A voice for the environment 4 August 2017 Defence Training Activities and Facilities on Rural and Regional Communities Committee Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee Department of the Senate Per email: [email protected] Thank you for the opportunity to make late comments to the Defence Training Activities and Facilities on Rural and Regional Communities Committee. This submission focuses on the major defence facility of Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SBTA) Capricorn Coast Central Queensland. Capricorn Conservation Council since 1973 has been the principal non-government environmental organisation in Central Queensland. CCC covers environmental issues in the Fitzroy Basin, the largest catchment flowing into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, plus the coastal and marine areas from Baffle Creek to St Lawrence (Broadsound Coast). Capricorn Conservation Council has for many decades worked closely with Department of Defence for the protection of the natural values of Shoalwater Bay Training Area. This includes making detailed input to the 1994 Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry which ultimately determined that the Shoalwater should be managed for „dual use‟ (at its then current extent of use). This close involvement continues through conservation sector representation on the Shoalwater Bay Training Area Environmental Advisory Committee (SBTA-EAC) established on the Inquiry‟s recommendation: „new management arrangements should be the establishment of a representative management advisory committee which provides management advice to the Department of Defence, acts as a vehicle for the input of technical expertise and the views of the community and as an agent of accountability.‟1 The SBTA-EAC has provided a good opportunity for interaction between a wide range of stakeholders to share knowledge, raise concerns and resolve potential conflicting interests, interpret technical reports (e.g., fire management, feral animal control, Queensland herbarium flora surveys) and for interrogating the effectiveness of environmental management plans and adequacy of related budgets. 1 Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry Shoalwater Bay, Capricorn Coast, summary report #4, 1994, (p.37-38) Environment Centre Livermore Street Rockhampton | PO Box 4011 Rockhampton Q 4700 | ABN 14 846 165 788 Phone/Fax: (07) 4927 8644 | Mobile 0419 261 653| Email: [email protected] | www.cccqld.org.au The EAC however is limited in achieving the stated objective of „agent of accountability‟ as decisions of the type, frequency, level of use and size of environmental management budgets are made well up the chain of command. This gap in communication and consultation was especially poor when there was no prior consultation and subsequent mixed messages about the proposed major expansion for increased excises by Singapore Defence Forces. Much of „likely‟ or „possible‟ proposed land and sea expansion is within the GBR World Heritage Area and Queensland GBR-WHA Coastal Zone2 –i.e., coastal areas within 5km of, and up to 10m above low water mark GBR Marine Park boundary. The Singapore expansion including the initial policy of compulsory land acquisition was not brought to the attention of SBTA-EAC and the change of policy to voluntary acquisition has left the community, including environmental interests, with many questions about the final picture and timeline for such a major landuse change. Major development projects with much smaller footprints than the proposed SBTA expansion have to go through several years of environmental impact assessments and public consultation to formulate management plans and conditions. Defence has been generally regarded by CCC as a good custodian of Shoalwater based on historical levels of activity, keeping at bay past proposals for sand mining, coal seam gas extraction, coal ports and resort developers. The current SBTA had never been extensively exploited for timber or broadscale cleared for grazing making it ideal for conservation and defence purposes. However the areas proposed for expansion are a mix of sensitive low lying coastal land (some of which had been modified with tidal levees and ponded pasture grazing using now banned exotic grass Hymenachne amplexicaulis), and heavily cleared and often overgrazed dry landscapes. Many hinterland properties were broadscale cleared resulting in a complete loss of biodiversity and connectivity of endangered regional ecosystems. Due to loss of soil and soil structure these properties have become increasingly unproductive for grazing, and vulnerable to infestation to invasive grasses and weeds, a haven for feral pigs. Enveloped within the proposed expansion area are many State protected areas – timber reserves, National Parks, Conservation Parks, and Nature Refuges). While verbal assurance has been given that these area would not be acquired by Defence there has been no information provided about the changes in access and management practices which would be necessary if the surrounding landuse changes from grazing to defence exercises. 