Fears that the damage to the Great Barrier Reef might be devastating to the Queensland tourist industry have eased some initial assessments have been made.
Federal Environment Minister, Ian Campbell, has announced the Reef appears virtually undamaged, with only "a band of about 20 to 30km wide" affected, or about one percent in total.
Campbell touted the Great Barrier Reef as one of the healthiest reefs in the the world today, and repeated claims aired by some scientists that the arrival of Cyclone Larry cooled ocean temperatures around the Reef and in the process reduced the likelihood of coral bleaching, thought to have been one of the greatest threats to the viability of this major tourist drawcard.
