Traveston Swamp, "Call to Arms"

PROTESTING ... the dam meeting at the Gympie Showground attracted thousands of objectors. Picture: Rob Maccoll From "Courier Mail."

I am not generally a supporter of ‘green’ causes. On those occasions when I have found myself among these people I generally find them to believe in some bizarre form of intellectual purity, to the point where anyone who is on their side but not whole heartedly is considered a bigger bastard than those totally opposed to them.

The Save the Mary River campaign however while having some green support, mainly from Sen. Bob Brown, who I personally dislike but have to admit, is genuine in his cause, is not considered left wing enough for most of these people.

It is composed mainly of local residents who are contesting the Labor governments plan to expel them from their homes and properties, in order to build the ‘Traveston dam’, a massive shallow algal swamp to supply the water needs of Brisbane. It will cover something like 20,000 acres to an average depth of 6 meters (20 feet).

Huge areas of prime farmland will in fact be covered by very shallow water in full sunshine creating a massive evaporation problem, with a disproportionate heating factor when considered against dams built in suitable locations. The inevitable result of this will be toxic algal blooms damaging the entire basin below the dam.

There are plenty of other more suitable sites available, however the decision was made on political lines. A former Minister, Kate Malloy who was forced to resign over her opposition to the proposal admitted that the site was chosen because the electorate was not likely to ever vote Labor.

In other words these people are being singled out because they have a history of not voting for the sort of people who do this type of thing. The dam is an obsession with the state government to the point that we saw the rather bizarre spectacle of the Premier insisting that the dam will be built “even if it is not feasible.”

I have received an Email from "TravestonSwamp.info" alerting me to a project they are working on at the moment: -

We are working on a book for the Save Mary Campaign to be distributed across Australia within the next month. The book will be a cost-effective, eye-catching, heart-touching booklet which will be a vibrant, insistent "call to arms", asking Australia to rise up and join us in our campaign to stop the proposed mega-dam on the Mary River.

It will aim to reach people around the country who have time and energy to support the campaign, but who are not necessarily frequent users of the internet.

Using the wonderful images which have been created and offered by Arkin Mackay, Chris van Wyck and others, we wish to team these with poems, songlines, letters from children, cartoons, quotes, and accurate as well as succinct facts about what we stand to lose in the Mary river catchment area, from its beginnings to the Sandy Straits. Finally, a powerful section on what people around Australia can do to stand with us and stop the proposed mega-dam on the Mary River.

The book will be designed in a cost-effective format which will still contain full-colour images and have heart-reaching impact.

We are seeking sponsorship for the book with the following plan:

$200 to sponsor a "page"

$500 to sponsor a "half-chapter"

$1000 to sponsor a "chapter"

Sponsors will be acknowledged and thanked in the back of the book.

Please email Adele Coombs at >fairlierose@yahoo.com< with your name and telephone contact details if you would like to be a sponsor.

For those with a few bucks to spare I recommend this cause.