Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said he’s disgusted by the lack of action and answers from the Environment and Transport Ministers after he raised serious environmental and marine safety concerns at Paradise Dam.
“Over four weeks ago I wrote to both Minister Enoch and Minister Bailey over the devastation I witnessed when I visited the dam when it was at 55%,” he said.
“I stood amongst dried out jewfish nests, heard of tragic reports of deceased turtles being discovered on the banks and of the effects the lowering of the water level was having on a group of platypus that live there.
“I visited on the Monday after four boats were damaged on the weekend when they hit unknown rocks that had become exposed.
“I wrote to the ministers immediately expressing my extreme concern, concerns I share with many people in the region, and I’m still waiting for any acknowledgement.
“All that destruction was when the dam was at 55%, today it’s at 43% and it’s only getting worse.
“The devastation already caused by the water reduction is heartbreaking and I’m desperately calling on those Ministers to do something about it.
“We urgently need to know what the State Government is doing to protect the flora and fauna at Paradise Dam before we see even greater losses.
“We desperately need the Minister for Transport to arrange some emergency mapping and navigational safety markers so no more boats sustain damage and no one is hurt.
“Today I’m renewing my calls to both Ministers to take some action now before we see any more tragedy’s.
“This disastrous decision made by a city-centric government is a national scandal and they can’t continue to cover it up.”
27/11/19