By granting permission to dump in Reef waters the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority has failed in its duty to protect a reef which took millions of years to form, writes Louise Matthiesson.

Would we throw three million cubic metres of rubbish around the foot of the World Heritage listed Sydney Opera House? Or spew the same amount into the Grand Canyon or around the Vatican? So why has the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) agreed to allow dumping of the same volume of dredge-spoil into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef?

The Great Barrier Marine Park Authority today granted a permit to dump dredge spoil into Reef waters to expand the Abbot Point coal port, enabling coal to be shipped from proposed new mega mines in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

While this is another body blow for the Reef, no one could envy GBRMPA its job right now.

The Authority is charged with responsibility for protecting the Marine Park and World Heritage Area in a political environment where the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has declared "we're in the coal business".

A probity inquiry into the action of two of its board members is also due to be finalised today.

GBRMPA would also be well aware that mid-year UNESCO's World Heritage Committee will consider whether the Reef should be placed on the World Heritage "In Danger" List because of the pressures of industrial development and pollution. By February 1 the Abbott Government must submit a progress report to try to stave off this internationally embarrassing "in danger" tag.

If the Abbot Point expansion goes ahead, it could earn the dubious mantle of being the largest coal export port in the world.

The spoil needing to be dumped comes from digging up 177 hectares of seabed, to create room for up to six new coal ship berths.

The operation threatens to send muddy plumes over nearby fringing coral reefs around Holbourne Island National Park.

The silver lining in today's permit approvals is that attached conditions require dredging proponents to conduct further studies on the potential impacts of dumping the dredge spoil so close to fringing reefs and the World War II Catalina plane wreck.

This means dredging cannot realistically begin until 2015, as it is only possible during the northern dry season of March to June.

This is a significant delay for coal projects that are already behind schedule.

The thirst for the project comes from the Queensland government and the coal industry which are brazenly pushing to open up the Galilee Basin.

In the other corner, the tourism, marine and fishing industries are increasingly concerned and vocal about the health of the Reef and its rapid industrialisation.

The public also favours protecting the Reef.

It seems Australians intuitively understand that polluting this special place for short term economic gain is a bankrupt idea.

A 2013 survey showed 91 per cent of Australians were concerned about the impact of dredging on the feeding and breeding grounds of animals like turtles, dugongs and reef fish. Eighty-one per cent thought the port developments were too large for such an important environmental area.

Scientists and environmentalists have underlined why the public's concern is well placed. This week 233 leading marine scientists called on GBRMPA to refuse the permit. They have highlighted how increased sediment and muddy plumes from dredging and dumping will damage inshore coral reefs and seagrasses.

While the Abbott government is evidently pro-mining there are signs it is sensitive to the public's poor appetite for industrialisation of the Reef.

When the Environment Minister Greg Hunt gave his approval for the dredging in December he was at great pains to trumpet the myriad so-called "strict conditions" he applied, even though they are mostly window-dressing.

The recently launched inquiry into Gladstone Harbour's leaking bund wall, which was designed to hold millions of tonnes of dredge spoil, is another sign that the government is keen to appear responsible.

Allowing a climate-driving coal-shipping superhighway to go ahead through the Reef will only add to the pressures the Reef is already facing from climate change, land-based pollution and crown of thorns starfish outbreaks.

By granting permission to dump in Reef waters the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority has failed in its duty to protect a reef which took millions of years to form.

The Great Barrier Reef, like the Opera House, Grand Canyon and Vatican City, has a well-earned iconic status which if dumped on will rile many and diminish us all.

Louise Matthiesson is Greenpeace Climate Campaigner based in Queensland. View her full profile here.