STMRCG 27 Sept 09 - Proposed Traveston Dam evicts Koalas

[tanzi]

***MEDIA RELEASE September 27th, 2009

"Proposed Traveston Dam evicts Koalas."

Hundreds of protesters rallied outside of State Parliament House last Friday delivering five dead koalas to highlight fears the animals are on the brink of extinction in urban southeast Queensland. A hearse delivered five coffins each bearing a dead koala, which were collected by Vanda Grabowski in the Moreton Bay region.

Save the Mary supporters joined with other community groups to highlight concerns that over 22 percent of the proposed inundation area for the Traveston Crossing dam is uncleared land and hosts a diverse range of flora and fauna including koalas.

President for the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group, Glenda Pickersgill said proposed inundation would impact on stands of forest redgums, (Eucalyptus tereticornis) which provide favoured habitat for koalas in the Mary Valley area.

Mitigation measures for koalas outlined in the supplementary Environmental Impact Study refers to using environmental offsets for cleared vegetation. The Green Invest Program proposed to be run by the Queensland Government is set to provide an environmental offsets exchange facility that would be established to help project proponents, such as Queensland Water Infrastructure (QWI), find offsets for vegetation they need to clear as part of major projects.

No state or federal approval has been given for the proposed damming of the Mary River at Traveston crossing, although the state Coordinator General awaits feedback from Canberra on draft mitigation measures prior to completing his assessment report on the proposal.

"These policies are being made up on the run. Again, no public consultation has been entered into on the proposed mitigation measures throughout the state EIS process to date. We are calling for the full extent of these proposals be made available for public comment as part of the federal assessment process when it is in the hands of the federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett" said Ms Pickersgill

"Within the SEQ Bioregion, koalas are listed as vulnerable under the state Nature Conservation Act. Its simple koalas need trees - No trees, No koalas - Stop cutting down trees! Its not good enough for the Bligh Government to continue to give lip service to "green" policies and push full steam ahead with massive clearing though inundation and fragmenting the Mary Valley. "

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Contacts for Media: David Kreutz mb 0432683147, Victor Hill mb 0407754925, Glenda Pickersgill 0411 443 589, Darryl Stewart (Greater Mary Association) 0418 771 655.