It is all

about Risk. Or is it?

Ever yone i s get t i ng st i r red u p abou t t h e impending decommissioning of the Upper Teddington Reservoir, but many are asking what is it all about? The answer is it’s about risk

T h a t i s P a r k s V i c t o r i a ’ s r i s k , b e c a u s e decommissioning the reservoir will eliminate any risk they have for liability if the dam is breached. But it is not all risk, they really just don’t want to manage the water and have even said so. Perhaps therefore it looks like it is about risk, but really not If it is only about risk then two of the proposed options minimise the risk to ‘within acceptable range’ but Parks still went for the option to decommission even though the cost to do so would be around a similar dollar figure

It is also not about risk generally because it is only Parks Victoria’s risk that is being considered here If the Upper Teddington dam is so risky, then removing it or decommissioning it will send all the water that comes from the hills during rain tumbling downstream to where Not our risk, say Parks Victoria, that’s someone else’s risk

It is also amazing how one statement can be used and does not tell the stor y

Our local Ripon Member of Parliament Martha H a y l e t t a p p r o a c h e d t h e M i n i s t e r f o r t h e Environment and requested a response from Parks Victoria on this issue The response that was for warded to Martha was “the decision to decommission was due to serious safety concerns with the dam wall” No mention of other options to manage that risk to acceptable levels

Parks Victoria has appointed a Project Manager to see through the process of decommissioning this beautiful body of water and Cr Kevin Erwin is correct when he says we must get the process stopped before we can argue for the decision to be reversed If we did not, the process may have proceeded too far to be reversed

Parks Victoria has been remiss in their community consultation and engagement process They have not consulted openly They have not advised the community of decisions they have made On these grounds the Northern Grampians Shire Council and Martha Haylett and other politicians that could possible become involved must w o r k o n c o n v i n c i n g t h e M i n i s t e r f o r t h e Environment and Parks Victoria that the process must be stopped and full and open dialogue undertaken with the communities that have an interest in this important body of water

North Central News is of ten on the bandwagon of community consultation and engagement, but this case would have to be the worst we have seen that effects us in this region so severely The Victorian Government’s own Public Engagement policy for 2021-2025 states that they are committed to ‘meaningful, principled and inclusive public engagement ’ and that ‘it is a planned process to support decision making encourages people to get involved in decisions that are of interest to them’

If you care about water, if you care about having water, if you care about recreational water, if you care about the presence of water for mental health, if you care about fishing, if you care about the need for water for fire fighting, if you care about democracy and our role as members of a democracy having a say in decisions on our behalf then join this community in fighting to stop the d e c o m m i s s i o n i n g o f t h e U p p e r Te d d i n g t o n Reser voir

You can have your say and also find out the latest information on this on Facebook site “Upper Teddington community forum”