| So they want to take our water.... |
| The Water Corporation intend to tap into our underground water supply - The Yarragadee Aquifer - here in the South West of Western Australia, taking 45 gigalitres per year to appease the thirsty city of Perth. And that is just the beginning. They have spent 12 million dollars to tell us how beneficial it is to us all and to the south west region. |
Twelve million dollars.....I am impressed! If I had twelve million dollars to
spend, I could certainly buy myself an opinion whether it was the truth or not.
But could I live with my choices? I doubt it.
To those who would hide behind the banner of The Water Corporation, I
say…Twelve million dollars does not make you an expert, nor does it buy you
the right to play God and rearrange the natural resources of this region. The
landscape and its natural resources belongs to us all, and yet, to none of us.
I have to ask - was there ever any question of you not proceeding with this
extraction of water? IT seems the writing was on the wall from day one, as
no businessman or corporation invests twelve million dollars into something
that will not go ahead. IT seemed that if you were spending all this money to
prove your point, you were going to prove it and there would be nothing in
your findings to state otherwise. And to you, this is business.
To most of us however, it is sacrilege. Not matter how you package it,
however many millions of dollars worth of paperwork and glossy promotions
and feel-good adverts you generate, you will not get rid of the taint. This
idea was not intended to be a trial. It was always a done deal. So why
waste all the millions to try and pull the wool over our eyes?
So your expensive advertising campaign claims that you have responded to
the concerns of a drying climate.....excuse my bluntness, but what a load of
crap! What was your response? To stake your claim on a finite natural
resource in a region other than your own?
This is the driest June on record. (Hello? Does this not tell you something?
sound alarm bells perhaps? ) Are you putting this in your notes? How can
you account for this? How can you account for the future, when it is an
unknown, as always, like the weather patterns. How can your twelve million
dollars appease those of us with children who have a stake in the future of
this region? The natural beauty of the south west is their future....ask them if
they want you to steal the life blood?
Do not perpetuate the insult with talk that this whole plan will benefit the future
development of the south west region...... all it does is benefit you who need
to fix a mighty big problem. Finding a solution to the problem of the water
shortage in Perth, without actually taking that problem back to those who live
there, without asking anything of the city dwellers, (as in recycling, grey water
usage, being frugal in their water use) is NOT something that takes a quick
fix. But telling us that by resolving the problems of your city voters in the city,
it will also fix our problems here in the ever growing south west, is a poor
attempt to blind us into thinking you are doing us a favour and is downright
political balderdash.
You are not God, so leave our natural waterways and the aquifer alone. We
do not inherit the this land from our ancestors, we borrow it from the children
of tomorrow….. it is not ours to destroy. We are only the caretakers.
And one more thing, instead of hiding behind the mantle of the "Water
Corporation" how about names of real people? I request the full list of names
of the people who came up with this so called wonderful idea. Who are
they? I would like to see the names of the individuals within the wheels of the
corporations, so that my children and grandchildren will KNOW exactly who it
was that started the rapid demise of this beautiful region. History needs to
record your names, not your job titles, so if you are prepared to take such a
huge and risky gamble with our future, then be honest enough to say so and
stand up and be recognized.
To the people of this region, and those who read this, don’t sit back and be
complacent. Please speak out. Demand answers. There will be no turning
back once the water starts to run. Realize this, once the process is in place,
there will never be a point where the powers that be will say “Gee, it looks
like we have done the wrong thing here, it is not doing the environment any
good, we really should stop now before it gets worse.” With all the money
invested, will they ever back down regardless of what detrimental results
staring them in the face?
Greed will never be satisfied. 45 Gigalitres is just the beginning, and that is
of a life sentence. And to misquote an old native American saying “Only
when the last tree has fallen, only when the last river has run dry, only when
the last natural groundwater is salty, will they realize, that money cannot take
the place of water.”
spend, I could certainly buy myself an opinion whether it was the truth or not.
But could I live with my choices? I doubt it.
To those who would hide behind the banner of The Water Corporation, I
say…Twelve million dollars does not make you an expert, nor does it buy you
the right to play God and rearrange the natural resources of this region. The
landscape and its natural resources belongs to us all, and yet, to none of us.
I have to ask - was there ever any question of you not proceeding with this
extraction of water? IT seems the writing was on the wall from day one, as
no businessman or corporation invests twelve million dollars into something
that will not go ahead. IT seemed that if you were spending all this money to
prove your point, you were going to prove it and there would be nothing in
your findings to state otherwise. And to you, this is business.
