INDEPENDENT EXPERT PANEL - MINUTES

Date: Tuesday, 13 August 2019, 9:00am – 5:00pm

Venue: QUT Gardens Point – Council Room

ATTENDEESMembers

Prof Ian Chubb AC, ChairDr Andrew AshProf Damien BurrowsProf Terry HughesProf Ove Hoegh-GuldbergProf Helene Marsh

Adj Assoc Prof Stephan Schnierer (by phone for items 1 to 9)Dr Russell ReicheltMs Jane WaterhouseDr Stuart WhittenProf Kerrie Wilson

OtherMs Deb Callister Assistant Secretary, Department of the Environment and EnergyMs Rebekah Hamed Director, Department of the Environment and EnergyDr Will Howard Director, Department of the Environment and EnergyMs Milica Milanja Secretariat, Department of the Environment and EnergyMs Elisa Nichols Executive Director, Office of the Great Barrier Reef, DESMs Louise Smyth Director, Office of the Great Barrier Reef, DESDr David Wachenfeld Chief Scientist, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park AuthorityDr Mel Cowlishaw Assistant Director, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park AuthorityDr Roger Beeden Director, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (item 8)Dr Roger Shaw Chair, Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (item 10)Dr David Westcott Lead, Integrated Pest Management Research Program, CSIRO (item 11)Mr Darren Cameron Director, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (item 11)Dr Mary Bonin Project Manager, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (item 11)Dr Mike Emslie Australian Institute of Marine Science (item 6a by videoconference)

APOLOGIES

Members

Dr Britta Schaffelke

1. Acknowledgement of Country

The Chair acknowledged the traditional custodians of the area. He acknowledged their continuing culture and contribution they make to the region and paid respects to their Elders past and present.

2. Welcome to Members

The Chair welcomed members and presenters to the meeting. The Chair noted that the Ministerial Forum agreed to reappoint Panel members on 2 August 2019 and confirmed that all members present had new Agreements in place. The Chair noted there were three reappointments to be finalised, but that none of the pending members were present at the meeting.

The Chair noted that Adj Assoc Stephan Schnierer was joining today’s meeting by teleconference.

The Chair noted the main items of business on the agenda were provide strategic advice on the 2020 Review of the Reef 2050 Plan, to discuss water quality and Crown-of-Thorns Starfish control and to receive updates on the state of the reef and Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program.

3. Conflict of Interest

Panel members declared actual and perceived conflicts and the Chair outlined actions to manage potential conflicts in accordance with the Panel’s protocol.

4. Panel Business

The Panel endorsed the minutes of Meeting 14, held on 9 May 2019, with one minor correction. The Panel noted progress of actions arising from the previous meeting.

The Chair noted that the following items had been finalised out of session following the last meeting, and sent to the respective organisations and the Ministerial Forum:

Advice to the Reef Trust-Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) on its draft 2019-2020 Annual Work Plan (Attachment A)

Advice to the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) on its draft Investment Case (Attachment B).

A members’ only session was held. At its conclusion, the Chair provided the Secretariat with the key points from the discussion, noting that the focus had been on reef science and provision of advice to Ministers.

5. Chairs Update

The Chair provided the Panel with an update on his meeting with the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, The Hon Sussan Ley MP.

The Chair noted replies were received from the GBRF and RRAP consortium, in response to the Panel’s advice. The Panel discussed the advice and reiterated their commitment to continue providing direct and frank advice on matters relating to investment under the Reef Trust. The Panel had a discussion about how they would:

monitor how their feedback to the GBRF and RRAP was being addressed, particularly where the Panel’s advice was marked ‘to be considered during implementation’.

raise any concerns they may have about particular projects as the Reef Trust Partnership rolls out.

Page 2 of 11

The Panel asked the Department to provide them with advice on the Panel’s future pathway for influence in the Reef Trust Partnership, including their role in the implementation stage and how it related to their Terms of Reference. The Panel noted they would use this information to consider their broader role, including whether there were additional skills or expertise required beyond the current membership.

The Panel discussed the importance of considering and referencing scale and scalability in the context of the Reef, noting it was important to avoid the implication that everything can be scaled or scalable and treating the Reef as a homogenous entity. The Panel noted that Scale was also important for World Heritage issues, particularly when discussing integrity.

6a. AIMS Long-Term Monitoring Report

Dr Mike Emslie from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) joined the meeting by videoconference, to provide an overview of the AIMS Long-Term Monitoring Report on coral reef condition for 2019. The report presents results from field studies of coral reefs from September 2018 to June 2019.

Dr Emslie noted a mixed bill of health for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). There was a slight increase in coral cover in the northern GBR, noting that work health and safety concerns during the survey period led to limited access to inshore waters in the northern GBR and subsequently, this may be an overestimate. Continued coral losses were recorded on reefs in the central and southern GBR. There was substantial variation in the condition of individual reefs within and among regions. Cumulative disturbances over the last five years have caused declines in hard coral cover to moderate (10-30 per cent) levels across much of the GBR.

The Panel discussed the findings and sought further clarification on particular aspects of the surveys and results, including whether there were differences in coral recovery in areas subject to bleaching compared those areas damaged by cyclones, where the monitoring was undertaken, and how often the surveys were conducted over the same areas of the Reef.

