Dear Members and Friends,
Firstly, thank you to everyone that has already reacted to our last email and sent messages voicing their concerns. We still need your help though in order to win this campaign.......in three ways-
1. We need to send letters petitioning the federal Minister for the Environment not to approve this proposal (attached). The attached letter can be sent to Malcolm Turnbull in its entirety as a form of petition. Alternatively, you can draft your own letter and send it to the same address. It is essential that you include your name, signature and postal address or it will not be accepted as a true letter of petition.
2. When the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) becomes available for public comment, we need as many people as possible to put in a submission (We will draft a submission as we have done for the attached letter)! There is only a six week period for public comment then the proposal is sent to the Federal Minister for his approval. The EIS is expected to be released as early as next week!
3. Forward this message (and any future correspondence) to your own email networks to spread the message about the seriousness of this proposal.
Please see the link below as it contains more recent information regarding the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal. This is a newspaper article regarding the Queensland Government's answer to the possible extinctions of several endangered species in the Mary River.......a $35M Freshwater Species "Conservation" Centre!
http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/oct/10/govt-pushing-ahead-dam-plan/
This really is just propaganda to convince the general public (and the Federal Minister for the Environment) that the extinctions will not happen. In actual fact a centre like this is nothing more than a short-term, 'Band-aid' solution. It may only ensure that these species breed for an additional 10 years longer than they would, if there were no intervention. As Mary River turtles are long-lived and slow to mature, this will only guarantee another 10 years survival in the wild, and then that's it!
Realistically, the best mitigating strategy is to NOT BUILT THE DAM AND NOT DESTROY THE HABITAT IN THE FIRST PLACE! This proposal should be abandoned for a minimum of 10 years until a proper POPULATION VIABILITY ANALYSIS (PVA) and POPULATION AND HABITAT VIABILITY ASSESSMENT (PHVA) is completed for all species that are restricted to the Mary River plus the Queensland Lungfish and Southern Snapping Turtle that has other natural habitat that has already been irreparably damaged by human activities!
Please take the time to send this letter, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SENT ANOTHER ONE OR AN EMAIL. This really is the only way to make our government sit up and listen! If they don't hear it repeated often enough, they assume there is no problem and nothing to worry about. Our decision makers only care about one thing - VOTES!
IF WE DO NOT ACT NOW - THIS DAM IS LIKELY TO GO AHEAD!
We will keep everyone informed of any new developments and if anyone requires additional information, please don't hesitate to contact us! Also, please let us know if you wish to be removed from this mailing list.
Kind regards,
Gabrielle Latta
Treasurer - AFTCRA Inc.
Below is the letter we plead with everyone to send to Senator Malcolm Turnbull. It will only take your signature , an envelope and a postage stamp. Regards, Craig
12 October 2007
The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP
PO Box 1840
BONDI JUNCTION NSW 1355
RE – Concerns regarding the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal and the environmental legislation that protects threatened species.
Dear Sir,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the above proposal.
This proposal threatens the very existence of at least three species, endemic only to this area. The time taken to collect data for this proposal can, at most, be only a ‘snap-shot’ of the diversity of the flora and fauna of this region. It would be unreasonable to expect the world’s leading Biologists and Ecologists to make such a vital decision with such limited data, let alone one person. Furthermore, fifteen days of data collection for an endangered species found nowhere else on the planet should not be acceptable for a project of this magnitude that will irreparably destroy a large percentage of its already restricted habitat.
I urge that you move to amend the EPBC Act (1999) to include the importance and absolute necessity to undertake Population Viability Analysis (PVA) and Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) of little known species with limited natural distribution. A lack of available data for any species should not be grounds to accept or approve a proposal involving matters of National Environmental Significance. The precautionary principle should be administered if data is not available for a species within a proposal site and the proposal should be halted until such time as the PVA and PHVA are satisfactorily completed and included in the Environmental Impact Statement. I am sure that the ecologists responsible for the data collected for the Traveston Crossing Dam Environmental Impact Statement would agree that this is not sufficient information and requires systematic sampling over a number of years to obtain the data necessary to make a truly informed decision.
I also urge that if your position as Minister for the Environment changes before the decision is reached regarding the Traveston Dam proposal, that you forward this letter to the new Minister so he/she can consider these concerns when making the final decision.
