Save Ralphs Bay Inc. accepts this work is part of the Resource Planning and Development Commission (RPDC) assessment process, and as a group we are committed to being an active participant in that process. We will, however, continue to vocally stand up for Ralphs Bay and Tasmania’s coastline at every opportunity.  We know there is strong community support for the protection of our island’s unique coastal environment, and it starts with preventing the construction of Tasmania’s first canal estate development in Ralphs Bay.

It was great to see new faces join us at the Lauderdale Hall at 7.30 am on Friday. Very heartening indeed. More always welcome! For all those many supporters driving by who honked, flashed their lights, waved and smiled at our past two Friday morning Bayside vigils, a HUGE thank you! Your support truly kept us warm against the winter chill. We will be there weekly for the duration of Walker Corporation’s drilling program. If you do decide to join us, please wear warm, brightly coloured clothing.

As SRB prepares for the developer’s Draft Integrated Impact Statement (IIS) to be delivered to the RPDC, either late this year or early next, the fundraising, strategising and expert co-ordination effort goes on. We will continue to rely on your support to ensure Ralphs Bay gets the best possible defence in the Commission.

All offers of help will, as ever, be gratefully received. Contact us at info@saveralphsbay.org
Warmest wishes
The Team at SRB Inc.

We meet at the Lauderdale Hall at 7.30 a.m. (27th June 08) to display our Save Ralphs Bay message to local commuters, and Walker’s consultants.

Why not bring a small blue flag for the Bay or make your own sign?  Just make sure it’s polite …
None of us wants to be branded unreasonable!

For those supporters driving to work at that time, make sure you honk, flash your lights or wave to show you love Ralphs Bay, just the way it is.
___________________________________

THE FIRST VIOLATION OF RALPHS BAY SANDFLATS

Just when you thought it was safe to believe Walker Corporation had perhaps seen the light on the Bay and decided to walk away from its unsustainable, unpopular canal estate plan, the developer is set to start eight weeks of core drilling this week.

Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) has issued a notice to mariners (The Mercury, public notices 21 June) advising that sediment sampling work on Ralphs Bay will begin Tuesday, 24 June.  Walker Corporation’s mailout to Lauderdale residents stated this work would begin last Friday.

According to the developer’s Impact Management Plan, a barge-mounted vibrating hammer corer and all terrain supercorer will shortly arrive on the fragile sandflats, drilling seventeen boreholes up to twenty metres deep in two phases between now and August.  These documents can be found at:  www.environment.gov.au

Queensland-based consultants, Cardno Pty Ltd, will be testing – on behalf of Walker Corporation as required under the RPDC guidelines – for heavy metals, including lead, mercury, zinc, copper, cadmium and arsenic.

NOT WORTH THE RISK

It is a matter of State and Commonwealth policy under the Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) for Derwent Heavy Metals 2007 that these sediments remain in place.  In their current undisturbed state, these contaminated sediments pose no threat to aquatic or human health, nor to the health of the River Derwent.  Over time, it is believed, the river will heal itself, with our benign assistance in a process of ‘monitored natural recovery’.

The WQIP is online at:  www.derwentestuary.org.au

Ralphs Bay is also considered a high risk area for coastal acid sulphate soils.  These naturally occurring soils are a feature of estuarine systems, and peaty bogs and swamps in inland areas.  Acid sulphate soil damage is a hallmark of canal estates. Their disturbance and release has resulted in massive fish kills, poor water quality and damage to property interstate.  The significant ecological and economic cost of acid soils was a deciding factor in the New South Wales Canal Estate Ban (State Environment Protection Policy 50).  These ancient soils also pose no threat when left undisturbed and unexposed to air.

For more information on coastal acid sulphate soils go to: 
www.asris.csiro.au
www.ozcoasts.org.au

A LONG ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Save Ralphs Bay Inc. rejects the notion that any proposal to build a canal housing estate inside a bay of high conservation value – a bay that belongs to the people of Tasmania – is legitimate from any environmental, social or economic perspective.

