Franklin_River

In 1978, the Tasmanian Hydro Electric Commission announced the Franklin Dam project to flood the Franklin River and produce hydro electricity. However, the proposed dam was never constructed due to the non-violent protest campaign by the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, which first failed with the campaign against the building of dams on Lake Pedder in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The proposed dam sparked a lot of controversy between the Tasmanian government and the TWS and their supporters. The issue also polarized the community with about 70% supporting the dam. By December 1982, the site was occupied and protested, and had become a federal issue the following March. After the 1983 election and the new government, run under Bob Hawke who promised to stop the dam, led to a legal battle between the federal government and Tasmanian Government. As the issue grew bigger, the TWS, under activist Bob Brown, began to mount a public interest campaign to fight for the Franklin. The TWS and those fighting for the river used many methods to fight against the construction of the damn and to influence the decision. As mentioned earlier, direct action was immediately taken with the dame site occupied by protestors and continued so with around 50 people arriving at the blockade each day. Such action led to a widespread of arrests but also provided great publicity and the campaign was spread nation wide through the media. A series of public meets and street marches also took place which brought the issue to the forefront of Tasmanian politics that received support of pro-damn politicians. On the other hand, the Tasmanian government imposed the laws and made things difficult for the protestors. They passed several laws and enforced special bail conditions for those the were arrested. In 1981, a referendum was held in an attempt to resolve the issue but was unsuccessful with 44% of votes being withdrawn for writing 'No Dams' across the ballot ticket. The HEC also claimed that potential jobs would be lost if the Franklin Dam project was no built. The people that were fighting against the project used methods that were very direct and were proactive in getting their message across. The methods involved a lot of work and support from the public. Whereas the HEC applied public pressure claiming jobs will be lost. The controversy finally ended on July 1 1983 when it went to the High Court of Australia, which ruled that the federal government could override State law in the area of protecting environmental heritage. If the dam were to be built, the entire area and its history would of been lost which contained important ABoriginal hand stencils, remnants of campfires and stone tools which were between 8000 and 24000 years old. Loss of habitat for endangered species would have also been an issue. However, producing the dam would of resulted in cleaner electricity. It is clear to see that what the TWS was incredible and is no wonder why it was a historical moment for environmental groups. What they did was phenomenal gaining a lot of support from the public. I think that in the end, the right decision was made and the construction of the dam would have only caused more problems for both the environment and the society.