Of course if you ask anyone on the street if they are in favor of protecting the reef they'd say yes, but when they see the price tag they would probably lose interest.
Unfortunately, this is what old, rich, often religious men believe, which is a terrible representation of the actual country.
This is said generally, as I have no specific experience of the situation in Australia
The left would now allow an open vote for it but when they were last in government the tide of public opinion probably hadn't turned far enough yet.
The thought that I've probably managed to miss my only opportunity in my life to see it is heartbreaking to me, and I'm a Kiwi, not an Australian. It's a national treasure. It's like, to me, the total destruction of the Pink And White Terraces in NZ. I will never, ever see them. Nobody will. And my future kids will never see the Great Barrier Reef.