‘Protocol breached’: Traditional owners irate govt did not consult on Pioneer-Burdekin hydro plan

The native title holders of land where the Queensland government plan to build a $12 billion pumped hydro plant were not consulted about the project ahead of its announcement.

Traditional owners of land where a mega pumped hydro project will be built have accused the state government of breaching protocol by not consulting them, warning they had “grave ­concerns” about the plan.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week announced the state’s ambitious energy plan, with goals of hitting 70 per cent renewable power use by 2032, ­including through the construction of a centrepiece $12bn 5GW pumped hydro plant west of Mackay.

But it was revealed just 24 hours later that people in a town due to be submerged for the project were not consulted and found out on live ­television that their homes would be lost.

Yuwi traditional owners of the land, who have native title determination in parts of the project area and whose consent the state government will need, confirmed they had also not been consulted and were informed on the day the plan was announced.

Many living in the Pioneer Valley are concerned by the hydro proposal.

Queensland Hydro interim chief executive Chris Evans said “ideally” traditional owners would have been informed prior to the announcement but that it was important stakeholders had the broader context of the full ­energy plan before the “why” of the project was explained. A spokeswoman for the Yuwi Aboriginal Corporation board of directors said the group were called to a meeting on September 28 with an engineering firm and government-owned company Queensland Hydro, for purposes undisclosed to them.

At the meeting the Yuwi board were informed feasibility studies for the Pioneer-Burdekin hydro plant project had begun “over 12 months ago”.

“Prior to this meeting Yuwi Corporation directors had no knowledge of the proposed hydro power plant for the Pioneer Valley as there had been no consultation with the Yuwi traditional owners at all,” the spokeswoman said.

“We believe the Queensland government have breached protocol by not consulting with the Yuwi people at least a year ago, and this needs to be resolved at a government level.”

Mr Evans, who is in Mackay holding meetings, said he “understands the perspective” of the traditional owners and “ideally we would have liked to have met with them before the announcement”.

“But (the project) just needed that context (of the full energy plan),” he said.

“The Minister and I have committed to meeting with traditional owners as soon as he’s back in Mackay. We expect that to be within the next couple of weeks.”

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni on Wednesday confirmed about 73 per cent of impacted landholders, of the 50 total, had been contacted by authorities so far.

He said 13 landholders had requested a meeting with Queensland Hydro “to work through what the future means for them”.

Mr de Brenni said the government understood the “impacts are significant on them” and authorities would work through the process with those impacted “incredibly respectfully”.