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Pages tagged "Hide Headline Text"

Pages tagged "Hide Headline Text"

Show Australia's heritage respect

Posted on Take Action by Harry Burkitt · February 02, 2023 10:05 AM

The World Heritage-listed Burragorang Valley is a living museum that the NSW Government is poised to drown beneath silt-laden dam water - without the permission of the traditional owners, the Gundungurra people, and without properly surveying the cultural heritage that would be destroyed.  

Last September, the Federal Government told the NSW Government to re-do months of work mapping the indigenous heritage in the Blue Mountains. This came after the Berejiklian Government lodged a heritage assessment that was found to be ‘flawed, inaccurate, and insensitive’ because:  

  • over 860 archaeological deposits affected by the plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall have not been surveyed in the NSW Government’s impact assessment. 
  • the traditional owners of the land, the Gundungurra people, have not been properly consulted to compile the heritage assessment.      

A heritage assessment is supposed to protect a significant Aboriginal area from heritage desecration – the kind exemplified last year by Rio Tinto’s shameful decision to blow up ancient aboriginal heritage in Juukan Gorge. 

Yet, the NSW Government is proceeding with the plan to raise the dam wall without re-doing this work.  

Indigenous leaders like Kazan Brown are rightly outraged, saying they were “locked out by the Government’s disrespectful consultancy firms” and “have been told no matter what we say the project will go ahead.”  

We are running out of time to stop another cultural disaster from occurring within one of Australia’s premier World Heritage Areas by raising the Warragamba Dam wall. We must as a first step commit to getting the impact assessment right. 

Niche Environment and Heritage is the private consulting firm that developed the ‘flawed, inaccurate, and insensitive’ cultural impact assessment for the Berejiklian government. Their assessment proves that the State Government – and their hired help - are unwilling to treat indigenous culture and Australia’s heritage with the respect it deserves. 

Please ask Heritage NSW’s Executive Director, Sam Kidman, to replace Niche with a competent, impartial and culturally sensitive contractor to complete the heritage assessment for this critically important part of Australia. 

By signing this petition, you’re joining thousands of Australians demanding that the NSW State Government take seriously its responsibility to protect Australia’s heritage.

Make your voice heard. Sign now.

 

 

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Tell Matt to stop the dam

Posted on Take Action by Guy Threlfo · November 05, 2021 9:13 PM

Matt Kean

What should I say in my message to Matt?

  • Most importantly, tell Matt you don't agree with the raising of Warragamba Dam wall
  • Tell him why he shouldn't approve the dam 
  • Ask for a meeting as a local constituent to discuss his position on the dam project
  • Tell him that that the environmental assessment that has been prepared for the dam project is inadequate
  • For more information, contact us at [email protected] or on (02) 9261 2400

Why is raising Warragamba Dam a bad idea?

Raising the Warragamba dam wall is a clear breach of Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention. It would destroy:

  • 65 kilometres of wilderness rivers, including the Kowmung River - a declared ‘Wild River’, protected for its pristine condition under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 
  • Habitat for critically endangered species including the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
  • Over 1541 cultural heritage sites being inundated if the dam wall proceeded. Gundungurra Traditional Owners don't support the dam, and have asked Rob not to proceed with the project.
  • There are many alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall that would protect existing floodplain communities.  A combined approach has been recommended as the most cost-effective means of flood risk mitigation that includes limiting development on floodplains, building new evacuation roads and lowering the existing level of Warragamba Dam.

Tell Rob to stop the dam

Posted on Take Action by Guy Threlfo · November 05, 2021 9:13 PM

Stokes denies 'toxic' office allegations | The Young Witness | Young, NSW

What should I say in my message to Rob?

  • Most importantly, tell Rob you don't agree with the raising of Warragamba Dam wall
  • Tell him why he shouldn't approve the dam 
  • Ask for a meeting as a local constituent to discuss his position on the dam project
  • Tell him that that the environmental assessment that has been prepared for the dam project is inadequate
  • For more information, contact us at [email protected] or on (02) 9261 2400

Why is raising Warragamba Dam a bad idea?

