Proposed Road closure, we better fire up!

[tomca]

Taken from Fitzy's site

Hi Folks,

I draw your attention to an application to have a historical & important access point to the Brisbane River closed.

Location
/>http://maps.google.com.au/?ll=-27.441897,152.597405&spn=0.004894,0.010343&t=h&z=17

The application is to have a Temporary Road Closure on Harpeng Road in the Wivenhoe Pocket. Please refer to the Qld Government Gazette http://www.bookshop.qld.gov.au/documents/02.03.12Combined.pdf go to page 256 for the notice.

If successful, the safe public access to the several kilometers of Brisbane River from Lowood upstream to Wivenhoe Dam is effectively gone, this includes the significant Lockyer Creek Junction. There is only one other access point to this section of river being at a location at the end of Shines Road which is a high, steep, long, slippery and dangerous decent to the river bed; locally known as Heart Attack Hill. This is in stark contrast to the much lower, closer & more gently sloping banks found at Harpeng Road that are that good that a boat can be backed off a trailer. The Harpeng Road access is even more critical since the destruction and closure of the Atkinson’s Crossing/Spillway Common site immediately below the Wivenhoe Dam wall in the floods of January 2011.

Harpeng Road has always been a legal public access point with easy access, until recently when adjoining land owner/s illegally fenced the road with barbed wire excluding access for the general public to the Brisbane River, then illegally occupying the road reserve with their cattle. Abuse, threats and intimidation have been leveled at some members of the public who have attempted to go through these obstacles placed across the road, I’ve also experienced this personally.

Let me be absolutely clear. Once closed, this road will not be re-opened to you, to me, to the general public or to our future generations.

No boat launching, no picnicking, no swimming, no fishing, no kayak/canoe launching and no portaging around the log jam & rapids on the anabranch at Cameron's Crossing (end of Harpeng Road). This also means no canoe/kayaking down river as this site is a critical portage location. Effectively if the road closure application is successful, it will be illegal to portage around the dangerous location mentioned above or to pull your boat up the shore. Refer to the Qld Land Act – Section 13A http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/L/LandA94.pdf which permits adjoining land owners to treat the beds and banks of a non-tidal crown land waterway as their own, exclude public access and prosecute for trespassing.

This is a call to action for kayak & canoe paddlers, anglers, boaties, nature lovers, representative bodies and related businesses both Qld and Australia wide. Inaction could see an important access point be closed for the sole reason of allowing a mob of cattle a free feign to cave in the river banks with public scrutiny removed.

If you object to your rights being taken away in this case, then I invite you to join me in objecting to the above mentioned road closure application, put pen to paper and stand up for your own rights as a tax payer, as a rate payer and as an active outdoor Australian. Nobody else is going to do it for you, so there will be no complaining after the fact if a big ROAD CLOSED sign is all the public will ever see again at this site.

Objections

Objections to this road closure application need to be made in writing by 12 April to:

Regional Service Director

Department of Environment and Resource

Management

Level 1 Tower Central

114 Brisbane Street

Ipswich QLD 4305

I look forward to your support.

Kind Regards,

Garry Fitzgerald

Sweetwater Fishing Australia

M- 0423 464311

Int- +61 423464311

E- info@sweetwaterfishing.com.au

Web - sweetwaterfishing.com.au

Forum - sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Forum

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/user/SweetwaterFishingAus

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/#!/SWFishing

Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/SweetWaterFish

[jeff f]

they make it as hard as possible to object with the "in writing" bit

wonder who the farmers are? relatives of the local member

[tomca]

Fortunately there are plenty of examples of objection letters if you google. You change bits to suit your objection and reasons for it and be sure to ask for consultation. Make it as hard as possible for this arse clown to close the river from trespassers like us

The bit referring to the closure:

Land Act 1994

OBJECTIONS TO PROPOSED ROAD CLOSURE

NOTICE (No 08) 2012

Short title

1. This notice may be cited as the Objections to Proposed

Road Closure Notice (No 08) 2012.

Application for road closure [s.100 of the Act]

2. Applications have been made for the permanent and

temporary closure of the roads mentioned in the Schedule.

Objections

3.(1) An objection (in writing) to a proposed road closure

mentioned in the Schedule may be lodged with the Regional

Service Director, Department of Environment and Resource

Management, at the regional office for the region in which the

road is situated.

(2) Latest day for lodgement of objections is 12 April

2012.

(3) Any objections received may be viewed by other parties

interested in the proposed road closure under the provisions of

the Right to Information Act 2009. If you lodge an objection,

please include in your objection letter whether you would like

to be consulted if this issue becomes the subject of an access

request under the Right to Information Act 2009.

Plans

4. Inspection of the plans of the proposed road closures

may be made at-

(a) the Department of Environment and Resource

Management Offices at Cairns, Beenleigh, Brisbane,

Gold Coast, Bundaberg and Ipswich; and

( the Local Government Offices of Tablelands Regional,

Redland City, Brisbane City, Gold Coast City,

Bundaberg Regional and Somerset Regional;

for a particular plan in that district or that local government

area.

Details of the land in question

South East Region, Ipswich Office

7 An area of about 2690 m2 being part of Harpeng Road

separating Lot 115 on S31231 from Lot 3 on S31107 (parish

of Burnett, locality of Wivenhoe Pocket) and shown as

road proposed to be temporarily closed on Drawing 12/030.

(2012/000758)

[elops]

Objection does not have to be in "writing" you can do it by email.

Sent my objection by email and received notification email that my objection had been lodged and my submission will be considered as part of the departments investigation into this application for the road closure.

Send your objection to slam-ipswich@derm.qld.gov.au reference number for the application for the road closure is 2012/000758 use this reference number in any correspondence.

[elops]

Forgot to say onya tomca for posting this :cheer:

If any yakkers are keen for a Bass , weather and flows permitting will be launching here sunday morning. Lot easier than that hill

[jeff f]

thanks steve that makes it easier

[Gad]

my objection has been composed and emailed