Traveston Crossing Dam - Planning

Planning

The dam was proposed to stretch from the Traveston Crossing Bridge near Amamoor, 160 kilometres (99 miles) north of Brisbane, south and affect the areas surrounding Bergins Pocket and Kandanga. The dam would have affected major transport arteries through the area, including the North Coast Railway Line and the Bruce Highway.

The planned damming of the Mary River was not a popular idea with local residents who would have been directly affected by its construction, nor for the wider national and international community concerned about the impact on the many endangered and vulnerable species living in the river. There was strong opposition to the dam from the wider and international community based on environmental concerns related to the endangered Mary River Cod, Mary River Turtle, Giant Barred Frog, Cascade Tree Frog, Coxen's Fig Parrot, the vulnerable Queensland lungfish, Tusked Frog, Honey Blue-eyed Fish, the Richmond Birdwing butterfly and the Illidge's Ant-blue Butterfly. There were also fears for the Dugong, a globally vulnerable species. It was alleged that reduced fresh water flows to the Great Sandy Strait would have affected the growth of seagrass, the Dugong's primary food source.

The Mary River Turtle and the Queensland Lungfish attracted particular attention regarding their conservation. The turtle, whose only known home is the Mary River, is a cloacal ventilator ('bum breather' - it uses oxygen from water taken in through its tail), and is listed in the top 25 most endangered turtle species in the world. The Lungfish also has great significance to evolutionary biologists. It requires the rapids in order to breed, and much of its breeding habitat had already been interrupted by other dams in Queensland. Professor Jean Joss of Macquarie University stated, in a submission to the Senate Inquiry 2007: "The Mary River dam would almost certainly push the lungfish to 'Critically Endangered,' and in the long term will lead to its extinction in the wild." The Mary River Cod, which only lives naturally in the Mary River system, is already Critically Endangered. It is completely protected, and it is illegal to fish them.

Some believed that it was necessary to create more jobs in the area and to enhance South East Queensland's water security; however many others in the Gympie business community believed they would have their jobs destroyed, with many industries badly affected, particularly industries such as dairy farming. People in the farming industries in the area, who would have lost their farms with the construction of the dam, considered the area to be amongst the best food-producing land in Australia. Fishermen in the Tin Can Bay area relying on flows into the Great Sandy Straight were also concerned about the environmental impact of reduced flows to their area on the sustainability of their region and industry. Farmers downstream from the dam believed the dam would have had a devastating economic impact. Chairman of the Greater Mary Association, Darryl Stewart, stated: "Estimated annual economic downturn in the downstream communities could be around A$500 million, especially affecting agriculture, fishing and tourism. And there would be serious social consequences. The downstream effects of this proposed dam will be far worse than the effects in the dam footprint."

The Mary River flows into the Great Sandy Strait, near wetlands of international significance recognised by the International agreement of the Ramsar Convention and Fraser Island World Heritage Area, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.