Traveston Dam: these will not be forgotten years
The former Midnight Oil front-man moved to his own unique, pulsating dance style while singing words a generation would remember. The emotions his songs could invoke were strong enough for me that while watching a live performance I decided there and then to pack my bags and return home after living in Europe for several years.
Standing in ankle deep mud in a field in Switzerland, cold rain drizzling down upon my head and shoulders, it was the early 90s, and his words had me suddenly missing my homeland and yearning for its wildlife, the waft of eucalyptus on a summer’s day, its bright sunshine, its people.
And now in 2009 thousands of people wait for Peter Garrett to invoke not a passionate yearning for home, but a decision that may in fact save their homes, their communities, their lifestyles. And this time they don’t want a song or a live performance, they simply want one word. No.
“The hardest years, the darkest years, the roarin’ years, the fallen years, these should not be forgotten years”. Words that will ring in the ears of any Mary Valley resident these days.
“It reeks of politics, signatures stained with tears, who can remember, we’ve got to remember”.
These are just some of the words Peter Garrett sang proudly in his song Forgotten Years. However it’s hard to imagine any Mary Valley resident forgetting the years since the proposed dam was announced.
And now the decision rests firmly in the hands of Garrett and according to some, so does the future of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) which the federal minister must consider when assessing the proposed dam.
Murray-Darling kayaker and river campaigner Steve Posselt, wants the federal Environment Minister to reject the Queensland Government's dam proposal. And he has definitely had a different perspective of the river compared with those who made the decision to propose a dam in the first place.
Kayaker and river campaigner Steve Posselt. Image: stoppress.com.au
"On my 'Don't Murray the Mary' trips, I've tried to fight my way through impenetrable masses of hyacinth on the Brisbane river below its dams, and then I've had the pleasure of descending the full length of the Mary, as it winds down to its estuary and the Great Sandy Strait.
“I learned of the riffles and vegetation essential to lungfish breeding, and the sand banks essential to the Mary River turtle. I also learned that our lungfish is unique, and native to only two rivers in the whole world.
“When I paddled all the way down the coast from Brisbane to Sydney to deliver over 3000 letters of opposition to the dam to Peter Garrett on the steps of the Opera house, I encountered many people who were dismayed at the threat to this iconic species.
“Since then thousands more letters have gone to Peter Garrett and other ministers, and now Mr Garrett very plainly holds the future of the Mary River in his hands. In fact the future of the whole EPBC Act may be tied up in this decision."
Let’s just hope Mr Garrett remembers that “these will not be forgotten years”. His decision should be a simple one if the relevant Act is followed.
A simple ‘no’ will mean the former Oils lead singer will be remembered as a man of principle, a man who understands and respects our environment and importantly a man who believes in the rights of his fellow citizens. A man who still believes in the words he sang decades ago.
But politics, it appears, always tends to muddy the waters and dampen even the most vocal rock star.
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