Mary River dam delayed

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has announced that construction of the controversial Traveston Crossing dam near Gympie will be delayed for several years after advice from the state's Coordinator General that unless more work is done to address the destruction of habitat in the proposed dam area, the federal government would be unlikely to allow the dam.

The local habitat is home to the endangered Queensland lungfish and Mary River turtle.

The dam proposal, first mooted in 2006 when Brisbane appeared likely to run out of water within 18 months, has led to widespread community protest.

Greater Mary Association chairperson Darryl Stewart says the project should be scrapped altogether: "Any dam on the Mary River or its tributaries would cut that lifeblood off and there are huge environmental, economic and social implications right the way downstream from the dam out into Hervey Bay."

From GLW issue 777