Raising the Warragamba dam wall is a clear breach of Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention. It would destroy:

  • 65 kilometres of wilderness rivers, including the Kowmung River - a declared ‘Wild River’, protected for its pristine condition under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 
  • Habitat for critically endangered species including the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater and Sydney’s last Emu population.
  • Over 1541 cultural heritage sites being inundated if the dam wall proceeded. Gundungurra Traditional Owners don't support the dam, and have asked Rob not to proceed with the project.
  • There are many alternative options to raising the Warragamba Dam wall that would protect existing floodplain communities.  A combined approach has been recommended as the most cost-effective means of flood risk mitigation that includes limiting development on floodplains, building new evacuation roads and lowering the existing level of Warragamba Dam.

Interview Under a White Sky

Posted by Guy Threlfo · October 07, 2021 3:01 PM

Elizabeth Kolbert, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for her book, “The Sixth Extinction”, is a long-term staff writer for The New Yorker. She spoke to Australian journalist Paddy Manning for the Sydney Opera House’s (on-line) Antidote Festival on Sunday 5 September.

Her latest book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future”, has recently been released – hence her participation in the event – and leaves the question of effective, or even feasible, climate modifying geoengineering up in the air (yes, that is a pun)!

The book’s title comes from the appearance of the sky after climate scientists have mimicked volcanic eruptions to induce a cooling effect, thereby altering its appearance. Research of this nature is burgeoning, she noted, leaving it open to being a 20–30-year research process involving global decision making – and we just don’t have the time or the global political aspiration.

The time lag humans have created from knowing about the effects of climate change and doing something about them means we are now at the point of seeing the climate we don’t want!

She points out that, as nations, Australia and the US still get wealth from the earth – gas, oil, and coal. Vested interests continue to rule the day with their wealth and power, but hopefully, given the world’s most recent extreme weather disasters – fires, hurricanes, and floods of unprecedented severity – and the upcoming Glasgow climate summit, leaders may be able to be influenced to bring about positive change?

Research for her book saw her travel to Iceland, Australia, and the Mojave Desert to investigate ways biologists are: making stone from carbon emissions; a form of super coral; and, saving the world’s rarest fish – examples of the immense challenges we have in reversing the effects of humanity on the very structure of the planet.

In closing, Paddy Manning sought to see if she still had hope for the future of the world.

Her response: we need to give up on emotion in relation to minimizing damage – to keep trying is the only option! Just keep doing the work. All of us.

By Rachel Symonds

 


Three important landmark conservation decisions turn twenty this year

Posted by Guy Threlfo · October 07, 2021 1:33 PM

The coming months mark the 20th anniversary of three landmark conservation decisions in NSW.

First, in late 2001, Bob Debus – then Environment Minister and now Colong Foundation for Wilderness chair – introduced legislation into the NSW Parliament to transfer 40,000 hectares of land around Warragamba Dam (known as “Special Areas”) from the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The land had originally been owned by Sydney Water until the SCA was established in 1998. This single decision increased the area of the Blue Mountains and Kanangra Boyd National Parks by around 15%.

While large areas of Warragamba Special Areas were already managed by NPWS, including land that forms part of today’s Nattai and Kanangra Boyd Wilderness Areas, transferring the remaining area to NPWS was important to protect more land of the highest cultural and conservation value as well as better protect Sydney’s drinking water supply.

Second, legislation was introduced to strengthen the protection of wild rivers within national parks. This added protection for rivers was a direct result of the Colong Foundation’s advocacy, and especially that of Keith Muir. The Kowmung River was the first wild river to be recognised. The Brogo, Grose, Colo, Upper Hastings and Upper Forbes Rivers and Washpool Creek soon followed.

And finally, it was 2001 when Bob, as Minister then responsible for both the SCA and NPWS, formally scrapped the decades old plan to dam the Shoalhaven River near Braidwood, the so-called Welcome Reef Dam. This would have irreversibly altered natural flows in the river, including as it flowed through the Ettrema Wilderness Area.

This decision was a shock to those who were advocating the building of more and more dams. It sent an important message. That more dams were not the answer to Sydney’s drinking water shortage and that water conservation and recycling had to be taken seriously. To top it off, the new 5,600 ha. Nadgigomar Nature Reserve was soon declared over part of the former dam site.

