COOPER CREEK and LAKE EYRE FIASCO BREWING

Gidday

When I read stories like this I am always reminded of the old Indian saying:

“Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten."

Warrie,

Thanks for the link to SMH article. I didn't know the meeting was on until after I'd left Longreach. Might have gone if I'd known earlier.

I suggest the same people that were at this meeting would be many of the ones who rallied when Keating threatened to put a World Heritage listing over the LEB. They're all a lot older, but far more wiser, and with highly improved communication skills, so this won't go down with out a big fight.

I was always amazed to watch the Diamantina in flood, even just an average flood, and see all that water flow past, then hear some months later that it barely got to lake Eyre, let alone partially filling it. Think many people see this too, and say "all that water going to waste etc etc" when it is filling waterholes, flooding into swamps and depressions, and keeping the ecology of the river system in fine shape.

I'd suggest that the current flood at the Lakes will take more like 6 weeks to get to Birdsville too. Probably end up as not much more than a trickle there too?

Thanks for posting this Warrie,

Bob.

This is so bloody distressing Im stuck for words....

Interesting article but........

Why stop at mining and irrigation, surely grazing cattle, camels, pigs, donkeys, rabbits and feral animals have had a greater adverse effect on the environment than possible relatively small scale mining and irrigation could ever have.

Gidday

Might be timely here to put in a plug for The Dust Bowl, a series that started on SBS on Friday night. Four parter by the renowned American film maker ken burns, it tells the story of the Oklahoma dust bowl, one of the worst ecological disasters in US history. It is kinda spooky listening to the words of the spruikers of the time, eerily similar to people today who believe that there is no river that should not be dammed, no land that should not be cleared. If you missed episode one you can watch it via the SBS site.

Cheers

There is a link here to the Lake Eyre Basin website.

I think Queensland is playing blatant politics here. Quote "Under the terms of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) Intergovernmental Agreement, the Australian, Queensland,South Australian and Northern Territory governments are working together to protect and manage the Lake Eyre Basin’s water and related natural resources. " That means (I hope) that all states and the Commonwealth would have to sign off before something like water extraction for irrigation could happen.

Here is a link to the 2012 ministerial report to the LEB community.

I think that politicians might (just might) have learned something from the Murray Darling Basin fiasco, but vigilance is always needed to ensure that vested interests dont manipulate things, as politicians' memories can be very short at times.

Years ago I had a bit of involvement in some of the early planning work that was done to try to sort out the MDB mess of over-allocation of water liscences etc. That work was very extensive and involved endless community consultation and involvement. Hence I can scarcely believe it when some vested interests now try to claim that they have had plans thrust upon them, too little consultation etc. I translate that as meaning "we haven't got what we want". It could happen again.
Just my 2 cents worth,
Cheers,
Val

From a person who made a living from mining I have a fair idea what has and still goes on.

Here is a quote from the Mackay Mercury. Although this is an unusual event due to flooding the miners just went ahead and released water into the streams.

FLOODED mines have been releasing water into rivers and streams without permission for years, with government departments finding at least 78 environmental breaches from Central Queensland coal sites since 2010.

People seem to get all concerned about cyanide but it is not much of a worry at all. What is the worry is the other chemicals and runoff from the sulphide ore and overburden.

Have a look at the Dee River at Mt Morgan what a disaster. The Jaba River in Bougainville.
Ok tedi and the Fly River. Mt Isa, lead levels and the acid rain that killed all the trees for miles west of the Isa. Both of these problems have been addressed now but only through intervention of the media and then governments being forced to do something. Mines that have gone broke and left a hugh cleanup bill. Most of the time it doesn't happen. The dam that Placer left at Kidston that took the government bulk money to fix.
Read the book "The River of Tears" about Rio.

The most dangerous thing for me in mining, was the decisions of some upper management and some mine engineers through greed. So these are the people we trust to do the right thing. Ha!

Here is a statement from a high up mine exc. We don't have approval to divert the river for the open cut but if we bellow loud enough we will get it.

I would often here the words "we are good corporate citizens" and work to a company charter. What a load of crap that was. All publicity was generated to show them in a wonderful light, while in the background all that exists is greed and deception.

As I said earlier the amount of water used is staggering and that is from a resource that is in the hands of the gods.

Rant over. I have now lost a bit of my anger. At least people now know how to crank me up.

Subdued RA.

The start of the Diamantina River in the Kirby Range.

Mate,
no offence taken. But I will answer you.

I am not anti mining/farmers as we all use their products and produce. in fact I have great empathy for farmers and cattle producers having worked with both wheat and sheep.

What I am is anti bull bleep , from vested interests that don't want to know about the future legacy of Australia, only the profits from greed. I am not going into specifics but have seen events in the mining industry that still send a shiver down my spine.

The catch cry in mining is more tonnes, more tonnes and we don't care if we send a greater percentage minerals to the tails dam and use much more water. We just want more, more, more tonnes through at any cost to exceed budget. Rape and pillage at the end of the financial year endangering both workers and wasting natural resources.

One thing is I never held my hand out, I worked for everything I received. Much of that time in very bad conditions. I don't whinge about that, it was my choice.

As for the MDB. They knew what would happen with salt when they first started the irrigation scheme.

I gotta unwind that spring,

All the best,
RA.