Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 at 23:58
G'day NavyKid
Like you & I, there are many people watching with interest the water flowing into
Lake Eyre .... some to fly over it & some to travel to
Marree & hopefully drive as close to the
lake as possible to see the huge expanse of water at ground level. Members of the
Lake Eyre Yacht Club (LEYC) were hoping to sail there this year as they did on
Lake Killamperpunna last year. This
lake is between the Cooper
Creek crossing of the
Birdsville Track & where the
Cooper Creek ferry has been operating. Everyone who has been to
Marree would noticed the LEYC building & probably thought ... "a yacht club in the middle of the Outback ... you must be joking !!! " I should add that I am not a member of the LEYC but I do very much admire their spirit of adventure.
Below is a copy of an email sent to me by the Commodore of the
Lake Eyre Yacht Club .... I do not need to add any comments because I think it is self explanatory.
"The current inflow into
Lake Eyre means that the
Lake will reach a level comparable or slightly higher than 2000. It is only mid-monsoon at the moment so we are expecting more water, particularly from the larger rivers in Queensland, assuming further cyclones. In the bottom left hand corner of our web site's
lake status page is a link to a satellite image of the massive Neales flood.
A spanner has been thrown into the works by National Parks refusal to give permission for us to sail on
Lake Eyre until they have obtained the OK from the native title claimants. This means that realistically speaking the only way to boat on
Lake Eyre this year will be by committing an illegal act and given the anger in our
membership this may happen.
We were planning an informal gathering on the
Lake around
Easter (it would be too hard to organise a formal event due to the politics) and another regatta at
Lake Killamperpunna in July as it would be easy to repeat and we all had such a great time in 2010. Believe it or not, even though Etadunna are quite happy to have us return to Killamperpunna, the Aboriginal
Heritage Department are threatening to take action against us sailing on any waterway in the
Lake Eyre Basin.
It seems that the South Australian Government are happy to remove our common law right to access and boat on a navigable waterway. We find this amazing given that there is no legal difference between our sailing territory and the River Murray. Unfortunately we cannot match the free legal
services the complainants have at their disposal so all we can do is make the public aware of the erosion of the right to recreate in a National Park in an environmentally sustainable way.
In addition the Station Manager of Stuart Creek, a BHP owned property, has cut access to
Lake Eyre South in response to pressure from the native title claimants. This access track, has been used since the year dot, by locals and those in the know to access
Lake Eyre South in an area of firm beach with water only 30m from the National Park boundary. It has never been formalised as a public access track because it is only a few kilometres off the
Oodnadatta Track and had never caused problems.
I've always wondered why South Australia was such an economically depressed state when the rest of the country was booming. Now I know why.
Cheers,
Bob Backway,
Commodore of the
Lake Eyre Yacht Club http://LakeEyreYC.com "
Regards
Tommy
AnswerID:
445830
Follow Up By: Rockape - Friday, Feb 18, 2011 at 20:27
Friday, Feb 18, 2011 at 20:27
Tom,
line up all your trailers and boats up and go for it, don't show any club tee shirts just do it as private citizens and get the media along to document everything.
I have no problem with native title but I do have a problem with some of the government c@#kheads we have to endure.
This great country is meant to be shared by all, not closed off by a few.
With the the mining company mentioned it may not be as it seems due to some Australians and part of the legal profession, they maybe worried that they will be sued if an accident happens on their lease.
Happy sailing and when the wind shifts remember to dump the main so the boom hits the idiots fair square in the mouth.
Have a good one
FollowupID:
718225
Follow Up By: Gone Bush (WA) - Friday, Feb 18, 2011 at 21:06
Friday, Feb 18, 2011 at 21:06
I've always thought that Native Title is divisive and will ultimately lead to a country within this country.
Every time I read something like this I know I'm right.
FollowupID:
718227
Follow Up By: Bazooka - Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 00:22
Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 00:22
Don't you love the way people jump in boots and all while knowing next to nothing about the issue. Can't see why access would or should be denied to the club (or anyone else) myself but then again I'm in the aforementioned category. If it is as simple as keeping 'non-country' (or whatever the correct indigenous term is) people out/off the
lake then it certainly seems blo0dy-minded. The native title claimants and responsible govt authorities would surely realise that such pettiness is a sure fired way of losing the support of moderate Australians. This might only be a blip on most people's radar but by it's very unreasonableness (my assumption) it could do significant damage to the public's attitude to indigenous affairs. Publicity is obviously the answer to getting the bureaucracy to work for all Australians (Dick Smith for example might be interested in this one???). Let's hope the club gets a fair outcome (though it seems from the email that they've thrown in the towel).
FollowupID:
718250
Follow Up By: Rockape - Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 08:21
Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 08:21
Bazooka,
I guess you are answering my reply.
1. I stated I have no problems with native title.
2. Tom stated access had been withdrawn, then you say you can't see why. Do you believe him or not.
3. I gave a maybe why bhp closed a property access. Had nothing to do with native title or governments.
4. Have a look at all the national park areas being closed to 4wds. Who is closing them. It wouldn't be those people who don't want to alienate us would it.
5. Yes! government departments drive me crazy.
6. I hate wearing boots, if you are referring to me it would be jump in feet and all..
FollowupID:
718257
Follow Up By: Bazooka - Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 19:43
Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 at 19:43
I certainly believe him Rocky, simply pointing out that WE don't have ANY of the facts before us so it's nonsense to be criticising anyone or guessing as to the behind-the-scenes jostling. When I said I can't see why access would be denied I was referring to the bureaucracy, but the depts may have been acting on legal advice or simply following government policy/ministerial direction.
I understand where you are coming from, don't necessarily agree wholly with the sentiment, but I certainly want clarification of the reasons behind their decisions in this case. That's why I hope the club makes some noise. It is simply not good enough in a democracy to say 'we refuse permission' - politicians should be accountable for the actions of their departmental officers, and actions such as this need proper explanation. Then we can make our own judgements if it is reasonable or not.
FollowupID:
718305