Showing posts with label Berejiklian Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berejiklian Government. Show all posts
Wednesday 9 January 2019
The bad news for NSW North Coast regional communities just never ends
According to
the Berejiklian Coalition Government’s Transport
for NSW website: The
Community Transport Program (CTP) assists individuals who are transport
disadvantaged owing to physical, social, cultural and / or geographic
factors. Individuals who do not qualify for other support programs may be
eligible for community transport. CTP is funded by the NSW
Government and aims to address transport disadvantage at the local level via
community transport organisations.
In the
Clarence Valley medical specialist services are rather thin on the ground and
residents are frequently referred to medical practices and hospital clinics
hundreds of miles away.
For
communities in the Lower Clarence where a high percentage of the population are
elderly people on low incomes this can frequently present a transport problem,
as often there is no family member living close by to assist or the person’s peer
friendship group doesn’t include anyone capable of driving long distances.
Community
transport has been the only option for a good many people.
Until now…..
The Daily Examiner, 8 January 2019, p.3:
The thought of paying
$200 for a trip to see her specialist about her medical condition made Yamba
pensioner Gloria George glad she was sitting down when she made the call.
The 80-year-old said
when she contacted Clarence Community Transport and was told the price to be
taken by car to the Gold Coast for a Wednesday appointment, it could have
brought on a heart attack.
Mrs George said CCT told
her there was a bus service to the Gold Coast that ran on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday for $70.
“My appointment was on
Tuesday and the clinic I was booked into was not available on the other days,”
she said.
“They said they had made
cutbacks and the price to be driven to the appointment was $200.
“I’ve got a bad heart
problem and I nearly fell over when they told me.
“Who can afford $200 to
go to an appointment?”
Mrs George said she
still has a licence, but would not feel safe driving to her appointment.
“I think I’ll be able to
get a friend to drive me there and take me home again. I hope so,” she said.
The manager of CCT,
Warwick Foster, said the price rise for services had come in when the government
cut $250,000 from CCT’s funding when the NDIS came in last year.
“We could no longer
afford to operate the bus five days a week,” he said. “And we can’t afford to
drive people to appointments for the same fee we charge for the bus service.”
Mr Foster said the
government subsidy for transport of $31 a trip created a juggling act for CCT
to afford its services.
“Each trip, no matter
the distance, is subsidised at $31,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if
the trip is across town or to Brisbane, the subsidy is the same....
Saturday 24 November 2018
Tweets of the Week
Here’s the moment where the NSW Parliament voted tonight to introduce new laws to fast track children from foster care into adoption. As the Bill passed, you could hear loud jokes from Liberal members about wanting to “hurry up so we can get out of here and enjoy Christmas” pic.twitter.com/WW1p1bTbD1— Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) November 22, 2018
“These reforms were sprung on the legal, community & Aboriginal sectors with no notice. What limited consultation occurred in 2017 made no mention of many of these reforms, & those that were raised were opposed by a majority of stakeholders,” Leach said” https://t.co/JIkJATdluz— Ray Wilton (@raywilton4) November 23, 2018
Thursday 22 November 2018
Update on attempt by water raiders from the Murray-Darling Basin to get NSW Government agreement to dam and divert water from the Clarence River system
The NSW Legislative Council Industry and Transport Committee Inquiry report would not go so far as to recommend damming and diverting water from the Clarence River catchment and, the Berejiklian Government would only go as far as "noting' the fallback position held by the water raiders from the Murray-Darling Basin.
NSW LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Portfolio
Committee No. 5 – Industry and Transport Augmentation of water supply for rural
and regional New South Wales,
14 May 2018:
Recommendation 40
That the NSW Government
consider establishing a stormwater and/or flood harvesting pilot program for
flood mitigation in the Northern Rivers.
6.89 The committee heard
evidence from some inquiry participants that there may be potential benefits of
diverting the Clarence River to the west. These inquiry participants were of
the view that there is merit to any strategy that seeks to mitigate floods and
flood damage in the Clarence Valley and provide additional water for
agriculture in the Barwon region. The committee acknowledges that stakeholders
were divided on the issue of water diversion. However, some inquiry
participants held strong views against diverting waters from the Clarence River
to the west.
6.90 We also acknowledge the work of local
councils in undertaking repair work for public assets and infrastructure and
the strain that such labour has on council resources, finances and staff. The
committee acknowledges that stakeholders called for the National Disaster
Relief and Recovery Arrangements to undergo a review in order to compensate for
council resources and staff, the committee supports this idea and recommends
the NSW Government pursue this through the Council of Australian Governments.