We continue, however, to support the legitimacy of the RPDC’s work in assessing the Walker Corporation Project of State Significance (PoSS).  We remain committed to coordinating the most effective possible expert response to the developer’s Integrated Impact Statement (IIS) when it is released for public comment, most likely late this year or early 2009. 

To take on the vast resources of Walker Corporation and win, we will continue to need and be thankful for your support in the weeks and months ahead.

The Team at Save Ralphs Bay Inc.

According to documents lodged by the proponent on the EPBC Act website, the drilling works will be conducted in two phases for an estimated total of eight weeks, concluding in August.  During Phase 1, seventeen boreholes will be drilled to an average depth of ten metres, but up to twenty metres in softer sediments.

A small, but committed group of Save Ralphs Bay members will tomorrow register their silent protest at Walker Corporation’s continued threat to Ralphs Bay, along the roadside at Lauderdale.  We will meet at the Lauderdale Hall at 7.30 am, rugged up, with eyes peeled for a barge-mounted vibrating hammer corer and all terrain vehicles.

Media contact:  Cassy O’Connor 0400 628 939

Useful links:

Resource Planning and Development Commission
Assessment Approvals Process

Derwent Estuary Water Quality Improvement Plan for Heavy Metals, June 2007

State of the Environment Report 2004, Ecological Condition of Coastal, Estuarine and Marine Habitats

State of the Derwent Estuary: A review of environmental quality data to 1997, Coughanowr, C.

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Referrals list page

In a media release issued today, Walker Corporation states that (Queensland-based) Cardno Pty Ltd will start seabed coring for environmental and geotechnical testing as a component of the developer’s Draft Integrated Impact Statement.  The developer’s release does not reveal the fact that a body of scientific evidence already exists, confirming the Ralphs Bay sediments are contaminated with heavy metals and a high risk area for coastal acid sulphate soils.

Save Ralphs Bay Inc. communications coordinator, Cassy O’Connor said, “To better understand the severe risks associated with disturbing the sediments of Ralphs Bay, we trust Walker Corporation and its consultants have first read the State of the Derwent Report 2004 as well as the State and Commonwealth Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) for the Derwent.  They should also request an extensive briefing by experts working with the Derwent Estuary Program.

“Decades of pollution from the zinc works and paper mill upstream have deposited mercury, arsenic, lead, zinc, cadmium and copper in the Ralphs Bay sediments.  It is State and Commonwealth policy under the WQIP that those sediments remain undisturbed to continue the process of ‘monitored natural recovery’.

“It is environmentally reckless to even contemplate disturbing those heavy metals and exposing the River Derwent to such high risk of harm”, Ms O’Connor said.

SRB Inc. Chair, Bill Edmunds, said while the group accepts the legitimacy of the Resource Planning and Development (RPDC) assessment process and the requirement for detailed impact studies, a concerned community continues to reject the perceived legitimacy of the canal estate proposal.

“Walker Corporation is proceeding with its ridiculous plan to plonk 500 homes on artificial islands in the footprint of the Ralphs Bay Conservation Area despite overwhelming public opposition because it fails every test of sustainability and common sense.

“Using pre-emptive language, Walker Corporation’s State Manager, Lia Morris, said, “Walker Corporation’s $300 million Lauderdale Quay will provide unique waterfront housing in Tasmania …”. That is a matter for the RPDC to decide in the first instance.  SRB Inc. is committed to ensuring Ralphs Bay will not be the site of Tasmania’s first toxic canal estate development.

Canal estates are banned in New South Wales (State Environment Protection Policy 50) because they are responsible for wetland habitat destruction, loss of rare flora and fauna, poor water quality, damage to fisheries, acid sulphate soils, household runoff pollution, mosquito and midge outbreaks and regular chemical spraying, and loss of public access to coastal areas that once were available for all to enjoy.

Media note:  Save Ralphs Bay Inc. members are meeting in Lauderdale tonight to discuss the group’s on-the-ground response to the arrival and presence of Walker’s geotechnical consultants.

For more information:  Cassy O’Connor 0400 628 939

Save Ralphs Bay Inc welcomes Premier David Bartlett’s assurance this morning that the assessment of the proposed Walker Corporation canal estate in Ralphs Bay rests with the Resource Planning and Development Commission, and the RPDC’s decision on the matter will be respected by the State Government.