Each of these decisions was preceded by strong and effective lobbying by NSW conservation groups. Each remains relevant to this day, especially in the context of the proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall.

By Ted Plummer


Ditch SMEC

Posted on Take Action by GIVEADAM Team · August 09, 2019 3:06 PM

Laziness, dishonesty and racism - that's the best way to describe SMEC Engineering's cultural report on Warragamba Dam.

SMEC Engineering have secretly released an Indigenous Cultural Assessment that has attempted to excuse the mass-destruction of Gundungurra heritage. Traditional Owners have been given only 40 days by SMEC to review a 2000 page Draft Cultural Assessment, and have been told they are not allowed to share it with anyone - even experts.

SMEC Engineering is a company that was banned from working in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for allegations of bribery and have an extremely poor record of working with First Nations people.

SMEC Engineering is clearly in the business of white washing cultural destruction. The history and survival of a culture should not be treated as a box-ticking operation.

Any assessment by SMEC Engineering is not worth the paper it’s written on. If the NSW and Federal Governments are serious about their commitments to the World Heritage Committee, they must find a new consultancy firm.

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GIVE A DAM: Flooding the Blue Mountains (watch online)

Posted on Take Action · March 14, 2019 11:46 AM
Plans to raise Warragamba Dam wall threaten vast areas of Australia’s national parks and precious World Heritage rivers. But when communities get active, history is made. See this spectacular wilderness for yourself and meet the people fighting to save it.

Events

Posted on Take Action · March 04, 2019 12:13 PM
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©2023 Australian Foundation for Wilderness Limited ACN 001 112 143 ABN 84 001 112 143. Advocating as 'Wilderness Australia'.
Formerly The Colong Foundation for Wilderness Ltd. Registered Office 10/154 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000.

Desecrating Indigenous culture

The southern Blue Mountains is an extensive and rich cultural landscape belonging to the Gundungurra People. The rivers, waterholes and mountains of the Blue Mountains landscape tell one of the most intact and documented dream-time stories in Australia - the epic battle of tiger cat (Mirrigan) and snake (Gurrangatch) which formed the southern Blue Mountains. 

When Warragamba Dam was built in 1960 it resulted in the flooding of a large proportion of the cultural heritage and dreamtime stories of the Gundungurra people. If the dam wall is raised the remaining sites of this story - including Indigenous archeological sites, creation waterholes and cave art - will be destroyed.


An indigenous cave art site that would be inundated.

They have already applied for an Aboriginal Place nomination to the NSW Government to try and stop the dam raising destroying their last cultural sites [i]. By getting involved with the campaign, you can assist the Gundungurra people save their remaining cultural heritage from destruction. Having lost so much already, we need to make sure we stop the dam raising to protect what is left.

 

[i] Isla Cunningham (2018) Gundungurra Group Lodge Proposal to Protect Sacred Sites at risk in Warragamba Dam Plan, The Blue Mountains Gazette. Available Online: https://bit.ly/2NN8xbp

Inadequate flood protection

The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley is particularly prone to flooding as it is naturally constricted in two places that, in conditions of severe rainfall, results in floodwaters backing up and inundating floodplains in north-west Sydney.

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Alternative flood management options have additional benefits for western Sydney, including greater safety for the most flood prone residents, better transport, a more vibrant agricultural sector, a healthier environment and improved water security.

Importantly, half of all floodwaters in the Hawkesbury-Nepean originate from catchment areas that are not upstream of Warragamba Dam [i]. This means that even if a raised Warragamba Dam was to hold back some flood waters, other catchments could still cause significant flooding in the valley. In fact, flood waters from the Grose River alone can cause moderate to major flooding of Richmond in the lower Hawkesbury [ii].

You can read Assoc. Prof Jamie Pittock's full report on the alternatives to raising Warragamba Dam wall here.

 

[i] Department of Primary Industries (2014), Office of Water. Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Management Review Stage One. Available Online: https://bit.ly/2JxtchB

[ii] Australian Water and Coastal Studies (AWACS). 1997. Lower Hawkesbury River Flood Study. Prepared for NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney.

