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Glenda Pickersgill
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 367
Location: Kandanga
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 Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:31 pm Post subject: NN 9th Nov 2010 - Valley Dwellers Remember |
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http://www.noosanews.com.au/story/2010/11/09/valley-dwellers-remember/
| Quote: | Valley dwellers remember
Peter Gardiner | 9th November 2010
This Thursday at 11am marks the solemn remembrance for those fallen in Australia's armed wars – but at 12.45pm there will be an equally heartfelt commemoration.
This Thursday at 11am marks the solemn remembrance for those fallen in Australia’s armed wars – but at 12.45pm there will be an equally heartfelt commemoration of the great Mary Valley rising.
The revival began with these words:
“After carefully considering all of the information put before me and advice from my department, it is very clear to me that the Traveston Crossing dam project can not go ahead without unacceptable impacts on matters of national environmental significant.”
And so the death knell sounded on a man-made monstrosity which the resolute folk of the Mary Valley – or those who were left standing defiant against the State Government’s leaky water security solution – had come to define their existence for more than three harrowing years.
Former Federal Government Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s last rites for a plague on all their houses in the valley sounded as bitter-sweet as any 11th hour death row call of clemency.
For Glenda Pickersgill and the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group, response to Mr Garrett’s vindication of their epic and uncompromising grassroots rebellion against higher authorities, was overwhelming.
Throughout the community – from the Kandanga Hotel to the Brisbane where Ms Pickersgill was monitoring the Paradise Dam fishway legal challenge – floodgates of emotion long held back gushed open as Mr Garrett’s words sank in: “I have based my proposed decision on the science presented to me, and the science shows that this project would have serious and irreversible effects on nationally listed species such as the Australian lungfish, the Mary River turtle and the Mary River cod.”
Ms Pickersgill, who lives 1km upstream from where the dam wall of the $1.7 billion project would have been built, last week was asked to cast herself back to the initial shock of sanity prevailing.
“I just felt this enormous relief, and when I looked at the faces of those around me, I realised just how much this meant to everyone,” Ms Pickersgill said.
There was also an enormous satisfaction that all their carefully researched arguments had been accepted and that their valley had been saved against all the odds. It was a win that has given great heart to communities around the world that are battling similar community damnation from river dams and saw Ms Pickersgill attend the Rivers of Life: the Third International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and Their Allies, in Mexico early last month.
“We were invited over there to tell our story because it was such a rare win.”
But 12 months on – after the massive State Government splurge on property buy-outs that has frayed the valley’s social fabric – from where Ms Pickersgill sits as part of the Mary Valley Renewal Team, is the valley glass half full or half empty?
Her attitude is optimistic about the future based on around 20 projects detailed in a community forum held late last month with positive approaches to ecotourism as a means of rebuilding.
But she knows the valley has been almost gutted in so many ways.
“I have to admit that there is still an uncertainty throughout the valley based on what will be happening with all the properties that have been bought up (by the government),” she said.
“There have been 90 registrations of interest from people wanting to buy back their properties, but I am yet to speak to one person who has actually done that.”
And it could be two years before the state-owned land is released for private sale, which casts its own economic stasis over the Mary Valley.
Ms Pickersgill said some locals who have stayed on have lengthy leases, while public buy-out has brought in a wave of renters with no previous connection to the area.
“It is important to be inclusive to these newcomers and invite them to become part of the community.”
That is why such social events as the first Family River Fun Day on “Heatherview” property at Kybong last Sunday was an important step towards a new social bonding.
Hosts Les and Heather Hall saw an important role to all the fun of swimming, canoeing, rock-skipping, games, food, live music, dancing, evening performances, bonfire and camping.
“The Mary River means a lot to me,” Les said.
“I want to encourage people to come down to enjoy it. To get people on the river, to look at the river, to look at the plants, look at the things that live in the river, and see what the Mary Valley is all about.”
And this Saturday this work in progress continues at the Kandanga Recreation Showground with the Mary River Festival starting at noon and to be preceded by the Kandanga Creek Streambank Blitz to plant 300 trees.
The festival will see the awarding of the Mary River Environmental Awards and it may be a fair bet that the State Government may not figure mong the winners.
Ms Pickersgill said there is still an over-allocation of water from the Mary River and a lack of legislated flow rates from the river to sea to help prevent ecological stresses.
Her biggest disappointment is that the Bligh Government has learned nothing about the need to adopt sustainable water harvesting throughout its long and painful losing battle for the Mary.
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Steve Burgess protested at Kandanga.
John Mccutcheon |
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Glenda Pickersgill
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 367
Location: Kandanga
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| Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:49 pm Post subject: More incentive needed to reduce water extraction from rivers |
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| Quote: | Ms Pickersgill said there is still an over-allocation of water from the Mary River and a lack of legislated flow rates from the river to sea to help prevent ecological stresses.
Her biggest disappointment is that the Bligh Government has learned nothing about the need to adopt sustainable water harvesting throughout its long and painful losing battle for the Mary. |
Just to clarify these statements better..
The Mary River is over allocated already and does not meet the EPA guidelines for a healthy river during the dry months of the year and dry years. The Mary Basin Water Resource Plan and hence the Resource Operations Plan is not maintaining environmental flows to the Mary River Estuary or the Ramsar Wetlands Great Sandy Strait (below the Mary River Barrage or Tinana Barrage).
Although it is stated that the Resource Operations Plan will not access the "strategic reserve", the "strategic reserve" is not scientifically based or community endorsed and the ability to extract water even up to full allocations through water trading, has never been experienced.
The proposed monitoring and water extraction rules are still inadequate to either protect endangered species, restore health to the Mary River and the Great Sandy Strait ramsar wetlands.
While there has been very good initiatives by the state government to reduce water use through a number of programs including rebates for water efficient appliances in the house and to capture water with rainwater tanks, these programs need to be continued and more work done on storm water harvesting.
State government and local councils still need to be educating more, assisting and planning to be water wise.
In the face of climate change with predicted higher temperatures, more evaporation and lower flows in rivers combined with increasing population in our catchment, we need to be looking at every way to be more efficient in our water use in the home and agriculture, retrofitting tanks and water efficient appliances and ensuring any new housing developments/rural pursuit are capturing water where it falls not relying on taking more water from our rivers. |
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