Over the past month the American ice-cream company, Ben & Jerry's, has been conducting a "Reef Scoop Tour" to in their words "raise awareness" about the threat of "intensive dredging, mega ports and shipping highways" to the Great Barrier Reef". 

 

"B & J are spreading a lot of B & S. If Ben & Jerry's persist with this campaign, then all Queenslanders that support jobs and regional development should think of another word that starts with 'B': Boycott" said Matthew Canavan.

 

"But if Ben & Jerry's wants to make this a morality contest I will back Queensland's coal industry every time. 

 

"I love ice-cream, but let's face it, Ben & Jerry's are making a product that lets rich people get fatter. Good luck to them.

 

"Queensland's coal industry helps millions of people in Asia get out of poverty by providing access to cheap and affordable heating and energy.

 

"The 55 thousand people employed in Australia's coal industry do a hard job that provides benefits the world over. They don't need a bunch of sweet-toothed socialists from America denigrating their lifestyle and their profession.

"Abbot Point is not some new "mega port" it is an existing deep water port that has been in operation for more than 30 years. 

"The dredging is not "intensive". The 3 million cubic metres of dredged materials that is to be removed is a mixture of sand, silt and clay. It is not toxic. 

"It will be placed in an area that has no hard coral or seagrass. An area that represents just 0.0005 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef. 

"Abbot Point will not create "shipping highways". More than 5000 ships travel through the Great Barrier Reef every year, and there is no evidence that they damage the reef at the moment."