16 as the committee seek ratification.
To add insult, China itself is currently destroying reefs in the South China Sea as it builds artificial military islands.
The world's largest coral reef, which sits off the Queensland coast and stretches for 350,000sq/km, is worth about $6.4billion a year to the Australian economy with about 64,000 jobs reliant on the reef.
The push to have the reef downgraded comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government faces criticism over its climate change policy.
Beijing is known for stacking UN committees with Communist Party loyalists who carry out the authoritarian state's bidding (pictured, Chinese soldiers at a training centre in Russia)
The world's largest coral reef sits off the Queensland coast and stretches for 350,000sq/km. It is worth about $6.4bn a year to the Australian economy with about 64,000 jobs reliant on it
The last time World Heritage Committee scientists travelled to the the reef was in 2012, and in 2015 an 'in danger' downgrade was flagged.
The reef has lost about half of its corals from 1995 to 2017, with mass bleaching events taking place in 2016 and 2017, according to a marine scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Queensland.
To combat the destruction of the reef caused by warming ocean temperatures, the federal and Queensland governments have pledged $3billion as part of their Reef 2050 Plan.
'Australia is widely acknowledged as an international leader in reef management,' a spokesman for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority said.
'In recent years, Australia has doubled the size of its field management program on the reef, is pioneering a world-leading climate adaptation and reef resilience program, and is working in partnership with the science community, industry, government agencies and traditional owners.'
The Great Barrier Reef is worth $6.4billion in tourism revenue and supports 64,000 jobs (pictured, a tourist enjoys the view at Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays)
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