Recently, Premier Anna Bligh announced a delay “of several years” in the construction of Traveston Dam on the Mary River.

The reasons behind this decision could be interpreted in several ways.

Could it have been the findings of the independent reports commissioned by Environment Minister Peter Garrett? Could it have been the many thousands of letters of opposition to the dam proposal that pass across parliamentary desks? Or could it be that the government has recognised the dam as an environmental albatross around its neck in the lead-up to a state election? Or perhaps it’s all three?
No longer is this a local issue; environment groups across the country have thrown their weight behind the campaign. There has never been a more crucial time to add your voice to the opposition to Traveston Dam.

Many of you have previously signed our online letters to help save the Mary River. We’d like to thank you for that, and ask you to do so again. We’ve developed totally new letters on the online letter generator at www.stoppress.com.au reflecting the recent developments.

Despite the delay announcement, the Premier has indicated that Peter Garrett will still be asked to make a decision on the dam’s approval by April next year. We must keep the pressure on both him and the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd now to scrap the dam and uphold the their visionary National Water Plan.
A new letter recipient this time round is the Qld Coordinator-General, Colin Jensen. Media reports suggest it was he who had a quiet word in the Premier’s ear that may have led to this delay announcement. He knows a lot about the issues surrounding this controversial project, since he had to wade through over 16,000 submissions to the Environmental Impact Study.. most of which highlighted problems with the proposal. He also is the one who has to sign off on the plan before it goes to Peter Garrett for federal assessment.

We’re also writing to Premier Anna Bligh, because she’s always said that her governments would proceed with the dam if it stacked up environmentally. In the face of increasing evidence to the contrary, we’re urging her to stop pouring good money after bad, and stop the proposal in its tracks.

To quote Edmund Burke, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing, because he could only do a little.” Signing these letters using the online letter generator is quick, easy, and doesn’t hurt a bit… yet collectively will make a huge difference to the campaign to save the Mary River… www.stoppress.com.au

Indicators are showing us we could be very close to seeing this dam proposal scrapped for good. This is a critical time to ramp up the pressure. Please pass this email on to as many people as you can.

P.S. A campaign to target marginal seats in the state election is being prepared. Stay tuned…
www.stoppress.com.au