“Sacred Site” – Byron Bid to Block Dam Thwarted
A new push by the Greens to halt the Dunoon Dam project, citing unsubstantiated claims about native title and sacred sites, has been rejected.
The latest attempt to block the crucial water supply dam was made at the February meeting of the Rous County Council by Byron Shire Greens Party delegates, Councillor Elia Hague and Mayor Sarah Ndiaye.
Councillor Hague stated that the Greens had gathered 85 letters of opposition, all signed by individuals claiming connections to the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the area. The letters, which were worded identically, argued that the Dunoon Dam would flood land containing sacred sites important for learning and ancestral connection.
“Do not construct the Dunoon Dam. Return the land to the Traditional custodians,” the letters read.
However, expert advice presented at the meeting indicated that, except for one parcel, the land likely to be affected was privately owned and thus not subject to native title claims. Council General Manager Phillip Rudd clarified that of the 27 parcels, half had already been purchased by Rous, while the one and only Crown land site fell outside the proposed inundation area.
Additionally, Mr Rudd revealed that efforts by Rous to consult with Indigenous elders with legal responsibility for substantiating sacred site claims had not succeeded. “We’ve made multiple attempts to engage with the Widjabul-Wia-bal (Lands Council) board, however we’ve been unsuccessful to date. However, we remain hopeful of achieving this,” he said.
Federal and state environmental regulations require Rous to conduct extensive studies over several years. Planning for the dam resumed three years ago after a prior decision by Labor and Greens councillors to suspend the project during the previous council term.
Currently, the communities of Ballina, Byron, Lismore, and parts of Richmond Valley depend on water from the upstream Rocky Creek Dam, which was designed in the 1940s to serve a population less than a third of today’s. As a result, the region faces significant risks of severe water restrictions and economic hardship during drought, which the Greens predict will increase in frequency and severity due to climate change.
The Party’s latest bid to halt the key water supply planning called for a formal expression of “profound gratitude” to local First Nations people for their “steadfast leadership and their millennia of caring for Country and Waters.”
However, Ballina Shire Councillor Eva Ramsay questioned the legitimacy of the 85 submissions, suggesting they might be copy-and-pasted form letters, and whether they should be considered a petition.
In response, Cr. Ndiaye defended the signatories, asserting that they all had “proven and direct connection to country.” She added, “These are not people who were approached in a supermarket or on the street; they are individuals with direct bloodlines to the land. If it were a general petition, the numbers would be much higher, as many people oppose the dam.”
Cr. Andrew Gordon emphasised that the dam’s lengthy planning process already included “exhaustive requirements” for Indigenous heritage studies and consultation, which he deemed appropriate. “We owe it to everyone in the community to get this right, especially the Indigenous community,” Cr. Gordon said.
Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader expressed concern over the costs incurred by the previous council, which had voted to remove the dam from consideration. “That decision ended up costing Rous Council hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t want to see that kind of waste again.”
The motion was ultimately defeated with a vote of 5-2, with councillors from Lismore, Richmond Valley, and Ballina united in opposition.
Rous Chair Robert Mustow closed the discussion by urging Indigenous elders to engage in the necessary legal consultation process. “I would encourage them to come to the table. We want to proceed with the study because this project is vital to everyone in our community,” Cr. Mustow said.
