By Carol Booth
BRISBANE — A Hinchinbrook Legal Fighting Fund with a target of $50,000 was launched here on August 25. The fund will pay for a High Court challenge to federal environment minister Senator Robert Hill's consent to Keith Williams' Port Hinchinbrook development.
Hill on August 22 announced consent for Williams' 1500-bed resort and 250-berth marina on the Hinchinbrook Channel. The site is adjacent to two World Heritage Areas — the Great Barrier Reef WHA and Wet Tropics WHA.
The fund is administered by a coalition including Friends of Hinchinbrook, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Queensland Conservation Council, the Wilderness Society, Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, North Queensland Conservation Council and the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre. Legal service is being donated by concerned lawyers, including a QC.
Environment groups will base their legal case upon the government's alleged failure to carry out its legal obligations under the World Heritage Properties Conservation Act, the Australian Heritage Commission Act and possibly the Endangered Species Protection Act.
However, until Hill releases the reasons for his decision, the legal challenge cannot be instituted. Hill has breached the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act, which obliges him to provide Statements of Reasons within 28 days of the decision. A spokesperson for Hill's office said on September 27 that Hill would provide the documents within a fortnight, extending that 28-day period to a potential 50 days.
Meanwhile at Oyster Point, massive excavations are proceeding and dredgers are being readied to dredge a 900 metre canal into the Hinchinbrook Channel. Environmentalists say Hill is trying to delay the release of his reasons until Williams has started dredging.
Despite its massive size and potential impacts on WHA, the development has not been subject to an environmental impact assessment or a regional plan to account for world heritage values.
Shadow minister for the environment Dr Carmen Lawrence, in launching the appeal, accused Hill of ignoring scientific evidence in order to appease the National Party.
Hill has been accused of being motivated by political rather than scientific considerations. "Is it [the approval] a payback to the Queensland National Party for the guns decision as some have suggested?", asked Senator Cheryl Kernot at the launch of the fund.
"Hinchinbrook was the price paid for national gun laws", said Imogen Zethoven, coordinator of the Queensland Conservation Council. "When Tim Fischer announced the decision to support the project, he was under intense pressure because of the agreement between state and federal governments about national gun laws. He needed a win with his own constituency, particularly in north Queensland."
Donations to the Hinchinbrook Legal Fighting Fund can be made by phoning (07) 3221 0188 with credit card details or sending a cheque (payable to QCC Hinchinbrook Fund) to Queensland Conservation Council, PO Box 12046, Elizabeth St, Brisbane 4002.