Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Abetz, the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. It regards the proposed dam that the Queensland government wishes to construct on the Mary River, south of Gympie. The Mary River, for the minister’s information, is one of the last natural habitats of the extremely rare lungfish and Mary River cod. The dam would also have downstream effects on the quality of water into the Great Sandy Straits and the Fraser Island world heritage area. As the dam would require the resumption of around 900 rural properties, covering 7½ thousand hectares, and put at risk 10 per cent of the local dairy industry, can the minister assure the people of Queensland that the federal environment minister will meet his responsibility under federal law to ensure that threatened species and all world heritage values are protected? Will the federal environment minister insist that there is a thorough and comprehensive environmental impact assessment, rather than any fast-tracked rush job, where a state government has already indicated its determination to build the dam regardless of the impact?