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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-03 Daily Xml
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LOWLY PENINSULA

Ms BREUER (Giles) (16:10): I rise today to speak about the growing sense of panic in Whyalla about the development of the Lowly Peninsula, which is near Whyalla. The Lowly Peninsula is a very important part of our community. The Santos site occupies one small area and has been there for some 20-odd years, but it is an important part of our community. Some years ago, I believe it may have been zoned industrial, but it has never been seen that way locally. What we are concerned about in Whyalla is the seeming lack of consultation on the development of that peninsula, which is a beautiful area.

The lighthouse, which has been there for well over 100 years, is featured in all the tourism and public relations material that is put out from Whyalla. Fitzgerald Bay, alongside the Lowly Peninsula, is one of the most beautiful areas in the state; you can look across at the Flinders Ranges from there. It also houses a number of fish farms. The cuttlefish aggregations are on the other side—the Weeroona Bay side. I think most people in this place are aware of the unique aggregation of cuttlefish that takes place every year. Dive teams and film crews from all over the world travel there—in fact, last week the BBC was there filming.

Why would you build an ore loading facility over the Great Barrier Reef, the whale watching area at Victor Harbor or the Great Australian Bight? So, why are we proposing to build an ore loading facility over these cuttlefish areas, which are well-known? I believe that, to date, some 60 expressions of interest have been received to build this jetty. However, of those 60 expressions of interest, only one company has come to Whyalla and consulted with our community and our council.

The expressions of interest were called for a couple of days after an information day was held in Whyalla in early May, which many in the community attended. They saw what was available there. The information day, I think, was as a result of concerns that were coming out of our community. It was an information day, but I believe that it is now being touted as a consultation day, which it certainly was not. About four proposals were shown to us on the day. Of all the people who went there (and I spoke to most of them), only two were totally in favour of the whole proposal. Most people have major concerns. It was not a consultation, it was an information day, and we really had very little opportunity to comment or make our feelings known.

I have previously discussed other options for this area, because we are not saying that we are anti-development in Whyalla. We understand that the mining boom is important to this state and to our community in Whyalla, and we are prepared to support it. What we are concerned about is that there are other options rather than just the wholesale development of that peninsula. However, we are not getting an opportunity to talk about it.

I fully back my council and community on this matter. I acknowledge that I am a member of the state government, but I am prepared to fight for my community as hard as I can. We do not want the peninsula turned into an ugly, industrialised place. We will no longer be able to access any of the land around Whyalla because of the takeover by the defence forces; that is all going. The area that I am talking about is a beautiful environment, which people visit.

What we are really concerned about is that we will get one firm there, then another firm, and there will be a domino effect. The whole peninsula will be covered in tanks and buildings and conveyor belts and trucks will come and go. In a couple of years time we will see the whole area fenced off and padlocked and we will not be able to access that area.

What worries us is that we are seen as a dirty, industrial community and it does not really matter what they do out there. I tell members we are told that in Geraldton, for example, you can eat your breakfast off the ore loading facility out there. Come on! We live in Whyalla; we have lived with an industrial and environmental disaster for many years, with the pellet plant there and with the red dust. You will not convince anyone in Whyalla that you can load any sort of ore cleanly, particularly iron ore.

We want an opportunity to be able to talk about this. We want an opportunity to look at other options, such as developing the OneSteel harbour and developing land near the area there, some kilometres along the road where it is hidden from that peninsula. We want the opportunity to be able to discuss keeping that peninsula open for us as a community to use, as we have used it for so many years in the past.

Time expired.

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