Bad build and oversight failure at Gladstone gas hub

A KEY part of the Gladstone Harbour dredging program has failed due to bad construction, inadequate monitoring and poor environmental oversight.

A KEY part of the Gladstone Harbour dredging program for the $35 billion Curtis Island liquefied natural gas export hub has failed due to bad construction, inadequate monitoring and poor environmental oversight by state and federal governments, an independ­ent inquiry has found. The failure of a bund wall designed to hold dredge spoils from the harbour expansion coincided with a spike in fish, turtle and ­dugong deaths in late 2011.

The independent report to federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, which will be released today, ruled the investigation into the fish deaths to be outside its terms of reference, but said the bund wall had been plagued by “poor practice”.

Results of the inquiry vindicate concerns raised by former Gladstone Ports environment ­officer turned whistleblower John Broomhead in The Australian in January and are a stunning ­indictment on Gladstone Port management and state and federal government regulators.

Approval and management of the Gladstone Harbour expansion by the former Labor state and federal governments raised alarm within the World Heritage Committee about Australia’s management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Mr Hunt said the report “did not pull any punches” and he would accept its recommendations for stricter monitoring and enforcement. The report does not recommend any action against the Gladstone Ports Corporation or government officers, but since the bund wall failure key officials at Gladstone Ports and relevant federal and state departments have been changed.

The independent inquiry was called after a series of reports in The Australian outlined how the federal government had demand­ed changes to the reclamation area and how shortcuts had been taken in construction of the bund wall.

The inquiry found the impact of changes demanded by the federal government had not been properly investigated.

It said design and construction of the bund wall was “not consistent with industry best practice.”

“This review has found a number of significant deficiencies in the overall performance of the ­environmental regulators and the Gladstone Ports Corporation responsible for the construction of the wall,’’ the report said.

“With the benefit of hindsight, some actions taken by both Australian and state governments and the proponent in the delivery of the Western Basin Strategic Dredging and Disposal Project were less than optimal.’’ The ­inquiry panel found inadequate construction of the bund wall led to increased turbidity, which had not been properly monitored or reported.

Mr Hunt said that the report’s 37 findings and 19 recommend­ations would be used to inform the assessment of future developments with reclamation areas in coastal environments.