EXCLUSIVE by Richard Noone
A PROTEST group has threatened legal action in a last ditch bid to stop the scuttling of former HMAS Adelaide to make an artificial reef, due to happen next week.
The former naval frigate is expected to be towed from Glebe Island to a mooring off Avoca Beach on Monday in preparation for being scuttled on March 27.
The plan is to create an artificial reef for recreational divers and is expected to inject about $20 million a year into the local economy. It was due to be sunk off Terrigal but the location was changed after surveys of the ocean floor found an area 1.8km off Avoca was more suitable. The decision outraged locals who said they weren’t consulted about the new location and feared the decomposing ship could leach chemicals into the water.
Final approval rests with Federal Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett who has yet to sign off on an application for a permit by the NSW Lands Department.
Solicitors for the No Ship Action Group sent Mr Garrett a fax on Wednesday stating if he signed the permit he would contravene an environmental protection act and an international marine waste protocol.
Environmental Defender’s Office solicitor Ian Ratcliff said the Government had not taken all possible measures to remove the potentially dangerous material.
He also said the Department of Lands had applied for a permit to create an artificial reef but had failed to apply for a separate permit to dump the vessel.
Protesters want scuttling of HMAS Adelaide scuttled - Daily Telegraph 19-03-2010