Question On Notice No. 1390 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 June 2018 by Hon Robin Chapple
Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development representing the Minister for Water
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to
the Government’s election commitment not to allow the Fitzroy River or its
tributaries to be dammed, and the document “Kimberley Cropping: Water Resource
Plan” that states from January 2016 the proponent for the proposed Gogo Station irrigated
agriculture project states that two dams will be created on Gogo Station
capable of holding 40.35 gigalitres (gl) and 7.2gl each, and the “the dams will be fed
utilizing flows from the Margaret River.”.
It is noted in a report by Dr Ryan Vogwill on this proposal, the “Scale
and Impact of the Gogo Station Irrigated Agriculture Proposal”, that the capacity
of these dams is more water than can be stored in the Stirling Dam, and close
to the amount of water that can be stored in the Wungong Dam in Western Australia’s southwest. It is also noted that the water storage in
the proposed Gogo dam would be over three times the total surface water
allocation of 14.6Gl for the Daly River in the Northern Territory. It is also noted that the Oxford Dictionary
defines a dam as, “A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its
level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.”. The proposed Gogo dams would be constructed
to hold back floodwaters from the Margaret River that would otherwise flow
directly into the Fitzroy River, for the purposes of creating a reservoir for
use as a water supply. I ask:
(a) given
the above and in context of the Government’s election commitment, is the
proposed dam on Gogo Station a dam; and
(b) if it is not a dam, please explain why?
Answered on 21 August 2018
(a)–(b) The McGowan Labor Government is committed to implementing its election commitment not to allow the Fitzroy River or its tributaries to be dammed. The proposal for Gogo Station is currently being assessed by the Environmental Protection Authority and a decision on that proposal will be made by the Minister for Environment in due course.