saveeumundi.org

A 70-strong crowd filled the Eumundi CWA Hall on Saturday afternoon (2 May), issuing a resounding call to Premier Anna Bligh to give them and other local residents affected by proposed high voltage powerlines and pylons a ‘fair go’.

The gathering unanimously passed a motion calling on Ms Bligh to interject in interest of fair community consultation and demand project proponent Powerlink and new Energy Minister Stephen Robertson give people more time to respond to a 1900-page draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), out now for public comment.

As reported in the Sunshine Coast Daily on 22 April, Mr Robertson has publicly backed Powerlink’s refusal to grant affected residents an extension.

“The community has no confidence in this consultation process,” said Jack Connolly, spokesperson for the Powerline Action Group of Eumundi (PAGE).

“The steam-rolling tactics being deployed are in direct contrast to the Bligh Government’s own principles for fairness in community consultation and make a mockery of the whole EIS process.”

PAGE convened Saturday’s meeting, which included much-needed help for affected residents, in the absence EIS workshops being held locally by Powerlink and PB.

Special guest speakers included: Sunshine Coast councillor Vivien Griffin, environmental scientist and Save the Mary River Co-ordinating Group President Glenda Pickersgill, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council regional strategy director Raul Weychardt.

Cr Griffin said: “I strongly support the community’s call for an extension to enable robust, fair debate aimed at developing the best possible solution to powering the coast.

“Genuine conversations with the community need to happen in order to turn the energy paradigm around and to plan smarter solutions for future needs.

“Council recently established an Energy Transition Group, which will look at ways in which we can move towards being a low carbon economy – something which we believe our community both want and need.

“Part of that process is looking at smarter ways of doing things, such as bringing sources of energy closer to need, using sustainable, renewable energy technologies and creating green jobs.”

Glenda Pickersgill, whose group recently entered the fourth year in their battle against the proposed dam at Traveston Crossing, also delivered these words of advice for people regarding submissions: “Let your responses come from the heart – the words will follow”.

Member for Nicklin, Peter Wellington, who could not attend Saturday’s meeting due to prior commitments, stood up in Parliament last week and called on the Minister to reconsider his position, and also queried the choice of venues for workshops.

“I support the community’s request for a further one month’s extension on this very important issue,” Mr Wellington said.

“The environmental impact study affects everyone from Woolooga in the north to Eerwah Vale and west Eumundi in the south.”

Mr Connolly said PAGE members were disappointed in the position taken by the Minister and wrote to him immediately to introduce the group and what it stands for, including sustainable energy solutions, and to ensure the Minister was able to hear their concerns without inflection.

“Mr Robertson’s office replied last Tuesday [28 April], saying the matter had been referred to his department for ‘appropriate consideration’,” he said.

“But, with 10 days now left to respond, we are now forced to call on the Premier to intervene immediately. We want the lip service paid to ‘fair community consultation’ to stop and for affected residents to be given a fair go.”

The draft EIS for the 275 kV Woolooga to Cooroy South Transmission Line and Cooroy South Substation Project was released 31 March and closes 5pm Friday, 15 May 2009.

In their letter to Minister Robertson, PAGE members highlighted a raft of key issues and flaws relating to the project’s consultation process, including:

• poor timing of the draft EIS’ release, clashing with holidays
• time period unreasonable given complexity of the 1900-page document, inconsistent with EIS processes conducted by other government agencies
• delays in receiving information requested by landholders
• time needed to seek independent, expert advice
• the community group is again forced to refine non-network alternative put forward, which includes significant ‘bankable’ demand management initiatives and scalable renewable Sunshine Coast-based solar-thermal generation with storage capacity
• PB/Powerlink-run community draft EIS help sessions held in Federal and Gympie, not within proximity to residents affected in the areas of Ridgewood and Eerwah Vale
• Powerlink have consistently failed to meet their own deadlines regarding the release of the draft EIS for public consultation
• no concern exhibited for people who are genuinely unable to meet the 15 May deadline, including one person who is currently overseas tending to the care needs of a relative
• inadequate community engagement activities are in direct contrast to the government’s own principles for fairness in consultation.

The process also conflicts with a commitment to community input in planning outlined in the South East Queensland Regional Plan, also recently out for consultation. Extended by one month, submissions closed yesterday (1 May).

At the same time, Powerlink and PB also referring the Project to the Commonwealth, hoping to have it ticked off as not having any great impact on matters of natural significance and therefore not requiring them to meet standards for environmental impact assessment outlined in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. People had until the end of last week to write to the Commonwealth to support a ‘controlled action’ status.

Mr Connolly said: “We are a community of working families who cannot drop absolutely everything to respond to such complex documents – which, in the case of the draft EIS, took an army of specialists over 10 months to create.

“The fact that they’ve set it up so that the both the draft EIS and EBPC processes run concurrently is questionable.”

PAGE, also known as People Advocating Green Energy, is a not-for-profit community organisation committed to promoting sustainable ways to meet the Sunshine Coast’s future energy needs, and to working constructively with the Queensland Government and its agencies.

For more information on the alternatives and the campaign to date, visit PAGE’s website http://www.saveeumundi.org

Ends

Note to editors:

• Photo caption (PAGE meeting.jpg) left-right: Councillor Vivien Griffin with PAGE members Jack Connolly and Keith Beveridge
• Link to copy of PB’s first letter of refusal regarding an extension
• What they said: Residents will have plenty of time to air their concerns – Powerlink Chief Operating Officer Simon Bartlett (Sunshine Coast Daily, 17 June 2008).

Organisation: Powerlines Action Group Eumundi (PAGE)
Date: Tuesday 5 May 2009
Media Contact: PAGE spokesperson Jack Connolly
Phone: 0413 420 616
Email: contact@saveeumundi.org