Government Response - Water Augmentation, 14 November 2018:
Monday 8 October 2018
Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery mine extension community consultation has farmers up in arms
Whitehaven Coal Vickery Forest coal mining operation, 2018 |
Maules Creek section of coal mining operation, 2018 |
Whitehaven Coal Limited is seeking
planning permission to extend its existing mining infrastructure footprint approx. 22kms north of Gunnedah in
north-west NSW, by adding a coal processing hub with an on site coal
handling and preparation plant (CHPP), train load-out facility and rail spur
line to service its open cut mines at Tarrawonga, Rocglen and Werris Creek.
Quite
naturally local rural communities are concerned…….
The
Northern Daily Leader,
5 October 2018:
The Greens have
condemned NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts and called his decision to
ignore the plea of drought-stricken farmers “the height of arrogance”.
The spraying follows
comments Mr Roberts made to The Leader yesterday, where he referred
to the 4000-page Vickery coal mine extension report as a
“relatively short document”, as he knocked back the request of farmers for
more time to read the submission.
Farmers say they are struggling to find time to read and understand the
massive document, let alone write a response to it, when they are hand
feeding cattle.
Greens resource
spokesman Jeremy Buckingham wrote to Mr Roberts in September, seeking to extend
the public consultation time from 42 days to 90 days, however is yet to receive
a response.
“Minister Anthony
Roberts has displayed the height of arrogance in ignoring local farmers and
communities and failing to give them a fair chance of responding to a 4000-page
document on Vickery coal mine,” Mr Buckingham said.
“Minister Roberts has
failed to acknowledge that many local folks are flat out keeping their
livestock and farms alive in drought conditions.
“Local farmers and
community members have asked for an reasonable extension of time to read
thousands of pages of documents and make a considered response, but the
Minister won’t listen.
“What does the NSW
Government have to hide on this Vickery coal mine proposal?”...
Labels:
Berejiklian Government,
Bogabri,
coal,
consultation,
farming,
Gunnedah,
mining,
sustainable food,
water wars
Sunday 2 September 2018
PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE: Time for the NSW MP for Clarence and Federal MP for Page to front their respective ministers and insist this cost-shifting onto local ratepayers does not occur
Clarence Valley Council, media release, 27 August 2018:
Mayor:
Jim Simmons LOCKED BAG 23 GRAFTON NSW 2460
General
Manager: Ashley Lindsay Telephone: (02) 6643 0200
Fax:
(02) 6642 7647
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2018
Some highway concerns
remain for Clarence Valley Council
Clarence Valley Mayor, Jim Simmons, talks
with Ulmarra residents today about their concerns about some of the arrangements
that will be in place when the new highway opens.
THE Clarence Valley Council will call on the State and Federal governments to address a range of serious safety, access and cost issues related to the construction of the new Pacific Highway.
Council last week agreed
to lobby the Deputy Prime Minister (as Minister For Infrastructure and Transport);
the Federal Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local
Government; the Member for Page; the NSW Premier; the NSW Minister for Roads;
the NSW Minister for Local Government, and; the Member for Clarence in order to
have some proposed arrangements relating to the new highway addressed.
Councillors were told
there was a planned exit from the new highway at Eight Mile Lane, Glenugie, but
it was not designed to cater for B-Doubles. That would mean many B-Doubles
wanting to travel into or out of Grafton would have to use the proposed
interchange at Tyndale.
Council’s works and
civil director, Troy Anderson, said the planned B-Double route to and from
Grafton would result in large numbers of B-Doubles travelling along the
existing Pacific Highway and through Ulmarra and Tyndale.
“The communities of
Tyndale and Ulmarra and all residences in between will still be subjected to significant
B-Double movements through their villages,” he said.
“The residents in those
areas have expressed concern about safety and noise.”
A further concern was
that the Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) maintenance of Eight Mile Lane.
“Despite a motorway exit
and entry being planned at Eight Mile Lane, there are no plans to change its local
road classification, leaving funding for maintenance and any upgrade works up
to local ratepayers,” he said.
“From a road safety and
capacity perspective, it is recommended this road is upgraded prior to thecompletion
of the new Pacific Highway and that required works are funded by RMS not the
Clarence Valley community.”
