Russell Trood (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like my colleague from Queensland Senator Bartlett, I too want to mention the matter of dams this evening and draw the attention of the Senate to the thoroughly ill-conceived proposal of the Queensland Beattie government to build a dam on the Mary River just outside the southern Queensland town of Gympie, north of the Sunshine Coast. The proposal for the dam is not only another reflection of the abject failure of the Beattie government to plan for the development of public infrastructure in Queensland; it is a case study in how not to plan and undertake public works. The Queensland government contends that the dam is required to address the future water supply needs of Queensland’s south-east. But not only is there strong evidence that it will fail to meet this need; the dam’s construction will have disastrous environmental, social and economic consequences for the region and for the people who live there.

The dam is currently estimated to cost $1.7 billion of Queensland taxpayers’ money, yet a wide array of experts has already condemned the proposal. No-one, it seems, supports the dam but the Queensland government. First there are the elemental problems related to the dam’s site and construction. The Mary River is a low-flowing river, with periodic years of moderate flood flows and occasional spectacular floods. By every account it is an entirely inappropriate river for damming. The dam wall is proposed to be built on soft alluvial soil without a satisfactory solid rock base, necessitating complex and expensive engineering works that will include the need for a 30-metre deep foundation. When filled, the dam will have an average depth of only six to eight metres, so shallow as to lead to very high evaporation and making the dam prone to the build-up of algal blooms and other water contaminants. One expert predicts that the evaporation could be as high as the expected yield of the dam—150,000 megalitres a year.

Not only are there very profound problems with construction of the dam but it will have a disastrous impact on the environment. As a consequence of the dam’s construction, the downstream flow of the Mary River will be substantially reduced. As Senator Bartlett has noted, the quality of the water will be seriously affected. What is already a low-flowing river will suffer a further devastating impact with predictable consequences. Internationally protected RAMSAR wetlands will be affected as well as World Heritage areas, Commonwealth marine and heritage areas and, perhaps most significantly, the habitat of migratory and endangered species. The Queensland government’s own plans acknowledge that the dam will impact on the habitat of 17 threatened species, including two endangered, seven vulnerable and eight rare species. Most critically, the habitat of three endangered aquatic species, the Mary River cod, the Australian lungfish and the Mary River turtle, will be severely threatened.

The proposal will also have a disastrous impact on the economy and economic livelihood of many people in the Mary River Valley. The region is well known as being among Queensland’s most productive areas in dairying, as an agricultural region and as a region with an extensive range of productive small businesses. If built, the dam will also have a massive impact on existing local infrastructure. Parts of towns will have to be relocated and nine kilometres of the Bruce Highway will need to be rerouted, as well as up to 75 kilometres of local and arterial roads. A section of the electricity grid will need to be rebuilt, tourism facilities will need to be relocated and, most distressing for many local residents, provision will have to be made for the resiting of graves as a result of the flooding of a 100-year-old cemetery.

Then there are the community costs of the proposal. These are widespread and cause deep seated distress and anxiety to the residents. At one time, it was anticipated that 900 properties would be affected by the dam’s construction. The costs would be borne by every community in the Mary River Valley region. Although the dam has yet to proceed through the many stages required for approval, land acquisitions have already begun—in some cases, as it has turned out, unnecessarily, since the Queensland government has now changed its plans and has decided that the properties affected are no longer needed. In the course of resumption, there have been reports of intimidation and strong arm tactics by Queensland government officials.