Save Ralphs Bay Inc Chair Bill Edmunds said, “We take it from this that Mr. Bartlett has issued an iron-clad guarantee that the RPDC will continue to exist for the full duration of the assessment of Walker’s proposal, regardless of the outcome of the Review of Tasmania’s planning system which is currently underway.

“In our experience of the Bruny Bioregion Inquiry, the inquisitorial approach of the RPDC ensures that all the relevant information in relation to planning decisions is actively sought by the Commission; all stakeholders can make submissions and take part in non-threatening, jargon-free Hearings without the need for legal representation, and all representations as well as the Commission’s Reports are available for inspection on the RPDC website in a timely and completely transparent manner.

“We regard it as absolutely critical that the Ralphs Bay canal estate proposal is assessed by a rigorous, fearless and utterly independent RPDC, without pressure from the State Government to reach a particular conclusion. We have been very concerned by the State Government’s actions in relation to the Bruny Bioregion Inquiry. Our challenge to the Government of Tasmania in relation to the Ralphs Bay assessment is this: ‘Hands off, and step right back. Let the RPDC do its work without fear or favour.’ It’s as simple as that.”

Media contacts: Bill Edmunds (0438 341 858) or Cassy O’Connor (0400 628 939).

ABC News link:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/06/2266780.htm?site=idx-tas
Umpire’s marina decision final: Premier

“Save Ralphs Bay Inc was shocked to see that 69% of the Marine Protected Areas put forward in the Draft Recommendations Report of the Inquiry into the establishment of Marine Protected Areas in the Bruny Bioregion have been slashed in the Final Recommendations Report” said SRB Submissions Coordinator, Jane MacDonald.

“If all the Marine Protected Areas recommended in the Draft Report had gone ahead, this immensely biodiverse Tasmanian bioregion would still have been behind Victoria and NSW in terms of the proportion of the marine environment protected.  However, the final area recommended for protection is now well under a third of the modest extent proposed just a few short months ago.”

Of the 5 areas around the South Arm Peninsula recommended for Marine Protected Area (MPA) status in the Draft Report, only 2 have made it through to the final recommendations.

The primary objective of the proposed Opossum Bay MPA is the protection of the Spotted Handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus, which is in danger of becoming the world’s first marine fish to face extinction since the scientific naming of species began.  The Opossum Bay MPA has the potential to give significant protection to the Spotted Handfish, since MPA status would entail consideration of, “the need to minimise impacts from land-based activities, such as stormwater and wastewater outfalls, habitat disturbance and coastal developments.” (RPDC Bruny Bioregion MPAs Final Recommendations Report, emphasis added)

“We were disappointed that the Droughty Peninsula MPA did not make it into the final recommendations,” Ms. MacDonald said.  “This MPA would have offered protection to Spotted Handfish known to live inside Ralphs Bay.”

Save Ralphs Bay Inc welcomes the proposal to give Nature Reserve status to the South Arm MPA, an area of sandflat to the north of the South Arm Neck.  This MPA is designed to protect critical shorebird habitat.

The Ralphs Bay Conservation Area at Lauderdale met the identification criteria for MPA’s as stated in the Interim Report of the Inquiry.  However, in August 2007, Minister Steve Kons directed that this area be removed from consideration by the Inquiry, as it is the site of the Walker Corporation’s proposed 500 home canal estate and marina development on the sandflats of Ralphs Bay.  Hence the South Arm MPA is now the sole remaining area of Ralphs Bay sandflat put forward for protection.

Save Ralphs Bay Inc considers that the RPDC has shaved the proposed MPAs in the Bruny Bioregion down to the barest minimum, and notes the Commission’s statements in the Final Report that, “if any of these areas are not declared then the Strategy’s primary goal to establish a comprehensive and representative system would not be met.  If the size or level of protection for any of these recommended areas is reduced, then the primary goal to achieve an adequate system would not be met,” and, “The resulting fourteen recommended areas is as lean a system of MPAs as the Commission could determine whilst still complying with the terms of reference and the (Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas) Strategy.”

