30 July 2009

The Victorian Government announced today that AquaSure has been awarded the tender for Victoria’s desalination project near Wonthaggi.

Bass Coast Mayor, Cr John Duscher, said the announcement was not unexpected and marked the next phase in the State Government’s water plan.

“It has been a long and intense process for our community since we became aware of the Government’s intentions to undertake this project in Bass Coast,” said Cr Duscher.

“Council has consistently opposed this project, but we must accept the reality of the situation. The project has moved to the next phase and we will do everything in our power to lessen the impact on our community and maximise any benefits.”

“Our role is to engage with this company and the Government,” explained Cr Duscher. “Our community needs information on the power supply options and the design of the proposed plant so we can have a greater understanding of how it will impact on us all."

“It is imperative that there is strong community liaison, so that our residents can be confident that the project is being properly managed,” continued Cr Duscher.

“We are calling for the community reference group to be set up immediately.”

The Bass Coast community has been active and outspoken about its opposition to and concerns about the desalination project.

“Council will continue to advocate our community’s concerns about the project,” confirmed Cr Duscher.

“The lack of engagement from the State Government in relation to this project was one of the reasons why Council voiced its strong opposition to this project back in 2008.

“With this announcement, hopefully this will now improve. We need to work closely with AquaSure and the Government to ensure that our community is not adversely affected.”

Acting Chief Executive Officer, Danny Luna, said Council had already clearly outlined their concerns about the impact of the desalination plant.

“Our submission to the Environment Effects Statement (EES) addressed five key areas,” explained Mr Luna.

“These were the social impact, community consultation, traffic, power supply and economic impacts of the plant."

”We believe the final EES Assessment was light on details about how to address the concerns we raised,” Mr Luna said. “We are confident that AquaSure has a strong understanding of these issues as we have been in discussions with both groups throughout the tender process."

“We look forward to them helping us address the community’s concerns."

“It is extremely important that AquaSure is transparent in its operations, releases the details of the design and power supply and engages with our community."

“Council has a responsibility to the whole community to ensure that this happens.”

Cr Duscher said he expected that there would be a huge amount of interest in AquaSure’s plans for the plant.

“Many people in our community have been strongly opposed to the project and this announcement is not going to change that.”