There's more to lose than a few dollars if antimony mining is again allowed in the Clarence River catchment

…………wealth is about more than money.
Quality of life and the environment feature pretty high on my agenda. And we need to be mindful of what happens after we sell off the farm. In the case of the proposed antimony and gold mines in the Wild Cattle Creek and Tyringham areas - the mining company would be Chinese, the approving authority the Bellingen Shire Council and most of the workers (and there is unlikely to be too many of them) would probably be based in Coffs.
But who cops the risk if a tailings dam fails and mercury or other heavy metals spew into the tributaries of the Nymboida River?
The Clarence Valley, of course.
And it appears unlikely to receive any of the benefits.
Mining has helped Australia ride out an international financial storm, but we need to be careful that we look at more than dollar signs when considering projects. There's more to lose than a few dollars.

[David Bancroft, Editor, The Daily Examiner 2 July 2011]

Willie Soon tells the world that porkers can fly

 

“One of the world's most prominent scientific figures to be sceptical about climate change has admitted to being paid more than $1m in the past decade by major US oil and coal companies.

Dr Willie Soon, an astrophysicist at the Solar, Stellar and Planetary Sciences Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, is known for his view that global warming and the melting of the arctic sea ice is caused by solar variation rather than human-caused CO2 emissions, and that polar bears are not primarily threatened by climate change.

But according to a Greenpeace US investigation, he has been heavily funded by coal and oil industry interests since 2001, receiving money from ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute and Koch Industries along with Southern, one of the world's largest coal-burning utility companies.

Since 2002, it is alleged, every new grant he has received has been from either oil or coal interests.

In addition, freedom of information documents suggest that Soon corresponded in 2003 with other prominent climate sceptics to try to weaken a major assessment of global warming being conducted by the UN's leading climate science body, the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Soon, who had previously disclosed corporate funding he received in the 1990s, was today reportedly unapologetic, telling Reuters that he agreed that he had received money from all of the groups and companies named in the report but denied that any group would have influenced his studies. ‘{The Guardian on 28 June 2011}

Porker flew in from Google Images

For no other reason than this political comment appears to be getting up Gerry Harvey's nose [video]

http://youtu.be/7ZSRLbRQVHk

The Sydney Morning Herald 4 July 2011:

MFC and GetUp! had planned to launched a 60-second television commercial targeting Harvey Norman, which is a major TV advertising client.
But the groups said the ad had been refused classification by industry body Commercials Advice - which provides classification and information to advertisers, agencies and production houses - on the basis that it might expose free-to-air TV stations to legal action.
The ad was due to be shown during this week's State of Origin rugby league decider.
GetUp! national director Simon Sheikh said the classification decision amounted to corporate censorship.
"The reason given to us for the refusal was that running the ad may expose networks to lawsuits from Harvey Norman, but this assessment is beyond [Commercials Advice's] mandate," he said in a statement.

Markets for Change
‘NoHarveyNo: How Australia’s largest furniture and electronics retailers is driving the destruction of our native forests.’: Executive Summary and Report
Commercials Advice (CAD) 2010 Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice

We want to buy your farms and mines, says China

 

我們要買你的牧場和礦場我們要買你的牧場和礦場我們要買你的牧場和礦場

"We want to buy your farms and mines"
The Daily Examiner 2 July 2011

Chinese Government 'world view' as expressed at the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China:

China is a development nation with a large population but limited resources. In the new century, strengthening China's cooperation with other developing nations in the fields of science and technology and economy has become unprecedentedly urgent and important. Such cooperation will obviously create ways and means for taking full advantage of the respective strength of different countries, alleviating poverty, accelerating economic development and making fortunes for their people. Such cooperation will also become a stimulus to the south-south cooperation and enhance our international competitiveness and risk resistance so as to allow more positive involvement in the economic globalization process, safeguarding our economic interests and security, and enhancing the visibility of developing nations in south-north dialogues.

The China Shandong Jinshunda Group Co Ltd through its Australian mining exploration arm, Anchor Resources Ltd, is now seeking ways to put this philosophy into action at Wild Cattle Creek in the Clarence River catchment.

* Wild Cattle Creek: China encourages mining in Clarence River catchment in order to conserve its own national resources? 25 June 2011
* Is Chris Hartcher trying to flannel the Clarence Valley? 30 June 2011
* No problems with any new Wild Cattle Creek tailing dams, according to the China Shandong Jinshunda Group 1 July 2011

NAIDOC Week 4-10 July 2011

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Local NAIDOC Events Calendar

FFS! Is Abbott for real?

