Queensland Liberal Senator, Russell Trood, has today welcomed Premier Bligh’s announcement that the Queensland Government will delay construction of the Traveston Crossing dam for “several years”, but asks, “Why not simply admit it was ill-conceived, and cancel the project?”
“I have always had misgivings about the proposal. It was flawed right from the start. The whole concept was a political stunt, secretly conceived in desperation, born of expediency; its foundations reeking from a labyrinth of obfuscation, half-truths and lies, and as unstable, spongy and permeable as the proposed site. The plan didn’t hold water, as indeed, neither would have the dam according to analyses of evaporation and seepage rates,” said Senator Trood.
“The UTS/Cardno Review condemned it as ‘neither necessary nor desirable’. Geologists and engineers condemned it as atypical and unsuitable. The locals condemned it as socially disruptive and environmental vandalism. And, in 2007, a Senate inquiry expressed grave concerns about the dam’s impact.”
“The social upheaval, economic costs and environmental degradation would have been too high a price to pay. Sadly, some locals have already paid their price in the currencies of depression, threatened suicides and family break-ups,” Senator Trood said.
“This whole exercise has been a waste of time and money. It has been a classic example of jack-boot, bullyboy tactics of Peter Beattie, heartily endorsed, until now, by Anna Bligh.”
While Senator Trood has been strongly opposed and outspoken on the issue from the very beginning, he says that this decision represents a triumph for the very hard work by the Save the Mary River Co-ordinating Group and its president, Kevin Ingersole. With strong support from the local state member, David Gibson, and the local community, they all worked tirelessly, with great dedication, to stop the dam. More than anyone else they deserve the credit for this decision.
“The residents of the Mary River Valley, along with its endangered flora and fauna, and the RAMSAR wetlands, should now be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief; but they shouldn’t relax, not until this ill conceived and expensive venture is not only dead, but buried,” warned Senator Trood.
“I call on the Premier to give closure to those still under the Traveston cloud, to stop playing desperation politics, and destroy the monument to a former Premier’s vacuous policy. Bury the Traveston files!” said Senator Trood.