Indigenous Community Outraged

Anger over the State Government's lack of consultation with indigenous groups about the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam has been simmering among members of the Owens Clan of the Butchulla tribe in Hervey Bay.

The State Government has considered the Butchulla community 'irrelevant' and has excluded them from the consultation process, on the pretext that no part of the dam construction would be on Butchulla land, even though the Terms of Reference (TOR) does not restrict the consideration of cultural heritage to the dam footprint area.

This has been taken as a grave insult by members of the Fraser Coast Butchulla community.

The Mary River is considered by all Butchulla people to be the life-blood of their country and they feel the dam poses a threat to the survival of their culture. Their concerns are particularly related to the impacts a reduction of environmental flows from the Mary would have on the Strait, and how changes in the river would affect sacred sites and traditional practices. They are acutely aware of the importance of floods, both large and small, for river and estuary health. The affects of infrastructure already existing on the river have been keenly observed, and the feeling is unanimous that a further reduction in flows would be devastating for both the estuary and Butchulla culture in general.

Key members of the Owen's Clan in Hervey Bay have voiced their outrage in a submission responding to the EIS. A copy of this will soon be available on ourgreatsandy.com.