"We need to be very smart and help science find the solutions to helping the reef be restored. We need to make sure stress on the reef is reduced and the resilience of the reef is increased. There is a lot of work to be done but I'm confident when the temperatures stop rising we can have a reef that can recover over time, but it will never be the same as 100 years ago."
The deteriorating health of the Great Barrier Reef has been used by environmental activists as part of their campaigns to end coal mining in Australia, including Indian company Adani's controversial $16.5 billion Carmichael mine in the Galilee Basin.
Still the largest
Dr Schubert said there had been significant damage to the reef over the past two years as a result of coral bleaching, but it was mostly in the top two-thirds of the reef, with the bottom third virtually untouched.
"The bottom reef is still the largest reef – by a number of factors – of any reef in the world. There is still quite of a bit of it untouched," he said.
The former head of the Business Council of Australia said there needed to be more scientific work done to analyse why parts of the reef were damaged and others untouched, including cooler tidal currents to the genetic make-up of the individual coral species.
Queensland's multibillion-dollar tourism industry is heavily reliant on the Great Barrier Reef which includes almost 3000 individual reefs along a 2300-kilometre stretch of the coast. Many fear the scare campaign about the reef could turn international visitors away.
The Turnbull government announced on Sunday it would invest more than $500 million – the largest single investment – to protect the reef and the 64,000 jobs that rely on the natural wonder.
Critical national asset
The bulk of the money will go towards working with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to boost water quality ($201 million), tackle the crown-of-thorns starfish ($58 million), reduce pollution into the reef and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
It builds on the joint $2 billion Reef 2050 plan between the Queensland and federal government which was an emergency plan to stop the United Nations' World Heritage Committee putting the reef – one of the seven natural wonders of the world – on its endangered list.
"The reef is a critical national asset providing $6.4 billion a year to the Queensland and Australian economies," it said in a statement. "We want to ensure the reef's future for the benefit of all Australians, particularly those whose livelihood depends on the reef."
The Turnbull government is facing increasing criticism about whether it is doing enough to help Australia reach its Paris climate targets of a 26 per cent reduction in carbon emissions on 2005 levels by 2030, despite its attempts to put in a National Energy Guarantee for the electricity sector.
The Wilderness Society said more needed to be done to address deforestation if there was to be any hope in saving the Great Barrier Reef, saying there had been a huge surge in recent years.
The Palaszczuk Labor government in Queensland has flagged its plans to introduce tougher tree-clearing laws which were watered down by the Newman Liberal National Party government in 2012, but it is facing fierce opposition from some farmers.
