You have a right as a member of the community to comment on this proposal so don't stay silent. There's no need to be an environmental expert. Check out the Supplementary EIS before the 20th December at these locations:

• Whitsunday Shire Council Library
• Cannonvale TAFE
• Whitsunday Sailing Club
• Airlie Beach State Library Queensland
• Queensland Cultural Centre - Mackay

To express your concerns about the proposal make a submission before the 23/12/02 write to:

The Coordinator-General
Attention: EIS Project Manager, Port of Airlie Marina Development Project
Major Projects Facilitation Division, Department of State Development
PO Box 168 BRISBANE ALBERT STREET QLD 4002

Listed below are some points to consider in making your submission, it is better to use your own words:

Environmental Impacts:

• Degradation of the values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area through loss of natural shoreline, loss of seagrass and mangrove communities, damage to reefs at Mandalay from siltation, impacts on dugong, turtles and migratory waders. The contention that the development will not have an adverse impact on the World Heritage Area is not justified by the evidence presented in the EIS.
• Insufficient assessment of the potential impact of the acid sulphate soils present at the site. Thorough testing and analysis should be undertaken prior to approval NOT just before construction.
• Habitat loss to turtles, dugong, rufous owls, juvenile fish & prawns. There is reliable evidence from multiple local sources that the site is used by threatened dugong, turtles and endangered Rufous Owls. Local fishers regard the bay as a fish nursery area, a quality dependant on intact seagrass and mangrove habitats.
• Loss of ecosystem services is not considered in the EIS. The natural intertidal zone and foreshore of Muddy Bay is already providing valuable services to the community: it maintains biodiversity, acts as a productive nursery for fish and prawns, provides habitat for species that are attractions to visitors and protects the foreshore from destructive storm waves. At present the bay is a healthy natural system that is highly accessible to all members of the community, not just those with boats.
• Loss of significant areas of productive seagrass & mangroves. The fact that larger areas of these habitats exist elsewhere does not justify their destruction: coastal habitats are subject to increasing pressure everywhere. The area of the habitat is not the only criterion: intactness, health, location and quality should also be considered. Migratory species such as turtles, dugong and turtles rely on numerous habitat patches of different sizes to survive seasonal variations and natural habitat loss due to events such as cyclones, and to sustain their long distance movements.
• Mangrove regeneration areas do not compensate for the loss of a mature, diverse mangrove system and the loss of a significant proportion of the benthic habitat in the bay.

Planning issues:

• This project is privatising a public resource for private profit: the proposal is primarily about creating real estate in the form of multi storey apartments and private villas, not tourist accomodation and marina berths.
• The location is inappropriate for accomodation and residential properties due to storm surge risk which will increase due to global climate change. The computer modelling on which the projected storm surge risk is based relies on very limited historic records which cannot accurately predict the frequency or height of these events. The statistical error inherent in this analysis is not stated or acknowledged.
• Approval of this project will provide momentum for the complete loss of Muddy Bay through Stage 2 of the proposal.
• The location is not appropriate for multi storey buildings. Positioned between the main street and the bay, these will result in substantial loss of visual amenity. The extensive 3m+ high rockwalls and multi storey buildings lining the bay will dominate the view of Airlie Beach from the sea. Long term dredge spoil disposal areas will also be an eyesore.
• Violation of height limits set in Airlie Beach Planning Guidelines. Airlie Beach residents have indicated in the town planning scheme that they value the 'village atmosphere' of the town and have set a maximum height limit for Airlie Beach Town Core of 3 storeys. This is half the height of the proposed buildings which will line the edge of Muddy Bay, interrupting views from the land and sea. High rise buildings at street level will set a precedent that can be used to justify numerous similar developments.
• Insufficient consideration of alternative locations for provision of additional marina berths. Muddy Bay has been shown by the EIS to be an intact, healthy and diverse habitat: its destruction should not be considered when other alternatives are available.
• Inadequate assessment of the need for future maintenance dredging. Muddy Bay is a north facing bay forming a natural sediment deposition area and will require frequent dredging for all tide access for large vessels. The rate of deposition predicted in the EIS does not consider the trapping effect that will occur in dredged channels which will to silt up more rapidly than the level bottom studied. Disposal of maintenance dredge spoil does not justify further reclamation of the remaining natural foreshore: where will the spoil go in the long term?

For more information about the poultry shed grant scheme and other activities, contact Wildlife Queensland by email or call +61 7 3221 0194.