saveeumundi.org

PAGE Meetings

Thank you to all who attended the PAGE community meeting on 5 January 2008, where our response to
Powerlink’s draft Terms of Reference (ToR) was outlined. Close to 100 people attended, together with
Maroochy Mayor Joe Natoli, Maroochy Shire Councillor Greg Rogerson, Noosa Shire Councillors Brian Linfield
and Raymond Kelly, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council Candidate Vivien Griffith. WIN Television and Eumundi Green, a local community newspaper, covered the event.

The next PAGE meeting will be held on Saturday 19 January, again at the Wyoming Hall (94 Kenilworth Road) at 4pm. Elections for PAGE Office Bearers (Coordinator, Secretary and Treasurer) will be held and a final update on PAGE’s ToR submission presented.

Petition

The deadline for the submission of PAGE’s petition to the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland is 25 January 2008. To allow us time to collate and send the petition by the due date, please
return your petition sheets to PAGE at the 19 January meeting.

Terms of Reference

The deadline for submissions was 11 January, unless you requested and received an extension from Powerlink. PAGE received an extension and its submission is due 25 January. If you did not make your submission by the deadline or if you have additional issues you wish to raise contact PAGE by 20 January and it may be possible to include your points in PAGE’s submission.

Local Government Support

During the week ending 13 January PAGE had discussions with Maroochy Mayor Joe Natoli, a number of
Maroochy Shire Council officers and Noosa Councillor Ray Kelly. All pledged their support to PAGE and provided useful information to assist in our fight. We will also meet with David Gibson, State MP for Gympie and Noosa Councillor Brian Lindfield to discuss the issue and how they can assist.

As a result of our discussions to date, Noosa and Maroochy Council each now understands the scale of
Powerlink’s plans, the strength of community feeling against those plans, and each Council is putting greater effort into their Terms of Reference submissions to Powerlink.

Assistance in Obtaining Information

If you are also having any problems obtaining information from Powerlink or Parsons Brinckerhoff – no
response, unsatisfactory response, a refusal to provide information or a delay in replying to your question – let PAGE know the details and we will raise this issue with Powerlink and Parsons Brinckerhoff on your behalf.

PAGE Membership

On our database we have 146 community members and last Saturday’s meeting raised just under $1,500 for
our fund; $300 of which was through donations. Will you consider joining and becoming an official Member of PAGE? The nominal fee of $20 from each Member goes entirely to keeping the campaign running.

Public Letter Writing Campaign

Don’t forget about writing to our politicians – have you written letters to State Government Ministers? The
Minister for Mines & Energy should be receiving correspondence from all of us, but the Minister for
Infrastructure & Planning, the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development & Industry and the Minister for
Sustainability, Climate Change & Innovation are all important people in this process and should be made aware of the community’s opposition to Powerlink’s plans.

Please don’t be complacent about this. It is urgent and essential that the community engages with the decisionmakers – the politicians who oversee Powerlink and can pressure it to change its plans. If the politicians don’t know how much we care about this issue, they won’t know that they need to represent us on it.

Please remember to let PAGE know when you have written letters and what responses you have received back. It’s just as important to let PAGE know if your questions and concerns are ignored by your elected
representatives. Make sure you ask specific questions and also ask for a specific date by which you will receive a full answer.

Wildlife Update

Dr Scott Burnett, well known wildlife expert, recently visited Belli to meet with PAGE regarding quoll remains and sightings in the area. Quolls are native to Australia and are listed as a vulnerable species in Queensland. Dr Burnett reported that from his initial observations of the local environment it is highly likely that quolls live in the area. He intends to return with research equipment, including cameras, to record their range and activities.

Have a look at the photos included with this newsletter – have you seen quolls, powerful owls or giant barred
frogs on or near your property? If so, this is an exciting development. Not only is it a strong indication of how pristine our environment is, that we have these animals living and breeding here, it is also very important for us to identify vulnerable and endangered species that may be impacted by Powerlink’s plans.
Please contact PAGE urgently if you have seen quolls, powerful owls or giant barred frogs on or near your
property, and we will arrange to have Dr Burnett help verify your sightings.

Some other animals you may have seen:
Northern Quoll Powerful Owl Northern Quoll Giant Barred Frog

Contact

Graham Smith, Coordinator
Powerlines Action Group Eumundi (PAGE)
Email: contact@saveeumundi.org
Phone: 07 5447 0086
Mobile: 0415 621 060
Mail: PO Box 950, Cooroy, Q 4563