A federal program that aims to protect the Great Barrier Reef through controlling sediment pollution is going to a Queensland property whose owner wants to clear a vast number of trees.

That would exacerbate the problem of sediment pollution.  Olive Vale station in Cape York is situated in the Normanby basin, where rivers flow directly into Princess Charlotte Bay on the Great Barrier Reef.  Cutting down trees would increase sediment pollution, and Olive Vale put forth one of the biggest tree-clearing proposals in Australia.

"At face value it seems inappropriate that we're spending money on water quality improvement measures on a property where the landholder is wanting to clear 30,000 hectares in a reef catchment," said Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Andrew Picone to The Guardian, adding that the situation shows the federal government "isn't taking its reef commitments seriously".

Tree clearing and intense agricultural use increases sediment in waterways that flow to the Reef.  It threatens the Reef becayse it smothers the corals.  But even before sediment gets to the Reef, it can choke the seagrass in Princess Charlotte Bay, on which the local Dugongs rely for survival.

The government earmarked $4 Million earmarked for Olive Vale and two other priority sites, and the funds are managed by Cape York Natural Resource Management (NRM).

A spokeswoman said, "Cape York NRM are planning to work with Olive Vale Station in future gully management projects because the property has been identified as containing some of the highest sediment producing gully subcatchments in the Normanby Basin."

But Mr. Picone said the funding ought to be reviewed:  "I think what this reveals is the fact that land use practices and agricultural intensification, by its very nature, causes these problems and that is why Olive Vale is a site for reef remediation work.  The fact that this work is going on at that site, means Olive Vale is inappropriate for clearing.

"We can’t justify doing remediation work while contributing to the drivers of reduced water quality on the Great Barrier Reef."