Just what one would expect from a Lib-Nats government - a decision with minimum community consultation to herd at least 1,500 regional kindergarten to high school students in the one campus with likely teacher losses

Doesn’t this sound grand? A $100 million mega campus for all of the Murwillumbah area, merging students from kindergarten to high school……

Echo NetDaily, 28 October 2020:

Murwillumbah’s four public schools will be amalgamated into a single Kindergarten to Year 12 campus at Murwillumbah High, the state government has annouced.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announced today that Murwillumbah Public School, Murwillumbah East Public School, Murwillumbah High School and Wollumbin High School will be combined to form a single $100 million Murwillumbah Education Campus.

Ms Mitchell said the new mega school would cater to up to 1,500 students, and follow a four-year rebuilding project.

She pledged that no permanent teaching jobs would be lost, and spruiked the ‘community benefits’ of the plan, including the possible joint use of sporting, arts and health facilities.

‘The new Murwillumbah Education Campus will truly be at the heart of the community, and I look forward to seeing it take shape over the next few years,’ Ms Mitchell said…..

This announcement of a major school merger in the Northern Rivers took the local community by surprise and this appears to have been the plan all along according to the government's own time table which had the two primary school communities only informed by email on the day of the announcement. 

Possibly the lack of early warning was intended to mute the initial response of the teacher's union to the fact that this merger will inevitably see a reduction in teacher numbers once the school merger is completed. 

NSW Labor MP for Lismore Janelle Saffin, Shadow Minister for the North Coast Adam Searle and Shadow Minister for Education Pru Car are concerned with aspects of this merger, which probably consume more of the Berejiklian Government’s time than the creation of a new campus - the chance to sell off state property assets and the chance to reduce public education staffing levels.

Excerpt for a NSW Labor joint media release, 28 October 2020:

Without warning, the Liberals and Nationals will force Murwillumbah Public School, Murwillumbah East Public School and Wollumbin High School to close and move into a single campus at Murwillumbah High School.

Department of Education documents obtained through the Upper House reveals that the amalgamation of four schools in 2024 will change the staffing allocation and potentially displace teaching and support staff.

The Liberals and Nationals promised an upgrade of Murwillumbah East Public School before the last election. Instead, they will now abandon their promise and close the school completely.

“Closing schools is the last thing the Liberals and Nationals should be doing. This is a betrayal of the community. They are robbing future generations of quality public schools in their communities,” Ms Car said.

“This announcement will rob the North Coast of three public school campuses, with a mega-school increasing school travel times for residents and reducing green space.”

Shadow Minister for the North Coast Adam Searle MLC said: “Now we know why the Premier and the National Party have been stalling on replacing the library and classrooms lost at Murwillumbah East Public School in the floods.

“Despite all their hollow promises, it seems that yet more privatisation is their true agenda, not delivering for students and families in Murwillumbah.

“This decision has been made without consultation. It has all the signs of a dirty land deal, and is not about improving educational outcomes.”

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said: “I am seeking a guarantee from the NSW Government that all current teaching and support staff jobs will be retained.

“This cannot be a cruel cost-cutting exercise,” Ms Saffin said.

“I am also seeking a guarantee that public land stays in public hands and is not flogged off to private developers.”

Ms. Saffin also expanded on her views in another media release on the same day:

...it was a shame Mr Barilaro, as Leader of the NSW Nationals, did not take the opportunity while visiting Murwillumbah to make the following announcements for the town and our region:

A $45-million local business support fund for those impacted by the border closures, as he did for the NSW southern border businesses impacted by border closures.

The Nationals’ election promise to provide 280 more nurses, 32 doctors, 38 allied health staff and 50 more hospital workers with some for Murwillumbah Hospital.

The restoration of major contracts to our local businesses, who recently lost their contracts under Mr Barilaro’s big city-big company procurement policy, to remove waste from our Health, TAFE and caravan parks on Crown reserves.

The upgrade of the Voluntary Buyback House scheme to help with flood protection.

The upgrade to a 24/7 police presence in Murwillumbah.

The reopening of the Murwillumbah Women’s Refuge closed by the Nationals.

The restoration of the Murwillumbah Court services closed by the Nationals.

The announcement of our region’s share of the unspent $1.7 billion Restart NSW Fund, as promised by the Nationals.

Reversing the new practice of Essential Energy ‘gifting’ power poles to farmers and private landholders, which they must pay to maintain if deemed unsafe. 

