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Darren E
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 2075
Location: Dagun, Qld
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 Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:34 am Post subject: Fed Senate Estimates Committee Feb 2009 |
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The Federal Senate are currently conducting their budget estimates reviews. Some interesting snippets re: Traveston Crossing Dam have arisen (thanks to Sen. Ian MacDonald) and I understand there are more to come. You can keep track of the reports as they are published at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/HANSARD/senate/commttee/s-news.htm
Below I have copied two excerpts. The cast of players is as follows:
Sen. Ian MacDonald - Queensland, Liberals
Sen. Birmingham - South Australia, Liberals
Sen. Rachel Siewert - Western Australia, Greens
Ms. Vanessa Goodspeed, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government - Nation Building-Infrastructure Investment, Acting General Manager, Policy and QLD/NT
Ms. Carolyn McNally, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government - Nation Building-Infrastructure Investment, Executive Director
Mr. Peter Burnett, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts - Approvals and Wildlife Division, First Assistant Secretary
Ms Cathy Skippington, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts - Approvals and Wildlife Division, Assistant Secretary, Environment Assessment Branch
SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT
ESTIMATES
(Additional Budget Estimates)
TUESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2009
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S11638.pdf
| Quote: | Senator IAN MACDONALD—I have a series of questions about the Cooroy to Curra section of the Bruce Highway. Just to put this into perspective, this is a piece of highway that is badly needed. It has been a long time coming, but it has been messed around by the prospects of the Traveston Crossing Dam. Can you update me on this?
Ms Goodspeed—The Australian government has committed $200 million to undertake the planning and design of the 65-kilometre stretch of the Cooroy-Curra section of the Bruce Highway. The Queensland government has undertaken a major planning study for the future upgrade. That final study was released in July 2008 after a large public consultation.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—I understand Mr Garrett is very concerned about the Traveston Crossing Dam. Will he and his department be talking to your department or vice versa about not needing to spend the extra money to go around the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam?
Ms McNally—There have been discussions between the Queensland government on the issues surrounding the Traveston Dam. There have been discussions with us on the progress of the issues they are looking at.
Certainly, as part of the $200 million for detailed planning and design, the issue about the Traveston Dam has been taken into account.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—So the roads are being designed on the understanding that the Traveston Crossing Dam will go ahead and then will require a re-routing of the Bruce Highway.
Ms McNally—That is right.
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SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT,COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS
ESTIMATES
(Additional Budget Estimates)
TUESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2009
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S11636.pdf
| Quote: | Senator IAN MACDONALD—Could you tell me the state of the EPBC Act application to Mr Garrett for the Traveston Crossing Dam?
Mr Burnett—Yes. It is about the same as when we discussed it at the last estimates hearing, which is that the next step in the process is for the Queensland government to take a decision on whether the dam is to proceed and then to refer the matter to Minister Garrett for his decision, and that has not yet occurred.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—Do you have any indication of when the Queensland government is going to proceed further?
Mr Burnett—I think you would have to say now that Queensland has called an election that all bets are off, but the last indication we had before the election was announced was that we might get the matter referred to the minister in April, but the date has shifted before. That is just an informal indication.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—Your understanding would be that the application was going to come forward in April?
Mr Burnett—Yes.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—The application to proceed with the dam.
Mr Burnett—I will just ask Ms Skippington whether she wants to add anything to that, but that is my understanding.
Ms Skippington—We met with Queensland earlier this year and they were talking us through the process. Queensland have asked the proponent, which is Queensland Water Infrastructure, for some feedback on the independent reports that we published in November. They have also asked the proponent for some feedback on Queensland’s proposed position that they announced in their parliament last November that, if they were to approve the project, they would approve it with conditions that would not allow the construction to commence until the proponent had satisfied mitigation requirements. The Queensland Coordinator-General has made some specific information requests to the proponent in relation to that. They were not expecting the proponent to get back to them until March or April. When they got that information they would need to prepare their assessment report. April was the date that they were giving to us, but it was unlikely that those time frames were going to be met, given the assessment that still needed to be done from Queensland.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—I have just got some information from another estimates committee that they are rerouting the main Bruce Highway on the understanding from the Queensland government that the dam will go ahead and so the road is being rerouted. That information came obviously from the transport estimates. But that is your understanding, that it will come back to you with these conditions?
Ms Skippington—Queensland needs to do an assessment report on the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal and that needs to come to Minister Garrett to get the EPBC approval before that project can continue. Part of the referral that we received for Traveston Crossing Dam included references to infrastructure that might need to be relocated because of the dam. One element of that infrastructure was the Bruce Highway for 10 kilometres which if the dam continued would be flooded. Simultaneously, the Main Roads Department in Queensland is looking to upgrade sections of the Bruce Highway for safety and road alignment issues. QWI in January put in a variation to their referral process to ask to have the road taken out of the dam association and we agreed to that because it makes no difference to our assessment of the dam or our assessment of the highway when that comes to us as well.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—But QWI, which of course is the Queensland government under a corporatised agency, has said, ‘Yes, we want to move the road because we do not want it interfering with the dam.’
