Burnett Water For All (BWFA) is a broad base of community and industry groups that joined together when it became clear that the Queensland Government was going to forge ahead with approval for Paradise Dam (Burnett River Dam) without fully considering the social, economic and environmental outcomes. BWFA opposes Paradise Dam because it is not environmentally, socially, or economically viable. The group's mission statement is "…to seek more equitable and less damaging water solutions for the whole of the Burnett catchment".

The Australian estuaries and shelf seas are significantly impacted by high year-to-year rainfall variability, a dry climate in comparison to that of other continents, and the fact that about 80 % of Australia’s population resides in coastal regions and uses estuaries and their catchments for commercial (e.g. farming, fishing, aquaculture, coastal development) and non-commercial (e.g. recreation, tourism) purposes. In dry climates or during drought conditions, estuaries and larger coastal embayments are often characterised by a negative circulation, with inflow at the surface and outflow of high salinity water at the bottom.

The Environmental Institute of Australia is a professional body one of whose concerns is the integrity and role of a formal, scientific environmental impact assessment process in decision making. Modifications to the Burnett Water Resource Plan were made to accommodate proposed new water storage infrastructure on the Burnett River (generally referred to as Paradise Dam). Approval for the infrastructure was on the basis of an Environmental Impact Assessment carried out on behalf of Burnett Water, a wholly state-owned company. As a result of widespread criticism of both the science and the process in the impact assessment, the Environmental Institute of Australia (Queensland Branch) has instigated a review. Many of the criticisms were presented at a public forum organised by the Institute on 13th February. On the basis of the forum, it was apparent that there were a number of significant issues which could bring into question the conclusions of the impact assessment that the infrastructure was ecologically sustainable. The Institute is seeking clarification of these issues from the State Government and other parties, prior to formalising our position

The Burnett River catchment is one of the most developed areas in Queensland in terms of water infrastructure. Increasing demands for water from irrigators, industry and the domestic sector have resulted in high levels of river regulation. There are currently 25 water storages in the Burnett River catchment, six of which are situated in the main river channel (Brigza et al. 2000). Two new major storages have been completed recently, Eidsvold Weir (2004) and the Burnett Dam (2005).

Method and framework

Part A: The method – aquatic biodiversity assessment and mapping method (AquaBAMM)

AquaScore results Close to half of the catchment area was rated a Medium value (44%) with 40% being High, 12% Low and 2% each for Very High and Very Low (Figure 6a). All spatial units had better than 30% dependability in their scores and most had reliabilities of more than 40% (Figure 6b) with an overall mean dependability of 50% (SD = 10.1, N = 396). The mean AquaScore dependability ranged between 42 (Low) and 79% (Very High) (Table 16). The spatial variation of the AquaScore values within the Burnett River catchment is presented in Appendix D, Map D2. There is no particular pattern in spatial unit values, except that the Very Lows tended to be located around the areas of Kingaroy and Murgon.

References and research used for Paradise Dam EPA

A conservation values assessment tool for wetlands with trial application in the Burnett River catchment

The second of the alleged shredded documents

DPI report on upstream migration of fish via the fishway at Walla Weir, Burnett River. One of the documents allegedly ordered to be shredded.

Report to the QLD Consevation Council by Dr John Ward (June 2003). A critque of the economic viability of the Burnett River dam development: Predicted levels of future water demand according to irrigators' ability to pay.

"Ramsar Convention" means the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat done at Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971, as in force for Australia immediately before the commencement of this Act.

