No Tillegra Dam Group

Join us on our Walk for the Williams – an initiative by the Save the Williams River Coalition.

Sunday 14 March 2010 is the International Day of Action for Rivers. On this day, concerned residents of the Hunter will begin the Walk for the Williams. Over the following week, supporters will walk the length of the Williams River, from close to the source, to where it meets the sea at Nobbys Head to deliver this message:

“This is the magnificent Williams Valley, one of the Hunter’s many assets, fed by the Williams River. We value these natural assets which support farming, fishing, a natural freshwater ecosystem, biodiversity and people. Don’t damn them with a dam that nobody needs or wants”.

Hunter politicians of all persuasions have been invited to join the walk. Ms Jodi McKay MP, Minister for the Hunter, Ms Robin Parker, Liberal MLC and Dr. John Kaye, Greens MLC have been invited to speak about the  proposed Tillegra Dam at a community picnic 12pm Saturday 20 March, 2010. Guest speakers will be joined by Mr Brad Warren, Ocean Watch Australia at this event, Newcastle Foreshore Park, Wharf Rd, Newcastle.

The walk begins near the source of the Williams River Sunday 14 March at Brownmore, just north of Dungog and finishes where the river meets the sea on Saturday 20 March, Newcastle. Each day we will be walking 10-13 kms, starting at 2pm and finishing at 6pm for a barbeque dinner. As we will be walking in relay, you can simply join in for as long or as short a distance as you wish, on any day. Watch this space for updates and photos & stories of what is happening each day.

On Saturday March 20^th, NSW politicians attending the picnic will be given letters from our supporters to deliver to NSW Premier Kristina Keneally.

For further information please contact Sally Corbett, 0403 892 093 or Justin McKee, 02 4929 4395.

A group of accomplished photographers have put together a very impressive portfolio of images covering the Williams River and the natural beauty of the inundation area, the valleys heritage, as well as dairy farming in the valley. The exhibition is very appropriately called At the Stroke of a Pen .
On Sunday 14th February a “preview” of the exhibition will occur at Newcastle Farmers Markets, Newcastle Showground between 7am & 1pm.  So why not pop in & say “hello” & enjoy the great exhibition & whilst there you can sign a letter or two.

AT THE STROKE OF A PEN   – a photo-essay
These photographs, viewed in progression from either end of the exhibition, take you on a journey through the lifestream of a valley – the upper Williams valley north of Dungog. All the photographs are from within the inundation area of the proposed Tillegra Dam.  For the progress of urban life and industry this is what we would sacrifice. This exhibition’s journey begins and ends in nature, in images that can take us back to when the Gringai people roamed the valley, their homeland. Next comes the pioneer culture of the settlers, represented in the architecture of heritage-listed Munni House. Third, and centrally, is life on the land today, on the property  ” Brownmore ” on the Williams River, in the centre of the area proposed to be flooded with a lake approaching the size of Sydney Harbour.

The four photographers who have contributed to this exhibition have asked to remain anonymous.  The focus, they say, is the content of the pictures, not the person behind the camera.

continue reading » »

Joanne McCarthy in an open letter to the Premier Kristina Keneally in the Newcastle Herald  today  clearly implores the Premier to Dump the dam, ma’am. Her points are simple and succinct:

• Projects that have been foisted on their communities for political reasons and that don’t stack up under sustained scrutiny from many different analysts including some from within government departments (in the case of Tillegra – Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Department of Investment and Industry, NSW Office of Water, and the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority), and despite political and bureaucratic stonewalling can be reversed e.g. Sydney’s underground CBD Metro.
• The cost of the Tillegra project is being forced on Hunter residents.
• The need for the dam has not been justified.
• ‘HWC has used outdated information, simplistic approaches to data analysis and in some cases, has misused data to promote Tillegra as necessary for the Hunter.’
• The process has been flawed and full of misleading spin.
• The community will not re-elect a party that it can’t trust.

Premier you will need to make your mind up knowing that the community already has made its.

The cost of building the controversial Tillegra dam could climb to $1 billion because the site has complex geological issues that have been ”ignored”, the State Government has been warned. In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Louise Hall, January 14, 2010 hidden data is revealed that could sink the dam and the NSW Labor Government if they ignore public outrage…

continue reading » »

The official submissions to the Department of Planning for the Part 3A application from both the NSW Office of Water  and the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority  (CMA) are deeply critical, suggesting that the proposal does not conform to state law and policy and is based on outdated climate change information and would damage the lower Hunter wetlands. There are clear official calls to stop the $450m Tillegra Dam.

continue reading » »

The people of the Hunter are already paying for a proposal (Tillegra Dam) that hasn’t even been approved!  Residents want to know what they are paying for and why, when clearly they are opposed to this destructive project…

In a recent survey, the majority of respondents (73 per cent) agreed with the statement “the dam is expensive and the money could be better spent elsewhere in the Hunter”.

Seventy-seven per cent agreed that there were cheaper, less damaging alternatives to secure the Hunter’s water supply such as rainwater tanks and recycling.

Sixty-seven per cent agreed that the damming of the Williams River would damage the river and the environment.

THE NSW Auditor-General has called on the State Government to produce a “sound” business case before approving the Tillegra Dam and has foreshadowed an audit of the project, which could be done just before the next election.

