The Australian environment minister, Greg Hunt, has bombarded Ellen DeGeneres with tweets after she appealed to Australia to do more to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Following news of the death of almost a quarter of the coral on the reef this year, DeGeneres, who plays the fish Dory in the 2003 film Finding Nemo and its upcoming sequel, Finding Dory, released a video message as part of a campaign called Remember the Reef.
“And, as you may remember – but Dory probably doesn’t – she’s a blue tang and has many other amazing species that live in the Great Barrier Reef with her,” she said. “It’s critical that we protect this amazing place and we’d like your help.”
In response, Hunt fired off a torrent of tweets on Wednesday, promoting the work the Australian government has done to protect the embattled world heritage site.
He began by thanking DeGeneres for her advocacy: “We all have a role & the Aust govt is doing more than ever to protect it.”
.@TheEllenShow Many thanks for supporting the #GreatBarrierReef. We all have a role & the Aust govt is doing more than ever to protect it
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) June 8, 2016
.@TheEllenShow Just last year @UNESCO recognised the unprecedented steps we've taken to protect #GBR & praised Aust as a global role model
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) June 8, 2016
.@TheEllenShow We're working to protect #GBR by tackling the short term problem of water quality & long term threat of climate change
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) June 8, 2016
.@TheEllenShow But challenges remain, and so Australian governments are investing $2 bn over the coming decade to manage & protect the #GBR
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) June 8, 2016
He ended the stream by inviting her to visit the reef.
.@TheEllenShow We'd love to invite you out to visit the #GBR and see the Reef & some of the work we're doing in the catchments
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) June 8, 2016
Hunt had begun each tweet beginning with a full stop, ensuring that his defence would be seen by his 29,000 followers, not just those who also followed DeGeneres.
Other users were keen to derail Hunt’s talking points about the Australian government’s protection of the reef, with one user sharing an image of him and his colleagues celebrating the removal of carbon pricing in 2014. Ever since, Australia’s carbon emissions have been increasing and Hunt himself acknowledges that climate change is the most significant threat facing the Great Barrier Reef.
.@GregHuntMP Hey @TheEllenShow , here's Greg actually celebrating removing carbon pricing. We laugh at him. #auspol pic.twitter.com/uK3Ffbs8NW
— AngryGranny (@AngryGranny1) June 8, 2016
Greg Hunt is more concerned of the UN & Ellen's perception of him than doing anything about protecting the reef. Bizarre little man. #auspol
— AngryGranny (@AngryGranny1) June 8, 2016
Ellen urges Australians to help save #GreatBarrierReef and Greg Hunt goes on the defensive. https://t.co/M7hFJmyiJC pic.twitter.com/2EZnVks2IF
— RottnestWindTurbine (@Rottoturbine) June 8, 2016
@GregHuntMP @TheEllenShow oh Greg Hunt, Ellen does not suffer fools gladly pic.twitter.com/VeQfRpVN6a
— inbetweenspaces (@inbetweenspaces) June 8, 2016
Greg Hunt is bragging to Ellen about the GBR right now... #auspol #ausvotes https://t.co/IZD0XhsOJS
— Jess Wheeler (@wheelswordsmith) June 8, 2016
Can the next election debate be Greg Hunt vs Ellen https://t.co/FgyXVXIysq
— Casey Briggs (@CaseyBriggs) June 8, 2016
In the 18 hours since Hunt sent his tweets, DeGeneres had not replied, despite having been active on Twitter.
She had, however, wished Kanye West happy birthday (“I love you as much as you do”).
This is the kind of effort I’m looking for. #FindingDory pic.twitter.com/TfyfCbbvBO
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) June 8, 2016
The Great Barrier Reef is in the midst of the worst crisis in recorded history as a result of climate change and weather.
Unusually warm water has caused 93% of the reefs along the 2,300km site to experience bleaching. In the northern most pristine part, scientists think half the coral might have died.
The federal government has exerted considerable effort attempting to conceal or underplay the crisis.
Last month it was revealed that every reference to Australia, including a key chapter on the reef, was scrubbed from the final version of a major UN report on climate change after the Australian Department of Environment intervened, concerned that it would negatively impact tourism.
Australia was the only inhabited continent on the planet not mentioned in the published document.
Hunt’s point to DeGeneres that the reef had been removed from the Unesco watch list overlooks the fact that it is assessed as being in “poor” condition and “worsening”, according to the government authority GBRMPA and Unesco.
In March Hunt said that Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions “peaked” 10 years ago, which was received with deep scepticism by experts.
