By Andrew West
“OPPONENTS of the plan to scuttle a decommissioned navy ship off the Central Coast are mounting a last-minute campaign to overturn a decision of the federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, to approve the sinking.
Yesterday the Environmental Defender’s Office, acting for the No Ship Action Group, lodged an appeal with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal against Mr Garrett’s decision to issue a sea dumping permit.
Kirsty Ruddock, principal solicitor with the defender’s office, who is running the appeal, said she was seeking an urgent decision, given the former warship HMAS Adelaide is due to be scuttled 1700 metres off the beach at Avoca Bay on Saturday morning.
The Keneally government, spurred on by the commercial scuba diving industry, wants to create an artificial reef using the vessel, but some residents and environmental experts fear the ship will cause tidal problems that could reduce the size of Avoca beach by up to five metres.”