A group of protesters have tipped a wheelbarrow full of rubble outside Hydro Tasmania’s Hobart office.
It starts a week of action by the Restore Lake Pedder organisation in protest of upgrades to the Edgar Dam.
The activists are calling for the $21 million project, which began on Tuesday, to be halted and for the lake to be returned to its original level instead.
“The dams which impound Lake Pedder are high-risk and aging and we should be talking about decommissioning them,” campaign coordinator Maddie McShane said.
Hydro Tasmania say the upgrades will strengthen the dam to ensure it can continue providing around 13% of the state’s annual energy needs.
Work will take place until the middle of next year and result in the closure of the Edgar Dam boat ramp and campground.
McShane said the lake’s beach was a “spectacular and unique natural phenomenon” that was “drowned” when the lake was created in 1972.
“It would be a major tourist attraction and a place of great cultural and spiritual significance for the traditional owners,” she said.
The state government maintains that the upgrades are necessary for the state’s future energy security and renewable energy status.
“Here we are, across the nation, running out of renewable energy. I won’t be pulling the plug on Tasmania’s energy security,” Premier Jeremy Rockliff said.