Environmental Impact Assessment Requirements under Queensland legislation The environmental impact assessments for these projects are governed by the provisions of the Water Infrastructure Development (Burnett Basin) Act 2001 (WID (BB) Act). The impact assessment procedures under Queensland legislation in the various cases are as follows:

Great Sandy Strait — A Wetland of International Significance Great Sandy Strait (which includes Tin Can Bay) is a Wetland of International Significance. It was inscribed as Ramsar site 992 in 1999. Its 93,160 ha includes marine, estuarine and intertidal wetlands and salt pans. The intertidal wetland habitats consist of: 15,500 ha of mangrove forests, 12,300 ha of intertidal and subtidal seagrass beds, 2,800 ha of saltmarshes, unvegetated mud, sand and salt flats, and estuarine and channel waters of varying depth and width. The main freshwater wetland types are Melaleuca swamp forest and other palustrine wetlands. It is a very special place deserving the highest level of protection. The Draft Great Sandy Marine Park Zoning offered it little extra protection.

LENTHALLS DAM GATES FAILURE 2008 A CASE STUDY IN GATE RELIABILITY AND HUMAN FACTORS, FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT RISK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE. Damian Carstens

The environmental projects under the Burnett Program of Actions are now well advanced, with the scientific research stage (Stage 1) almost fully completed. The only remaining Stage 1 project is a Lungfish Recovery Plan, which is due for completion by January 2007.

Dam Gate Failure is a risk for populations downstream. A girl drowned at Blackall from Dam Failure in November 2008! Lenthalls Dam Gates were inoperable for most of 2008 and at this time may still not operate as designed. The Emergency Action Plan for Lenthalls Dam identifies 270 people downstream at risk from Flooding, Dam Failure or overtopping. Are these people residents of Howard and Torbanlea? • Are you one of these people? • Do you have friends and family living on the Burrum River below Lenthalls Dam? • Potentially all of these people are at risk • Has Department of Emergency Services contacted YOU? • Has the Govt given Innundation Maps to the public so river residents know who is at risk?

Institute for Sustainable Futures - Burnett Region Least Cost Planning Study (March 2002)

QCC (Queensland Conservation Council) synopsis of some of the dirty tactics employed in the "farce-tracking" of Paradise Dam.

1. OVERVIEW Queensland Industrial Minerals Ltd (“QIM”) wishes to apply for a Mining Lease in order to progress its potentially world class Wateranga Industrial Minerals Project, located approximately 80 km southwest of Bundaberg in Queensland. The Wateranga Project (EPM 13278) has a combined eluvial and hard rock deposit comprising feldspar, ilmenite, apatite, mica, scandium, zircon, corundum and rutile. Currently, the Project’s eluvial ore reserve and resource base accounts for 225 million tonnes at 4% ilmenite, 20% feldspar, 12% mica, 0.8% apatite and 30ppm scandium. The hard rock resource has been estimated to comprise in the order of 345 million tonnes at 34.3% of feldspar. These resource levels indicate a 30-plus year mine life. These identified resources are located both north and south of the Burnett River.

Ecology and demographics of lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) and general fish communities in the Burnett River, Queensland with references to the impacts of Walla Weir and future water infrastructure development. By Steven G Brooks and Peter K Kind Queensland Department of Primary Industries " The potential mortality rate of adult lungfish, through damage when passing over dam and weir walls during flood and by passing into the estuary below Ben Anderson Barrage, should not be underestimated. During very large floods the potential for loss could be in the order of hundreds of individuals, judging on experience in other systems. Mitigating against these problems shoud be of the highest priority." Page 13

The information in this paper was from a presentation given in June 2003 at the First Downstream Fish Migration Workshop in Canberra, Australia. The Workshop was sponsored by The Murray-Darling Basin Commission and brought together foreign and Australian experts to explore widely the biological and passage issues with downstream migrating fish. This paper reviews the northeast US experience with downstream migrant fish. It focuses on three areas: migration styles, research methods, and fish passage.

Profit and loss statements from Sunwater's sale of water from the Burdekin and Paradise Dams.

Documenting Sunwater's committment to supplying water from it's dam and water assets to farmers and commercial mining interests.

Country to Coast - a healthy sustainable future VOLUME 5D Priority Action Plan 2 Water Quality and Rivercare Theme

COUNTRY TO COAST – A Healthy Sustainable Future VOLUME 2 The Burnett Mary Regional Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan