Complaint over council’s handling of dam fish kill referred to corruption watchdog

A complaint has been made against Cairns Regional Council, after a Copperlode Dam tourism operator claimed the organisation had mishandled a piece of dam infrastructure, killing off thousands of barramundi.

Copperlode Fishing and Kayak owner Kim Andersen has spent his Christmas break clearing homes along the Redlynch Valley of dead barramundi from his operation at Lake Morris. Picture: Copperlode Fishing and Kayak and Joe Press.

A complaint has been made against Cairns Regional Council, after a Copperlode Dam tourism operator claimed the organisation had mishandled a piece of dam infrastructure, killing off thousands of barramundi.

A council spokesman said the matter would be referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Copperlode Fishing and Kayak owner Kim Andersen in a letter on January 1 called for an independent review of the council’s conduct following a decision to remove a spillway net during Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

Mr Andersen said the decision caused a major kill event which destroyed the majority of his 30,000 barramundi crop and could permanently destroy his business.

“It’s of great concern to us that we didn’t find any fish from the second flood event, because it potentially means we lost most of our fish during the cyclone,” he said.

“It’s looking pretty bleak.”

He said he believed council took the decision to remove the net to the Local Disaster Management Group with a “serious lack of candour”, claiming key factors were omitted in the presentation ahead of TC Jasper’s crossing.

Kim Anderson near Crystal Cascades. Picture: Nuno Avendano

The council previously stated the decision was made to avoid potential damage to the dam due to concerns of “high-intensity winds” and “substantial debris” that would rival the 2018 flood conditions and cause trees to lodge in the net, threatening the dam intake.

Mr Andersen said in 39 years of working on Cairns waterways, he had never seen newly fallen trees float – adding the current at the spillway was minimal and a sunken tree would not be carried to the net.

He claimed procedure dictated he and net operator Uninet were to be consulted before any decision was finalised, which was confirmed in writing by the council.

“The [cyclone] track was pretty well known for a week and (council) didn’t engage with Uninet or myself and instead left it to the last minute to slip it in,” Mr Andersen said.

The net operation manual shared between Uninet, CFK and the council stated in extreme weather events, considerable debris could accumulate but would not be “an emergency situation” as there would be six metres of water flowing beneath the debris; however it also stated council had final say on decisions.

Copperlode Fishing and Kayak owner Kim Andersen has called for an independent review after a decision to remove a spillway net at the dam wall caused, what he believes, was a mass kill event for his barramundi crop in the Redlynch Valley. Picture: Kim Andersen/ Facebook.

The manual did not outline any situation where the net should be removed as, if the load exceeded two tonnes, the net would automatically break away.

“They didn’t follow the procedures of the manual, which was renewed in April 2022, and I’m sure if there was any malfunctions with the net I would have received correspondence at that time,” Mr Andersen claimed.

The council previously stated relying on the breakaway point was a “significant concern” as the accumulated debris would hit the dam wall all at once; however, Mr Andersen said in the 2018 floods council chose to release the accumulated debris which was caught by the still installed net rather than clear it from the lake after the event.

Mr Andersen also raised concerns over matters involving his relationship with the council over the past three years, including the issuing of a $1700 fine the day before Christmas for a minor infringement made three weeks prior, and the reporting Cairns Deputy Mayor Brett Moller and Division 9 councillor Brett Olds to the Office of the Independent Assessor for a supposed inappropriate relationship with himself.

Dead fish that were sucked over the Copperlode Dam spillway in what Copperlode Fishing and Kayak owner Kim Andersen described as a mass kill event for his barramundi. Picture: Kim Andersen/ Facebook.

Mr Andersen never heard back from the OIA following his initial conversation and Mr Moller and Mr Olds confirmed the complaint was dismissed without further investigation in March 2023.

Division 9 councillor Brett Olds said he backed an independent review into the process.

“To me, the whole thing seems odd, I would like to see a review and let’s see if the decision was the right one for the right reasons or let’s see if mistakes were made,” Mr Olds said.

“If they followed the policy to the law, then maybe we work on the policy, if they didn’t we need to explain ourselves to Kim and to the public.”

The council was contacted but said it would be inappropriate to comment on the issue.

“Allegations of corrupt conduct have been made against council, therefore we will refer the complaint to the Crime and Corruption Commission,” a council spokesperson said.

Originally published as Complaint over council’s handling of dam fish kill referred to corruption watchdog