“Save Ralphs Bay Inc fully supports the RPDC’s statement in the Final Recommendations Report that, “This unique system of MPAs was not recommended just to help ecological sustainability and protect biodiversity. It was also recommended as a potential asset to the well-being of Tasmanian society:
providing for the aesthetic, recreation, tourism and knowledge building needs of our community and our visitors. The system of MPAs fulfills our obligations for protecting our marine natural heritage and provides opportunities and benefits for future generations.”

“However, the Tasmanian Government has already pre-empted any final decision on the RPDC recommendations by saying, “the Government will not be agreeing to any recommendations that restrict or prevent traditional fishing activities of recreational or commercial fishers.” This flies in the face of the primary goal of the Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy (2001) which is, “to establish and manage a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protected areas, to contribute to the long-term ecological viability of marine and estuarine systems, to maintain ecological processes and systems, and to protect Tasmania’s biological diversity.”

Media contact: Jane MacDonald phone - 6239 9589 mobile – 0406 993 425

Prospective buyers and the Resource Planning and Development Commission Panel assessing the proposal might want to check out the CSIRO Droughty Hill wind readings for 3 April 2008. At its pre-dawn peak, the wind blasted into Ralphs Bay from the West-North-West at 174 km/hr. Its average speed during this period was 130km/hr. Extreme weather events aside, all the locals, and particularly the windsurfers, know that Ralphs Bay is one wild and windswept place. Who in their right mind would want that sort of oceanfront lifestyle, and can Walker Corporation actually be serious about putting houses and people into such an environment?

Cassy O’Connor
139 Roaring Beach Rd
South Arm 7022

(m) 0400 628 939

But why the DPIW?

The RPDC’s inquiry on this matter was carried out under the Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy 2001, whose Primary Goal is all about ecology and biodiversity.

The Inquiry was begun by former Planning Minister Judy Jackson and continued under Steven Kons. The RPDC recommends the marine reserves should be administered by Parks and Wildlife, which is not in the DPIW portfolio.

The DPIW website invites the public to fax or email comments to the “Recreational Fisheries Enquiries” section. “Fishing enquiries” is an inappropriate email address for submissions on this matter. Fishing is relevant to just 2 of the 11 dot points listed in the “Secondary Goals” of the Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy.

Minister David Llewellyn has already written to recreational fishing license holders, in advance of any final decision, saying the government “will not be agreeing to any recommendations that restrict or prevent traditional fishing activities of recreational or commercial fishers”.

The State Government is unashamedly demonstrating its disregard for an excellent, thorough assessment process carried out by the RPDC between 2005 and 2008.

The preservation of living biodiversity and the benefits of MPAs for fish stocks and fishers are clearly far less important to this government than the prospect of shoring up votes in the short term.

Jane MacDonald, South Arm

You can send your comments and submissions to the Secretary, Department of Primary Industries and Water, GPO Box 44, Hobart, TAS 7001,

or email: Fishing.Enquiries@dpiw.tas.gov.au

or fax Recreational Fisheries Enquiries, Wild Fisheries Management Branch Fax: 03 6223 1539

The Final Recommendations Report of the “Inquiry into the establishment of marine protected areas in the Bruny Bioregion” was released by David Llewellyn, the Minister for Primary Industries and Water on March 17th.

The advertisement in the Mercury newspaper inviting public comment pre-empted the final decision on the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by saying: “the Government will not be agreeing to any recommendations that restrict or prevent traditional activities of recreational or commercial fishers”.

This flies in the face of the primary goal of the Tasmanian Marine Protected Areas Strategy (2001) which is, “to establish and manage a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of marine protected areas, to contribute to the long-term ecological viability of marine and estuarine systems, to maintain ecological processes and systems, and to protect Tasmania’s biological diversity.”

If all the MPA’s in the Draft Recommendations Report had been declared, the Bruny Bioregion (one of Australia’s most biodiverse and ecologically significant) would still have been behind Victorian and NSW waters, in terms of the proportion of the marine environment protected.