Want to know if your local state MP voted to drive the koala to extinction in New South Wales? Names and electorates are noted here

 

 Koala resting, Bangalow area NSW
IMAGE: Northern Rivers Community Foundation

In early September 2020 the NSW Nationals parliamentary party threatened to leave the Berejiklian Coalition Government and move to the Independent benches in the NSW Legislative Assembly, the Lower House of the NSW Parliament, if the NSW Liberal parliamentary party did not agree to effectively gut State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019.

Although there were only 12 members of the National Party sitting in the Legislative Assembly, Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian caved into this threatening political posturing within days.

On 21 October 2020 members of the NSW Berejiklian Government in the Lower House voted on the Local Land Services Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020.

All the National Party members of the NSW Legislative Assembly were present for the vote.

This is the Hansard record of that final third reading vote placed in alphabetical order with members’ electorates identified:

AYES

Anderson, K – Nationals (Tamworth electorate)

Barilaro, J – Nationals (Monaro electorate)

Bromhead, S – Nationals (Myall Lakes electorate)

Cooke, S (teller) – Nationals (Cootamundra electorate)

Gulaptis, C – Nationals (Clarence electorate)

Johnsen, M – Nationals (Upper Hunter electorate)

Marshall, A – Nationals (Northern Tablelands electorate)

Pavey, M – Nationals (Oxley electorate)

Provest, G -Nationals (Tweed electorate)

Saunders, D – Nationals (Dubbo electorate)

Singh, G – Nationals (Coffs Harbour electorate)

Toole, P – Nationals (Bathurst electorate)

Ayres, S – Liberal (Penrith electorate)

Berejiklian, G – Liberal (Willoughby electorate)

Clancy, J – Liberal (Albury electorate)

Conolly, K – Liberal (Riverstone electorate)

Constance, A – Liberal (Bega electorate)

Coure, M – Liberal (Oatley electorate)

Crouch, A (teller) – Liberal (Terrigal electorate)

Davies, T – Liberal ( electorate)

Dominello, V – Liberal (Ryde electorate)

Elliot, D – Liberal (Baulkham electorate)

Evans, L - Liberal (Heathcoast electorate)

Gibbons, M – Liberal (Holsworthy electorate)

Griffin, J – Liberal (Manly electorate)

Hancock, S – Liberal (South Coast electorate)

Hazzard, B – Liberal (Wakehurst electorate)

Henskens, A – Liberal (Kur-ring-gai electorate)

Kean, M – Liberal (Hornsby electorate)

Lee, G – Liberal (Parramatta electorate)

Lindsay, W – Liberal (East Hills electorate)

Perrottet, D – Liberal (Epping electorate)

Preston, R – Liberal (Hawkesbury electorate)

Petinos, E – Liberal (Miranda electorate)

Roberts, A – Liberal (Lane Cove electorate)

Sidgreaves, P – Liberal (Camden electorate)

Sidoti, J – Liberal (Drummoyne electorate)

Smith, N – Liberal (Wollondilly electorate)

Speakman, M – Liberal (Cronulla electorate)

Stokes, R – Liberal (Pittwater electorate)

Taylor, M – Liberal (Seven Hills electorate)

Tuckerman, W – Liberal (Goulburn electorate)

Upton, G – Liberal (Vaucluse electorate)

Ward, G – Liberal (Kiama electorate)

Williams, L – Liberal (Port Macquarie electorate)

Williams, R– Liberal (Castle Hill electorate)

McGirr, J – Independent (Wagga Wagga electorate)

Butler, R - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Barwon electorate)

Dalton, H - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Murray electorate)

Donato, P - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Orange electorate)

I invite readers to remember these names at the next NSW state election on Saturday, 25 March 2023.

Koala joey riding on its mother's back
IMAGE: Environmental Defender's Office

Once again the NSW Premier and her Liberal-Nationals Coalition Government are the subject of corruption allegations

 

On 3 July 2020 a NSW Legislative Council committeee, the Public Accountability Committee (PAC), began an Inquiry into the Integrity, efficacy and value for money of NSW Government grant programs.

Thus far public hearings have been held on 21 September, 16 October and 23 October 2020 with further hearing dates scheduled for 27 November and 9 December 2020.

Six of the seven local government councils in the NSW Northern Rivers region – Tweed Shire, Richmond Valley, Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore and Clarence Valley - made submissions to the Inquiry outlining both satisfaction and frustration with the current grants system. These submission can be found here.

The Inquiry’s public hearings to date have generated media interest given these followed on the heels of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Operation Keppel public hearings which revealed the six year intimate relationship between NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl Maquire both when he was a member of her government and after his forced resignation from state parliament in 2018.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 2020:

Senior advisers from Gladys Berejiklian's office have been called before a parliamentary inquiry to explain why the NSW Premier handed out $250 million in council grants without any signed paperwork.

