Oz Cuts Funding To Reef Research Centers - Not Enough Industry Input

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SYDNEY (AFP) - "Australia's government was accused of putting one of the world's natural wonders at risk by stripping funding to key research centers tracking threats to the Great Barrier Reef.

Science Minister Peter McGauran confirmed Monday that three cooperative research centers (CRC) focussed on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area would not be funded beyond 2005 because they had failed to meet government budget guidelines.

He said the centers -- collaborative efforts between universities, state agencies and the private sector -- failed to draw greater industry participation into their work and to commercialise their research.

But Queensland state Premier Peter Beattie said the move would undermine efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef from threats like coral bleaching and pollution. "What it means in a nutshell is that we're flying blind about the future of the reef and that's the problem," he said."

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