A developers' dam

The dam raising is being driven by developer interests on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. The NSW Government has stated in its principle document advocating the dam proposal that it plans to allow an additional 134,000 people to reside on western Sydney floodplains after the dam is raised [i].


Infrastructure NSW map showing planned development areas on the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain [ii].

There have been numerous inappropriate western-Sydney floodplain developments green-lighted in 2017/18 (the same year legislating to raise the dam was rammed through the NSW Parliament). These include the Penrith Panthers, Penrith Lakes, Marsden Park North and Vineyard development proposals. The SEPP for a number of these areas allows for development below the 1:100 year flood planning level [iii]. International best practice dictates that floodplain development should not occur below the 1:500 year level [ix].

Minister Ayres, the Minister for Western Sydney has himself said that he plans for future development across the low-lying Penrith floodplain "as far as the eye can see" in the coming years [x].

The Western Sydney Leadership Council's chairman, Christopher Brown, has flagged developing flood-prone land as a potential funding source for the dam wall extension [xi], saying:

"I think there's the capacity to use a value-capture funding method to reduce the impact on taxpayers," he said.

"Maybe via levy on land release that was previously considered flood-prone so we might be able to do it at a cheaper rate than what the Government's talking about."

 

[i] Infrastructure NSW (2017), Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy, page 3. Available online: https://bit.ly/2wDd4VL

[ii] Molino Stewart (2012), Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Damages Assessment, Prepared for Infrastructure NSW, page 15. Available online: https://bit.ly/2MXahcH

[iii] Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, State Environmental Planning Policy (Penrith Lakes Scheme) Amendment 2017, page 19. Available online: https://bit.ly/2PrXwrT

[ix] Caroline Wenger, Karen Hussey & Jamie Pittock (2012) The Use of the 1:100 Year Standard in the United States: Insights for Australia? Australian Environment Review, Vol. 27, pages 337-342

[x] Channel 9 News (2014) 4th of December 2014 News Coverage of Penrith Lakes. Available online: https://bit.ly/2EpcaPu 

[xi] Sarah Gerathy (2016) Warragamba Dam: Wall Flood-Protection Plan Raises Environmental Concerns, Australian Broadcasting Company. Available online: https://ab.co/2G8np0E

Destroying Sydney's wilderness

The Government has stated that inundation by sediment-laden flood waters would occur in the World Heritage Area for five weeks at a time [i]. Based on WaterNSW published flood levels, up to 4,700 hectares of the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains National Parks and 65 kilometres of wilderness streams would be inundated by the 14-metre dam wall raising [ii].

The wild rivers of the southern Blue Mountains form a landscape that has been largely untouched by modern society. The area is home to 48 threatened plant and animal species, ancient river valleys, rare dry rainforests and hundreds of Indigenous cultural sites [iii]. The significance of the southern Blue Mountains landscape led it to being inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000.

The Regent Honeyeater is currently listed as Critically Endangered. The Burragorang Valley floor, to be inundated by the proposed raising of Warragamba Dam wall, is the most fertile regional habitat and key breeding site for this species [iv]. Impacts on one habitat (e.g. the Burragorang Valley) cannot be offset by improvements in another due to the rotational use of habitats by the species.

The lower Nattai Valley is home to one of Sydney’s refuge koala populations. The valley will be inundated by the raising of the Warragamba Dam wall raising.

 

[i] WaterNSW (2016), Warragamba Dam Raising Preliminary Environmental Assessment, page 24. Prepared by BMT WBM Pty Ltd, Sydney. Available online: https://bit.ly/2rzXjtz

[ii] WaterNSW (2016), Warragamba Dam Raising Preliminary Environmental Assessment, page 26. Prepared by BMT WBM Pty Ltd, Sydney. Available online: https://bit.ly/2rzXjtz

[iii] ibid

[iv] Ross Crates et al. (2018) Submission to the New South Wales Legislative Council’s inquiry into the Water NSW Amendment (Warragamba) Bill 2018, Inquiry into Water NSW Amendment (Warragamba Dam) Bill 2018. Available Online: https://bit.ly/2UsVs6F