Mr Anderson said that
once the new highway was operational, RMS planned to change the classification of
the existing highway between Tyndale and Maclean to that of a local road, which
would leave Clarence Valley ratepayers responsible for the cost of its
maintenance and any upgrades.
“A more logical
extension would be to extend the Gwydir Highway through Grafton to Maclean so
these two major centres are connected via a State road network,” he said.
“The section of existing
highway between Maclean and Tyndale is in poor condition and, being adjacent to
the river for most of this section, has significant associated risks.
“A section of the
existing highway has previously slipped into the river, causing major
disruption and costly repairs. This overhanging burden should not be forced
onto ratepayers of the Clarence Valley.
“These matters will
create considerable cost shifting to council through necessary road upgrades
and increased maintenance.
“In addition, a large
number of residents will be still subject to B- Double movements close to their
residences and through the villages of Tyndale and Ulmarra.”
A group of Ulmarra residents beside the
Pacific Highway as a large semi-trailer passes.
Release ends.
|
Tuesday 17 July 2018
Liberals continue to behave badly - Part Four
A Liberal local government councillor and a Berejiklian Government Liberal MP discovered conducting what appears to be some decidedly unparliamentary business by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption during Operation Dasha.
ABC
News, 13 July
2018:
New South Wales
Government MP Daryl Maguire has resigned from his role as a parliamentary
secretary and will now sit on the crossbench after admitting before a
corruption inquiry that he sought payment over a property deal.
Mr Maguire stepped aside
from the parliamentary Liberal Party after the revelations at the Independent
Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
The corruption watchdog
is investigating claims of improper conduct by former Canterbury City
councillors Michael Hawatt and Pierre Azzi and today heard a tapped phone call
between Mr Hawatt and Mr Maguire.
Mr Maguire, the Liberal
MP for Wagga Wagga, told the ICAC he pursued Mr Hawatt on behalf of Chinese
"friends" from the company Country Garden who he was trying to help
get established in Australia.
'3pc is better, if you
know what I'm talking about'
In a phone conversation
played before the inquiry from May 2016, Mr Maguire said his friends were
"mega big with mega money" and wanted to invest in as many as 30
development-approved properties.
Mr Hawatt suggested a
$48 million project on Canterbury Road in Canterbury.
In the phone call, Mr
Maguire asks Mr Hawatt what his margin is on the property.
Mr Hawatt replies that
his margin is 1.5 per cent.
"1.5 per cent
divided by two isn't very good," Mr Maguire says.
"Three per cent is
a lot better, if you know what I'm talking about."
When questioned by
counsel assisting the commission, David Buchanan, Mr Maguire said he had no
client or consultant relationship with Country Garden.
But when challenged as
to why he was interested in what the margin was on the property, Mr Maguire
told the hearing: "It appears I was talking about a dividend."
"Who was the
intended person?" Mr Buchanan asked.
"I suspect it was
me," Mr Maguire replied.
Daryl Maguire in his electorate.....
Daryl Maguire in his electorate.....
The
Sydney Morning Herald,
8 February 2018:
Premier Gladys
Berejiklian is under pressure to explain why she agreed to meet two publicans
with criminal records including for arson and attempted insurance fraud
and illegally owning poker machines late last year.
The Premier met in late
October to “discuss gaming issues” with three publicans in the Riverina and
Wagga Wagga Liberal MP, Daryl Maguire, diaries disclosed
by her department last week show.
But two of the men
present, Gino Scutti and Nicholas Tinning, had criminal histories, it was
revealed in Question Time on Thursday afternoon.
The Premier said she did
not recall the meeting or answer questions from Labor about whether she retained
confidence in Mr Maguire, who brokered the meeting. Mr Maguire is also the
Parliamentary Secretary for counter terrorism and corrections…..
Scutti, the former owner
of the Carrathool Family Hotel, was convicted in 2013 of burning down his pub
three years earlier….. He was handed a suspended two-year sentence and a good
behaviour bond for the charges of damaging a property by fire and publishing
false information…..
Tinning, who was also
present at the meeting, pleaded guilty last April to illegally possessing
five poker machines and parts following an investigation by Liquor and Gaming
NSW. He was fined $7500 in the same court.
Tinning is a Wagga-based
hotel broker.
Friday 6 July 2018
A CERTAIN RMS ASPHALT BATCHING PLANT: Open Letter to NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Willoughby, Gladys Berejiklian, as well as Minister for Roads Maritime and Freight & Nationals MP for Oxley, Melinda Pavey
Dear Premier Berejiklian and Minister Pavey,
Communities in the Clarence River estuary are concerned about an aspect of the NSW Government's current Pacific Highway construction planning.
