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Talbingo residents worried the town's tourism will suffer from Snowy 2.0

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ByVerity Gorman, ABC News Riverina Online, 24 August 2018

Residents in the town of Talbingo in southern New South Wales are worried the Snowy 2.0 project will destroy their town. In the summer months, locals said the population of the small country town grew ten-fold, mostly thanks to water sport enthusiasts who flocked to Talbingo Dam. But, if Snowy Hydro's project goes ahead, there are concern boats could be banned from using the waterway while construction works are completed.

Talbingo Tourist Caravan Park owner James Smith was concerned that such a ban would heavily impact on tourism in the town. "If tourists are coming up to use the dam and they can't access it, they'll stop coming and that'll affect all the businesses here in Talbingo," Mr Smith said.

Snowy Hydro has applied to the New South Wales Government for approval to build a 3.1km exploratory tunnel in the Snowy Mountains, which is expected to take three years. The tunnel will allow Snowy Hydro to gather more information about the site where it plans to build a new underground power station. To get all the equipment and material to and from the tunnel site, Snowy Hydro is proposing to use barges along Talbingo Dam, which could see up to 24 barge movements a day during the peak of construction.

Lifeblood of the town

Talbingo resident Heather Byatt said the dam was the lifeblood of the town. "It's where people fish; it's where they water ski," Ms Byatt said. "In summer, it's wall to wall with boats." Talbingo's official population is around 200 but Ms Byatt said that number swelled to more than 2,000 over the warmer months. "Without tourism, the whole town could die," she said. "That's what we rely on to keep the service station, the supermarket, the club and accommodation facilities going."

Ms Byatt said it was important for locals' concerns to be heard. "Other towns don't care about us," she said. "It's not going to affect them the same way it affects us."

Business benefits

But not all locals think Snowy 2.0 will have a negative impact.

Talbingo real estate agent Bob Quarmby supported the project and thought it would actually boost tourism in the town. "There will be some impacts like they might not be able to go water skiing for a few weeks, but so what? Can't you put up with a few things like that?" Mr Quarmby said. "I think sometimes you've got to have a little pain for a big gain, and once it's all completed I think it will be fantastic." Mr Quarmby said property prices had increased since the announcement of Snowy 2.0. "House prices in Talbingo have increased by between $15,000 and $20,000," he said. "Currently there are only four houses for sale, when normally there'd be 15 to 18 available."

In the nearby town of Tumut, residents were also optimistic about the benefits of Snowy 2.0. Tumut Regional Chamber of Commerce vice president Lorraine Wysman said the region was already seeing positive spin-offs. "It's a massive opportunity and hopefully it brings new and exciting opportunities for businesses," she said. "I understand people have concerns, but I can't imagine anyone will be disadvantaged in the long term."

Snowy Hydro's chief executive Paul Broad acknowledged, at times, the project may have localised impacts. "Snowy Hydro is doing everything possible to minimise disruptions to recreational areas, including around Talbingo during the proposed exploratory works," he said. "Some temporary restrictions, mostly on Snowy Hydro-owned land are to ensure the safety of the community around construction areas. New infrastructure, such as the barge ramp on the spillway for Snowy 2.0, will become available for recreational use once the project is complete."

Around 200 people will be employed during the exploratory works, with 5,000 expected to be employed over the life of Snowy 2.0. Federal member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly said he wanted to make sure most of the jobs went to locals. "I'm determined to make sure that we don't see this whole project staffed by fly-in fly-out workers or 457 visas for foreign workers," Mr Kelly said. Paul Broad said many local businesses were already working on Snowy 2.0 including landscaping, surveying, accommodation, haulage and equipment hire services and more opportunities would become available.

Environmental concerns

As well as concerns about the social impact of the project, scientists, environmental groups and locals have questionedwhat kind of impact Snowy 2.0 will have on the environment.

Around 750,000 cubic metres of rock is expected to be excavated during construction of the tunnel. Snowy Hydro has proposed to either crush the rock for road base, place it in the park, or put it in Talbingo Dam. The company said every effort was being made to avoid and minimise environmental impacts, but those that could not be avoided would be fully offset.