Josh Frydenberg’s office allowed proposed Queensland development to go to assessment despite legal advice it was ‘unacceptable’
Last modified on Sat 7 Aug 2021 21.02 BST
The Coalition government decided a controversial apartment complex and marina proposed for Queensland’s Moreton Bay should proceed to the next stage of the assessment process, despite legal advice from the federal attorney general’s department warning it was unacceptable because of the risk it posed to internationally listed wetlands.
The government was advised that a development inside the Ramsar site could put Australia in breach of its international obligations before Josh Frydenberg, who was environment minister at the time, recommended his department proceed with an assessment of the Walker Corporation’s long-proposed Toondah Harbour.
Under the proposal, more than 3,000 apartments would be built on top of about 42 hectares of protected wetlands. It is currently being assessed by the federal environment department, with an environmental impact statement expected to go on public display soon.
In 2018, the ABC reported Frydenberg had rejected environment department advice that the development should not proceed to the assessment stage because it would affect the ecological character of the site, which is listed under the Ramsar convention on wetlands.
Leaked documents showed Walker Corporation was considering legal action at the time if the government ruled the development was deemed ineligible for assessment as “clearly unacceptable”.
A letter from Walker Corporation’s legal advisor to the federal government in February 2017 seen by Guardian Australia suggests the environment department based its view on legal advice from the office of international law in the attorney general’s department.
The letter says environment officials, supported by the legal advice, had told the company several times that the proposal should not proceed to assessment because developing inside the wetlands would be unacceptable under national environmental laws due to the risk of putting Australia in breach of international obligations under the Ramsar convention.
The company disagreed. In the letter to the department and minister’s office, it argued Frydenberg would not be contravening the act if he decided the development should be assessed, and not rejected outright.
Frydenberg ultimately referred a modified proposal for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. In a letter to the Queensland government, he suggested that the boundary of the wetland could be changed, a step that would effectively delist part of the protected area to accommodate the development.
At present there is no proposal to change the boundary and the decision on whether or not to approve Walker Corporation’s most recent application – the third iteration of the project – will rest with the current environment minister, Sussan Ley.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the legal advice referred to in the 2017 letter likely remained relevant to Ley’s assessment given the current proposal would still affect the Ramsar wetland.
“How can the government still be considering this project against the clear advice of its own international law experts?” the foundation’s biodiversity policy advisor, Brendan Sydes, said.
Sydes said it was inconceivable that Walker Corporation could demonstrate the project would not irrevocably damage the internationally important wetland, which is home to 124 rare and threatened species, including dugongs, turtles and birds.
“The Australian government should never place the interests of Walker Corporation above the protection of a globally important place. Minister Ley must take her responsibilities under the EPBC Act seriously and reject this proposal,” he said.
More recent documents obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws show the environment department reminded the government of its obligations under the Ramsar Convention.
Much of this advice is focused on consideration of whether the development would be considered “wise use” of the Moreton Bay Ramsar site.
A draft letter from Ley to the former Queensland environment minister, Leeanne Enoch, says: “In deciding whether or not to approve the proposal under the EPBC Act, and what conditions to attach to such an approval if granted, I must not act inconsistently with Australia’s obligations under the Ramsar convention.”
In the unsigned letter, Ley said she would need to deliver a comprehensive assessment that ensured Australia met its obligations.
In another document, officials wrote a briefing for Ley ahead of a tour of the Toondah harbour site with Walker Corporation in January 2020.
The briefing says the department wanted to be involved in talks with Walker Corporation about its environmental impact statement (EIS), “particularly those that demonstrate how a net benefit will be achieved for the Moreton Bay Ramsar site”.
It notes that no Australian government had ever approved a commercial residential development of the scale proposed inside a Ramsar wetland and that, if approved, the development would remove a substantial amount of foraging habitat for the critically endangered eastern curlew.
It would also affect two known roosting sites, including one where 180 individual eastern curlews had been recorded.
The briefing says that ordinarily wise use of a wetland would relate to “traditional or cultural use of a wetland by Indigenous peoples, or to developments supporting education or public awareness of wetland values”.
A spokesman for Ley said the minister would observe all of her obligations before reaching a decision.
“These include the need to carefully consider all relevant information on the proposal including public comments, the EIS and policy and statutory documents, consistent with the requirements of the Act before reaching a decision,” he said.
Walker Corporation declined to comment and the attorney general’s department said it did not comment on legal advice it provided to government.
The environment department said it would not comment on legal advice it had received.
A spokesperson said the department was in the process of reviewing Walker Corporation’s draft EIS.
