Like many on the Northern Rivers, the 2021 Ballina council election campaigns have largely focused on development and a declared housing crisis.
But despite being mooted, scrapped, mooted and scrapped again within a twelve-month period in 2020 and 2021, debates over the Dunoon Dam have persisted, shifting from the arena of the Rous County Council to demand the spotlight in Ballina mayoral campaigns.
Of the five 2021 mayoral candidates, all of them existing councillors, three are in support of another inquiry into the feasibility of a dam near the hinterland village of Dunoon to help address predicted future regional water security needs.
Those councillors are Eoin Johnston, Sharon Cadwallader and Stephen McCarthy.
Ballina councillors divided over Dunoon Dam
Councillor Cadwallader has been representing the Ballina Shire Council on the Rous County Council, which is made up of representatives from four local governments: Byron Shire Council, Ballina Shire Council, Richmond Valley Council and Lismore City Council.
But Cr Cadwallader has consistently disagreed with her fellow Ballina Shire councillor representative and chair of Rous, Keith Williams, over the idea of a dam in Dunoon.
Cr Williams and Cr Jeff Jonson are the two Ballina mayoral candidates to have declared themselves supportive of Rous County Council’s decision to move ahead with alternative water security options including desalination, recycling and groundwater extraction.
Cr Williams has defended the option of groundwater extraction from the Alstonville plateau, saying the water sought would come from basins far deeper than those tapped by farmers in the region.
Both Crs Williams and Jonson have objected to the description of water recycling as ‘toilet to tap’, saying it’s a misleading claim since recycled water would only be used for non-drinking purposes.
Cr Parry says people feel ‘misled’ over Dunoon Dam campaign
The debate isn’t exclusive to those vying for Ballina’s top council job: outgoing independent Cr Sharon Parry has seldom contacted The Echo during her time on the council but says she felt honour bound this week.
Her comments on the continued Dunoon Dam campaign follow.
‘There has been an intensive campaign undertaken during 2021 on the Plateau, targeting C Ward voters, by an existing councillor who is running a loud campaign for the mayoral role,’ Cr Parry wrote.
The independent councillor later declined to name the councillor she referred to but clarified they were not necessarily a representative of Ballina’s C Ward, which includes Alstonville.
‘The strategy has been to urge residents (through leafleting and personal advances at the Alstonville Shopping Plaza) to sign their approval for the Dunoon Dam,’ Cr Parry wrote, ‘on the basis that this will permit Alstonville’s aquifers to be left untapped in the case of drought’.
‘This seemingly logical connection is not recommended by the Rous County Council staff, nor is it a logical connection,’ Cr Parry continued.
‘Many residents have contacted me to say that they did not realise what they were signing.
‘Further, a considerable number have reported that they felt they were misled.’
The survey Cr Parry refers to has previously been cited in at least one Rous County Council meeting this year, where some councillors, including Byron’s representative Cr Cate Coorey, questioned its validity.
Doubts over Alstonville shopping centre Dunoon Dam survey
Cr Parry told The Echo as an academic researcher with experience in data collection, she objected to the survey reportedly distributed this year at the Alstonville Shopping Plaza.
‘I must point out that the submission proforma provided by the now candidate used leading questions; closed (yes/no) questions; inappropriate background information about the issue, and other non-rigorous methods of data collection to generate what is claimed to be 11,000 signatures supporting the dam,’ Cr Parry wrote.
‘Threats such as “you will be drinking toilet water”, or “poo water” have been widely used, including in radio and television advertising,’ she wrote.
‘None of this is true. Millions of Europeans, British and Americans drink recycled water that is as pure as Evian from Switzerland.
‘I hope that all the Northern Rivers will have provision of potable and also agricultural grade water from groundwater recycling as soon as possible.’
Cr Parry said she urged all residents to ‘go online and research this issue for themselves’.
‘And to support responsible candidates for council and the mayoral role,’ she added.
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