The Alternative Port Working Party is a community action group based in
Whyalla
Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta i ...
, South Australia on the shore of northern
Spencer Gulf. Its membership includes a number of retired engineers with experience in mining, shipping and bulk commodities handling and its chief spokesperson is Sid Wilson. Since its formation, the group has advocated for a 'best of both' scenario for the nearby
Point Lowly
Point Lowly is the tip of a small peninsula north north-east of Whyalla in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. The wider peninsula is shared by a combination of defence, industrial, residential, recreational and tourism interests ...
peninsula; one which represents the interests of both the local economy and residential, recreational and tourist use of the peninsula. They believe that the chosen locations for proposed facilities in the Port Bonython and Point Lowly area present unacceptable compromises, and thus have recommended a number of alternatives.
Advocacy
The Alternative Port Working Party (APWP) began as an offshoot of another community action group called the
Cuttlefish Coast Coalition, which sought to preserve the marine environment around Point Lowly. Since its formation, the Alternative Port Working Party has focused their efforts on identifying alternative locations for a number of industrial proposals planned for what has been referred to by the Government of South Australia as the
Port Bonython Minerals Precinct.
The APWP believes that a proposed iron ore export facility could be relocated 30 km south of Whyalla at Nonowie Station, and has been advocating for this since at least February 2009. The group also maintains that a diesel importation and distribution hub failed to consider implications for the marine environment and could be relocated closer to Whyalla at a more appropriate site and that a large scale
reverse osmosis seawater
desalination plant
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...
for the
Olympic Dam mine
The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor ...
could 'open the floodgates for the industrialization of Point Lowly.'
The group is concerned that a loss in tourism visitation will adversely impact Whyalla's economy should industrialization plans proceed near Point Lowly, and that the area could be considered an emerging 'tourism hotspot'.
The group has given public presentations, lobbied and written submissions to local and State government since at least 2009 and encouraged locals to respond formally to published Environmental Impact Statements. As of 2014, the APWP continues to convey its views in local and statewide media.
[{{Cite news, url = http://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/2469575/working-party-plugging-away-in-search-of-better-solution/, title = Working party "plugging away" in search of better solution, date = 2014-08-07, access-date = 2014-12-18, newspaper = Whyalla News]
References
Community activists