In response to questions, a spokesman for Frydenberg said: “No environmental approval was provided for the project while the former minister was in the portfolio.”
buy tadalafil side effects of tadalafil
side effects of tadalafil where to buy tadalafil on line
canada generic tadalafil tadalafil blood pressure
tadalafil generic where to buy https://cialisbusd.com/
buy generic cialis online with mastercard buy generic cialis online with mastercard
side effects for tadalafil https://cialismat.com/
buy cialis cialis at canadian pharmacy
tadalafil price walmart tadalafil daily online
https://cialismat.com/ tadalafil liquid
generic cialis online fast shipping tadalafil dosage
cialis tadalafil tadalafil cialis
generic cialis tadalafil https://cialisicp.com/
prescription tadalafil online https://nextadalafil.com/
tadalafil dosage buy generic cialis online with mastercard
tadalafil price walmart buy tadalafil
lowest price cialis https://cialisicp.com/
prescription tadalafil online where to order tadalafil tablets
tadalafil online tadalafil goodrx
https://extratadalafill.com/ cialis without a prescription
https://cialisbusd.com/ generic cialis online fast shipping
tadalafil drug cialis at canadian pharmacy
tadalafil generic where to buy cheapest tadalafil cost
cialis tadalafil canada generic tadalafil
tadalafil order online no prescription tadalafil order online no prescription
tadalafil goodrx buy cialis
tadalafil generic buy generic cialis online with mastercard
buy cialis pills tadalafil without a doctor prescription
tadalafil online tadalafil cost in canada
cheap cialis pills for sale generic tadalafil from uk
tadalafil brands cialis cost
viagra tablets viagra alternative
sildenafil buy online sildenafil citrate 25mg
cuanto tadalafil super active devo tomar tadalafil tablets 20mg
ivermectin 0.2mg ivermectin 12 mg
https://cialisusdc.com/ tadalafil blood pressure
sildenafil 100mg for sale sildenafil generic reviews
ivermectin 0.08% ivermectin lotion for lice
mexico viagra prices sildenafil 130
buy tadalafil 5mg is tadalafil generic
canada generic tadalafil tadalafil dosage
tadalafil and sildenafil taken together uk produced tadalafil
stromectol medication where to buy ivermectin
sildenafil on empty stomach sildenafil online canada
ivermectin stromectol for sale
ivermectin 6mg dosage ivermectin 3mg tab
buy ivermectin stromectol covid 19
buy stromectol uk cost of stromectol
stromectol tab price ivermectin cream uk
ivermectin 90 mg ivermectin nz
buy ivermectin nz ivermectin pill cost
ivermectin 250ml ivermectin 24 mg
stromectol 3 mg tablet ivermectin 3 mg dose
cheapest cialis 20 mg cialis over the counter usa
ivermectin cream ivermectin 5 mg
cialis cost cialis for sale
sildenafil erectile dysfunction how to make sildenafil citrate at home
cheapest tadalafil india brands of generic tadalafil
get viagra real viagra for sale
tadalafil cost cvs generic tadalafil in us
roadrunner pharmacy canada drugs generic
buy viagra cheap online where to buy generic viagra over the counter
viagra cialis levitra vergleich levitra vardenafil tablets
paypal cialis online 36 hour cialis online
canadian pharmacy new port richey fl canadian pharmacies-24h
sildenafil 20 mg prices sildenafil soft 100mg
where to buy over the counter female viagra viagra 100mg mexico
canadian international pharmacy association viagra Sumycin
ivermectin for demodex mites in dogs ivermectin for cats dewormer
ivermectin overdose who ivermectin
cialis for sale canada cheapest generic cialis
tadalafil) canadian pharmacy tadalafil
buying prescription drugs online canadian pharmacies flying to mexico with prescription drugs
viagra cialis levitra online pharmacy how much is levitra at cvs
levitra 20mg reviews does levitra work
cialis no consultation kaboom cialis
rx viagra canada canadian viagra pharmacy
when will cialis become generic cialis testimonials
genuine canadian pharmacy canadian pharmacies best
deaths from prescription drugs uf pharmacy online refill
online pharmacy in germany pharmacy store in usa
what time does cvs pharmacy inside target store open today? safeway pharmacy online
pharmacy tech penalty for importing prescription drugs
registered canadian pharmacies canadian pharmacy king
cheap prescription drugs canada cvs pharmacy inside target store near me
order modafinil 100mg pills modafinil 200mg canada
pharmacy windsor canada Duphaston
awc canadian pharmacy review internet pharmacy manitoba
modafinil 100mg generic generic provigil 100mg
how Much Does Cialis Cost At Walgreens?
how To Take Cialis For Occasional Sex?
how Long For Cialis Get Back In Systym?
modafinil drug
how Long Till Cialis Starts Working 100%?
how Fast Is Cialis?
how To Get Cialis Without A Prescription?
provigil brand order provigil pill
buy ivermectin 6mg generic ivermectin 6mg
http://www.ivermectinusd.com/ buy stromectol online
ivermectin 12 mg
http://ivermectinetc.com/ stromectol mexico
https://ivermectinetc.com/ stromectol pharmacy