Kangaroo Island Deepwater Port

About the Project

Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers (KIPT) proposed to build a deep-water port in Smith Bay, Kangaroo Island, to cut down and ship 600,000 tonnes of timber per annum for sale to China and Korea.

The deepwater port was proposed to be located in a fragile and sensitive marine environment. It had the potential to impact over 47 threatened species, including Southern Right Whales, Loggerhead Turtles, Leatherback Turtles and Australian Sea Lions. The area was also habitat for of seahorses and contained large coral reef structures.

 

Our Work

May 2019 – We made a submission to the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure that addressed impacts to threatened and migratory species. The submission addressed these key issues:

• lack of consideration of biologically important areas that may or were known to occur in the project area;
• lack of consideration of information regarding species presence from recovery plans and conservation advices;
• lack of surveys for several threatened and migratory species in accordance with federal survey guidelines; and
• inconsistency with Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), the Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA), the China-Australia Mandatory bird Agreement (CAMBA), the Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (ROKAMBA) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP).

 

November 2019 – KIPT submitted an amended project design, which included plans for a fully suspended deck and moved the location of the berth face 250 m further offshore.

December 2019 – We made a submission on the amended design, stating that the design would cause unacceptable impacts to biologically important areas for the Southern Right Whale. We provided scientific evidence of the species’ core coastal range and likely displacement of this habitat off the coast of Smith Bay because of the project.

June 2020 – KIPT published its response to public submissions.

 

Grassroots Movement

At each stage of the consultation process, grassroots community groups and local businesses played a key role in organising a response to KIPT’s proposal. These included important submissions by Yumbah Aquaculture and Save Smith Bay.

 

Result

In August 2021, Vicky Chapman, South Australian Minister for Planning, rejected KIPT’s proposal.

To read the press release from the South Australian Government, see www.premier.sa.gov.au/news/media-releases/news/decision-on-ki-port