Australia's politicians have betrayed the Great Barrier Reef and only the people can save it | David Ritter

The big lie propagated by government and big business is that it is possible to turn things around for the reef without tackling global warming

" Great Barrier Reef at 'terminal stage': scientists despair at bleaching data

Once upon a time, in the distant 60s and 70s, the Great Barrier Reef faced imminent destruction. Tenement applications for drilling and mining covered vast swathes of the reef, with both government and industry enthusiastically backing the plans for mass exploitation.

In the face of the reef's impending doom a motley collection of ordinary Australians shared a common determination that something had to be done. But the odds didn't look good. The poet turned campaigner Judith Wright wrote that "if it had not been for the public backing for protection of the reef that we knew existed, we might have given up hope".