Taxpayer slug for reef compromise

Silt and mud from the sea floor at Abbot Point will now be dumped in an area near Abbot Point's man-made wetlands and triple their size, Queensland's deputy premier Jeff Seeney said on Monday.

The Queensland Government reversed its controversial support for having dredge spoil from Abbot Point port dumped at sea.

Land built from the reclaimed dredge spoil will be bought from the North Queensland Bulk Ports Authority - which operates the Abbot Point port.

It will then be used to build land to host more port businesses, similar to the way the Port of Brisbane has expanded over several decades, Mr Seeney said.

Commercial arangements are still being finalised and Indian mining giant Adani, which has approval to use Abbot Point, has been involved in those talks, Mr Seeney said.

"It's a commercial arrangement that takes into account the disposal cost they may already be facing, versus the alternative that we can offer them," Mr Seeney said.

"And we will be offering that alternative to anyone who has a dredging permit," he said.

"We will be negotiating that to each of those commercial arrangements, according to the particular costs that the proponents face."

State Labor environment spokesman Jackie Trad accused the government of a complete backflip, claiming intense community opposition forced both the State and federal government to axe their earlier support for dumping dredge spoil at sea.

She questioned why taxpayers would paid for the dredge spoil.

"I think it is pretty clear that the government is buying the dredge spoil to expand the port facility and that is only going to benefit the big mining companies," Ms Trad said.

Mr Seeney, however, said that over the long term he did not think the solution would cost taxpayers anything.

"They will be commercial arrangements that we enter into, but the benefit of this project is the value that it adds to the land that the taxpayers own," Mr Seeney said.

"The taxpayers in the longer-term will certainly profit from what I believe is a sensible use of a valuable resource, rather than wasting that resource by dumping it at sea."

The decision to support land-based disposal of the dredge spoilt comes as The Greens called for legislation banning any dredge spoil being dumped into the Great Barrier Reef's marine park waters.

Abbot Point's man-made wetlands were created about 30 years ago.

"The proposition that we have for the one-way rail loop (at the site) will mean that those wetlands will be enhanced," Mr Seeney said.

"They will be at least three times larger than they currently are," he said.

Dried dredge spoil will be deposited between the railway line and the coastline to the north of the existing coal terminal, Mr Seeney said.

Several technologies have been tested as part of the State government's Abbot Point Beneficial Reuse Strategy.

Conservation groups cautiously welcomed the recommendation to no longer dump at sea but questioned why trestles several kilometres long could not be built into the marine park to take the dredge spoil over sensitive areas close to the coast, out to ships in deep water.

Felicity Wishart from the Australian Marine Conservation Society said the decision to reject dumping at sea was a good first step.

But she said using dredge spoil, which contains silt and mud and materials from the port waters, could be difficult.

"At Abbot Point we are talking about a coal port right next to a fantastic wetland with 40,000 birds, endangered species," Ms Wishart said.

"We know this port expansion is for coal mines, which at the moment are simply not economic, and it would be a terrible, terrible shame if we saw the reef dredged, we saw this dumping occur and the coal mines that are driving it never actually eventuate."

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) also welcomed the decision but suggested a long pier could be used over seagrass beds close to the shore.

"It is a good decision to stop the dumping at Abbot Point," he said.

"What we need to see now is that extended to the entire reef heritage area."

Mr Leck said the WWF was concerned that if the issue was fast-tracked environmental concerns like the leaking bund walls at Gladstone Harbour could become an unintended outcome.

"Fast tracking is the issue that has caused a number of the problems along the reef today."

Queensland Resources Council director Michael Roche said the decision addressed serious community and environmental concerns.

"The Queensland government is taking advantage of an opportunity that has arisen, only recently, for a land-based proposal for the dredge spoil at Abbot Point," he said.

However he condemned conservation groups' proposal to build trestles six kilometres out into the marine park.

"A permanent structure? In the national park? That is their solution. Give us a break."

WWF said this has been done in Townsville's port.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters, the party's environment spokesperson, said overwhelming scientific evidence had forced the Queensland Government to change its mind.

"The immense community, scientific and international opposition to reef dumping, as well as our strong political opposition, is finally sinking in for the Newman Government," Senator Larissa Waters said.

"The Greens are proud of our strong campaign standing with the community, the fishing industry and the tourism industry against our reef being treated as a dump ground for dredge spoil.

"But the fight for the reef is far from over – we need a legislated ban on dumping for the whole Great Barrier Reef, not just Premier Newman's weak statement of a 'preference' for land dumping 'if a site is available'."