The call went out to protect the Clarence River and its communities.....
The Daily Examiner, 14 June 2016:
LETTER: 'Eastgate Port' very real in eyes of investors
SIGN OF THE FUTURE? Coal ships loaded with their cargo at Port Waratah, Newcastle.
There are currently ongoing discussions to expand the Port of Yamba on the Clarence River estuary into a super-port.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
THERE has been mention
in the media recently of the so-called unsolicited proposal to expand the Port
of Yamba into a 'super port'.
The latest version of
this proposal has increased the size of port infrastructure so that is covers
an estimated 36 sq km of the Clarence River estuary.
That's over 27 per cent
of the entire estuary covered with container, liquid and bulk terminals and at
least 14 associated shipping berths - operating 24 hours a day for up to 365
days a year.
Individuals associated
with this proposal have indicated that the river will have to be deeply dredged
to a depth of 18 metres from the mouth to beyond Goodwood Island, the entrance
break walls will have to be removed and the reef Dirrangun destroyed, in order
to accommodate container and bulk vessels with drafts of up to 16 metres.
A cluster of three small
river islands (Turkey, Gourd and Palm) will be removed to create the container
terminal and berths on the plan being shown at meetings outside the Clarence
Valley and, the company has admitted there will be some foreshore loss in the
estuary, although it hasn't said where or how much.
Communities living along
the lower Clarence would be well aware of the potential for foreshore erosion
and loss of river beaches this proposed port would bring with it, along with
air, water, light and noise pollution in the vicinity of the new
infrastructure. Even if the company is careful not to specifically mention
these issues in public.
Now our elected
representatives at local, state and federal government level have been telling
people that this unsolicited proposal is pie in the sky and will never happen.
However, a company was
created to specifically drive this bid to acquire the right to reconfigure the
port and obtain a lease to run the new port as a civil corporation and, this
company also created a subsidiary registered in Hong Kong.
Presumably this
subsidiary will hold the income expected from the 35 per cent shareholding the
company believes it will have in the second corporation eventually created to
lease the port from the NSW Government.
According to Australian
Securities & Investment Commission records the company has issued 494
million shares and over 461 million of these are classed as "not
beneficially held". That is they are held on behalf of unnamed
individuals, trusts and/or companies.
Representatives and
supporters of this company have approached numerous councils, including
Clarence Valley Council, to discuss its plan to build an extensive new rail
system to ship everything from bauxite, rutile and petro-chemicals through to
grain and live cattle from this new industrial port.
It has contacted
companies in mainland China to inform them of its plans and its CEO has stated
that if the Australian Government gives approval for this port expansion then
Chinese money will help fund the project. The sum of $56 billion from Chinese
investors was mentioned by one company director with regard to the port and
rail system.
The Clarence River,
along with its estuary and floodplain, comprise the largest coastal river
system in New South Wales and it is home to the commercial fishing fleet
working the biggest river and ocean fishery in the state.
The people who live
within this system know how special the river is and in the past have spoken
out to protect The Mighty Clarence.
This 'super port' plan
may not be feasible or advisable given the existing environmental, cultural,
social, aesthetic and economic values it will either diminish or destroy, but
it continues to be put forward at every opportunity (sometimes promoted by NSW
National Party members) and it is perhaps time for concerned Clarence Valley
residents and communities to ask their elected representatives to do more than
wave away any suggestion that this super port will be considered by government.
It's time to ask them to
approach their own parties and get a firm commitment to protect the Clarence
River estuary from this form of destructive overdevelopment.
If you want to see what
this merry band of white shoe developers have planned for their own personal
enrichment go to http://www.aid-australia.com.au/ and
read about their proposed $12 billion takeover of the Port of Yamba aka
Eastgate Port.
Judith M. Melville,
Yamba
Stinging
attack on Williamson over Port meetings
And China is hearing about it........
And China is hearing about it........
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