Face to face tour of world class mussel processing plant impresses Mayors who are seeking answers from SA Water

Local Mayors at a recent Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association (EPLGA) meeting discussed outcomes from a fact-finding tour of Port Lincoln’s world class mussel processing facility.

The Board agreed to continue lobbying SA Water for answers around the Hands Off Boston Bay coalition’s concerns, specifically that not enough scientific analysis into potential environmental, community, or business impacts to Port Lincoln’s world class seafood industry has been done.

Amongst those in attendance was the President of the EPLGA, Mayor Sam Telfer, who is also the candidate appointed by the Liberal Party to contest the safe seat of Flinders when Peter Treloar MP retires ahead of the next election.

The EPLGA received a detailed report from SA Water, as well as providing representation on an industry working group to gain a fulsome perspective.  Through this engagement they have heard about the concerns of the industry, such as the potential of the wiping out of the mussel industry whose spats float across the bay region and are in danger of being sucked into the in pipes of a desal plant, as well as the tuna, kingfish, and abalone industries.

Given the economic uncertainty caused by a national COVID crisis, the risks of destroying a $200 million per year industry and all the secondary economic impacts that would have on associated industries and jobs, as well as potential environmental impacts, were all areas which the EPLGA expressed its concerns about.

On behalf of the EPLGA, Mayor Telfer wrote a letter to SA Water expressing the EPLGA’s concerns, encouraging appropriate due diligence processes to take place when it comes to choosing the site for a desalination plant, and the EPLGA will continue to engage with industry and community as they voice concerns over the proposed desal plant location in Boston Bay.