Members of Parliament in the Peel region have called for a halt on the Point Grey Marina development, ahead of its review at the State Administrative Tribunal on October 2.
In June this year, Shire of Murray councillors voted against a stage one application from developers Point Grey Development Company Pty Ltd and Tian An Australia Limited, citing environmental concerns.
The Point Grey Marina proposal includes construction of a 300-berth marina with tourism and recreational facilities on the western side of Point Grey peninsula.
It also includes the construction of a 2.5 kilometre navigation channel across the Peel-Harvey Estuary, from the Point Grey Marina to the Dawesville Channel.
The contentious development has sparked community concerns due to its dredging component, with fears that maintenance costs will fall on ratepayers and the health of the estuary would be affected.
Further, at a meeting on August 22, Shire of Murray councillors voted in favour of a motion for chief executive Dean Unsworth to advise the state government of their position and to continue lobbying on behalf of the council decision.
The City of Mandurah also recently threw their support behind the Shire of Murray, approving a motion in August to advocate alongside their local government neighbour in relation to the proposed navigational channel.
Read More:
- 'Short-sighted proposal': City of Mandurah stand by Shire of Murray, vote not to maintain proposed Point Grey marina channel
- In the balance: Point Grey developers seek state approval after Shire of Murray rejects proposal
- Shire of Murray councillors vote against stage one of Point Grey marina project
- Shire of Murray environmental concerns halt Point Grey marina development
Now, local members have expressed their ongoing opposition to the Point Grey development, citing environmental, social and economic concerns.
Mandurah MP David Templeman, who has a long history of opposing the proposal, said it was not in the best interests of the community.
"I helped organise a major rally back in 2014 against this proposal and my opinion has not changed," he said.
"The potential impacts of a dredged channel across the estuary on our local marine life, the impacts on water quality and the implications of servicing a major urban development at Point Grey is a bridge too far in my opinion."
Murray-Wellington MP Robyn Clarke described the proposal as "flawed".
"Like the Shire of Murray, I remain very concerned about who will be responsible for the future management of the proposed 2.5 kilometre dredged channel that connects the Dawesville cut to the proposed Marina development at Point Grey," she said.
The potential impacts of a dredged channel across the estuary on our local marine life, the impacts on water quality and the implications of servicing a major urban development at Point Grey is a bridge too far in my opinion.
- Mandurah MP David Templeman
Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup said he was also concerned about the environmental impact.
"I think there's a real need to revisit and have another look at the proposal because, to me, we shouldn't be doing anything without being totally certain that the dredging is not going to have a possible negative impact on the environment," he said.
"Every environmental group I've spoken to, the recreational fishing group, community leaders, residents - everyone is concerned about the prospect of something going wrong and that, to me, is enough reason to stop and look at it in a lot more detail and possibly look at the government intervening.
"I'm always, on any project, in favour of any sustainable, reasonable, environmentally friendly development that occurs right across Mandurah and the Peel region but there is a very real prospect that something could go wrong on this, and if it does, it could have a massive impact on collapsing the estuary as we know it."
Mr Templeman called upon the Federal Environment Minister to urgently investigate some triggers within the Commonwealth Act that could halt the proposal.
"Both Robyn and I are also exploring the options available to the state government with regard to this proposal," he said.
"Ultimately the health and wellbeing of our estuarine system and the local environment that sustains our region is more important than a proposal like this that, in our opinion, remains too risky to be allowed to proceed."
The threat of the environmental and economic impact it could have is every reason for it to go back to the drawing board.
- Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup
Mr Kirkup said he hoped the outcome of the state tribunal review allowed for further research into the impacts of the Point Grey Marina development.
"I hope it gets referred and re-looked at by the Environment Protection Authority and that there's some opportunity there to refer it back to perhaps the Minister for Land," he said.
"We need to look at what role he has in stopping the process and ensuring there is very thorough and rigorous evaluation in place, before even considering moving forward with the rest of the project.
"The threat of the environmental and economic impact it could have is every reason for it to go back to the drawing board."
The matter will be heard on October 2 in the Perth State Administrative Tribunal building.