Below are some of those concerns expressed to local newspaper The Daily Examiner with regard to a Roads and Maritime Services
(RMS) plan
to install a temporary asphalt batching plant at Woombah on the Clarence River
flood plain.
The build is
scheduled to start this month and the plant will operate for the next two and a
half years.
Please note
the attitude – local residents are not amused at the high-handed way in which
the NSW Government and RMS went about a cursory declaration of intent.
“What they’re not happy
about is an asphalt batching plant being built right near their houses, using
their only connecting road to the villages”
“We want the highway,
and we want the asphalt plant to be somewhere, but we want it to be away from
our communities where it won’t impact on our health and safety”
“The plant will add a
reported 500 truck moments and 100 car movements per day at peak, or one every
minute, and residents are concerned the additional traffic will create safety
problems, and a bottleneck at their intersection, which they already describe
as “tight” after it was temporarily re-routed. They also cite concerns over
possible health affects the dust may cause for nearby residents.”
We have a resident as
close as 450 metres from the plant who is suffering from lung cancer….Although
Pacific Complete have been made aware of this, since they were first told they
have failed to take action to acknowledge her.”
“We live within one
kilometre of the plant and we found out two weeks ago by letterbox drop”
“We found out last Wednesday
they didn’t tell anyone else. We’ve been around to other residents who are just
outside the area and they had no idea the plant was coming at all.”
I also draw your attention to the content of emails coming out of Iluka:
“Woombah
is surrounded by World Heritage National Park. Within the waterways affected by
run off from the proposed asphalt plant is the organic Solum Farm. Woombah
Coffee will also be affected. Not to mention the multiple organic gardners who sell
at the Yamba Markets and those who grow their own food.
The small community of
Woombah and its neighbour Iluka are places that welcome tourists for the
natural and clean beauty of the environment. An asphalt plant WILL threaten
that.
In addition, the Esk
River at Woombah is fed by many of the creeks and waterways in the bushland
where the asphalt plant is proposed. They will be adversely affected, which
will flow into the Esk which will flow into the Clarence which will affect the
fishing, oyster and prawn industries, on which many make their living. Not to
mention the tourist industry that survives because our area offers a clean
environment with unpolluted air and water.
This proposal is an
outrage. Teven said NO. Woombah says NO as well.”
“What about our kids on
school buses with no seatbelts and the increase in traffic particularly trucks”
“Iluka Naturally, turn
off at the asphalt plant, how ironic.”
For my own part I would add to these expressions of concern the fact that the 80ha, NPWS-managed Mororo Creek Nature Reserve is only est. 98 metres from the western end of the southern boundary of the proposed asphalt batching site.
This protected land parcel is one of the reserves which form part of a forested corridor linking Bundjalung National Park to the east and the protected areas of the Richmond Range to the west. It lies within the boundaries of the Yaegl Local Aboriginal Land Council area, the Clarence Valley Local Government Area and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority.
The Mororo Creek Reserve conserves areas of endangered swamp sclerophyll forest, coastal saltmarsh, subtropical coastal floodplain forest and swamp oak floodplain forest.
For my own part I would add to these expressions of concern the fact that the 80ha, NPWS-managed Mororo Creek Nature Reserve is only est. 98 metres from the western end of the southern boundary of the proposed asphalt batching site.
This protected land parcel is one of the reserves which form part of a forested corridor linking Bundjalung National Park to the east and the protected areas of the Richmond Range to the west. It lies within the boundaries of the Yaegl Local Aboriginal Land Council area, the Clarence Valley Local Government Area and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority.
The Mororo Creek Reserve conserves areas of endangered swamp sclerophyll forest, coastal saltmarsh, subtropical coastal floodplain forest and swamp oak floodplain forest.
Most importantly, Mororo Creek and several of its tributaries which run through this reserve empty into the Clarence River Estuary less than est. 2km from the proposed asphalt batching site.
Now I have no
idea why the NSW Government decided that a brief three-page information sheet
and invitation to comment published online at http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/documents/projects/northern-nsw/woolgoolga-to-ballina/w2b-woombah-batch-plant-notification-2018-06.pdf
was to be the limit
of its community consultation effort or why a similar document was sent at
short notice to such a small number of Woombah residents.
