Port dredging does not pose danger

AS the City of Nedlands elected member of the Swan River Trust, despite concerns raised by environmental campaigner Jean-Paul Orsini, I have no concern with any danger at all to swimmers from the present Fremantle Port dredging and the silt plume.

I have total confidence in the integrity, professionalism and honesty of the Environmental Protection Authority and Fremantle Port officials and managers to monitor this dredging and to keep our beaches safe for swimmers.

I know that they have promised to ensure that if there were to be any danger, then dredging would cease.

These people have constantly published data from dredging that does not highlight a danger or a problem. In fact, it found the dredging to be safe.

I believe that Mr Orsini has selectively provided information that suits his arguments, and which is misleading.

Recently I took my yacht through a dredging silt plume in the Fremantle Inner Harbour that extended under the bridges. It was no different to many other times that I have motored my yacht through the inner harbour, when tugs help to berth and rotate very big ships that stir up the mud.

However dredging may eliminate these plumes with a deeper inner harbour.

If the inner harbour is not once again dredged to make way for bigger ships, then there will be extra costs to be borne by the West Australian community and a loss of jobs.

In a worst-case scenario, bigger container ships would simply skip Fremantle and drop off containers for import and collect containers for export at Melbourne port, which has also recently been dredged.

This could potentially double Western Australia’s import and export freight costs with an added rail freight journey across Australia from Perth.

Further, expanding the north wharf land-backed area with dredged silt will help to make Fremantle port more efficient and help to support expansion of the WA economy and jobs.

Mr Orsini could provide a useful and helpful service to the community by focusing on the need to take more action to upgrade monitoring and water quality standards in the Swan River.

What everyone else is thinking

Gerry Georgatos

03/03/2010

Cr Bell needs to separate his argument of perceived benefits to the West Australian & Fremantle economies from the physical impacts caused by the dredging to the harbour, coastline and the river.

I regularly swim in the beaches affected by the dredging. It is wrong for Cr Bell to minimise the impacts. Cr Bell should have a good look at the water life that is being washed up on the beaches, note the erosion of beach fronts, and check his facts in terms of the silt. The beaches and water quality have been affected and what we have now is due to dredging. Cr Bell should argue in terms of the economic benefits verse the metamorphosis re: post-dredging. Of course I do not think it is worth what we have done. The EPA and the Fremantle Authority and the Fremantle Council are not above human error, fault and inherent human flaws.

Lee Bell

10/02/2010

Cr John Bell needs to check his facts instead of relying on PR from the Fremantle Port Authority. It appears the Federal environment agency are not be as easily fooled and may halt and reassess the dredging. Sadly, next time Cr Bell takes his yacht out for a spin he may need to tack a bit to avoid the dolphin carcasses.