When I first heard this masterful piece of economic nonsense last Thursday I couldn't believe my ears.
When asked about foreign mining companies and the money they derive from Australia's non-renewable resources, Tony Abbott said; "We’ve got to remember that foreign investors take millions out of our country but they put billions in first"
It seems Abbott refuses to recognise that he has no capacity for basic economics.
Rio Tinto alone produced net profit after tax of A$37.4 billion in Australia in the 10 years to 2009. That's about 3.74 billion annually that it probably took home to head office in a brown paper bag.
As for the tax these multinationals pay, well that's quite frankly laughable.
In the 2007-08 financial year 4,290 mining companies had combined incomes which totalled $160,323,192,189 with combined taxable incomes of $29,010,243,407.
Net tax actually paid was $8,068,463,15 after all allowed deductions had been made.
Of course the royalties mining businesses paid in the past were all tax deductible, and as exporters these same companies get such a whopping collective GST refund that it all but wipes out the financial impact of money paid in taxes by the industry as a whole.
Any fool can see that foreign mining companies are on a sweet deal here. So what does that make Tony Abbott - a specimen lower than a fool or simply a Lib?

Welcome to the wonderful world of residential electricity supply pricing on the NSW North Coast

Click on image to enlarge

Origin-Country Energy price increases came into effect on 1 July 2011 just in time to greet another spell of low night time temperatures (around 10C or under) and wintry daytime temperatures in the low 20s if one is lucky - accompanied by wind, rain and fog in some areas of the NSW North Coast.

On average these are the differences between the last bill received for electricity consumption in the home and the final 63 days or so of the next bill:
* Residential light and power now costs an extra 4.106 cents per kilowatt hour plus GST.
* Off-peak hot water has risen by 1.566 cents per kilowatt hour plus GST.
* Supply charges on the former are up by 1.566 cents and on the latter by 1.299 cents without GST included.

According to IPART this round of price rises represents an average increase of 18.1% for Country Energy customers.
While Integral Energy customers will experience a 16.4% hike and EnergyAustralia customers will see their bills rise by 17.9%.

Welcome to the world of miserable heating choices until Spring arrives.

Levee wall art in Maclean NSW

Aspects of a section of a Clarence River levee wall in Maclean on the NSW North Coast.

The mural was painted on behalf of the Clarence Coast Cultural Committee as part of the district's celebration of the centenary of Federation.

It recognises community groups achieving 100 years of continuous service.

Click on images to enlarge

Best Oz flavoured subtitle of the week

 

Cork me kangaroo’s bot, Scott

from
Wallabies battle cattle farts
The Register
1st July 2011

Sometimes the young make my heart sing - Part Three

Madelaine Zammit at http://youtu.be/PbphkA-soYk

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/aussie-girls-facebook-song-a-viral-hit-20110627-1gmtv.html

Monsanto's GM canola? Can't give the stuff away in WA

The following may be read while softly humming that old song Who’s sorry now?

The West Australian on December 16, 2010:

Harvesting a WA record 13,000-hectare genetically modified canola crop is a time-critical challenge for man and machine.

Monsanto plays hard in the West Australian on April 21, 2011:

GM canola seed company Monsanto estimated GM canola crops would surge from about 70,000 hectares to 100,000ha in WA this year.

On GM Canola seed costs for farmers in the West Australian on May 18, 2011:

“The seed is about $70 a hectare, but home-grown seed is about $12-$18 a hectare….. GM canola growers need to pay seed developer Monsanto a $3 technology fee on top of the seed and an end point royalty of $13.20 when they deliver the product. GM canola is also discounted on the world market, with growers receiving about $20 a tonne less than regular varieties.

The West Australian on May 26, 2011:

Two of Australia’s biggest grain traders say they have no plans to take genetically modified canola this season.

Elders-Toepfer Grain acting WA accumulations manager Ben Noll said the company was not currently taking GM canola and that was unlikely to change as the season progressed.

“From where we sit at the moment, we’re all non-GM, ” he said.

“We’re in the process of being involved in certification for the sustainability of canola products.”

Under the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, canola for the European premium-paying biofuel market requires International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), which means sustainably produced canola is in and GM canola is out.

Glencore Grain, both Australia and WA’s second-biggest grain exporter, is not taking GM canola either — at least for the moment.

The company is also in the midst of ISCC……

Mr Haddrill said 95 per cent of WA’s canola went to Europe last year and given the dry conditions across much of northern Europe, demand would likely be high again this season……..

Gavilon currently has a $40 discount for GM canola and AWB has a $30 discount.

Viterra has GM canola bidding at $45 below non-GM and Emerald at $30 below.

The Hon. Peter Collier representing the West Australia Minister for Agriculture in the WA Parliament on June 23, 2011 in response to questions from Lynn McLaren MLC:

Question: How much GM canola was produced last year?
Answer: 49, 000 tonnes.

