Environment groups have called on the WA Environment Minister to reject a five-star luxury resort that would remove critical habitat and threaten the endangered western ringtail possum and Carnaby's Black Cockatoo.
They say the Appeals Convenors review of the $138 million resort at Gnarabup in WA’s South West lodged just before Christmas Day, highlights a dire lack of State Government resources to adequately protect nature. The report also draws attention to the social and economic impact the development will have on this natural environment, which is at the centre of the local community and the local nature-based tourism industry.
The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) said the report to Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn by the Office of the Appeals Convenor highlighted a number of flaws in the assessment process.
The Convenor’s report came in response to CCWA’s appeal against the WA Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) recommendation for approval of the resort in May last year, following a public comment period.
CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said that in his response to the appeal, Minister Swinbourn said, ‘I acknowledge your position that the risks to flora and fauna were inadequately assessed’.
“The Minister agreed that because of this inadequate assessment, the Appeals Convenor recommended that a condition be added for the protection of the western ringtail possum as highlighted in our appeal,” Mr Roberts said.
“This is one small win, but a significant acknowledgement of the failure of the property developer’s survey process and the EPA’s obligation to require better. The inadequacy of the surveying should have been picked up far earlier and points to a broader need for stronger environmental impact assessments and better resourcing of regulatory bodies.
To halt the decline of WA’s nature, governments must stop approving developments that clear the habitat of threatened species - including the critically endangered western ringtail possum -and ensure recovery plans are fully funded and implemented.”
In its appeal, CCWA also raised serious concerns that risks to an Aboriginal heritage site were not properly addressed, calling for explicit protections of the Gnamma Hole.
“This included a sufficient buffer to be determined in further consultation with Traditional Owners, and safeguards against impacts from construction and future pedestrian activities. These concerns were dismissed by both the Appeals Convenor and the Minister for Environment,” Mr Roberts said.
“This comes at a time when we have a state government pursuing a bilateral agreement with the federal government to have assessments done at a state level – calling the federal oversight a duplication of processes.
“But the inadequacy of this initial survey and assessment demonstrates how necessary that oversight is. We cannot hand assessments over to a body that keeps being found wanting.
“This approval now paves the way for a project that poses risks to nature and cultural heritage.
“This much-loved and iconic headland off WA’s South West coastline, just near Margaret River, holds incredibly important ecological and cultural values. CCWA continues to stand alongside Preserve Gnarabup, Surfriders Foundation South West branch, and the local community in opposing this inappropriate development.”
Surfrider Foundation Australia South West Branch Preserve Gnarabup campaign spokesperson Beth Carlessi said the community had been fighting to preserve the special site for more than 33 years.
“The development will irreversibly harm the site’s fragile environment, which includes habitat for endangered species like the Western Ringtail Possum and Carnaby's Black Cockatoo, along with a karst geology and groundwater system feeding into the Ngari Capes Marine Park,” Ms Carlessi said.
“Both the EPA and the Appeals Convenor have found the very dense development of this site will impact on its use and enjoyment by the community and local nature-based tourism industry. It is also acknowledged that this development will put thousands of lives at risk given the single evacuation route and big increase of people in the area when the next bushfire inevitably comes through. If that is not a social impact worth considering, we don’t know what is.
“Preserve Gnarabup calls on Minister Swinbourn to use his discretion to consider the social and economic impact of approving this development under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
While the EPA and Appeals Convenor primarily advises on whether a proposal is environmentally acceptable, the Minister makes the final decision after consulting with other relevant ministers. This stage allows for consideration of the economic and social impacts - and they will be significant.
“Given the significant environmental, economic, social, and safety concerns, we respectfully ask the Minister to refuse this development. Once developed, the special qualities of this unique and much loved area – an invaluable asset for the community, wildlife, and tourism – will be lost forever.”
ENDS
Media contact: John Cooke - 0433 679 780 - [email protected]