Save our Sound protesters against proposed Frenchman Bay desalination plant ask Don Punch to intervene

Protesters took advantage of a State minister’s visit to Albany on Tuesday, parking themselves on the road outside his press conference to ask for his help in opposing a desalination plant in Frenchman Bay. Members of the Save our Sound Albany group set up near the entrance of the Albany Shellfish Hatchery to get a word in with Minister Don Punch about the Water Corporation’s consideration of Frenchman Bay as a potential site for the plant’s briny discharge. SOSA convenor and president of the Frenchman Bay Association Jan Pickles said they hoped to get their message out “loud and clear” to “anyone else who will listen”. “This is a patently ill-conceived place to put a desal plant, and we really hope that they consider and ask Water Corp to go and find a better solution,” she said. “There is universal opposition to this — the only ones that want this are Water Corp.” SOSA started a petition addressed to Water Minister Simone McGurk in November that has already amassed almost 1000 signatures. Ms Pickles said the group hoped to implore Mr Punch to influence Ms McGurk and “intervene” in the project they believe will damage the bay’s pristine waters. “(We want him to) speak to the Water Corporation and ask them to find a much more suitable place, hopefully somewhere where the water flow is much more energetic, the brine will certainly disperse without causing more damage to the environment.” Among the group was City of Albany deputy mayor Paul Terry who said the council remains “very strong” in its opposition to the Frenchman Bay site. “At council back in December, we passed a very strong motion against Water Corp advocating on behalf of the community here, the fishermen, the Shellfish Hatchery, because there’ll be some very negative connotations if there is the outtake for the desalination plant here,” he said. “It’s just an absolute no.” Speaking at the press conference inside the Albany Shellfish Hatchery, Mr Punch said he stopped to acknowledge the group and listen to their concerns, but said the decision ultimately lay with the minister for water who was awaiting the results of data gathering. “What I would say is stay with processes,” he said. “Stay with processes that gather information in so we can make informed decisions as the minute we abandon research and science and data, then we really lose the opportunity to make those informed, conscious decisions.” Hatchery manager Jonathan Bilton has also been vocal in his concern with the proposal, saying the project would pose an “unacceptable risk” to his facility’s operations. Minister for Water Simone McGurk has been contacted for comment.