The grants scheme is emerging as a major issue for Ms Berejiklian on the back of her appearance before the corruption watchdog, which is investigating her ex-lover Daryl Maguire.

Ms Berejiklian will know the direction of findings from the Independent Commission Against Corruption on December 7, when submissions from counsel assisting are sent to "relevant parties".

In an unusual move, Ms Berejiklian's former chief of staff Sarah Cruickshank and present senior policy officer Sarah Lau will give evidence to the public accountability committee on Friday.

Ms Cruickshank also gave evidence at the ICAC hearing into Mr Maguire, which is investigating whether he used his position as an MP for financial gain, including brokering property deals.

Finance Minister Damien Tudehope has confirmed that no signed approvals exist for 249 grants rubber-stamped between June 27, 2018 and March 1, 2019 from the Stronger Communities Fund, established after council amalgamations.

Ms Lau was the author of emails such as one sent on June 28, 2018 which said: "The Premier has signed off further funding for metro councils. Outlined below is what is been approved."

Ms Berejiklian directly approved more than $100 million in grants, but the only records of her approvals are in the form of emails from advisers.

Staff in Deputy Premier John Barilaro's office also emailed approvals, including one dated August 24, 2018 which said: "The DP has approved funding of $600,000 to Edward River Council."

But Mr Barilaro, who returned from four weeks' mental health leave on Wednesday, distanced himself from the fund, and said "everything was correct" in a similar fund for regional councils.

"The Stronger Communities fund is not a fund that I administer. The Stronger Country Communities fund is something that I administer under my department in regional NSW," Mr Barilaro said.

"There's an allocation made to every single local government area so it's not the beauty contest that we normally get, everybody gets a slice of the fund."…...

The government was dealt a humiliating blow late on Tuesday when its most senior minister of the upper house was suspended from Parliament in a rare move last used more than 20 years ago.

Leader of the government Don Harwin was removed from the chamber by the Usher of the Black Rod over a failure to produce documents showing signed paperwork relating to the grants.

Labor's leader in the upper house Adam Searle told Parliament the government's failure to produce signed approvals could amount to "maladministration, corruption or illegality"…...

The grants, which Labor's MP John Graham told the house were worth "two-and-a-half times the federal sports rorts" scandal, were distributed almost exclusively to councils in Coalition-held seats…...

The head of ICAC Peter Hall QC has said the methods used by the government in its administration of the council grants fund could open the door for corrupt conduct.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 October 2020:

An inquiry wants answers as to whether Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a conflict of interest in her position on a committee that signed off on $30 million for a Wagga Wagga conservatorium following lobbying by former MP Daryl Maguire.

The NSW upper house inquiry into allegations of grant rorting on Friday heard the the Regional Cultural Fund awarded $10 million and $20 million to the Riverina Conservatorium of Music, for the construction of a new recital hall, in 2017 and 2018.

Chris Hanger from the Department of Regional NSW said the latter portion was a pre-byelection commitment from the government following the exit of Wagga MP Mr Maguire, who resigned in disgrace after a corruption inquiry heard he sought commissions from a developer.

After Mr Hanger testified that the funding was signed off by the Expenditure Review Committee, of which Ms Berejiklian is a part, Greens MLC David Shoebridge asked, "are you aware whether or not a conflict of interest was ever placed on the record by the Premier, given she was in a close personal relationship with Mr Maguire?…..

Jonathan Wheaton, executive director of regional programs at the department, told the parliamentary inquiry that, given the ERC was a subcommittee of the cabinet, he was unsure whether that level of information could be shared publicly.

The Sydney Morning Herald has sought comment from the Premier's office about whether or not she was obliged to declare a conflict of interest, and whether or not she had…..

The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 2020:

Gladys Berejiklian gave her lover Daryl Maguire's Wagga Wagga electorate six grants totalling $40,000 from her discretionary fund, while an inquiry heard one of her advisers shredded documents showing the Premier's approval of projects under another scheme.

In a parliamentary speech made before resigning from the Liberal Party in disgrace in 2018, Mr Maguire thanked Ms Berejiklian for providing $5134 from the special fund to the Ladysmith Tourist Railway, near the regional city, to cover the cost of replacing railway sleepers stolen by "scoundrels".

"It was a cowardly act to steal the sleepers, but I thank the Premier for helping to replace them," Mr Maguire said in June, also announcing the receipt of $5000 for the erection of a memorial to World War I Victoria Cross recipient Jack Ryan in Tumut. That money had also come from the fund.

