Abbott ‘new dams plan’ a recipe for more long term problems not solutions

Media Release
The Wilderness Society QLD Inc
7 January 2011

The Wilderness Society today criticised Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for announcing a new push to construct new dams across Australia in response to the Queensland flood crisis. The leading conservation group said new dams would likely do little to prevent extreme flood events, but would impact heavily on the health of Australian river systems and associated biodiversity.

Glenn Walker, Wilderness Society Wild Rivers Campaigner said: “The Queensland flood disaster has brought much misery.  But Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce’s new dam building agenda is highly simplistic, a knee-jerk response to the flood crisis that would create more problems than it would solve.”

“The reason the Murray-Darling Basin and other stressed river systems have been so severely plagued by environmental problems is because of too many dams and too much water extraction.”

 “Dams prevent the movement of fish for breeding, deny wetlands and downstream ecosystems of critical natural flows, and adversely affect important industries such as tourism, grazing and fishing.”

“The Abbott-Joyce dam plan would see the replication of the Murray-Darling crisis across Australia, with inevitable and significant environmental, social and economic impacts when the next dry spell comes.”

“If rivers are choked with more dams the effects of future droughts on river communities and river health will be amplified. Abbott and Joyce are proposing to create huge problems in response to another – this is a ridiculous way to formulate policy.” 

The Wilderness Society said that dams do not necessarily prevent extreme floods, citing the flooding of Bundaberg as an example.

“The Burnett River Basin, which flows into Bundaberg, is a prime example of the folly of the dam building agenda. This basin is the most heavily developed for water infrastructure in Queensland, with 31 water storages, including the large Paradise Dam constructed in 2005. Despite all of these storages, the floods still reached Bundaberg.” 

“With extreme flood events like this, and the location of some towns in flood-prone areas, it can be difficult to mitigate such disasters. Certainly in this case the many dams did not stop the flood in Bunderberg”, said Mr Walker.

The Wilderness Society is calling on the Bligh and Gillard Governments to reject calls for new dams and instead focus on assisting flooded communities, and developing a more considered response to the flood crisis and river management.