MAY 18, 2015: THE Queensland State Government should play their part in ending the disposal of dredge spoil at sea, after the Abbott Government formalised the ban on all capital dredge material in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.And as for the vocal green activists, they should give credit where credit is due on these historic actions.State Minister for the Reef Steven Miles came to office making big claims about saving the Great Barrier Reef and banning the disposal of dredge spoil at sea.However he is yet to follow the lead of Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, and ban the disposal of dredge spoil at sea in state-controlled port areas.This puts Mr Hunt miles ahead of Miles on this issue.When it comes to the green activists, they make a lot of noise about the reef when it gives them the opportunity to throw spears at the Abbott Government, but the silence is deafening when Environment Minister Greg Hunt takes action of this magnitude.In August last year I led the push for a re-examination of all land-based options so that a suitable site could be found. I was the first MP from either level of government to call for a definite ban on disposal at sea.Minister Hunt has now formally approved the amendment to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations which effectively ends this century-old practice once and for all.The green movement are happy to throw spears, but they are not much good at welcoming actions that protect the reef and congratulating those who are getting on with the job.That’s because their actions are political.The reef is a useful pawn for them in their political games.The Abbott Government’s actions mean there will be zero capital dredge disposal in the entire 344,400 square kilometre Great Barrier Reef Marine Park – this covers 100 per cent of the area under Commonwealth legislative control and 99 per cent of the World Heritage Area.The remaining 3000 square kilometres of the Marine Park includes port areas and falls outside the Commonwealth’s control.