To most of us however, it is sacrilege. Not matter how you package it,
however many millions of dollars worth of paperwork and glossy promotions
and feel-good adverts you generate, you will not get rid of the taint. This
idea was not intended to be a trial. It was always a done deal. So why
waste all the millions to try and pull the wool over our eyes?
So your expensive advertising campaign claims that you have responded to
the concerns of a drying climate.....excuse my bluntness, but what a load of
crap! What was your response? To stake your claim on a finite natural
resource in a region other than your own?
This is the driest June on record. (Hello? Does this not tell you something?
sound alarm bells perhaps? ) Are you putting this in your notes? How can
you account for this? How can you account for the future, when it is an
unknown, as always, like the weather patterns. How can your twelve million
dollars appease those of us with children who have a stake in the future of
this region? The natural beauty of the south west is their future....ask them if
they want you to steal the life blood?
Do not perpetuate the insult with talk that this whole plan will benefit the future
development of the south west region...... all it does is benefit you who need
to fix a mighty big problem. Finding a solution to the problem of the water
shortage in Perth, without actually taking that problem back to those who live
there, without asking anything of the city dwellers, (as in recycling, grey water
usage, being frugal in their water use) is NOT something that takes a quick
fix. But telling us that by resolving the problems of your city voters in the city,
it will also fix our problems here in the ever growing south west, is a poor
attempt to blind us into thinking you are doing us a favour and is downright
political balderdash.
You are not God, so leave our natural waterways and the aquifer alone. We
do not inherit the this land from our ancestors, we borrow it from the children
of tomorrow….. it is not ours to destroy. We are only the caretakers.
And one more thing, instead of hiding behind the mantle of the "Water
Corporation" how about names of real people? I request the full list of names
of the people who came up with this so called wonderful idea. Who are
they? I would like to see the names of the individuals within the wheels of the
corporations, so that my children and grandchildren will KNOW exactly who it
was that started the rapid demise of this beautiful region. History needs to
record your names, not your job titles, so if you are prepared to take such a
huge and risky gamble with our future, then be honest enough to say so and
stand up and be recognized.
To the people of this region, and those who read this, don’t sit back and be
complacent. Please speak out. Demand answers. There will be no turning
back once the water starts to run. Realize this, once the process is in place,
there will never be a point where the powers that be will say “Gee, it looks
like we have done the wrong thing here, it is not doing the environment any
good, we really should stop now before it gets worse.” With all the money
invested, will they ever back down regardless of what detrimental results
staring them in the face?
Greed will never be satisfied. 45 Gigalitres is just the beginning, and that is
of a life sentence. And to misquote an old native American saying “Only
when the last tree has fallen, only when the last river has run dry, only when
the last natural groundwater is salty, will they realize, that money cannot take
the place of water.”
| Go to the Water corporation website and have your say. http://www.watercorporation.com.au/ Let them know they are wrong! We may not have twelve million dollars to spend, but we have our voice and our consciences and that counts for far more. |
 |
www.wrc.wa.gov.au/whicher (Dept of Environment, south west region)
VISIT THE SITE AND SIGN THE PETITION!!!
| “YARRAGADEE” For millions of years, she has moved silently beneath this land, her face and form unseen, yet her creations visible to all. The freedom to give and receive has been her own, the fragile balance held within her silent ebb and flow. She is the lifeblood of this region. “Yarragadee” was here long before we walked this land, and gave her a name. We have coexisted with her for generations and enjoyed her gifts, while never having seen her true beauty. Now her existence is threatened by clumsy hands and selfish appetites. Something sacred is about to be defiled. That which is lost can never be regained. Don’t let our tears of regret become the new lifeblood of this land. (Wendy Slee 2007) |
| GREAT NEWS AS OF 16TH MAY 2007, THE GOVERNMENT HAS OFFICIALLY SHELVED THEIR PLANS TO TAKE FROM THE YARRAGADEE AND WILL BUILD A SECOND DESALINATION PLANT INSTEAD. THANK GOD THEY HAVE SEEN REASON! AND THANK YOU TO ALL WHO STOOD UP TO FIGHT AGAINST THE ORIGINAL PLAN. BEAR IN MIND THE PLAN IS ONLY "SHELVED" AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT STILL, FOR THIS MOMENT, IT IS A VICTORY FOR MOTHER EARTH AND OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE. |