Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, both AIMS and CSIRO do exceptionally good work in terms of protecting the Great Barrier Reef and, insofar as jobs are concerned, Senator Carr, sustaining the 64,000 jobs that rely on the Great Barrier Reef and, of course, ensuring the viability of the $6.4 billion that it provides to our economy.

AIMS and CSIRO will both continue to be intimately involved with protecting the reef, including as key partners in the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program that I announced in January of this year, and that work, Senator Carr, as you know, will continue over the next 18 months. It has been articulated by both the minister representing the environment minister and the Leader of the Government in the Senate that the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is a highly respected philanthropic organisation with a strong track record in fundraising, and it has a successful history of partnerships with a range of sectors. Senator Carr, your own government previously has endorsed this particular foundation. Again, you're hypocritical in terms of your criticism because you yourselves invested $12.5 million in the foundation in 2012.