6b. Outlook Report 2019

Dr David Wachenfeld from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) provided the Panel with an update on the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019. The Panel noted that:

the Outlook Report remains embargoed until it is tabled in Parliament by the Minister for the Environment (which would occur by 12 September 2019)

once the Report is tabled and made public, GBRMPA will notify Panel members and provide them with a link to the report

the Panel will receive a briefing at their November meeting, including a discussion on next steps and how Outlook Report findings can inform future work and the 2020 Review of the Reef 2050 Plan.

7a. State Party Report Update

Ms Deb Callister provided the Panel with an update on the approach to development of the State Party Report on the State of Conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Members noted that the Independent Expert Panel and the Reef Advisory Committee would continue to be informed on approach and progress.

The Panel discussed and provided advice to the Joint Secretariat on selecting a set of representative targets that would be used analyse progress to date and demonstrate how governments are managing the World Heritage listed property.

Page 3 of 11

7b. Update from the 43rd Meeting of the World Heritage Committee

Professor Helene Marsh provided the Panel with an update on the 43rd meeting of the World Heritage Committee (Baku, Azerbaijan, 30 June to 10 July 2019) which she attended as part of the Australian delegation.

The Panel noted the update, including the address on climate change delivered by Australian representative Stephen Oxley (First Assistant Secretary Heritage Reef and Marine Division) at the meeting.

8. Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program

Dr Roger Beeden joined the meeting to provide the Panel with an overview of the principal outputs of the development phase of the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program.

The Panel noted the priorities for the remainder of 2019, including finalisation of the design, implementation roadmap, prototype and business case due for consideration by the Ministerial Forum in late 2019.

9. 2020 Review of the Reef 2050 Plan – Progress Update

Ms Rebekah Hamed, Mr Matthew Fullerton and Dr Mel Cowlishaw provided the Panel with an update on progress with the 2020 review of the Reef 2050 Plan (Plan).

The Panel noted the update on outcomes of the program logic process and next steps for developing the Plan, including:

a target-setting workshop on 26 August 2019

a joint Reef 2050 Advisory Bodies workshop to review early draft content for the Plan on 24 October 2019

The Panel discussed and provided advice on aspects of the Plan. Key points included:

the need for targets to be realistic and reflect anticipated impacts of climate change

the importance of including targets that may not currently be measurable, but that need to be measured in future to enable effective monitoring of progress towards delivering the outcomes of the Plan through to 2050

an analysis of trends between 2014 and 2019 would be useful to determine what should be measured and in turn what can be measured that would indicate that the Reef can be sustained as a living natural wonder.

the need to manage expectations around how quickly the interventions implemented to help the Reef are likely to work, noting that adaptation will take time and that particular reefs are may decline further before they start to show improvement

the feasibility of including targets for coral cover, which would be difficult to measure due to episodic events (such as bleaching, cyclones)

the importance of considering scale and regionality when drafting the Plan

how the Plan and investment framework would incorporate information about other programs such as those undertaken by the Reef Trust Partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation

how climate change would be addressed in the Plan.

Page 4 of 11

10. Water Quality

Ms Elisa Nichols provided the Panel with a presentation on the interactive Reef Water Quality Report Card for 2016-17 and 2017-2018. Dr Roger Shaw, Chair of the Independent Science Panel joined the meeting for this item.

The Panel discussed the Report Card, noting that the results were embargoed until jointly released by the Queensland and Australian Government. The release was expected to occur soon.

The Panel discussed water quality and recent statements in the media casting doubt on reef science. Panel members expressed their unanimous support for the science that underpins the evidence of the extent and probable causes of damage to the Great Barrier Reef. The Panel agreed to write to the Ministerial Forum to express their confidence in the integrity of the scientists and the science underpinning decision-making in relation to the Great Barrier Reef, and the peer review process.

11. Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Control Program

Dr David Wachenfeld provided the Panel with a presentation on the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) Control Program, supported by Dr David Westcott (CSIRO), Mr Darren Cameron (GBRMPA) and Dr Mary Bonin (GBRMPA) who joined the meeting for this item.

Dr Wachenfeld outlined the goals of the program, to protect priority coral reefs from outbreaks, and provided information about:

how reefs are selected for control

how the data collected through the Program is managed, analysed and shared

how the program is working with scientists to advance CoTS management and look for innovative control measures in the future.

The Panel noted the updated and sought further detail about the:

methods that could be utilised in future to detect CoTS in a reef before they reach outbreak levels

scope of the independent review of the current CoTS Control Program, noting that they would like a presentation on the review when completed.

12. Panel Business Continued

The Panel agreed that a communiqué would be finalised out-of-session and published on the Department of the Environment and Energy’s website.

The Panel agreed to draft a letter to the Ministerial Forum in support of reef science, as discussed under item 10 (Water Quality).

The Panel noted that their next meeting was scheduled for 13 November 2019. Items for discussion would include:

the 2020 Review of the Reef 2050 Plan

the Reef 2050 Governance Review

possible discussion of investment under the Reef Trust

discussion with IMOS or CSIRO on projections related to ocean currents, salinity, pH and levels along the Reef and predicted changes due to climate change.

The Chair noted that Panel members would be invited to attend out-of-session discussions about

Page 5 of 11

investment under the Reef Trust in September 2019. As flagged earlier in the day, the Panel noted that there was a joint Reef 2050 Advisory Bodies’ workshop scheduled for 24 October 2019.

The Panel did not raise any other business.

The meeting closed at 5.00pm.

Page 6 of 11

Page 8 of 11

Page 9 of 11

Page 10 of 11

Page 11 of 11