Lack of Government Coherence Threatens Daintree
2/28/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Lack of Government Coherence Threatens Daintree
Source: Australian Tropical Research Foundation
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: February 28, 1999
Byline: Teresa Elizabeth
Australian Tropical Research Foundation
Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station.
PMB 5 Cape Tribulation via Mossman
Phone/Fax (61) 07 4098 0063
Queensland 4873
ACN 059 585 107
Australia
e-mail - austrop@austrop.org.au
28th Feb 1999
Press Release/Letter to Editor
Dear Editor,
People north of the Daintree River have been taking advantage of the
clause in the vegetation clearance by-law that allows salvage of
trees after a natural disaster, in this case Cyclone Rona. In some
cases dwellings were damaged by falling vegetation, and trees did
need to be cleared. On the other hand, it seems to be that some
people are engaged in a cynical exercise to get rid of as many trees
as possible.
Take the actions of a subsidiary of a small timber company, based in
Mt. Molloy. In exchange for free felling, landowners have been
persuaded to allow the company to remove logs for their own
commercial interest. It's hard to argue that trees which have fallen
should not be put to use for building or other purposes, but in a
situation like this , it is in the interest of the logging company to
pull out as many trees as possible to make it worth their while to be
working here. Planning laws should prohibit this type of unchecked
clearing after a natural disaster. The natural disaster plan should
include stronger provision for the protection of vegetation AFTER the
disaster. It is all too easy to remove trees that have lost branches
or most of their foliage as damaged, when in fact they will recover
perfectly well.
Right next to Dubuji, the new Wet Tropics visitor site in Cape
Tribulation, still unable to be opened because of cyclone damage,
you've got PK's Village, the most accessible backpacker site in the
area. PK's have just taken advantage of the cyclone damage to clear
1ha of their property to put in an extension to their Enviroflow
aerated sewerage system. Not only that, they've also cleared a
10mx100m strip of the esplanade, which is actually land zoned under
Beach Protection Authority, to allow access of vehicles to their
worksite. This strip had previously had an old walking track which
had been bollarded by National Parks to aid rainforest regrowth. We
understand that no permits were sought or issued for this activity.
There are a number of issues here: studies have shown that the
fringing reef on Myall Beach is already suffering very significant
damage because of a too-high nutrient load (eutrophication) from
sewerage and nutrient run-off. This eutrophication of the reef ,
(massive increase in sargassum weed, loss of seagrass, and the
overgrowth of a fine-branching algae which is killing the coral) will
be increased by the expansion of this unsuitable sewerage system. The
new sprinkler system will allow sewerage which has undergone
secondary treatment to percolate into the groundwater to be dumped
continuously on the reef; high rainfall will cause surface wash-off
of the unincorporated nutrients, leaving the fringing reef exposed to
nutrient surge. Photographs of similar fringing reefs in the area,
taken in the 30's, all too well illustrate the massive degradation
these reefs have suffered in the last 60 years.
It was both unnecessary and disadvantageous to clear this amount of
protected vegetation to put in this sprinkler system. Planning laws
should have prevented PK's from doing this. In fact, if it wasn't for
the unbelievable level of confusion over demarcation between
Government departments and agencies, over which agency is responsible
(or can dodge responsibility) for particular land use issues, then
these conflicts would not keep re-occurring. In an ideal world, they
(PK's) would have been required to install composting toilet systems,
and there would never have been the need for clearing and the
continuous cycle of system breakdowns and upgrades that has
characterised all the major sewerage systems in the Tribulation area
over the years.
We implore the State Government to review current legislation so as
to properly integrate the roles of the regulatory agencies, so their
areas of responsibility can be plainly demarcated and rationalised,
and that some form of mechanism be incorporated to allow public
overview and comment on the regulatory process.
Teresa Elizabeth