By Jess Baker
A group opposed to Southern Downs Regional Council’s participation in the Emu Swamp Dam project has claimed the council has spent more than $100,000 on legal fees relating to the project in just nine months.
Member of ‘POW!’, or Protect Our Water, Melissa Hamilton said the group had raised “serious and significant concerns” about the level of risk the council would take on by agreeing to participate in the Emu Swamp Dam Project, but was yet to receive any answers.
So, the group submitted a Right To Information request.
Ms Hamilton said the group learned that between December 2020, when SDRC agreed to participate in the Granite Belt Irrigation Project, to 25 June this year, the council had spent about $100,000 on legal fees for advice on the project.
“Given the lack of any update from (the) council, it doesn’t appear that this legal advice is about answering ratepayers’ concerns,” she said.
“(The) council seems to be putting the cart before the horse, incurring legal fees that must be paid by ratepayers, all before GBIP even knows whether it has tenders within budget for the dam and pipeline.”
She asked why SDRC should rush, considering the time of “supposed austerity” it was experiencing.
“Surely the legal advice required by (the) council could happen once the project has its approvals and funding and (the) council is confident that it will be proceeding,” Ms Hamilton said.
“Otherwise (SDRC) is just chucking more money down the drain, money we’re told it doesn’t have. Add these latest legal fees to the $2.6 million already spent by various councils on the Emu Swamp Dam proposal over 30 years, and the cost of this water nearly doubles.”
Southern Downs Mayor Vic Pennisi said that the council would have to spend money seeking legal advice on any proposal, including the Emu Swamp Dam proposal.
A report tabled at an ordinary meeting of the council on Wednesday 22 September included a ‘terms sheet’ which had been agreed upon by project proponent Granite Belt Water and all other necessary parties.
Council officers provided updates to each of the resolutions made by SDRC in December 2020, most of which were “in progress”, required “no specific action”, or were “outside the scope of responsibility or action by SDRC”.
A 34-page framework agreement between Granite Belt Water and SDRC was also tabled at the meeting, as well as a fact sheet explaining the project and the council’s involvement in it.
Few updates have been provided by Granite Belt Water on the project’s progress in recent weeks.
On 20 August, project CEO Lloyd Taylor told Warwick/Stanthorpe Today the project would only be able to announce the successful tenderer for construction of the proposed 126-kilometre pipeline once negotiations had been finalised.
“Until this point, all details of the tender process must remain commercial in confidence,” he said.
On Tuesday 21 September, he said the Irrigation Distribution Network tenders were “currently under review”.
He also said the project had a “clear pathway to acquire the water allocations required by the Queensland government to continue the project”.
For updates about the project and Southern Downs Regional Council’s involvement in it, keep an eye on the Warwick/Stanthorpe Today website and pick up a copy of next week’s editions of the papers.