Yours sincerely,
______________
Address
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Firstly, thank you to everyone that has already reacted to our last email and sent messages voicing their concerns. We still need your help though in order to win this campaign.......in three ways-
1. We need to send letters petitioning the federal Minister for the Environment not to approve this proposal (attached). The attached letter can be sent to Malcolm Turnbull in its entirety as a form of petition. Alternatively, you can draft your own letter and send it to the same address. It is essential that you include your name, signature and postal address or it will not be accepted as a true letter of petition.
2. When the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) becomes available for public comment, we need as many people as possible to put in a submission (We will draft a submission as we have done for the attached letter)! There is only a six week period for public comment then the proposal is sent to the Federal Minister for his approval. The EIS is expected to be released as early as next week!
3. Forward this message (and any future correspondence) to your own email networks to spread the message about the seriousness of this proposal.
Please see the link below as it contains more recent information regarding the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal. This is a newspaper article regarding the Queensland Government's answer to the possible extinctions of several endangered species in the Mary River.......a $35M Freshwater Species "Conservation" Centre!
http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2007/oct/10/govt-pushing-ahead-dam-plan/
This really is just propaganda to convince the general public (and the Federal Minister for the Environment) that the extinctions will not happen. In actual fact a centre like this is nothing more than a short-term, 'Band-aid' solution. It may only ensure that these species breed for an additional 10 years longer than they would, if there were no intervention. As Mary River turtles are long-lived and slow to mature, this will only guarantee another 10 years survival in the wild, and then that's it!
Realistically, the best mitigating strategy is to NOT BUILT THE DAM AND NOT DESTROY THE HABITAT IN THE FIRST PLACE! This proposal should be abandoned for a minimum of 10 years until a proper POPULATION VIABILITY ANALYSIS (PVA) and POPULATION AND HABITAT VIABILITY ASSESSMENT (PHVA) is completed for all species that are restricted to the Mary River plus the Queensland Lungfish and Southern Snapping Turtle that has other natural habitat that has already been irreparably damaged by human activities!
Please take the time to send this letter, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SENT ANOTHER ONE OR AN EMAIL. This really is the only way to make our government sit up and listen! If they don't hear it repeated often enough, they assume there is no problem and nothing to worry about. Our decision makers only care about one thing - VOTES!
IF WE DO NOT ACT NOW - THIS DAM IS LIKELY TO GO AHEAD!
We will keep everyone informed of any new developments and if anyone requires additional information, please don't hesitate to contact us! Also, please let us know if you wish to be removed from this mailing list.
Kind regards,
Gabrielle Latta
Treasurer - AFTCRA Inc.
Below is the letter we plead with everyone to send to Senator Malcolm Turnbull. It will only take your signature , an envelope and a postage stamp. Regards, Craig
12 October 2007
The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP
PO Box 1840
BONDI JUNCTION NSW 1355
RE – Concerns regarding the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal and the environmental legislation that protects threatened species.
Dear Sir,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the above proposal.
This proposal threatens the very existence of at least three species, endemic only to this area. The time taken to collect data for this proposal can, at most, be only a ‘snap-shot’ of the diversity of the flora and fauna of this region. It would be unreasonable to expect the world’s leading Biologists and Ecologists to make such a vital decision with such limited data, let alone one person. Furthermore, fifteen days of data collection for an endangered species found nowhere else on the planet should not be acceptable for a project of this magnitude that will irreparably destroy a large percentage of its already restricted habitat.
I urge that you move to amend the EPBC Act (1999) to include the importance and absolute necessity to undertake Population Viability Analysis (PVA) and Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) of little known species with limited natural distribution. A lack of available data for any species should not be grounds to accept or approve a proposal involving matters of National Environmental Significance. The precautionary principle should be administered if data is not available for a species within a proposal site and the proposal should be halted until such time as the PVA and PHVA are satisfactorily completed and included in the Environmental Impact Statement. I am sure that the ecologists responsible for the data collected for the Traveston Crossing Dam Environmental Impact Statement would agree that this is not sufficient information and requires systematic sampling over a number of years to obtain the data necessary to make a truly informed decision.
I also urge that if your position as Minister for the Environment changes before the decision is reached regarding the Traveston Dam proposal, that you forward this letter to the new Minister so he/she can consider these concerns when making the final decision.
Yours sincerely,
______________
Address
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
