Save Point Lowly

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Save Point Lowly is a community action group based in Whyalla, South Australia. The group was formed circa 2008 to present an alternative vision for the future of the Point Lowly area north-west of Whyalla and resist plans for heavy industrialization. The group aspired to raising the profile of the Point Lowly area, including the giant Australian cuttlefish aggregation, which the group believes is under threat from a number of industrial proposals including: a seawater desalination plant for BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine, a diesel distribution hub, a technical ammonium nitrate plant (which has since been abandoned) and an iron ore export facility. Collectively these development have been referred to by the Government of South Australia as the Port Bonython Minerals Precinct. The group's spokesperson and chairman is Andrew Melville-Smith who is a practising veterinarian [1] and resident of Whyalla.

Contents

Activity

The group has been engaged in petitioning, [2] disseminating information to the public, lobbying of local and State government and protest activity since 2008. In 2009 the group staged a protest at the Whyalla airport, confronting Premier Mike Rann and visiting ministers including Paul Holloway. The protest was an effort to represent their views regarding the preservation of Point Lowly and to request hearings with the Premier and his cabinet after allegedly being denied the opportunity through formal channels. [3]

The group was publicly opposed to the location of the proposed desalination plant, and has suggested that an alternative location on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula was possible, and could be powered by wind-generated renewable energy. [4] The group has also opposed the proposal to build a new iron ore export facility at Port Bonython, describing its location as "third rate" and drawing attention to the red dust impacts of Onesteel's (now Arrium) iron ore exports from Whyalla. Additional concerns include the potential for increased shipping to disturb the breeding grounds for giant Australian cuttlefish and other marine life. [5] Concerns over shipping noise impacting the future of the cuttlefish breeding ground has also been expressed by the Marine Life Society of South Australia.[ citation needed ]

The Save Point Lowly group campaigned to have the peninsula rezoned from industrial to recreational and tourism but was unsuccessful. [6] The Alternative Port Working Party has continued to campaign for rezoning since the Save Point Lowly group became inactive in 2011.

Status

The group has been inactive since 2011, the same year in which the Olympic Dam mine expansion plans received state and federal environmental approvals. A Facebook group still exists for Save Point Lowly. [7] At its height, the group had hundreds of members. [2] The Facebook group's membership was greatly reduced (by hundreds) during an upgrade of Facebook's group management system.

In 2012, the Save Point Lowly website was archived by the State Library of South Australia and remains available via Pandora. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Spencer Gulf Large inlet in South Australia

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Giant cuttlefish Species of cephalopod known as the giant cuttlefish and Australian giant cuttlefish

Giant cuttlefish also known as the Australian giant cuttlefish, is the world's largest cuttlefish species, growing to 50 cm (20 in) in mantle length and over 10.5 kg (23 lb) in weight. Using cells known as chromatophores, the cuttlefish can put on spectacular displays, changing color in an instant. The giant cuttlefish is native to temperate and subtropical waters of Australia, from Brisbane in Queensland to Shark Bay in Western Australia and Tasmania to the south. It occurs on rocky reefs, seagrass beds, and sand and mud seafloor to a depth of 100 metres. In 2009 the species was listed at Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to an observed declining trend at that time.

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Port Bonython Suburb of City of Whyalla, South Australia

Port Bonython is the location of a deepwater port, gas fractionation plant and diesel storage facility west of Point Lowly in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. It lies 16 km east-northeast of Whyalla, South Australia and approximately 370 km north-west of the State's capital city, Adelaide. The existing wharf is 2.4 kilometres long and is capable of berthing small Capesize ships with a maximum capacity of 110,000 tonnes. The wharf was established in 1982 and named after John Bonython, the founding chairman of Santos. The structure is leased to Santos by the Government of South Australia and is used for the export of hydrocarbon products. An oil spill at Port Bonython in 1992 resulted in loss of bird life and damage to mangrove habitats to the west and southwest of Port Pirie.

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The Whyalla Steelworks is a fully integrated steelworks and the only manufacturer of rail in Australia. Iron ore is mined in the Middleback Range to feed the steelworks, resulting in the distribution of finished steel products of over 90 different grades. It occupies a 1,000 ha site on the shore of False Bay, Spencer Gulf and is the largest employer in Whyalla, South Australia.

Olympic Dam mine Poly-metallic underground mine in South Australia

The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (340 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation.

Point Lowly Suburb of City of Whyalla, South Australia

Point Lowly is the tip of a small peninsula north north-east of Whyalla in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. The wider peninsula is shared by a combination of defence, industrial, residential, recreational and tourism interests. Port Bonython lies immediately to the north-west and is marked for future industrial expansion, driven by anticipated growth in the State's mining industry. The icons of the peninsula are the historic Point Lowly Lighthouse and the mass breeding aggregation of Australian giant cuttlefish which occurs inshore each winter.

Point Lowly Lighthouse Lighthouse

The Point Lowly lighthouse was constructed in 1883 to guide ships safely through Spencer Gulf en route to Port Augusta and Port Pirie in South Australia. It was upgraded several times before being deactivated in 1993. It was reactivated in 1995 and is a tourist attraction for the Whyalla area and an icon of the Point Lowly area.