2 GBR Strategic Assessment – UNESCO WHA Committee review of risk to „outstanding universal values‟ Environment Centre Livermore Street Rockhampton | PO Box 4011 Rockhampton Q 4700 | ABN 14 846 165 788 Phone/Fax: (07) 4927 8644 | Mobile 0419 261 653| Email: [email protected] | www.cccqld.org.au The only explanation provided so far for the proposed expansion of SBTA is that two 30 kilometres artillery ranges would be able to operate simultaneously. This of course alters the potential for risk to people wildlife and wildfires within the protected areas. Changes land use from grazing to defence (and conservation, in keeping with the intent of the Commission of Inquiry) will require detailed and extensive (expensive) environmental studies including assessment of potential impacts on international agreements such as Ramsar3 Convention and JAMBA, CAMBA and ROKAMBA4 migratory bird agreements. Removing cattle from cleared grazing land would need to be done strategically and progressively to avoid massive fire risks, weed invasions, particularly Giant Rat‟s Tail grass, GRT (Sporobolus pyramidalis) . The SBTA EAC would be the appropriate entity to ensure technical and community input to assessing plans for the proposed land use change but to date there is a total void in information and any apparent opportunity for input. CCC‟s reservations that the increasing frequency of military exercises at Shoalwater Bay (along with tight budgets) will limit the capacity of environmental manager and contractors to properly assess and manage whole of landscape environmental impacts have been stringly expressed whenever there are speculative media announcements about SBTA expansion or „permanent bases‟. The reducing time gaps between exercises combined with the last decade of weather extremes (including 2010/11 floods, ex TC Oswald (2013) extreme rainfall, and in 2015, Category 5, T.C. Marcia) suggest the need for more investment and longer periods for flora and fauna recovery, lest the values which underpin Shoalwater‟s „dual use‟ decline beyond their point of resilience. CCC refers the Committee to Defence‟s State of the Environment Report (2008) which detailed the natural values, threats and management regime required to maintain Shoalwater‟s defence and conservation values. There is critical need to invest in a full review of this report along the lines of Commonwealth and Queensland Government‟s five yearly „state of the environment‟ reports and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority‟s regular Outlook reports. That report noted the national significance of Shoalwater due to its relatively undisturbed habitats which support threatened or endangered flora and fauna and stressed the need to maintain the balance between military use and conservation. 3 http://www.environment.gov.au/water/wetlands/ramsar 4 http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/migratory-species/migratory-birds (China, Japan, Republic of Korea) Environment Centre Livermore Street Rockhampton | PO Box 4011 Rockhampton Q 4700 | ABN 14 846 165 788 Phone/Fax: (07) 4927 8644 | Mobile 0419 261 653| Email: [email protected] | www.cccqld.org.au Shoalwater‟s undeveloped coastline is the largest relatively intact natural system between the urban centres, tourism hot-spots, heavy industry, ports and intensive agricultural areas from Far North Queensland to Hervey Bay, the key watershed indentified as being critically important to support for the survival of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The consequences of inserting larger amphibious vessels into important seagrass areas, increasing disturbance to ecologically important mud flats and beaches, more boots/heavy vehicles on the ground, and almost doubling the area under Defence control will need to be thoroughly assessed, lest we forget the importance of this stretch of Australia‟s coast. Shoalwater Bay still needs years to recover from the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Marcia (2015) on top of the extreme pressure from the rapid rotation of military exercises. There is precious little time for fire, feral animal, invasive weed, wetland and water quality assessment and protected species management. Shoalwater includes the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and internationally recognised wetlands (Ramsar), Dugong Protection Areas, and represents one of the last remaining large areas of the Queensland Coast with relatively intact natural systems. CCC strongly opposes the suggestion by Livingstone Shire Council (LSC) for „unlocking‟ “Three Rivers” (Five Rocks Beach)