I don’t
pretend to understand why the information sheet contained just one small image
of a section of a Pillar Valley temporary asphalt batching plant with no description
of typical batching plant infrastructure and no Woombah site layout plan at
all, much less one to scale.
There was not
a hint in the information sheet of the range of known issues which can arise during site
construction, plant operation and site rehabilitation.
Those
residents who were originally invited to comment were supplied with less than
rudimentary information on which to assess the desirability of a batching plant
on the designated site.
Given that
the proposed Woombah asphalt batching plant site is est. 2 to 2.5kms as the crow
flies from Clarence River estuary waters
which:
(1) are
covered by Yaegl Native Title;
(2) at certain points are covered by international treaties, including JAMBA, CAMBA,
ROKAMBA;
(3) contain
the second largest area of seagrass (83 ha), the largest area of mangroves (765
ha) and the third largest area of saltmarsh (290ha) in the northern rivers
region [Williams et al 2006 in Northern Rivers
Regional Biodiversity Management Plan 2010];
(4) are part
of the largest combined river-ocean fishery in NSW containing high fisheries value
marine species; and
(5) are a
vital component of regional tourism,
perhaps Premier
Berejiklian and Minister Pavey can answer two vital questions.
1. Is the Woombah asphalt batching plant
site above the 100 year flood level for the lower Clarence Valley flood plain?
Because if it
is not, then the NSW Government’s cavalier attitude to flood risk management
would potentially see toxic waste from asphalt batching flow into the Clarence
River estuary during a flood event – including solid waste and any organic
solvents/hydrocarbons captured in holding ponds for the life of the plant –
along with any nearby excavated plant/road construction materials. After all, extreme flood event
height predictions for that general area are 3.5 to 4.5 mAHD.
2. Why on earth was a decision made to
site the asphalt batching plant and access road at a point along the Pacific
Highway where it would cause the maximum damage to Iluka’s clean, green destination
image and vital tourism trade?
When the NSW Government
first mooted the Pacific Highway upgrade on the North Coast one of the
advantages it canvassed was an increase in tourism numbers due to better road
conditions.
In the 2015-16
financial year annual visitor
numbers to the Clarence Valley were approximately 986,000 persons and their
estimated spending was in the vicinity of $383.3 million. By
the end of the 2016 calendar year the tourism
visitor count for that year had reached over 1 million.
Most of these
visitors holidayed along the Clarence Coast and Iluka is a strong component of that
coastal tourism.
If the NSW Government seriously believes that leaving Woombah-Iluka with only one safe, unimpeded access point
for day, weekend and long-stay visitors, the Yamba to Iluka foot passenger
only ferry, will
not significantly affect tourism numbers over the course of two and a half
years, one has to wonder if it bothered to investigate the issue at all before signing off on the proposed plant site.
The effect of
siting the asphalt batching plant and access road on the designated site will
in all likelihood have the effect of diminishing not growing tourism traffic to
Iluka for a period beyond the years it actually takes to complete the Maclean
to Devil’s Pulpit section of the highway upgrade, as visitor perception of a holiday area can change when industrial level activity becomes visually prominent.
When it comes to commitment to the community consultation process, the NSW Government obviously hasn’t insisted that Roads and Maritime Services live up to its undertaking to engage
with communities to understand their needs and consider these when making
decisions.
In fact,
looking at satellite images of the site one cannot escape the suspicion that pre-construction
ground preparation had already commenced before any information was sent out to
selected Woombah residents.
Since news of the asphalt batching plan site reached the Lower Clarence and residents began to approach their local state member, there appears to have been a promise made to hold a "drop-in information session" at an unspecified date.
Having experienced NSW departmental drop-in information sessions, I am well aware that they are of limited value as purveyors of anything other that the meagre degree of information found in the aforementioned three page RMS document and, ineffectual as vehicles for genuine community consultation.
The people of Woombah and Iluka deserve better. They deserve a formal information night which canvasses all the issues, with representatives from RMS and the Pacific Highway project team prepared to address concerns and answer questions, as well as representatives of both the Premier and Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight in attendance as observers.
Since news of the asphalt batching plan site reached the Lower Clarence and residents began to approach their local state member, there appears to have been a promise made to hold a "drop-in information session" at an unspecified date.
Having experienced NSW departmental drop-in information sessions, I am well aware that they are of limited value as purveyors of anything other that the meagre degree of information found in the aforementioned three page RMS document and, ineffectual as vehicles for genuine community consultation.
