If Mr Garrett revoked his decision to designate the dam as a “controlled action”, Hunter Water would no longer have to abide by the federal laws and the minister could not refuse approval.
However the memo, which the Keneally government had attempted to keep secret by claiming legal privilege, warns that Hunter Water could backfire, as any request to reconsider the controlled action would allow anti-dam activists to lodge their own submissions.
The devastating impact of the dam on the endangered stuttering barred frog, which was discovered after the environmental assessment was conducted, could then come into play.
In November, Mr Garrett formally rejected the Queensland government’s proposal to build a dam at the Traveston Crossing because of “serious and irreversible effects” on threatened species.
If Hunter Water did not challenge the controlled action, the frog would not come into consideration.
The Greens MP John Kaye said it was unsurprising that Hunter Water had decided not to challenge Mr Garrett.
“Hunter Water is not prepared to let Mr Garrett even question the risk that the dam would wipe out a local population of this frog and drive this species even closer to extinction,” Dr Kaye said.
The document was tabled in NSW Parliament yesterday after the former NSW chief justice, Sir Laurence Street, determined the public interest outweighed legal professional privilege.