However, following pressure from the state government and the Department of Premier and Cabinet in particular, the area recommended for protection in the Final Recommendations Report has been slashed by 69%. In other words, less than a third of the areas recommended in the Draft Report have made it to the final report. The state government is still to decide which of these will actually be declared as MPAs.

Only 1% of the Bruny Bioregion is being recommended for “no-take” MPA status in the Final Recommendations Report, but both the government and the Liberal Party have flatly rejected ANY no-take zones.

The Draft Recommendations Report proposed five MPAs around the South Arm peninsula, which encloses Ralphs Bay. Just two of these have made it into the Final Recommendations Report.

Please give your strong support for the creation of these two South Arm peninsula MPAs. The first of these, the proposed Opossum Bay MPA, runs just outside the waters of Ralphs Bay along the coastline of Opossum Bay and South Arm. Its stated purpose is the protection of the critically endangered Spotted Handfish, Brachionichthys hirsutus, which is internationally recognised as being in danger of becoming the world’s first extinct marine fish since scientific naming of species began.

We support the creation of the Opossum Bay MPA. The Opossum Bay MPA has the potential to give significant protection to the Spotted Handfish, since MPA status would entail consideration of, “the need to minimise impacts from land-based activities, such as stormwater and wastewater outfalls, habitat disturbance and coastal developments.”

In the Final Recommendations Report the community has lost the Droughty Peninsula MPA, whose purpose was also to protect the Spotted Handfish. This proposed MPA extended inside Ralphs Bay around the Droughty Peninsula, and would have provided good protection for the Spotted Handfish known to live inside Ralphs Bay.

We support the creation of the South Arm Nature Reserve, an area of sand flat extending from the South Arm Neck in the southern section of Ralphs Bay. This will give important protection for shorebirds and the invertebrate communities on which they feed. Please give your support to the declaration of the South Arm Nature Reserve.

The Final Recommendations Report of the “Inquiry into the establishment of marine protected areas in the Bruny Bioregion” can be viewed at the RPDC website (together with the previous reports of the Inquiry) and the final Report is also on the DPIW website.

We thank you for taking the time to read this message. We encourage you to write to DPIW in support of MPAs in the Bruny Bioregion. Letters to the Editor, letters and calls to state politicians and talkback radio calls will also help.

Save Ralphs Bay Inc has produced a stylish 2008 Calendar, cards featuring iconic images of our precious bay and its wildlife, and tea towels just in time for Christmas and gifts.  Sales of this calendar, the cards, and tea towels will help with our continuing fundraising efforts for Save Ralphs Bay Inc.

You can download a pdf preview version of the calendar here (Note: this is a 2.2mb pdf download):
http://www.saveralphsbay.org/pdf/Calendar_RB-2008_v5.pdf

[The images in the 12 month SRB 2008 calendar]

and a pdf preview of the cards here (Note: this is a 460kb pdf):
http://www.saveralphsbay.org/pdf/RB_Postcards_FINALS.pdf

[A SRB card]

and an image of the tea towel is here (48kb jpg):
http://www.saveralphsbay.org/images/Tea_Towel.jpg

[A SRB Tea Towel]

The calendar, cards, and tea towels are available directly from Save Ralphs Bay:

Download the order form here - 72kb pdf:
http://www.saveralphsbay.org/pdf/Individual_Order_Form_2008.pdf

The calendar will soon be available from selected outlets around Tasmania (such as Fullers, Angus & Robertsons, Hobart Book Shop, Wilderness Shop Salamanca, plus shops around Lauderdale, Cremorne, and the South Arm Peninsula) but to avoid disappointment please use the order form and we will ensure that you will receive your calendar and/or card order by return post.

Also - Why not help the Bay and sell to your friends and colleagues? Simply download the “Your Organisation” order form, take the orders, collect the funds, and email us for a calendar delivery to your nominated Hobart address. For organisations outside of Hobart, we will arrange something by phone.

Download the “Your Organisation” order form (64kb pdf) here:
http://www.saveralphsbay.org/pdf/Organisational_Order_Form_2008.pdf

You can email us about these and other sales matters at sales@saveralphsbay.org