The people of Woombah and Iluka deserve better. They deserve a formal information night which canvasses all the issues, with representatives from RMS and the Pacific Highway project team prepared to address concerns and answer questions, as well as representatives of both the Premier and Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight in attendance as observers.
I’m sure that
all residents and business owners in both Woombah and Iluka would appreciate
both Premier and Minster taking the time to consider these questions and ensure government genuinely consults with both village communities before considering proceeding with any Roads and Maritime Servces site proposal.
Sincerely,
Clarence Girl
Monday 2 July 2018
Yet another 'temporary' asphalt batching plant rears its ugly head - this time at Woombah in the Clarence Valley
It would appear that the Berejiklian Government is about to wish a temporary asphalt batching plant on the Lower Clarence River flood plain.
Running for two and a half years day and night.
Two years of bitumen odour from the holding tanks, lime dust from the silo, diesel fumes from the generator, sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides releasing during production - all wafting on the breeze - along with the never ending rumble of dusty heavy trucks belching exhaust fumes.
Then a cleanup of the toxic waste left behind.
With not even the courtesy of a genuine community consultation.
Australian and NSW
Government-RMS,
June 2018:
The Australian and NSW
governments are jointly funding the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway
upgrade. Roads and Maritime Services’ Pacific Highway Project Office, Pacific
Complete and its contractor partners are working together to deliver the
upgrade.
To build the upgrade,
the project team will be establishing batch plants along the 155 kilometre
route. These sites will have different functions and will support the building
of the new road.
The project team is
proposing to build a temporary asphalt batch plant at Woombah. The batch plant
would be located on the eastern side of the existing highway about 700 metres
north of the old Iluka Road turnoff. A map has been provided to show the
proposed location of the temporary asphalt batch plant.
This facility would make
asphalt for the upgrade between Maclean and Devils Pulpit. Batch plants are
facilities where raw materials are brought in, mixed together and then loaded
into trucks and transported to site for use.
If approved, we would
start building this site in July, with the batch plant operational by
mid-August 2018. This site is proposed to be operational for about two and a
half years with the land to be rehabilitated after completion in line with the
project’s conditions of approval…..
There would be up to 500
heavy vehicle movements and 100 light vehicle movements per day at peak…..
Typically work would be
carried out during the project’s approved construction hours which are:
9am
- 6pm Monday – Friday
8am
– 5pm Saturday
In areas where residents
live more than 200 metres from the work area, extended work hours are allowed
between 6am and 7am and 6pm and 7pm from Monday to Friday. Additionally, work
outside or normal construction hours is also allowed where the impact to
residents is predicted to be low, including no greater increase in noise levels
than 5 decibels above the existing background noise level.
The batch plant
would need to be operational whenever asphalting work is required on the road.
To minimise the impact on the Pacific Highway and ensure the work sites are
safe, some of this work would be carried out at night. The temporary batch
plant would need to operate at night to support these activities. Residents would
be notified in advance of this taking place.
We are seeking your
feedback on the proposed building and operation of the temporary asphalt batch
plant at Woombah. To have your say, please fill out the attached feedback form
by Wednesday 4 July 2018.
You can return it by:
Email: W2B@pacificcomplete.com.au
Alternatively, you can
provide your feedback over the phone by calling 1800 778 900 (toll free).
Google Earth snapshot of Woombah site and surrounding land, an est. 2.5kms
as the crow flies from the Clarence River estuary and est. 1km from residential dwellings.
Woombah batching site boundaries.
Iluka Road problems
THE safety of Iluka road users is being put at risk
by increasing truck movements to an additional 500 truck and trailers as well
as 100 cars per day. That’s an additional truck or car travelling on Iluka road
at a rate of one every 50 seconds! A situation that will continue for two and a
half years.
The NSW Government has put out a letter seeking
feedback on a proposed asphalt batch
plant at Woombah for the Pacific Highway Upgrade from Mororo to Devils Pulpit.
However speaking with other locals in the Woombah
area I found out quickly that very few residents of Woombah, let alone IIluka
have received this letter. It is something that will affect all the 2500
residents of Iluka/Woombah area, as well as tourists and service vehicles. The
letter has only just been sent out, but the site is already being prepared.
Another case of community consultation and feedback after the fact, and the
decision has been made!
The new temporary turn off from Iluka Rd onto the
highway is already a difficult and dangerous turn-off because of the short
turning lanes, additional turns and give way signs. Along with increased truck
movements and road blockages associated with the construction of the Iluka road
overpass, the dangers associated with navigating this entrance and exit to
Iluka Road has increased.
