Douglas Reef Rally organisers have confirmed Douglas Shire Council Mayor Julia Leu as an event speaker this Sunday, along with a legal representative from the Environmental Defenders Office of Northern Queensland (EDONQ).

This Sunday, February 23, Far North Queenslanders are encouraged to rise up for the Great Barrier Reef Reef, to protest industrialisation of the World Heritage-listed site and raise money for an EDONQ legal challenge. Organisers invited key stakeholders to each speak for five-minute at the rally's end point, Port Douglas' Anzac Park.

CAFNEC (Cairns and Far North Environment Centre) Marine Programs Coordinator Josh Coates and Heidi Taylor, founder of marine health initiative Tangaroa Blue, will join Mayor Leu and the EDONQ representative as speakers.

“With an ever-increasing population and increasing pressures on the Great Barrier Reef, we need to make sure decisions being made aren’t just for short-term gain with a negative environmental impact,” she said.

“We should be looking at more sustainable solutions. I’m not just talking about dredging, I’m talking about all of the decisions getting made by the government impacting the GBR. Decisions should be for long-term sustainable gain, not short-term economic gain.”

Mayor Leu agreed that questionable decisions were being made.

“I am extremely concerned about the impact of the proposed Trinity inlet massive increase in dredging right on our doorstep, adjacent to our Douglas coastline,” she said.

“Douglas Shire has always been where the ‘Rainforest meets the Reef’. Any loss of World Heritage status due to damage of our iconic ‘national landscape’ that everyone has worked so hard for could be devastating for our local and regional economy.”

The rally kicks off at 11.30am, with a traditional Kuku Yalanji elder presenting a 'Welcome to Country' and local folk musicians Timber and Wood entertaining the gathering crowd, expected to be in the hundreds.

Timber and Wood member Shannon Clark said they decided to get behind the event to put an end to the government’s plan to dredge the GBR.

“It’s something we feel strongly about, so come and show your support and march against this monstrosity,” he said.

“It’s important to get involved because the Reef is very important to tourism and without tourism we have no jobs. And considering we are folk musicians, a bit of protest never goes astray,” he said.

Supporters are encouraged to make placards, wear blue and green on the day, and tag #SaveTheReef on social media.

For more information visit the Facebook event site.