Submission to: PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS INQUIRY INTO GOVERNMENT OWNED ENERGY ENTITIES Launceston Flood Authority May 2016 This document was authored by the Launceston Flood Authority based on publicly available information as referenced within the document. The data presented was correct at the time of writing and the author provides no warranty of its ongoing accuracy. The document remains the property of the Launceston Flood Authority. It may be copied and reproduced only in its entirety for the purpose of promoting the aims of the document. Enquiries in regard to the document can be directed to: Launceston Flood Authority PO Box 396, Launceston, Tasmania 7250 Or by email to [email protected] Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Strategic Direction.................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 River Health............................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Policy and Legislative Context ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Environmental flows ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Sedimentation Management .................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Launceston and its Economy ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 River Management, Hydro Tasmania and Trevallyn Dam ........................................................................................................................... 4 Socio-economic Values .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Public Interest ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 1. The Opportunity ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The Tamar River at Launceston ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Dredging and Sediment Management ........................................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Significance to the Regional Economy ........................................................................................................................................ 4 2. The Context ...................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 River Management ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Policy Context ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8 2.3 Alignment with Government Policy ............................................................................................................................................ 10 2.4 Legislative Context ................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3. Hydro Tasmania’s Strategic Direction ................................................................................................ 13 4. Impact on the Environment .............................................................................................................. 15 4.1 Water Quality ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 4.2 Sediment Management ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 4.3 Environmental Flows ................................................................................................................................................................ 16 5. Stakeholder Comment ..................................................................................................................... 17 5.1 Consultations .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17 5.2 Key Government and Community Stakeholder Issues ................................................................................................................ 19 6. Socioeconomic Values .................................................................................................................... 21 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................. 21 6.2 Regional Industry Support and Development ............................................................................................................................ 21 6.3 Impact on the Community ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 7. Public Interest Issues ...................................................................................................................... 25 7.1 Summary of Public Interest Issues ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Launceston Flood Authority Submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public Accounts’ Inquiry into Government Owned Energy Enterprises Page i This page intentionally left blank Launceston Flood Authority Submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public Accounts’ Inquiry into Government Owned Energy Enterprises Page ii Foreword The Launceston Flood Authority took the decision to address this hearing as it offered an opportunity to raise the subject of competing water resources in an official Government forum. The LFA is not qualified to offer advice on BassLink, which is under consideration, but we draw attention to the danger of any energy policy, which relies on the assumption that allocations of water for electricity generation are somehow sacrosanct. In the case of the South Esk River, the outcomes have been disastrous and continue to be increasingly harmful. The LFA has a number of legislated responsibilities, which are designed to protect against a repeat of floods, such as in 1929, which claimed 22 lives and caused massive property loss. These duties include maintaining the flood levees and systems, keeping flood exits free of sediment and maintaining the amenity of the river. These are onerous legislated responsibilities and we cannot be at the mercy of occasional Trevallyn Dam spills to fulfill these duties. In that respect, a policy to export power generated from local water resources has been a problem, not a solution, as it has encouraged electricity production beyond Tasmania’s own needs. Exports of electricity to Victoria have been at the cost of Tasmanian reserves, as the Great Lake in particular, has for some time been drawn down to dangerously low levels. With declining heavy industry, domestic solar, lower consumption through technology improvements, gas power backup and growing wind generation, water should be more available to meet pressing environmental needs, as well as power generation. In Launceston, the twin concerns of chronic pollution and sedimentation in the Upper Reaches of the Tamar are inexorably related to the availability of strong water flows for efficient flushing. The remedy for both of these major concerns of pollution to 3rd World levels and sedimentation are the same and would enjoy in equal measure a return of the South Esk River to the Cataract Gorge. The shocking facts of over 2,000 raw sewage overspills