In a report to State Parliament yesterday, Peter Achterstraat highlighted the increase in the dam’s cost estimate from $342 million to $402 million since its announcement in 2006, and advice from Hunter Water that the Government was not expected to formally approve the dam until “at least” April 2010.

Mr Achterstraat reported he had written to Hunter Water in September of his intention to audit the business case “used to justify the decision to proceed with the Tillegra Dam”. Read more…

A dam, or a smokescreen

Nathan Rees may have the cabinet he wants, but whether it changes his government’s rashness over major decisions is another matter. Documents requested by the NSW Upper House show that last year Eddie Harris, a senior public servant in the department of the Water Minister, Phil Costa, advised that the $450 million, 450 billion-litre Tillegra Dam is in the wrong place environmentally and anyway will not be needed for 30 years. Only Labor MPs had voted to keep that opinion secret. Yet, as with the CBD Metro, it seems NSW will still get the Tillegra Dam whether it needs it or not, because the Government apparently believes that being seen to make a decision – any decision – will trump making the right decision.

The NSW Water Commissioner, David Harris, has said Eddie Harris’s advice was only that of one senior staff member, and did not reflect the department’s view. That may be so, but the advice forms part of a growing body of evidence that the dam has for some time faced considerable opposition within the bureaucracy. In July, documents grudgingly released by the State Government showed that when the then premier Morris Iemma announced the dam in November 2006 it had not been properly costed. Not only that, Hunter Water had also rated the dam the second least desirable option – ahead of desalination – to provide water to the Central Coast and Hunter region.

Despite the poor assessments, the Government announced the dam shortly before the last election. We have already suggested that the Government had good reason – in the form of several scandals of which the Milton Orkopoulos child sex charges were the most serious – to want to repair its reputation in the Hunter with a big-spending announcement. They, not the Hunter’s water needs, appear the chief reason why the dam was approved.

Of course NSW must ensure its water supply. Two years ago Warragamba Dam levels slipped dangerously. Severe water restrictions moved the public to debate desalination and recycling, and demand why effective catchments were not built decades before. If NSW is to grow and not run dry, new dams will be needed.

But the Government is arrogant, if not outright foolish, to think the electorate will not recognise a multimillion-dollar smokescreen when it sees one: after 14 years they are hard to miss. Mr Harris’s note to Mr Costa also warned that the dam would become embarrassing for the NSW Government. It already has.

Editorial published in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

Rare frog found at Tillegra site: confidence in EAR further undermined

University experts have confirmed that a tadpole found in the locality of the proposed Tillegra Dam is the rare and endangered Stuttering Barred Frog (Mixophyes balbus).

The existence of this species was not confirmed in the Environmental Assessment Report, adding yet further evidence that a six day survey of fauna was not adequate to find and report on the presence of all threatened species that would lose habitat and could potentially be wiped out.

The Greens and NTDG are calling on the Department of Planning to reject the report in recognition of the risk that other endangered species have not been identified and the threat to the Stuttering Frog.

The Stuttering Barred Frog is listed under both the NSW and Commonwealth Government legislation as threatened.  Under NSW legislation the frog is listed as endangered, whilst under the EPBC Act it is listed as vulnerable.  Both categories are high on the threatened species lists. continue reading » »

No Tillegra Dam Group welcomes the announcement by Mr. Peter Garrett today that the Traveston Crossing Dam should not proceed. continue reading » »

On Thursday 12th November No Tillegra Dam Group (Dungog Branch) will be travelling to Newcastle to join the Wilderness Society team and then go on to Sydney to deliver submissions against the Tillegra Dam Environmental Assessment Report.  Meet at Broadmeadow Railway Station at 9am. Even if you can’t come to Sydney the press will be at the station to farewell us – so the more the merrier. Wear your campaign Tshirt (or blue) & a hat.
We have confirmation that Lee Rhiannon ,  Robyn Parker and John Kaye (all MLCs – Upper House MPs ) will come out of question time (12-1pm)  when they can, to show their support.   They are aiming for around 12.30.

See you there!!!   

Submissions don’t forget the closing date for submissions is this Friday 13th November.

Stop Tillegra Dam and Save me a River

When: Thursday 12 November

Where: Meet outside NSW Parliament, Macquarie Street, Sydney Then walk to Department of Planning 23-33 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000

What to wear and bring: Wear a campaign T-shirt if possible and any kind of hat. Bring your own banners with slogans like ‘Stop Tillegra Dam’ and ‘Save me a River’ and bring your voice!
How to get there…

Sydney based supporters are encouraged to use public transport to travel and meet outside Parliament House, Sydney.

Newcastle & Hunter based supporters are encouraged to join The Wilderness Society Newcastle team on their train journey. See details below:

Departing train – Newcastle to Sydney Central

Please note: There is an amended train timetable for this date. Buses replace services from Newcastle to Broadmeadow.

Bus departs Newcastle 08.54 am
Bus arrives Broadmeadow 09.14 am
Train departs Broadmeadow 09.24 am
Train arrives Sydney Central 12.08 pm

Return train option – Sydney Central to Newcastle
Train departs Sydney Central 02.15 pm
Train arrives Broadmeadow 04.55 pm
Bus departs Broadmeadow 05.00 pm
Bus arrives Newcastle 05.20 pm

Cost for return fare Newcastle to Sydney:
Adult $25.00 (Off peak return fare)
Student $18.00