The Queensland Government has known for more than two years that the site where it proposes to dump millions of tonnes of dredge spoil at Abbot Point was the worst of seven possible options for port expansion from an environmental point of view.
Experts working for North Queensland Bulk Ports, a government-owned corporation which operates the Abbot Point terminal, reported in September 2012 that the site west of the port where the State Government now proposes to dump the spoils offered the lowest cost option for reclamation and expansion and was nearest to the coast.
But the consultants warned: “However, the West Site is considered the least desirable from an environmental and approvals perspective as it will result in the greatest impact on the Caley Valley Wetland and Cultural Heritage values of Abbot Point”.
The reports, not previously made public and obtained under Right To Information, show experts considered the risks of expansion on the western site were so high it was in any case highly unlikely it would obtain Commonwealth approval.
