Sunday, April 11, 2004
The destruction of a Marine Park

Sometimes a decision gets made and you wonder just what the hell was that person thinking.

One such decision is the permission given for an aquaculture company to develop a fish farm in Moreton Bay Marine Park in South East Queensland.

It has been declared by the Beattie (Labor) Government as a “project of State Significance”. This gives the Minister powers to by-pass the planning regimes of the local authorities. Of course, they still have to ‘consult’, but that doesn’t mean that they have to ‘listen’ or ‘take-note’.

Specifically, the proposal was referred to Environment Australia (Federal body) and the Commonwealth Minister deemed that the proposal is a controlled action under the provisions of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The EPBC Act allows for a bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and States relating to environmental impact assessment of controlled actions. The purpose of such an agreement is to minimise duplication through accreditation of the Queensland environmental impact assessment processes.

The Queensland Department of State Development (DSD) is the nominated lead agency to coordinate and facilitate a collaborative government and industry approach for the sustainable development of aquaculture in Queensland. The sustainable development of aquaculture is a priority issue for the Department.

In plain English this means: The activity is controlled but an agreement between the Federal and State government has allowed the Queensland governments environmental impact assessment to be the regulating document.

That is lucky, because the Queensland State government is the ‘nominated lead agency’. That’s a bit like the tax inspector assessing his/her own tax assessment form….“Well, I can’t see anything wrong here then….”

There has been no independent environmental assessment.

The contract has been given to Sun Aqua. Sun Aqua’s director is Dr Julian Amos, one time director of Hydro Tasmania, who are busy flooding valleys down south and a former long-serving minister in successive Tasmanian Labor governments. Old Brisbane Mayor, (Labor, also) Jim Soorley, threatened war against government, if the plan ever went ahead – threatening obstructive tactics (legal and physical) against any development: “It will go ahead, over my dead body’.

In addition to overwhelming public opposition and rejection by all conservation groups the Nationals and Liberal Parties in the State Parliament have stated their objections to it.

For it’s part, the South East Queensland Regional Association of Councils (SEQROC) resolved at a meeting late last year to re-affirm its objections to the plans as it posed a “high environmental risk”, it is to be built, ironically, in the most pristine area of the bay, it could increase toxic algal blooms and the precautionary principle should apply.

SEQROC is a meeting of the Mayors of all adjacent Councils to Moreton Bay Marine Park, representing nearly 2.4 million people.

And the objections continued: In a pre-election mud-fight at City Hall, where the three main Mayoral candidates (Newman, Quinn and Hutton) slugged it out in a public debate, all three spoke against fish farming – perhaps Newman, most vociverous of them all. If Newman has the ‘mandate’ to build five tunnels through the heart of Brisbane’s transport policy, then he has the mandate to oppose – at every single opportunity – the implementation of the Moreton Bay fish farm.

Now, individuals have the right to develop businesses and property within the law and regulatory frameworks. Just because your neighbour may not like your new extension, does not mean that you should not have the opportunity to build it. Public objection, even widespread objection should not necessarily stop a development: that is the tyranny of the majority.

But a major scheme such as this – one that threatens a public good (the Marine Park), has been subject to a questionable regulatory framework and has virtual unanimous popular objection must not go ahead.

As ever, the battle will be played out in the media, rather than through ‘real’ politics. Sun Aqua has learnt all the lessons from major polluters seeking to spoil grass-roots movements. This letter to ‘Simon’ of the Queensland Conservation Council is just a taste of what is to come:

Let the battle begin.

As an afterthought, it may well be a good idea if this scheme goes ahead. It is likely that Moreton Bay Marine Park would suffer from escaped fish, effluent pollution, lyngbya algal blooms, anti-biotics bioaccumulating in wild stocks and so on; but at least it would be on our own doorstep.

It would be in full view of decision makers, consumers of cheap fish and the aquaculturalists seeking to expand, instead of floating off an unknown corner of SE Asia where we can easily ignore it.

This following link provides an interesting outline of the issues that face fish-farming in sheltered water ways. It is interesting that the author ends on a note suggesting that fish farming could be sustaintable if “more environmentally sound ways of raising farmed salmon” are implemented.

What do you thinks this means? Better cages that are better situated, or just more drugs, genetically modifies sterile fish and more technology, pushing us down path dependencies that are even more unsustainable?

Happy Easter

Links:

• SUN AQUA


• Queensland Conservation Council


• Department for State Development and Innovation


• Moreton Bay Marine Park

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