THE PROPOSED Shute Harbour Marina Development continues to plague the Whitsunday community, like a zombie who refuses to acknowledge that they are dead.
This project was first proposed back in the 1980s, but the location’s unsuitability to support a marina has stopped it, time and time again.
The reasons to bury this project once and for all are as numerous as they are serious.
· The project will not provide a ‘safe haven’ for boats or condominiums as stated in the glossy brochure. Shute Harbour has always presented serious cyclone risks. New engineering reports suggest the current engineering for the project will likely fail in a Cyclone Debbie level cyclone at high tide.
· Given the serious cyclone risk, this project will struggle for affordable insurance, making it a very poor investment for both the community and potential buyers.
· The project will cause unacceptable environmental damage. Shute Harbour, with its mangroves and seagrass meadows, is an important feeding area for endangered dugong and sea turtles and supports a healthy fishery.
· The project will have a detrimental impact on the water quality of Shute Harbour, which, in turn, will impact the inshore reefs and islands.
· There are many hidden costs to the project. Most significant would be the necessary upgrade of Shute Harbour Road. The estimated cost is in the tens of millions of dollars. Who will be paying that bill? The community?
For reasons unknown, both the local council and the state government continue to approve extensions to the project, despite the fact it is working with an outdated environmental impact statement, outdated engineering reports and has failed time and time again to fulfil the lease requirements.
It is time to bury this zombie once and for all.
Contributed by Tony Fontes, Whitsunday Conservation Council.
