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Wayne Swan forces ad hoc development in GBRWHA                               pre-empts proper assessment process

10/7/2012

6 Comments

 
Media release by Alliance to Save Hinchinbrook (ASH) supported by members of the Cassowary Coast Alliance.
Picture
Clump Point - unique basalt headland
On the dubious basis that "Mr Katter insists there is no safe harbour for boaties between Cairns and Townsville", Wayne Swan has apparently bypassed all state and commonwealth legal, planning and approval processes.

He has given away $5.5m of Australian taxpayers' money for a boat harbour which can never be all-weather safe, on the cyclone-exposed Clump Point on the Cassowary Coast, a development idea for which there is not even an application.
 Even the Queensland Coastal Plan for the Cassowary Coast has not been completed. This is the Plan which will properly determine where (if anywhere) a new boat harbour might be appropriate.

And all of this is within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) and Marine Park (GBRMP), the greatest coral reef system on earth. Queensland's coastal developments have already resulted in the threat of this international treasure being put on the World Heritage in Danger list.

The UNESCO is examining, right now, the processes by which coastal development decisions are made. The Government response (State Parties Report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area) says:

Both the Queensland and Australian governments have rigorous development assessment processes embedded in legislation that already takes into account world heritage values.

Mr Swan has just provided a brand new example of "rigorous assessment" Australia-style when it comes to protecting the integrity and Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the GBRWHA and of the adjacent Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

Despite the sensitivity of the region and international scrutiny, Mr. Swan has preempted the proper decision of the Commonwealth Environment Minister, who must decide whether or not to grant a Consent (under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act) for activities impacting on Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES).

This is essentially what John Howard and Tim Fischer (then PM and Deputy PM) did in 1996, when they forced the hand of the then Commonwealth Environment Minister (Senator Robert Hill), resulting in a Consent for the disastrously unsafe "Port Hinchinbrook" canal estate, also on the Cassowary coast. The published reports about severe siltation, and environmentalists' warnings, were all ignored: now purchasers and developers alike wants us, the public, to subsidise their bad business decisions.

As for safe harbour: in terms of cyclones, there can be no guarantee of safety, because the storm "surge" can lift the sea by 6 or 7 metres (as at Cardwell) and carry destructive waves of a further 10 metres height over any sea wall. As boatie Margaret Moorhouse said "When it comes to the common (non-cyclonic) gale force winds, boats may be able to be moved within a walled harbour, but where will they go then? outside into strong winds and high seas?"

"The safest shelter on the Cassowary Coast is the Hinchinbrook Channel, in which experienced boaties have always sheltered safely - without any need for construction. Land-locked Mourilyan Harbour, the Hull and other rivers and mangrove creeks, also provide cyclone shelter."

One can only speculate as to the reasons Mr Swan fell for Mr. Katter's line. We await with eager anticipation a logical explanation for his actions.

CONTACT: Margaret Moorhouse 0427 724 052 hinchinbrookalliance@gmail.com
6 Comments
Doug gallie
11/7/2012 05:30:59 am

$5.5m Divided by Dunk Island Jetty - Clump point jetty - safe boat harbor = A big shortage of money

Who is going to pay for this. The old Cardwell shire Ratepayers are already paying extra for the maintenance upgrades of the old Johnson shire. How much more does the CCRC think we can pay in our rates to fund this folly and how much have we, (ratepayers), paid GH&D for all of the consultancy work and drawings thus far, and has this consultancy work just been handed to them or has it been shopped around.

Reply
Doug
13/7/2012 08:41:17 am

I now understand there is an additional $5.5m over and above the jetties.

$5.5m, can't see much left of that after, consultations, studies, plans.

Reply
liz
16/7/2012 02:07:01 pm

Any development of the sensitive marine and land environments needs to go through a rigorous assessment process. Then we know that if it is allowed to proceed, it is done so with full knowledge of any impacts it might have. UNESCO will be watching this very closely.

Doug
19/7/2012 01:42:39 am

Date: 10 July 2012 For immediate release
KATTER & SWAN’S FALSE START AT MISSION BEACH
Hinchinbrook MP, Andrew Cripps, said the Federal Government’s offer of $5.5 million to the
Queensland Government for a scoping study, reviews and more community consultation
about providing a safe boat harbour at Mission Beach was a funding false start for this
important project.
Mr Cripps said he was surprised to read media reports heralding the offer as a break
through, given it only involved more meetings and paperwork about the long running issue at
Mission Beach and made absolutely no commitment to providing capital funding to build a
safe boat harbour facility.
“I’m concerned that Mr Katter and Mr Swan have portrayed this as funding for the
construction of a safe boat harbour facility at Mission Beach. This is not the case. The
Queensland Government has been offered funding to do a scoping study and public
consultation on this issue,” said Mr Cripps.
“This $5.5 million is a long way short of the hundreds of millions Mr Katter claims is available
for Cyclone Yasi projects as a result of his close relationship with Wayne Swan. Even the
$5.5 million would be good if it was available for construction of new infrastructure, but it’s
not,” he said.
“The letter from the Commonwealth clearly says the State must do a scoping study and go
through yet more public consultation about a safe boat harbour facility with the $5.5 million
on offer. If there is any left after that, only then can the remaining amount go towards any
infrastructure project,” said Mr Cripps.
“I’m amazed Wayne Swan has stated the funding will improve all weather boating facilities at
Mission Beach and that for too long there has been too much talk about marine safety, when
the money he has provided is not for construction, it’s for more paperwork and meetings,” he
said.
Mr Cripps said he would do everything he could to ensure the funds were spent cost
effectively and actually resulted in something useful for the Mission Beach community, which
has endured several rounds of consultation and numerous studies about the need for a safe
boat harbour facility.

Some times all the truth is better put out there. Sounds like swan and Katter haven't bypassed all the regulations.

Doug
19/7/2012 02:06:58 am

And for the record i am against any development that will affect the sensitive marine environment in and around the Boat bay Narragon Beach area.
If this area is developed we all lose out, (boaties/fishermen/tourists/locals), because this is such an important fish breeding ecosystem. the article by Dr Helen K. Larson, ( http://www.missionbeachcassowaries.com/9/post/2012/06/a-reef-walk-in-boat-bay.html ), gives some academic credibility in showing us what a diverse and alive area boat bay is and not the pile of mud that the people who want to develop the area would have us believe.

Reply
Liz
30/7/2012 10:20:09 am

Thanks for your comment Doug. We are lucky to have Dr Helen Larson living at Mission Beach to call on for such expert advice and knowledge. I am sure everybody who cares about the natural environment that makes Mission Beach so special would want any development here to be put through a decent enough assessment process to show what impacts it would have. That way we can have informed decisions. I can't understand any politician who denigrates people who work hard, (mostly voluntarily) to help spread information based on good knowledge and science to help preserve the special places that are left. Unfortunately, there are currently no local, state or federal representatives who give me any confidence for a bright future. The community voice is what makes a difference and right now the loudest voices are ones that are focused on growth. (greed)

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