Plan to pump cold water on to Barrier Reef to stop bleaching labelled 'band-aid'

Former Barrier Reef authority director Jon Day says the idea such an approach would save the reef from bleaching is 'ridiculous'

A proposal to use $9m to pump cold water on to the Great Barrier Reef's tourist hotspots to stave off coral bleaching has been described as a "band-aid" solution, which does little to address the fundamental threats to the world's largest living structure.

The plan, proposed by the tourism industry and the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, seeks to protect six reefs with high economic or environmental value near Cairns and Port Douglas.