New proposal on Australia reef dumping plan

The Great Barrier Reef stretches for more than 2,600km (1,680 miles) along Australia's eastern coast.

The Queensland government has proposed a plan that would prevent sediment being dumped in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The central government has already approved the reef dumping plan, which is linked to a major port expansion.

But the decision has proved hugely controversial, prompting stringent criticism from environmentalists.

The Queensland government said its plan to dispose of the sediment on land would "create a win-win situation".

"It will protect the unique values of the Great Barrier Reef and allow for the staged development of the important port of Abbot Point," State Premier Campbell Newman said in a statement.

Several companies want to use the Abbot Point port to export coal reserves from the Galilee Basin area in central Queensland. Late last year, the government approved an application for the coal terminal to be expanded.

Dredging is needed to allow bigger ships into the port, and earlier this year a plan to dump three million cubic metres of dredged sediment in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area was approved.

But scientists have warned the sediment could smother or poison coral, further damaging a reef already hit by climate change and other factors. The plan was also facing a legal challenge from a Queensland environmental group.

The Queensland government said that under its proposal, the dredged material could be dumped onshore at an existing site within the Abbot Point State Development Area.

The state government would now apply to the federal government for permission to dispose of the dredged material on land, it said.

"We will now ask Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to fast-track approval of our strategy under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to ensure dredging for the expansion of Abbot Point can begin on schedule," Minister for State Development and Planning Jeff Seeney said.

Dredging is due to begin in 2015.

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral structure, rich in marine life.

It is a Unesco-listed World Heritage Site, but in recent years the UN body has warned that it could be put on its World Heritage in Danger list because of its worsening condition.

In August, a five-yearly report by the marine park authority said that the outlook for the reef was poor despite conservation efforts, with further deterioration expected in coming years.

Climate change remained the biggest threat to the site, the report said, but poor water quality from land-based run-off, coastal development and fishing also posed challenges.