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

Thank you, Senator Scullion. I agree completely with that intervention. I can personally testify to the stress and anxiety that the proposal has caused to this small community. At a public meeting I attended in the area last Monday, several residents were in tears as they explained the impact of the proposal on their families, their lives and their businesses. The residents of the Mary River Valley are fully aware of the serious challenges that south-east Queensland faces over its future water requirements. They acknowledge that communities need to make sacrifices for the wider common good. But they are mystified as to why their community is being asked to bear the burden of this particular proposal. When the proposed site of the dam is so manifestly inappropriate and when there are better alternative not far away which would cost less and which would have lower social, economic and environmental impacts, they are rightly wondering whether their community has been made a victim of the long-term serial failure on the part of the Beattie government to address the state’s water needs.

The simple fact is that the Beattie government has forfeited any confidence that the residents might have had in the approval process as a result of the way it has proceeded with the proposal. It was presented in haste without inadequate consultation, the plans dishonestly conveyed the government’s intentions, comprehensive information has been consistently withheld and the process has lacked transparency. All in all, it has generated immense pain and anxiety within the local community. And the community has not been assisted by the arrogant declaration by the Premier, Mr Beattie, that ‘this dam will be built whether it is feasible or not’.

The proposal to build the Traveston has now been referred to the federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Campbell, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The minister is required to make a declaration that the proposal requires approval under the Commonwealth legislation. There seems little doubt that the Commonwealth has an important role in this matter and the minister should make this declaration. The Queensland state government will then be required to proceed with the assessment. This should be done through a transparent process by way of a public inquiry, as provided for in the relevant legislation. Failure to take this course will underscore to all those connected with this proposal that the Queensland government does not have the confidence that the Traveston proposal will stand up to close public scrutiny. On the other hand, undertaking the public inquiry will perhaps go some way to arresting some of the concerns and anxieties of the Mary River community. But in the end the only correct course is for the Queensland government to abandon the proposal as thoroughly ill-conceived and to spare the community any further pain in relation to it.

In closing, I want to acknowledge the commitment and determination of the residents of the Mary River Valley in their efforts to draw the impact of the dam proposal to the attention of the wider community and to the attention of families, businesses and other interests around the valley. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the commitment of 1,464 people such as Mr Kevin Ingersole, Mr David Ross and the local members of parliament, state and federal, including my colleagues in the other place Warren Truss and Alex Somlyay and especially the new member for Gympie in the state parliament, Mr David Gibson. They have acted in true community spirit on this very difficult issue in trying to alert the community to what is potentially a disaster and something that needs to be terminated forthwith.