Now all the traffic for an asphalt batching plant is to also travel on Garretts
Lane, coming from the Old Pacific Highway and crossing Iluka Rd onto this new
temporary turn-off.
This will cause traffic congestion problems for all
Iluka Rd users. It will create further problems entering and exiting the
highway. It will increase that danger of motor vehicle collisions and possible
injury. We must stand up for the safety of our loved ones, our children, and
for the many families who holiday here.
Locating the batching plant where it has its own
dedicated access road to the highway, one which could adequately accommodate
this large number of truck movements is the only sufficient solution. They
should not be placed on busy local roads.
There are several areas, including Mororo Rd, which
have already been blocked to public access, which could easily be fitted out
for this purpose without endangering people.
Also with the plant being on the Western side of
the Pacific Highway, these fully loaded trucks that are all going north will
not have to cross the busy Pacific Highway but instead only need to merge with
traffic. This would also solve the problem
Davild Wilson, Iluka
Labels:
Berejiklian Government,
Clarence River,
environment,
Iluka,
pollution,
roads,
Woombah
Friday 29 June 2018
Apparently NSW Minister for Lands and Forestry Paul Toole thinks voters are gullible fools
When approached by ABC journalists sometime before publication of this online article concerning recent changes to regulations under the NSW Crown Lands Management Act 2016, a spokesperson for NSW Minister for Lands and Forestry, Minister for Racing and Nationals MP for Bathurst Paul Toole stated the new provisions were:
"substantially the same as the provisions in the existing Crown Lands By-law 2006."
Adding words to the effect that the suggestion that new regulations were designed to ban protests was wrong.
It appears that the minister and his staff think that voters across the entire state (and particularly those living in the Northern Rivers region) never learnt to read, write or comprehend simple sentences.
What other reason could there be for such a bald-faced political lie?
This is the by-law referred to in the spokesperson's statement supplied to ABC News.
Excerpt from Crown Lands (General Reserves) By-law 2006:
Current version for 25
June 2018 to date (accessed 28 June 2018 at 00:26)
Part
3 Division
1 Clause 22
22 Conduct
prohibited in reserve
(1) A person must
not, without reasonable excuse:
(a) damage,
deface or interfere with any structure, sign, public notice, descriptive plate,
label, machinery or equipment in a reserve, or
(b) obstruct
any authorised person or employee of, or contractor to, the reserve trust of a
reserve in the performance of the authorised person’s duty or the employee’s or
contractor’s work in the reserve, or
(c) pollute
any fresh water, tank, reservoir, pool or stream in a reserve, or
(d) bring
onto a reserve any diseased animal or any noxious animal, or
(e) walk
over, mark, scratch or otherwise mutilate, deface, injure, interfere with,
remove or destroy any Aboriginal rock carving, its surrounds or any other
Aboriginal object in a reserve, or
(f) (Repealed)
(g) remain in
a reserve or any part of a reserve or any building, structure or enclosure in
the reserve when reasonably requested to leave by an authorised person, or
(h) bring
into or leave in a reserve any refuse, waste material, scrap metal (including
any vehicle or vehicle part), rock, soil, sand, stone or other such substance.
Maximum penalty: 5
penalty units.
(2) A person must
not in a reserve for a cemetery:
(a) interfere
with any grave or monument, or
(b) open any
coffin, or
(c) disturb
or interrupt any service, procession, cortege, gathering, meeting or assembly,
or
(d) bury any
human remains (whether cremated or not).
Maximum penalty: 5
penalty units.
Now spot the very significant differences in the new regulation.
Excerpts
from Crown
Land Management Regulation 2018 under the Crown Land
Management Act 2016:
9 Conduct prohibited in
dedicated or reserved Crown land
(1) A person must not do
any of the following on dedicated or reserved Crown land:
(a) damage, deface or
interfere with any structure, sign, public notice, descriptive plate, label,
machinery or equipment on the land, or
(b) obstruct any
authorised person or employee of, or contractor to, a responsible manager of
the land in the performance of the authorised person’s duty or the employee’s
or contractor’s work on the land, or (c) bring in or on to the land any animal
that is diseased or a pest, or
(d) walk over, mark,
scratch or otherwise mutilate, deface, injure, interfere with, remove or
destroy any Aboriginal object in or on the land, or
(e) remain in or on the
land or any part of the land or any structure or enclosure in or on the land
when reasonably requested to leave by an authorised person, or
(f) bring into or leave on the land any
refuse, waste material, scrap metal (including any vehicle or vehicle part),
rock, soil, sand, stone or other similar substance.
