Tony Moore
April 3, 2008

The Traveston Crossing dam site near Gympie was possibly the worst example of a dam site in Australia, the Federal Shadow Environment Minister Greg Hunt said yesterday.

Mr Hunt toured the Mary River Valley for several hours yesterday with residents of the town of Kadanga, which will be half-covered by water from the Traveston Crossing Dam behind Gympie.

“I look at this site and I think this is about the worst example of a possible dam site in Australia,” Mr Hunt said.

He said he had three objections to the site, which was not the top site selected by the Queensland Government in 2006, but had the highest dam yield.

“The first is that this valley ought to be a food bowl, not an evaporative pond,” Mr Hunt said, listing beef, dairying, ginger, mangoes, avocados and the forestry industry as still viable in the valley.

The Mary River is one of the largest exporters of ginger to the world, with the State Government still to find an alternative location for a large ginger plantation that will be covered by the dam.

“So it serves a purpose as a productive area and it serves a second purpose as a beautiful area,” he said.

He said his visit - his first to the site - demonstrated that the site was totally unsuitable for a dam.

“There are good and bad sites for dams, just as dams,” Mr Hunt said.

“And the usual thing you are looking for is a deep chasm, which has low evaporative rates.

“What you have here - and it is obvious when you look from the top of Dave (Sims’) property is one of the broadest, flattest, shallowest potential dam sites in the country.”

Mr Hunt said the Federal Government had to take into account the Queensland Water Commission’s (QWC) 50-year draft water strategy, which puts the emphasis clearly on recycled water and desalination plants as part of South-East Queensland’s water future.

Although Traveston Crossing and Wyaralong dams are included in this strategy, the planned desalination plants (146,000 ML/a) provide more water than the Traveston Dam (77,000 ML/a).

Mr Hunt said dams were not necessarily the best choice for water supply and nominated the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme in Brisbane as an excellent example of re-using water.

“However in this region alone on the Sunshine Coast there is 35 billion litres of recyclable water which is dumped off the coast as partially-treated sewage,” he said.

“Let’s start by cleaning up that 35 billion litres a year, which is almost half the alleged capacity of this dam.”

Local Federal MP Warren Truss, now the Nationals’ Federal Leader, said it was clear within the State Government’s own QWC report that options other than building Traveston Dam were now clear.

“They have admitted themselves as a result of the 50-year strategy that there are plenty of other ways of providing water for Brisbane, plenty of other ways,” Mr Truss said.

Mr Hunt said he and Mr Truss would be writing to Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett with a summary of their findings and encouraging them take into account the QWC report released last week.

“Warren and I will be writing jointly to Peter Garrett and we will be saying as a result of our inspection here it is our clear position,” he said.

“We think that this dam site for the three big reasons in terms of its priority use, its failure as an effective dam site and because of its environment concerns, should not go ahead.

“But over and above, that the actual water strategy itself means it is not a necessary item.”

Former high-profile environmentalist Peter Garrett visited the site discreetly before Easter, hosted by the government-run company charged to build the dam.

He did not speak with the local community during the visit.

A spokesman said the Minister was aware of the community’s concerns and said the decision would take into account environmental, social and economic issues.

“The proposal is currently being assessed under the EPBC Act as well as under the relevant state legislation by the Queensland Government,” a spokesman said.

“The Minister will make a decision on the proposal after full and thorough consideration of all the relevant information that emerges through the assessment process. For example, we understand that more than 15,000 public submissions have been received on this proposal.

“In making a decision, the Minister will carefully consider the Queensland Government’s assessment report and - in accordance with the responsibilities imposed under the EPBC Act - will also carefully evaluate the impacts of the dam on matters of national environmental significance, as well as economic and social issues associated with the proposal.”

The Save the Mary River campaign estimates the Traveston Crossing Dam will cause the loss of approximately 76 square kilometres of high-quality fertile irrigated farmland and present threats to the Marry River Cod, the lungfish and several tortoise species.

It will also disrupt all local major transport infrastructure, including the Bruce Highway, Mary Valley Road, Mary Valley Rail, telecommunications and power infrastructure.