Keep abreast of how the RPDC Hearings are going or link to relevant RPDC sites. Questions or comment

Useful links

• RPDC - What's new New material is continually being posted here. It is well worth a read. Here are some of the shorter postings:
• Save Ralphs Bay Reply to the Closing Address of Walker Corp
• Birds Tasmania - final statement
• Clarence City Council - final statement
• Merinda Welsford - local resident
• Axel von Krusenstierna on the Construction Environmental Management Plan
• Dr Mike Newman (BirdsTasmania) powerpoint on shore birds
• Jim Orpe - local resident
• Dr John Saul - local doctor
• Dr David Law on public health
• Tasmanian Conservation Trust Inc.
• SCAT - Michael Swanton on Coast Care concerns
• A McQueen and S Wiggins on a number of issues of concern to residents
• Roger Toombs on wind waves and weather
• Sue Wragge on impacts on diving
• Scott Leitch - strong, consistent community opposition to the proposal
• Ashley Cooper on threats to marine species
• Walker Corporation - final statement
• RPDC information about the Hearings
• RPDC's assessment & hearings
• Current status of the process
• RPDC's Lauderdale Quay page
• Link to the 547 submissions
• Save Ralphs Bay submission:
  • Covering letter
  • Part A (Response to Scope Guidelines)
  • Part B (Community Response)
  • Video - Our Bay, our Coast, our Voice
• RPDC's Peer Review Report
• IIS Final Scope Guidelines
• Draft Integrated Impact Statement
• Walker Corporation's web site

Pied Oystercatchers Ralphs Bay

Sunday 19th July

• Let's start with this one:
  "Once you get all the islands constructed, the issue of adverse environmental consequences disappears."
• Read more quotes here

Saturday 18th July

• The Mercury: Ralphs Bay in balance Add your comments.
• ABC - Walker admits not ticking every box

Sunday 12th July

Hobart architect, Professor Robert Morris-Nunn speaks out at the hearings "It's the philosophical issue that there's something special, unique about this place. It's a very fragile commodity, so the negative impact of this proposal was worthy of comment."
Award-winning Hobart architect, Professor Robert Morris-Nunn, appeared on Friday at the Hearings in relation to the proposed Ralphs Bay canal estate.
In his responses to cross-examination by the Walker Corporation's lawyer, Professor Morris-Nunn said, "It comes back to what is special, unique - the qualities that bring people to live here. It would be unfortunate to have a deterioration of that quality."
Asked by the Walker lawyer, "Is this a precedent, a boundary we shouldn't cross?" Professor Morris-Nunn replied, "In essence, yes."
Pressed further, with the question, "You'd still say, one canal estate is one too many for Tasmania?" Professor Morris-Nunn said, "I would."
Professor Morris-Nunn also made reference to the windiness of the site, which he described as, "problematic."
When asked by members of the RPDC panel about the nature of the proposed development, Professor Morris-Nunn stated, "It would be a very artificial community, which is unfortunate. It would create a ghetto, a gated community."

Links to recent news articles of interest:

• ABC: Fears canal project will kill wind-surfing
• ABC: The Tasmanian Greens MP Cassy O'Connor has urged the state's independent planning body to knock back Walker Corporation's plan for Ralphs Bay near Hobart.
• ABC: Walker admits environmental costs

Wednesday 8th July

• ABC: Canal estate a health risk: doctors
• Mercury: $600,000 Bay price denied
• 7 News: Ralphs Bay: Greens MP to fight them on the mudflats

Monday 6th July

Sunday 5th July
Today's media release provides an overview of this week's happenings

Summary:

Roads and traffic

• Walker Corporation now proposes:
  • 3 new roundabouts along the proposed canal estate strip.
  • that right turns out of Ringwood Road, Lauderdale,
    should be disallowed.
• Walker Corporation has previously announced the need for a 3m high, solid perimeter noise barrier around the development site removing the view of the bay.

Impact on shore birds
Walker Corporation's expert witness had previously admitted that the Lauderdale site is an area of International Importance for the Pied Oystercatcher and the development would probably result in a drop in the population of this shorebird.
Friday 26th June on the ABC: Walker's bird study bid 'unreasonable'

Role of sandflats in denitrification
Tasmanian Government representatives last week called for more assessment of the role the sandflats may play in maintaining water quality by providing the ‘ecosystem service' of denitrification to help prevent algal blooms.

The need for more Spotted Handfish survey work.
More survey work on the location of Spotted Handfish should be carried out before the development is allowed to proceed.

Representation by South Arm Peninsula resident
Roger Toombs appeared before the Hearing on Friday, and expressed his concerns about the windiness of the location, and potential impacts on the Lauderdale Primary School.

Friday 26th June
For a full report on the first eight days of the Hearings read our media release

Brief summary:

Contaminants

• Walker's experts agreed that considerably more sampling was required to determine the extent of contaminated sediments in the proposed development area.
• More testing is required to understand the impact of the proposed development on the long term behaviour of metals in Ralphs Bay

Construction
Walker Corporation witnesses acknowleged that:

• local wind data records were incomplete and could not be used to characterise wind at the site.
• suppression of dust would be challenging where the sediments could not be wetted
• no noise monitoring had been carried out at the Lauderdale school
• recommended that a 3m high solid perimeter noise barrier be maintained throughout the construction period.

Water Quality
Walker Corporation witnesses acknowleged that:

• proposed silt curtains will not contain dissolved contaminants or fine material
• admitted that the model used to predict water circulation (Delft3D) was still being refined in respect of water quality and may not reliably predict production of monosulphidic black oozes

• canal estates require intensive management and regulators needed resources and expertise in order to set appropriate conditions, carry out and evaluate monitoring and enforce conditions where necessary.
• in WA, canal estates had often been a 'crippling burden' on local governments.
• nutrients coming from land masses within canal estates were often the cause of problems.

Sea level rise

• SRB introduced two recent reports (Copenhagen and White House) indicating that sea level rise could be in excess of 1m by 2100
• Walker Corporation's witness admitted that park land areas within the development would be subject to periodic inundation,

Birds
Walker Corporation's witness acknowledged that:

• the Lauderdale area is an area of international significance in relation to the Pied Oystercatcher
• Pied Oystercatcher numbers at the Lauderdale site, and possibly throughout the "Derwent Estuary Pittwater Area" complex, would decline as a result of the proposed development.

Monday 22nd June
Last week was given over to looking at the proposed excavation of the navigation channel and dealing with the treatment of the dredged materials. with witnesses responding to issues raised in the submissions. On Friday the Environment Protection Agency discussed their concerns.
This morning (Monday) the hearings covered concerns about noise during the construction and operational stage, wind and odour.
This aftenoon our witness presented water quality concerns.
This is a very brief summary. For more, read our media release.
Links to news articles:

• ABC: Ralphs Bay experts challenged
• Dawn to dusk dredging for Ralphs Bay project
• ABC: Ralphs Bay algal threat 'low'

Thursday 18th June
So far we have been hearing from some of the Walker people on construction issues - largely about dredging operations and a little on water quality. Our legal representative and RPDC Panel members have been questioning them. The Walker representative presented a document on conditions that should be written into any approval. This document is on Walker Corporation's web site.
SRB continue to maintain that there should be no approval.
Friday will continue with another of Walker's witnesses and then the
Environment Protection Authority will put forward their evidence.

Links to news articles:

• New Ralphs Bay developer possible: Walker