Maximum penalty: 50
penalty units.
The list
under the heading Activities that can be prohibited on Crown land by direction or notice
under Part 9 of Act (1) contains 36 banned activities, including sitting on a picnic table.
However four
in particular are activities often associated with community meetings,
gatherings expressing local concerns and public information events.
Each of the activities
specified in the following Table is prescribed for the purposes of sections 9.4
(1) (b), 9.5 (1) (b) and 9.5 (2) of the Act:
3 Holding a meeting or
performance or conducting entertainment for money or consideration of any kind,
or in a manner likely to cause a nuisance to any person
4 Taking part in any
gathering, meeting or assembly (except, in the case of a cemetery, for the
purpose of a religious or other ceremony of burial or commemoration)
6 Displaying or causing
any sign or notice to be displayed
7 Distributing any
circular, advertisement, paper or other printed, drawn, written or
photographic matter
Excerpt from Crown
Land Management Act 2016 No 58:
Note.
Clause
6 of Schedule 7 provides for certain land under Acts repealed by Schedule 8 to
become Crown land under this Act. Section 1.10 then provides for this land to
be vested in the Crown.
Land that will become
Crown land under this Act includes land vested in the Crown that is dedicated
for a public purpose. This land was previously excluded from the definition
of Crown land in the Crown Lands Act
1989. See also section 1.8 (2).
So there you have it - very clearly set out.
An extension of government power and, a wide delegation of that power given the extended definition of Crown land, which will see community gatherings challenged, shut down and people moved on if local police, council officers or representatives of government departments/reserve trusts decide either the message or the visuals are considered politically unpalatable by government.
Oh, and I hope North Coast Voices readers have noticed that the maximum fine which can be imposed on an individual has been increased from 5 penalty points ($550) to 50 penalty points ($5,500).
ABC News - ABC North Coast, 26 June 2018:
The new regulations will
apply to all crown-owned land, which amounts to about half of all land in New
South Wales.
The 35,000 crown reserve
sites include parks, heritage sites, community halls, nature reserves, coastal
lands, sporting grounds, government infrastructure and showgrounds.
Mr Ricketts said the new
regulations were bigger and broader than those imposed under the
Bjelke-Petersen era in Queensland in the 1970s.
In September 1977, then
Queensland Premier Johannes Bjelke-Petersen proclaimed the day of the political
street march was over.
"Anybody who holds
a street march, spontaneous or otherwise, will know they're acting
illegally," he said.
The statement was echoed
by the acting police commissioner and was police policy until April 1978.
During the two-year ban,
1,972 people were arrested.
Mr Ricketts said he
expected a similar reaction in New South Wales, if the new regulations were
enforced.
"They banned street
marches for the right to march — which led to violent policing," he said.
The Knitting Nannas
protest group joined the chorus of concern.
Spokeswoman Judi Summers
said she was shocked to learn about the new rules.
She said the group's
strategy of holding weekly knit-ins outside the offices of local politicians
might not be possible under the new regulations.
"Well it would have
shut us down basically," Ms Summers said.
"We've been
knitting outside of Thomas George and Kevin Hogan's [parliamentary] offices for
the last sort of six years.
"Every Thursday
without a miss, and if these laws had been introduced way back then, we would
have been moved on right from the start."
Lawyer and NSW Greens
candidate for Lismore, Sue Higginson, said over the years, she had represented
hundreds of protestors in court, through her work with the Environmental
Defenders Office.
"I see time and
time again, the courts — generally speaking — have a real concern about having
to penalise people who have found that they are in a position of having to
break laws to stand up for an issue or to protect the environment or to protect
a civil right," she said.
"So where we are
criminalising really benign behaviour, and behaviour that people have a right
to do, it becomes a real problem for the courts."
Ms Higginson said a good
example was the role of town halls played during the coal seam gas protests on
the Northern Rivers.
"If you look back
to how the community in the Northern Rivers mobilised to protect the land and
water here from coal seam gas, a lot of that organisation and the information
and the those meetings — they were held in those town halls."
Ms Higginson said under
the new regulations, meetings could be banned or dispersed from town halls.
"People should
definitely be alarmed and the biggest problem about this kind of thing is it's
difficult to understand the application these laws will have until you're
impacted," she said.
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