MORE Labor Party Incompetence and Corruption: 500 sq km Poison Sea and Fish off Gladstone, QLD! - National Environment

MORE Labor Party Incompetence and Corruption: 500 sq km Poison Sea and Fish off Gladstone, QLD!
by Brian Williams via ricin - Courier Mail Friday, Sep 16 2011, 12:20am
national / environment / other press

Corporate friendly Labor allows Fracking and Industrial polluting to DEVASTATE Oz

Barramundi, salmon and whiting have all been caught infected with sores and cloudy eyes and some possibly blind.

It follows the death of more than 100 turtles since the start of the year near Gladstone and fears that fish are being impacted by pollution and the release of acid sulphate from major dredging and coastal works in and around the highly industrialised city.

Gladstone Fish Market owner Ted Whittingham said it was a disgrace the Government had been so slow to act, when fishermen had been warning about problems since last October.

Problems had increased over the past four weeks, with about 30 per cent of the catch infected with sores, lesions and rashes.

"We've been asking for action for six months,'' Mr Whittingham said.

"In the end, the fishing fraternity gave the Government 24 hours to say whether these fish were fit for consumption and that's how we got to this situation.

"We've even had crabbers getting sores on their arms from pulling pots out of the water.''

Economic Development Department director-general Ian Fletcher said yesterday Gladstone Harbour would be closed to fishing to protect public health while the situation was assessed.

"Biosecurity Queensland is testing fish samples to try to identify the condition,'' he said.

"In the meantime, we are taking a precautionary approach to ensure handling of affected fish is minimised.''

Safe Food Production Queensland principal policy officer David Wilkinson said the closure would ensure fish potentially unsuitable for consumption would not enter the food chain.

"There is no evidence to suggest that seafood harvested from other areas is affected," Mr Wilkinson said.

Queensland Health acting chief health officer Michael Cleary said seafood that showed signs of damage, deterioration or disease should not be handled or eaten.

"Anyone who has concerns about their health which might be attributed to the handling or consumption of seafood from the local area should seek medical advice,'' Dr Cleary said.

The closure is from Deception Creek at the top end of The Narrows south to Rodds Peninsula and to the outer edge of Facing Island.

Since May the Gladstone Ports Corporation has dredged 394,000 cu m from the area.

Mr Fletcher said the department was consulting with the Queensland Seafood Industry Association and Sunfish Queensland.

Greens spokeswoman Libby Connors said she saw black sludge being dredged out of the harbour in July.

"The sea bed mud was so black it looked like coal dust had settled in that part of the harbour and was being stirred up by the process,'' she said.

"No wonder locals are arguing that pollutants have been activated by the process.''

Dr Connors said multiple factors could be involved, from the increase in fresh water after the January floods through to mangrove and vegetation clearing on Curtis Island as well as increased dredging for port expansions.

Dr Connors said Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke had to reject the 4th liquified natural gas plant for the region.

An Environment Department spokesman said it was premature to speculate on reasons for the problem.

Fish sometimes contract red spot disease that produces sores on the body. It's usually found in fresh water and similar infections occur in other species.

The department's chief scientist Col Limpus last week put the high numbers of turtle deaths down to the loss of seagrass meadows after two big wet seasons. This also has occurred in Moreton Bay and particularly in the Cairns to Townsville region.

© 2011 News Queensland.

[Know your political parties by their incompetence and who they favour -- neither State nor Federal Labor serves the interests of the people that fact is demonstrated daily. The situation in Gladstone is an OUTRAGE by any 'THIRD WORLD' standard.

Necessity requires the PEOPLE to take vigorous CLASS action against those responsible for this outrageous example of CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE and corruption. Full reparations must also be pursued; the incompetent, LACKEY LABOR government is clearly in bed with the polluting Corporatists -- poisonous and antiquated 'FRACKING' methods continue UNABATED in QLD even though they have received nationwide media attention!

Industries responsible for the monumental poisoning of the Gladstone environment and the poisoning of our PRECIOUS water table inland, with antiquated 'fracking' technologies, MUST be forced to bear ALL the costs of restoring Queensland waters to a safe and healthy condition. All government officials and regulators found to be derelict in their duty/responsibilities MUST be PROSECUTED to the FULL EXTENT of the LAW.