The False Bay is an 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) wide south-southeasterly facing bay in South Australia's upper Spencer Gulf region. It extends from the Whyalla steelworks at the southern end to Black Point at the eastern end. It features very wide, low gradient tidal, sand and salt flats which are up to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) wide. Five very low energy, rarely visited beaches are accessible to the public. The two boundary beaches are accessible by vehicles from the Port Bonython Road while the central three are surrounded by salt and tidal flats and tidal creeks. False Bay's beaches are not patrolled but are rated among the state's least hazardous.

South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy

The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) is a not-for-profit, non-government organisation founded in 1979. It represents approximately 130 companies involved in resource extraction and supporting service industries in South Australia.

The Alternative Port Working Party is a community action group based in Whyalla, South Australia on the shore of northern Spencer Gulf. Its membership includes a number of retired engineers with experience in mining, shipping and bulk commodities handling and its chief spokesperson is Sid Wilson. Since its formation, the group has advocated for a 'best of both' scenario for the nearby Point Lowly peninsula; one which represents the interests of both the local economy and residential, recreational and tourist use of the peninsula. They believe that the chosen locations for proposed facilities in the Port Bonython and Point Lowly area present unacceptable compromises, and thus have recommended a number of alternatives.

Richard Yeeles in an English-born Australian businessman and former senior South Australian public servant with interests in the resources sector, particularly uranium mining and processing.

Stephen Charles Donnellan is the Chief Research Scientist of the Evolutionary Biology Unit at the South Australian Museum. He is also an Affiliate Professor at the University of Adelaide. Donnellan moved from New South Wales to South Australia in 1985 to undertake research recovering the evolutionary history of Australia's lizards. This work led to the establishment of a comprehensive collection of reptile and frog tissues from Australia and New Guinea. In 1990 Donnellan joined the South Australian Museum's staff and established the DNA laboratory there. His research since has focused on the evolution and biogeography of Australasian fauna. Donnellan has used molecular genetic methods to examine issues in the population genetics, phylogeography and phylogenetic relationships of vertebrates and selected invertebrate groups. Many of his research projects have been supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC). His work has been published in numerous scientific journals, including Biological Conservation, Evolution, International Journal for Parasitology, PLOS One, Restoration Ecology, Zoologica Scripta and Zootaxa.

Port Bonython Fuels is a fuel importation and diesel distribution hub at Port Bonython on the Point Lowly peninsula in South Australia's upper Spencer Gulf region. The development was designed to supply the State's expanding oil, gas and mineral resources sectors' operations in the north and west of the state. It allows South Australia to import fuel from ships carrying cargoes in excess of 100,000 tonnes- approximately four times the size of vessels currently importing diesel via Port Adelaide. The project is owned by Petro Diamond Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation. The first stage of the project was officially opened in May 2016.

The Braemar Alliance is a group of ASX-listed public and private mining and exploration companies with projects located in the Braemar region between Peterborough in South Australia and Broken Hill in neighboring New South Wales. The group was formed in 2011 with the intention of devising shared infrastructure solutions to provide water, power and freight corridors for the benefit of all members' projects. The Alliance's member companies have considered using existing outports and developing new ones on the eastern coast of Spencer Gulf to facilitate bulk exports, chiefly of iron ore. These include developing transshipping facilities at Port Pirie and building entirely new facilities at Myponie Point and south of Wallaroo. In July 2011, the Braemar Alliance had determined that its magnetite processing would require 50 gigalitres of water per year and that the water would be provided via a yet-to-be-constructed seawater desalination plant to be located on Spencer Gulf.

Fitzgerald Bay is a large bay located between Point Lowly and Backy Point in South Australia's upper Spencer Gulf. The bay's shoreline consists mostly of pebble beaches and sparse grey mangroves. In the 2000s the bay was used for the farming of yellowtail kingfish until their closure circa 2011 in response to high levels of fish mortality. Understanding of the environmental impacts of yellowtail kingfish farming is limited. As of 2021, fish farming has not returned to Fitzgerald Bay, but aquaculture zones remain in place, and Clean Seas is authorised to restock fish farms there. There are approximately forty shacks and coastal homes sparsely distributed along the fringe of Fitzgerald Bay whose interests are represented by the Cultana Jenkins Shackowners' Association.

References

  1. ↑ "whyallavet.com.au". Castleford veterinarian group. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  2. 1 2 "Lauren Pearce starts petition to save Point Lowly". Save Point Lowly. Save Point Lowly. 2008-07-18. Archived from the original on October 24, 2009. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  3. ↑ van der Haak, Melissa (2009-05-04). "Under fire". Southern Cross news. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  4. ↑ Ooi, Esther (2011-05-23). "The Point Lowly desal plant that's got SA squabbling". Crikey. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  5. ↑ McGregor, Ken (2011-05-18). "Save Point Lowly terms bulk ore port plan as 'third-rate'". The Advertiser. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
  6. ↑ Founten, Loukas (2009-09-18). "Media Monitoring - September 2009". Local Government Association of South Australia. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  7. ↑ "Save Point Lowly". Save Point Lowly. Facebook. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  8. ↑ "Save Point Lowly". Pandora - Australia's web archive. National Library of Australia. 2012-05-28. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
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