WATER Northern Rivers is calling on Rous County Council to immediately release the full results of the
community consultation regarding Future Water 2060, following the discovery that Rous has lobbied
behind the scenes to get the Dunoon Dam on the NSW Government agenda. It would appear this
occurred before the consultation process had finished and the results made public.
“Buried in the draft Far North Coast Future Water Strategy, we see that Rous County Council and Lismore
City Council had written to the Minister for Water to get the Dunoon Dam on the state government
agenda” said Simon Clough, spokesperson for WATER Northern Rivers and former Lismore and Rous
County Councillor.
“The release of the draft regional strategy now reveals that Rous was directly lobbying the minister for a
dam at the same time as asking the community for feedback. We are also aware that Rous staff have
been actively promoting the Dunoon dam to member councils Lismore, Ballina, Richmond Valley, and
Byron Bay. The community does not like to be involved with consultation processes that don’t appear to
be genuine” he said.
“The Draft Far North Coast Regional Water Strategy makes it very clear that sections of Rous have
continued to push the out-dated, destructive and highly contentious Dunoon dam proposal to the
Minister for Water” said Annie Kia, spokesperson for WATER Northern Rivers.
“It’s disappointing that Rous has had a very narrow focus on the dam, while other experts call for an all
options on the table approach. There is widespread opposition to the Dunoon dam because it would
obliterate rare rainforest and Aboriginal heritage, and we now know that there are better ways to
achieve a resilient water system.”
“In July Rous County Council called for public submissions on its Future Water 2060. Submissions closed
on 9th September. Two months is more than enough time for a consultant to report on the results.”
WATER Northern Rivers calls for the immediate release of the community consultation report. In the
interests of transparency, this must be made public well in advance of Rous Council’s meeting of 18th
November. It is essential that councilors, the community, the Department of Planning, Industry and
Environment, and the Minister, are fully informed.
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