KABA GADA - The Blue Hole

It is World Heritage, the highest order of protection that Australia can give. It is listed as a Cultural Heritage site. Queensland’s Iconic Places legislation protects “The Blue Hole” in Cooper Creek and includes a unique species of fish found there. According to Mike Rowland of the Cultural Heritage Coordination Unit, DNRW, (Department of Natural Resources and Water), The Blue Hole is listed on the Aboriginal database as EN:C53. The site is already given full protection under the Act. (Cultural Heritage Act 2003).

The northern bank of the Blue Hole forms part of Cooper Creek Wilderness Nature refuge giving it another layer of protection. The Conservation Agreement with the State of Queensland states that the landholders may not allow the public at large onto their land. With such an array of protective mechanisms available, why is this sacred site being destroyed without any intervention from the many government agencies?

Who is responsible?
1. Environment Australia (EA)– World Heritage protects cultural and natural heritage
2. Queensland Environment Protection Agency (QEPA) has delegated authority from EA for protecting WH values.
3. Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) is the agency established to manage the Area in partnership with the land managers
4. Department of Natural Resources & Water (DNRW) is the lead agency to manage any changes required to address the problem
5. Cairns Regional Council (CRC) has replaced Douglas Shire Council as the trustee of the land.
With a veritable army of bureaucracies, why is it that the problems have continued without abatement for more than 15 years?

On 26 April 1994 Douglas Shire Council (DSC) Meeting minutes record a letter from Sheila Michel, a neighbour from Lot 51 re environmental damage. “The writer sees the situation as a tragedy that this could happen to such a precious, even sacred spot.”

In April 2009, 15 years after this letter was written, Cairns Regional Council has called a meeting of government agencies and stakeholders at Kaba Gada.

Will this meeting recognise the sacred values of a world heritage global treasure or will the public right to destroy be protected, as it has been for the last 15 years?