No Tillegra Dam Group

You are invited to an exhibition of the Williams River Artists’ Project:

30 April – 2 May 2010  10 am-3pm. Entry via free bus from Tocal Agricultural College Field Days (entry fees apply -see www.tocalfielddays.com).  Tocal is 180 km North of Sydney via the F3 Freeway. It is 14 km North of Maitland on the Paterson/Dungog road.

The Williams River Valley Artists’ Project was formed in dismay at the proposal to flood the Williams River valley, Dungog, for the construction of the Tillegra Dam. WRV Artists’ Project is a collective of artists developing work through a series of on-site residencies in the Williams Valley. They aim to add to a movement to protect the Williams River, and to preserve the locality’s unique heritage, community and productive agricultural land. The project is an initiative of its curator Juliet Fowler Smith.

Hunter Water has begun charging ratepayers for the controversial Tillegra dam, despite the fact it has not yet got planning approval, and ratepayers are refusing to pay for something that doesn’t exist and they don’t want! Watch the ABC News video.

From now through April 30th International Rivers (whose mission is to protect rivers and defend the rights of communities that depend on them) is holding the Wild River Dance contest to celebrate free-flowing rivers. Check it out – our two entries are in there…

NTDG Dance 1

NTDG Dance 2

Update: Media coverage of this event is at the bottom of this post.

In a show of solidarity, voters from Dungog, Newcastle and Sydney (as well as two dairy cows for the milking!) will set up a “Human Gallery” in Martin Place Sydney between Phillip Street and Macquarie Street) at 12.45 pm on Friday 23rd April. Organised by the Save the Williams Coalition we are protesting against the dam but we are leaning towards promotion of better use of our money, sustainable use of our farming land, support for the environmental values of the valley, river and wetlands as well as support for Newcastle fisheries etc.

Each person will quietly bear testament to what could be lost by holding a large photograph from Ken Rubeli’s portfolio of images from the inundation area of the Tillegra Dam – a site neither Premier nor Planning Minister has visited!  The dam will be represented by a low wall of hay bales. The milking of the cows will be a metaphor for how we think the NSW Labor government and Hunter Water Corp. are treating us.

If you can come please do. If you can’t please invite, encourage, help anyone to come along and support our call for an independent enquiry into the need for Tillegra Dam with the promotion Tillegra? Do Things Differently, Kristina.

Update: Media coverage of this event – ABC News and NBN TV.

In a recent (9 Apr 2010) poll in the Sydney Morning Herald asking “Should the Tillegra Dam be built?” 79% of voters out of 1107 answered with a resounding NO!

Dungog Shire Council has sent a damming letter to the Department of Planning outlining the lack of respect and consideration that Hunter Water Corp. (HWC) has given to the local community. The letter can be downloaded from the Council’s website. With statements against the HWC submission response (SR) like:

• “HWC’s commercial interests in the project override the Council and community’s expectation”
• “Dungog Shire Council does not support the project as the EAR has failed to adequately assess and compensate for the social and economic impacts to our community and infrastructure”,

the council is sending HWC and its political masters a clear message – you can’t count on our support for an unwanted project by less than worthy proponents controlled by arrogant political masters.

Further, the Council dismisses HWC so-called sweeteners with, “many of the additional commitments HWC have made in the SR are required directly as a result of the proposed dam. This includes the construction of new roads and the environmental/nature reserves and should not be put forward as proponent commitments, when they have in fact been required from the outset to replace assets that will be lost, accommodate the proponents design and achieve the required environmental offsets”.

It seems like NSW Labor is squeezing us dry, “If the dam proceeds, up to 80% of the water supply for the Hunter Region will be generated in the Dungog Shire. The implications of locating these resources within the Dungog Shire over the long term and the financial benefit to Hunter Water and the NSW Government should be recognised and linked to a long term financial return to Council and the local community”.

