Backlash PR disaster
By Lachlan Heywood
April 13, 2007
THE Senate inquiry into the proposed Traveston Dam is turning into a public relations disaster for the Queensland Government.
Fierce opposition to the $1.7 billion project is coming from all sections of the community, including the RSL, Country Women’s Association, local government, Aboriginal elders, farming and environmental groups, and the clergy.
Of 187 submissions received by the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, the only submission in support of the 180,000 megalitre dam was lodged by Premier Peter Beattie on behalf of the State Government.
An angry backlash awaits Mr Beattie – particularly from landowners whose properties must be resumed to build the dam – when the inquiry holds its first public hearings in Gympie and Brisbane next week.
The submissions argue the dam will destroy sensitive ecological habitats and valuable farming land, and have a devastating social impact on the local community.
Lining up to give evidence at the inquiry is Cate Molloy, the former Labor member for Noosa, who was disendorsed by Mr Beattie last year for opposing the dam.
In her submission, Ms Molloy said that based on Government Caucus meetings and personal discussions with the Premier, the dam site was chosen purely for political reasons to help win the 2006 election.
Queensland CWA president Heather Wieland said the destruction of 76sq km of prime agricultural land would cause massive social upheaval.
“Through no fault of their own, our members and those also in the Mary Valley community in close proximity to the dam site will have to vacate their family farms and start again,” she said. “For many of them, their homes have been in their family for generations.”
A costs benefits analysis by the Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council found construction of the dam would drain $360 million from the Mary region economy.
Reverend Ian Watt, from the Mary Valley Uniting Church, said the coalition fighting the dam proposal was attracting support from all political and social spheres because it was “clearly morally wrong”.
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Angry dam backlash awaits Qld govt
Roberta Mancuso
April 13, 2007
A Senate inquiry into a proposed mega-dam for Queensland’s south-east has been bombarded with submissions fiercely opposed to the project.
The inquiry into the proposed $1.7 billion Traveston Crossing Dam will hold its first public hearings in Gympie and Brisbane next week - and an angry backlash awaits the Queensland government.
Of 187 submissions received by the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, the only one in support of the 180,000 megalitre dam, near Gympie, was lodged by Premier Peter Beattie.
Those who lodged submissions against the dam include the Country Women’s Association (CWA), the clergy, Aboriginal elders, environmental groups, the RSL, dairyfarmers and a former Beattie government politician.
Cate Molloy, the former Labor member for Noosa who was disendorsed by Mr Beattie last year for opposing the dam, said she had evidence, based on caucus meetings and discussions with the premier, that the dam site was chosen for political reasons.
“(It) was purely a cynical exercise in political expedience because of the then upcoming 2006 state election,” she said in her submission.
Mary Valley RSL president Phillip Jensen said many Diggers would be affected because they would lose some or all of their land.
“They settled in this valley for the solitude and peace in the area,” he said.
“The unwanted stress caused by the uncertainty of the proposal of the dam has put pressure on local medical services and welfare services.”
Hervey Bay Council said the Great Sandy Strait, which lies between the western fringes of Fraser Island and the south-east Queensland coast, would be “severely compromised” by the construction of the dam.
Local veterinarian Ben Poole said some of the finest agricultural farming land in Queensland would be lost, decimating farming in the region, and the CWA warned many farming families would “only be left with memories of what was”.
Even the clergy was outraged.
“(The dam) is neither socially acceptable nor ethically justifiable,” Mary Valley pastor Reverend Iain Watt said in his submission.
Leader of the Nationals in the Senate, Senator Ron Boswell, today said Mr Beattie’s submission to the inquiry cited the impending water crisis to justify its “shock, rushed decision” to dam the Mary Valley.
“I want to know why this rationale is used when the dam is years away from producing water that is needed now,” he said.
“It is also obvious from the government’s submission that proper hydrological and cost comparisons have not been done with alternative water supply options, such as building a suite of smaller dams or with seawater desalination.”
The first stage of the dam, providing 70,000 megalitres of water a year, is due to be built by the end of 2011.
Senator Boswell said the inquiry would examine the dam’s social and environmental impacts. Alternative sites will also be examined.
Senator Boswell said he also wanted to know what south-east Queenslanders would drink and shower in if it did not rain between now and the end of next year, when major water projects such as the recycled water pipeline are due to be completed.
In its submission, the Queensland opposition argues building small dams that have been planned for years, a second desalination plant and sourcing water from NSW are better options than the “ridiculous” Traveston Dam.
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