Send A Submission Opposing the Urannah Dam Project
Hunt for the Gastric Brooding Frog - 16 Dec 2020
Limited places are still available for this exciting presentation from two of Australia's leading frog experts. They will talk about efforts to find the extinct Northern Gastric Brooding Frog and bring the Southern one back from extinction.
You can join us in person at the Mackay Environment Centre, or online via Zoom. (Wed 16 Dec 2020. 5.30pm Qld/6.30pm Daylight Saving)
Read moreProposed $2.9bn Urannah dam in Queensland could return as little as 26c per dollar
The dam’s benefits have been overstated and the business case does not take environmental costs into account, economist says
The Urannah dam project near Mackay has been supported by about $15m in federal grants since 2016. New economic analysis has questioned the value of the proposed 1.5 trillion-litre dam.
A 1.5 trillion-litre north Queensland dam proposal backed by both the federal and state governments could return as little as 26c for every dollar invested, an economic analysis has found.
Dams condemned by farmers, environmentalists and scientists
Media Release
27 November 2020
The Queensland Coordinator General has today released draft terms of reference for Environmental Impact Statements for increasing the size of the Burdekin Falls Dam and construction of a new Urannah Dam both of which are in the Burdekin River basin in North Queensland.
The projects have become increasingly controversial, with farmers, scientists and environmentalists raising serious concerns about the consequences of reducing the flow of water in Australia’s second largest river basin.
Read moreMedia Release: LNP Dams Plan was a Political Fizzer
2 November 2020
The outcome of last weekend’s Queensland election shows that voters could not be swayed by the promise of the biggest dam building program in Australia’s history.
The LNP promised to build a major new dam on the Burdekin River to irrigate dry lands in the interior of Queensland. The scheme would have cost tens of billions of dollars and led to unsustainable reductions in freshwater flowing to coastal ecosystems, including estuaries that fisheries depend upon.
The policy was targeted at voters in key electorates in Townsville. In an announcement in August, LNP leader Deb Frecklington said “the biggest benefit will be felt in Townsville” and “[the] project that will secure Townsville’s economic future for generations to come”.
Voters returned ALP candidates in all three Townsville seats with swings of about three per cent.
Read moreUrannah Volunteers Needed
We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help with our Urannah Campaign. There are lots of things to do to ensure that Urannah Creek is protected from the crazy dam that has been proposed yet again. Over the past fifty years, the dam has been rejected more than 17 times because it makes no economic sense. Now the federal government has sponsored another feasibility study. We need volunteers to help us ensure this dam does not proceed.
Robert & Terri Irwin speak about Irwin's Turtle
Robert and Terri Irwin interviewed about the Irwin's Turtle and the dam that will destroy its habitat on MixFM
Sign our petition https://www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au/protect_urannah_creek
Steve Irwin's rare and remarkable bum-breathing turtle 'smack bang' on site of proposed Urannah Dam
A turtle named after famed naturalist Steve Irwin that has the ability to breathe through its bum may be under threat from the proposed $4 billion Urannah Dam.
Freshwater species elseya Irwini, or Irwin's turtle, was unknown to science until 1990 when 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin and his father Bob sent photos of a distinctive snapping turtle to the Queensland Museum.
The turtle's known habitat is limited to a 25-kilometre stretch of the Bowen River inland from Mackay.
James Cook University doctorate candidate Jason Schraffer said he was concerned about a significant risk to the isolated population of Irwin's turtles.
"The only known study population is smack bang on the site of the proposed dam," he said.
Sign our petition https://www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au/protect_urannah_creek
Read moreStop Adani Phone Jam
In seven weeks some of Adani's insurance expires so they're busy trying to find insurers to cover their dirty coal mine. We have convinced many insurance companies to not cover Adani but we still need to get another nine insurers to rule out support. We can do that by bombarding insurers offices with calls from people who are concerned about the climate damage of opening up the Galilee Basin coalfields.
So let’s ensure those remaining insurer’s phones ring hot with the #StopAdani message!
On Tuesday 6 October we will be meeting at the Mackay Environment Centre and online to learn how to do that and make a couple of calls each. Please RSVP for this event so we can join together to make as many two minute calls as possible.
Read moreHunt for the Irwin's Turtle - 29 Sept 2020
When the the Australian continent separated from Gondawana about 180 million years ago, our freshwater turtles began a long journey of evolution distinct from turtles in other parts of the world. A unique species, Irwin's Turtle, evolved in isolation: a pink-nosed turtle that is able to survive for extended periods submerged by extracting oxygen from the water. It lives in the beautiful, crystal-clear waters of Urannah Creek, west of Mackay.
Sign our petition https://www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au/protect_urannah_creek
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