Environmental CRIMES of this MAGNITUDE are totally UNACCEPTABLE. This is not a matter of 'leave it to us, we'll fix it' (more corruption) it is a matter of LAW, pure and simple -- prosecutions, penalties and reparations -- only then will rapacious, polluting, profit-only driven, Corporatists LEARN.]

Link and disseminate this shocking story far and wide and move on the criminal Corporatists and their puppets in government, federally and at state levels. Together, we can RESTORE representative DEMOCRACY to our nation.

Peace.

Posh residents living in exclusive Hunters Hill may be wondering why they are beginning to glow in the dark lately -- 1000 tonnes of buried, loose, radioactive waste may have something to do with it! I am reminded of the INAPPROPRIATE 'clean-up' of Homebush Bay for the Sydney Olympics. Sydney Harbour now has 12 times the acceptable limit of poisonous Dioxins and other toxic pollutants!

Cleaning up means exactly that -- not open slather dredging, which releases huge amounts of material into the water.

From Gladstone QLD to Sydney, Aussies are now getting a taste of corrupt governments and regulators. The severest legal penalties must be applied if we are going to put an end to Corporate controlled puppet governments. The major parties share equal responsibility and the Greens are unfortunately led by Bob Brown, a 'New World Order' poop pushing homosexual who is desperately attempting to normalise sodomy with his gay marriage agenda.

Must See '72 Oz doco covering massive illegal dumping of toxic waste into Oz seas.

Corporate criminals and puppet politicians MUST be prosecuted and the dumping permanently stopped.

SYDNEY WATER wants to release up to 10 times more phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia into the Hawkesbury River from its Brooklyn sewage treatment plant to save costs.

The move has angered the local council, residents, commercial fishers and oyster farmers in the environmentally sensitive area.

Excessive levels of these nutrients can cause algal bloom and other problems.

''It is a very sensitive area in terms of fishing and oyster farming,'' said Bronek Karcz from the Dangar Island residents' association. ''[Sydney Water is] saying the reason is to cut their costs in the plant … We shouldn't be seeing an operational problem in the plant being solved by using the Hawkesbury River as a tertiary sewage treatment plant.''

In an update letter to residents, Sydney Water said it had ''assessed the potential impacts of the revised effluent quality limits and found that there is unlikely to be significant environmental impacts''. But the environmental assessment report has not been made public.

A fourth-generation oyster farmer, Rob Moxham, said construction of the plant four years ago was a big improvement on what was there before but he was concerned about any plans to ease discharge restrictions and dismissed Sydney Water's consultation with the community as window dressing.

''To make this application they have come down here and consulted the public but it's just tick a box. The decision has already been made,'' he said.

A spokesman for Hornsby Shire Council said it had ''serious concerns … that any increase could have serious impacts upon the health of the estuary''.

''Other government agencies, stakeholders, community groups and individuals are working together to improve the health of the Hawkesbury by reducing nutrient discharge and use. However, Sydney Water is proposing that nutrient levels be increased,'' the spokesman said.

Sydney Water said it needed to increase the discharge limits of total phosphorus from 0.3mg per litre to 3mg/litre; total nitrogen from 10mg/litre to 15mg/litre, and ammonia nitrogen from 1mg/litre to 5mg/litre to improve ''the long-term operation and cost effectiveness'' of the Brooklyn plant.

Despite being built in 2007, the plant has required larger-than-expected amounts of chemicals and electricity to meet its discharge limits, which are lower than those of similar plants.

A spokeswoman said: ''The discharge limits originally specified were based on what was at the time considered technologically feasible … We are only proposing changes to the nutrient limits, and no changes to faecal coliforms or suspended solids. We are committed to protecting the health of oyster farms and nearby fishers.''

Rolf Norington, the industry representative on the Estuary Prawn Trawl Management Advisory Committee, said the sewer outfall should never have been allowed. ''It won't wreck the fishing industry on its own but it's another nail in the coffin,'' he said of the proposed increase. With more development planned for the area there would be more and more pressure to pollute, he said.

The Planning Department will rule on the application for the increased discharge but has not called for public submissions.

© 2011 Fairfax Media

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