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- 23 February 2005
Kurnell Peninsula Sand Extraction Proposal
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Page: 14085
Mr BARRY COLLIER (Miranda) [11.51 a.m.]: The sand dunes of the Kurnell peninsula once towered above Bate Bay to the north of Cronulla and Wanda beaches. These golden giants were the backdrop for iconic films, such as, 40,000 Horsemen and Mad Max. The Wanda sandhills were a simple recreational wonderland for children—occupying a warm, very special place in the personal and family histories of many shire residents, including mine. The pristine, golden giants are all but gone. They have been replaced by a moonscape, pockmarked with deep sinkholes and filled with saltwater and pollutants. The sandminers have seen to that. Kurnell has been supplying sand to the shire and Sydney for more than 40 years. We in the shire believe that Kurnell has done enough. We believe this assault on the birthplace of Australia, on our heritage, on our culture and on our history cannot continue. Sandmining, we believe, must come to an end on the Kurnell peninsula.
Rocla Ltd has lodged an application with the State Government to extract an additional 4.5 million tonnes of sand from Kurnell, thereby extending its activities on the peninsula for another 20 years. The company wants to backfill the void left by its dredging with material such as crushed concrete and possibly acid sulphate soils and eventually create an industrial park on the site. This proposal amounts to environmental vandalism and must be rejected by the State Government. The Minister must say "No" for a host of a very sound reasons: environmental, ecological, social, historical, cultural and heritage. I have written to the Premier and the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources and I have personally lodged 12 objections to the Rocla development application [DA] with the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources [DIPNR].
If approved, the Rocla plan will mean the removal of the last exposed sand dune clearly visible from Cronulla and from as far away as Brighton-le-Sands. Changes to the ground water flows, as a result of Rocla's dredging and backfill, will have an adverse effect on the delicate, finely balanced mangrove and marine environments of Quibray Bay and Towra Point Nature Reserve. They will also adversely affect the internationally recognised Ramsar wetlands, which are only 100 metres from the project site. The proposal will mean increased accident risks, as there will be additional heavy vehicle traffic of up to 504 truck movements every weekday and 266 on weekends on the Captain Cook Drive, Kurnell's only access road. I am advised that 30 major accidents occurred on that stretch of road in 2004.
The Rocla proposal threatens a 2,000-year-old Aboriginal midden, which is believed to be the largest in the Sydney region. Its dredging and plans for an industrial estate also pose an unacceptable threat to the endangered green and golden bell frog. The proposal is completely incompatible with the heritage listing by the State Government in 2003 of the Cronulla dune and Wanda Beach. But there's more! If approved, the proposal increases the potential for ocean breakthrough and the isolation of the Kurnell township. It will mean also that Rocla has no incentive to explore new technology or to locate and develop new sources of much-needed sand supply to provide for the increase in Sydney's population of 1,000 people per week.
But there are another 7,632 reasons for the Government to say no to Rocla and its proposal. That is the number of signatures of shire residents on a petition calling on the State Government to reject Rocla's latest plan and to end sandmining on the peninsula once and for all. I have presented the petition to Parliament and a copy was presented to the planning Minister at Wanda on Monday. The 7,632 signatures were collected in just three weeks, and are just a small sample of the deep-seated anger among my constituents about the Rocla proposal and the continued destruction of the Kurnell peninsula. Everyone who signed the petition laments the destruction of the golden giants and wants an end to this continued assault on their heritage and personal family histories. I lay the petitions on the table.
I call on the Government to say "No" and to take steps to put an end to Rocla's sandmining on the peninsula. I should add that Kurnell peninsula is not in my electorate of Miranda; it is in the State electorate of Cronulla, which has been held by the present sitting member for the past 20 years. It is also in the Federal electorate of Cook, which has been held by the Liberal Party for 30 years consecutively and is presently held by the Hon. Bruce Baird. Yet Kurnell is near and dear to the hearts of many of my constituents. I have called on the honourable member for Cronulla, Mr Baird and the local mayor—all Liberals—to work with me in a bipartisan way to oppose Rocla and end sandmining on the peninsula. I have even provided each of them with a copy of my personal submission to DIPNR, without their having asked for it.
The Liberals have had electoral responsibility for the peninsula for a total of 50 years, during which time much of the destruction of the Kurnell peninsula has occurred. One would think they would take the hand of bipartisanship that I have repeatedly extended to them. After all, the Kurnell issue will be resolved only by State and Federal governments working together. After numerous published letters and statements by Mr Baird in Federal Parliament, he was quoted in the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader yesterday as rejecting my offer of bipartisanship. So be it. I will continue to oppose Rocla and work to end sandmining on the Kurnell peninsula for those who really matter, that is, my constituents.
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