Great Barrier Reef struggling under coalition's watch

Greg Hunt's recent foray into the Twittersphere – in response to Ellen DeGeneres' appeals to Australia to protect the Great Barrier Reef – has all the hallmarks of the Environment Minister's signature style that we've come to know and love.

(After DeGeneres, a star in the Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory, released a video message calling on humankind to protect the reef; Hunt tweeted her several times, saying "Aust govt is doing more than ever to protect it", "We're working to protect #GBR by tackling the short term problem of water quality & long term threat of climate change" and more.)

Let's face it – it's not hard to see why this is the man tasked with defending the Australian government's seemingly indefensible climate change policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund, even to the point of contradicting the government's own consultants who say the program won't deliver. Anyone who can keep a straight face while insisting that Australia is an exemplar for its efforts to protect the reef can probably pull off anything.

Read Sarah Gill’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “The truth about the reef isn't so great.”