Tillegra Dam – Hunter Watergate

Media release: 13 March 2010

Sally Corbett, spokesperson for the No Tillegra Dam Group said:

Hunter Water’s feeble offset package for the proposed Tillegra Dam, announced on Saturday 13 March, contains nothing new. The measures announced, such as a possible national park and changed water releases, are simply normal legal and administrative obligations when you’re applying to build infrastructure of this magnitude.  The NTDG completely rejects these measures: they do not supply any justification for the proposed Tillegra Dam.

HWC must think the Hunter community very gullible to believe that dressing up these measures as some sort of sweetener, will make the Tillegra Dam proposal acceptable.

Kevin Young, Managing Director of HWC appears very confused over climate change. He will not use current regionally specific climate change data, because it blows apart one of his key drivers for Tillegra Dam.

Sweetener 1 debunked – A 1323 hectare national park

More than 80% of the proposed National Park area is already protected as the catchment area of the Chichester Dam. The area is all relatively young regrowth forest with some major lantana infestation. There are a thousand places in NSW far more worthy of National Park status.

Sweetener 2 debunked – the release of 2.5 billion litres of water in the Williams River each year to improve its flow

HWC would be robbing the Williams River of 60 billion litres each year.  It is now saying that reducing this by 2.5 billion litres will improve its flow, this is hardly credible.

The NSW Office of Water (NOW) were scathing in their criticism of HWC’s modeling on the Hunter Estuary and have embarked on their own study to determine what will happen to the estuary if a large body of water is taken out.  This study needs to be completed and more studies need to be undertaken to determine exactly what impacts the dam will have on the estuary as well as the Ramsar wetlands.

Sweetener 3 debunked – modification to Seaham Weir

The call for papers revealed in December 2009, that government agencies had warned HWC that if Tillegra Dam was to be built Seaham Weir should be upgraded, and this should be incorporated into the Tillegra Dam costings.

We believe that ratepayers will now be paying for Tillegra Dam as well as an upgrade to Seaham Weir.  HWC have avoided including this cost in the dam’s budget as it would make Tillegra Dam more expensive.

Sweetener 4 -$1 million for road and bridge work in Dungog Shire

Dungog Shire currently has a backlog of $21 million of roadworks required in the Shire.  HWC’s donation of $1 million may keep the pothole brigade in work for a few months.

Sweetener 5 – HWC to undertake all road maintenance between Dungog and the dam site during its construction

Is Kevin Young for real? Many large, heavy vehicles would come from Raymond Terrace and beyond, so the impacts on roads will not commence at the edge of town. Dungog to the dam site is 13kms, Raymond Terrace to Dungog is 60kms.

Sweetener 6 -The relocation of the Bendolba Rural Fire station to a site requested by the Rural Fire Service

See p42 EAR – this was already decided. How is this new? Why would Kevin Young mention this minute detail in the media when it was already decided?

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HWC continually downplays the potential destructive impacts of Tillegra Dam. It cannot prove that there will be no significant, long term effects on the Hunter estuary and the Ramsar listed wetlands. Nor has it assessed the true socio-economic impacts. Without an assessment of these impacts, the proposal should not proceed.

“Now on this rainy weekend, at the end of what was predicted to be a ‘long hot summer’ with Chichester Dam 100% full, is the time to can the dam,” Ms Corbett said.

For more information: Sally Corbett 0403 892 093.

Walk for the Williams Progress

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We started our walk in the rain at 8.30 Sunday morning 14 March 2010 from Brownmore. But it was a beautiful, misty rain and kept us cool for the morning. We walked passed curious cows and Brian and Jim reminisced about the times that they travelled the route so many times before. In their earlier days they travelled to school in the school bus. That’s the Munni school; all that’s left now is a few foundations to show where it was. The burden of loss is heavy for Brian and Jim. They know every turn of the road, every property and who lived there over the years, their stories and joys and sorrows. This valley tells a story of people who have lived here for over 40,000 years. There are remnants of all of the people who lived here, whether it’s worn down grinding stones beside the river, or homesteads and sheds. We pass Munni house and mourn. If this dam goes ahead, all of this will be lost. Thousands of stories flooded, lost. All for a dam that nobody needs and nobody wants.

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.

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.

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