Call to community: Join us to send a message about dam wall
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Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill and Give a Dam campaign manager Harry Burkitt have urged the community to attend a forum about Warragamba Dam, to send a message about what’s at stake.
The forum, on the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall, will be held at Blue Mountains Theatre in Springwood on Sunday, 10 November, from 9.30am.
It will be hosted jointly by the Mayors of Blue Mountains and Wollondilly Shire councils. The councils have formed an alliance to oppose the NSW Government’s proposal to raise the Warragamba Dam wall, coming together to protect people, property and wilderness.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “We need the Blue Mountains community to do what they do best, rise up to signify that we will not accept this State Government proposal. It is nothing more than an attempt to open the floodplain up to rampant development.
“What is at stake is the loss of UNESCO World Heritage listing; extinction of threatened plants and animals, destruction of the last Wild Rivers in NSW; the irreversible loss of significant Aboriginal sites and breach of Native Title Agreements; as well as the risk to quality of life for residents.
“Blue Mountains residents are well informed on this matter, but we still need a show of people at this event to signal that we stand in solidarity against this proposal.” Give a Dam’s Harry Burkitt recently called on Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley to stand up to the bullying from the NSW Government and protect one of Australia’s most iconic world heritage sites.
“Sussan Ley needs to stop and think before she hands over any more power to the environmental vandals in the NSW Government. She needs to realise that doing so would likely end up putting the Blue Mountains on the World Heritage in Danger list, causing severe international embarrassment.
“Regardless of whether the federal government decides to delegate approval to the NSW Government, the World Heritage Committee will be holding the Australian Government accountable.”
The Hon Bob Debus AM, the former NSW Environment Minister and Minister for Emergency Services, will be special guest speaker at the event. Other speakers include Member for Blue Mountains Trish Doyle, Gundungurra Elder Aunty Sharyn Halls and urban sustainability campaigner Saul Deane, from the Total Environment Centre.
There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of the speakers at the event.
The forum is free to attend and will be held 9.30-11.30am, on Sunday 10 November at the Blue Mountains Theatre, 104 Macquarie Road, Springwood.Photo: Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill and Give a Dam’s Harry Burkitt.