Ms Skippington—They need to move the highway because if the dam proceeded it would flood it.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—I know Senator Siewert and her colleagues in Queensland will share my concern about the ongoing nature of this.
Senator BIRMINGHAM—Go and give her a hug. It is all arranged.
Senator SIEWERT—This is an interesting alliance. You are going to regret this.
Senator IAN MACDONALD—I am just hoping Senator Siewert might mention this to her Queensland colleagues in three or four weeks when they are deciding something or other. Thank you very much for that update. |
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"There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the means by which to detect lies" - Walter Lippman |
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westholme
Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 2628
Location: Amamoor
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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So, it is just as I have been saying for some time. The Feds are working with the QLD Government and QWI to proceed the dam with mitigation's and never had any intentions of being impartial and genuinely looking into the possibility of stopping the dam.
The feds are actually helping QWI with their EIS, showing them what they need to do to pass the project through, showing them how to pre-empt any rebuttal from anti-dam people by presenting them with their conditional approval before the EIS has even left the state.
I wonder whether they would be so snuggly if these were Federal Labour dealing with State LNP? I sincerely doubt the lines would be flowing so freely and the Feds would be assisting so loyally.
To me, these words prove that the system is beyond corrupt. That Garrett and his department will never have the moral fortitude to decline the project at Federal level.
The only chance this dam has of being stopped is with a change of government, and I doubt SEQ Bligh loving voters and the Greens will allow that to happen. I'm sorry, but I can't help feeling an impending sense of doom.
These people make me sick and I am so scarred by Labour's dishonest, cagey leadership, that I will hate Labour for the rest of my life.
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CESARE LOMBROSO "The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand" |
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arawajo
Joined: 13 May 2006
Posts: 628
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | The only chance this dam has of being stopped is with a change of government, and I doubt SEQ Bligh loving voters and the Greens will allow that to happen. I'm sorry, but I can't help feeling an impending sense of doom.
These people make me sick and I am so scarred by Labour's dishonest, cagey leadership, that I will hate Labour for the rest of my life. |
I am feeling the same way westholme, but my sense of doom includes the LNP too. I just keep remembering "Never, ever GST". I'm hoping the independents can have some sway - maybe they can stop the dam.
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When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes obligation" - Steve Biko |
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westholme
Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 2628
Location: Amamoor
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:13 pm Post subject: |
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Hi arawajo, good to see you're back in town,
I don't have much faith in independents either. After all, Peter Wellington preferenced Labour last election despite his apparent outrage over the dam. And this year he reckons he won't preference anyone, though that sounds a little too much like what the Greens have been saying. Playing ducks and drakes with Labour just so they can cement a deal.
My view on LNP and politicians, is I never trust them, but my view on LNP and the dam, is that with this current government we're stuffed unless we can stop it at the Feds (which is prooving more and more unlikely in my opinion). At least if LNP get in we are not so stuffed. The LNP for me, is my little ray of sunshine, they are offering us a certified 'no dam' policy. If they win they would never renege. If they reneged they'd lose seats in 3 years time, and they can't afford to be losing seats at the following election.
If the LNP get in they need to legislate to protect the Mary River. Whether that is under Wild Rivers or not, I do not know.
Another way that LNP is assuring us that the dam can be stopped forever is with their proposed 'iconcic' agricultutral legislation;
Queensland Country Life 5/3/09
quote from the article that appeared in last week's QCL. Article was in response to the ongoing debate about destroying some of our most important food bowls to mine for coal;
| Quote: | Promises, promises..what the parties are saying
LNP
LNP Shadow Minister fro Food Security and Agriculture Ray Hopper said the LNP has a policy to protect "iconic" farmland for future generations.
"We will protect prime farmlands that meet criteria for preservation - the LNP is now going through the process of identifying those areas and already we have identified that the haystack Plain is in that category," Mr Hopper said.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Felton Valley-Wyreema-Pittsworth region encompasses iconic farm land and if the LNP wins government, I will be working as hard as I can to ensure that those areas do make the iconic category and are protected, because they should be."
"We need to be clear about this policy and the process the LNP will put in place. This is not a policy that is anti-mining, as some would have you beleive. This is about protecting prime farmland for sustainable food and fibre production for future generations." |
Maybe David Gibson could give us an idea whether or not the Mary Valley will be considered as iconic farm land. I can't see why it wouldn't be.
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CESARE LOMBROSO "The ignorant man always adores what he cannot understand" |
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