Question: How much of this GM canola has been sold and to whom?
Answer: I am advised that none of this canola has been sold at this point….

Gene Ethics list of known West Australian commercial GM canola growers in 2010:
A. Tom Powell, Binnu The Countryman 10-6-10
B. Andrew Messina, Mullewa The West Australian 13-4-10
C. R & M Appleyard, Northern Gully The Countryman 24-6-10
D. J&B Bagley, Mingenew The Countryman 25-5-10
E. Bill Crabtree, Morowa Farm Weekly 4-2-10
F. Brian Ellis, Bindi Bindi Farm Weekly
G. John Shadbolt, ,Nungarin The Countryman 15-4-10
H. Jason Haywood, Goomalling The Counyry Man 17-6-10
I. Mervyn Burges, Meckering The West Australian 22-5-10
J. John Snooke, Meckering The West Australian 9-4-10
K. David Fullwood, Cunderdin The Countryman 18-3-10
L. Les Thompson, Wagin thecountryman.com.au/article/2912.html
M. Chris Hockey, Gibson thecountryman.com.au/article/2805.html
N. Michael Shields, Wongan Hills
1. Bodallin
2. Wongan Hills
3. Kojonup
http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/huge-gm-canola-planting-at-bodallin/1874316.aspx?storypage=0
O. Craig Simpkin, Binnu 2ha 5ac The Countryman 1-7-10

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

No problems with any new Wild Cattle Creek tailing dams, according to the China Shandong Jinshunda Group

From A Clarence Valley Protest on 30 June 2011:

No problems with any new Wild Cattle Creek tailing dams for antimony mining by-products arsenic and mercury, according to the China Shandong Jinshunda Group

One has to admire the chutzpah of mining corporation China Shandong Jinshunda Group Co Ltd as reported in The Clarence Valley Review on 29 June 2011:

Anchor Resources managing director, Ian Price, said the Dorrigo mine would operate under vastly improved practices to those carried out in the past.

“One of the key aspects is containment of any of materials from the particular site so they don’t enter waterways, or don’t go off-site.

I think that’s the critical thing, and that’s proper containment of tailings in proper containment dams, and diversion of water around sites so they don’t enter the site … lots of old mining sites going back 50 or 100 years were not built with good tailings dams, and standards have developed over the past decades where those standards are much better,” he said.

First its spokesperson attempts to distance the mine from those North Coast local government areas in which residents are expressing concern, about the potential for negative environmental and public health impacts from mining for antimony and gold in an environmentally sensitive area within the Clarence and Nymboida river catchments, by calling it the “Dorrigo” mine.

Then the same spokesperson talks up modern tailing dams despite problems with these dams being experienced both in Australia and overseas and, finally he neglects to point out that the NSW Government allows mine owners to self-assess risk in relation to the design, construction and ongoing maintenance of the same tailing dams.

The primary goal of the DSC, relevant to this Guidance Sheet, is that all prescribed NSW tailings dam owners apply appropriate dam safety management practices to their dams using a risk management approach in line with a whole of Government approach to public safety.

Another goal is that risks to community interests from the potential for dam failure are tolerable, the owner’s determination in this regard being satisfactory to the DSC.

This requires that the risks are detected, identified and assessed, that they are reduced, when necessary, as soon as reasonably practicable and in a way that best serves community interests, and that they are kept under review throughout the life cycle of the dams.

It is for each dam owner to determine how these goals, including DSC requirements, (see Section 2.2) will be achieved and to demonstrate that the goal has been achieved, or will be achieved following safety improvements. The following sections of this sheet aim to provide guidance to assist dam owners in the achievement of the DSC goals.

[NSW Dam Safety Committee, June 2010, “Tailing Dams”,pp2-3]

Join in Schools Tree Day, Friday 29th July 2011

Life is Better with Trees

Planet Ark is calling on all green thumbs to join us this Schools Tree Day, by coordinating an activity with your school, landcare group or club. You’ll be joining thousands of other schools across the country getting outdoors and getting their hands dirty, to help improve their local environment.

Why not organise a tree planting day, or contact your local landcare group to help you organise another environmental activity? You could also take a bush walk or beautify your school grounds.

Schools Tree Day is Friday July 29th, but you can arrange an activity for any day that suits you and your local environment. Every Day is Tree Day.

In 2011 site coordinators who register a school or public site with Planet Ark before Friday 27 May will go into the draw to WIN a visit to their site from celebrity landscape architect and all round great guy Costa Georgiadis of SBS’s Costa’s Garden Odyssey !

To register or for more information visit Treeday.planetark.org or call the National Tree Day hotline on 1300 88 5000

(National Landcare Directory)