Other grants included $10,400 for the Wagga branch of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia for a firearm cleaning safety enclosure, which Mr Maguire announced to local media in October 2017, and $5000 towards the Talbingo Men's Shed……

ABC News, 23 October 2020:

Documents which Premier Gladys Berejiklian used to approve millions of dollars in grants to local councils were later shredded, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has heard. 

One of the Premier's senior policy advisers, Sarah Lau, told the inquiry she also deleted electronic copies of the notes.....

Nearly all the grants were awarded to local councils in Coalition-held seats.

The inquiry heard that $141.8 million of the grant funding was allocated by the Premier, with $61.3million allocated by the Deputy Premier John Barilaro and $48.9 million by the Minister for Local Government.

In addition to the ICAC and PAC inquiries, the NSW Auditor General has announced an intention to review a selections of grant programs and, the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre has also announced a new project regarding grant programs, highlighting the need to better understand key fraud risks and learn about effective fraud prevention methods particularly given there are elevated integrity risks for government grants in times of crisis or emergency.

NSW Labor MLA Janelle Saffin supports rail trail and keeping options open for a return to rail

 

Office of the NSW Member for Lismore, media release, 30 September 2020:

Saffin supports rail trail and keeping options open for a return to rail

LISMORE MP Janelle Saffin has always supported a rail trail for the Northern Rivers as well as a Regional Integrated Transport Plan which includes keeping our rail corridor in public ownership for future rail services – light rail or a Very Fast Train.

Ms Saffin said she had never shied away from this dual position and it was a shame that some commentary on the Transport Administration Amendment (Closures of Railway Lines in Northern Rivers) Bill 2020 was causing division across the community.

“My focus in Parliament last week was on ensuring that the Bill maintained the rail corridor in public hands, able to be brought back to train use without obstacles,” Ms Saffin said.

“I negotiated two amendments with NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole (who introduced the Bill) that strengthened this so I find it perplexing that some people feel the need to attack me and plan to protest outside my office.

“These amendments passed in the Legislative Assembly. The view I had heard many express was that the one-page Bill contained nothing unexpected.

“The Bill is now with the Legislative Council which in October will review and debate it in detail.”

Ms Saffin said that when she was Federal Member for Page, rail trail advocates came to her, and even though it was a State issue, she told them that sounded fine but the rail corridor must remain in public ownership no matter what.

The then Page MP ran a community petition which achieved this goal and while Ms Saffin could not promise to bring back the train, she helped secure funding for a Regional Integrated Transport Plan which included rail transport as an option for the Northern Rivers and the Mid North Coast.

Ms Saffin said she went to the 2019 State election on the public record as supporting the rail trail so this was ‘no big secret’ and she had clearly restated her long-standing commitment to ensuring the rail corridor was protected.

While a few Greens Party members are predicting Ms Saffin will lose the next State election in 2023 because of her support for the Rail Trail Bill, Ms Saffin said this sounded more like political posturing.

“New South Wales has a preferential voting system. Yes, The Greens and Labor exchange preferences but I am not a Green; I shape and make Labor policy based on Labor values of fairness and equity,” Ms Saffin said.

“I meet with and listen to all sides and try my hardest to do what is best for our region.”

There were two Labor Opposition amendments put to the NSW Legislative Assembly with regard to the Transport Administration Amendment (Closures of Railway Lines in Northern Rivers) Bill 2020. Both were agreed to.

Amendment c2020-137A made clearer the bill's intent that the land within the rail corridor between Crabbes Creek and Condong and between Casino and Bentley remain in public ownership and, Amendment c2020-131B outlined the uses to which the land could be put.

The bill passed the NSW Legislative Council on 23 September 2020 with these amendments intact.

Regional town water security virtually ignored for last six years by NSW Coalition Government

The NSW Auditor General’s audit report of 24 September 2020, titled Support for regional town water infrastructure, reveals that state government has failed to meet its responsibilities and fulfil its undertaking for the last six years under the leadership first of Liberal Premier Barry O’Farrell, then of Liberal Premier Bruce Baird and finally of Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian 

In fact NSW Liberal and Nationals politicians didn't begin to get even remotely serious about regional town water security until 2018-19.

Audit Report Executive Summary, excerpt:

"The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (the department) is the lead agency for water resource policy, regulation and planning in NSW. It is also responsible for ensuring water management is consistent with the shared commitments of the Australian, State and Territory Governments under the National Water Initiative. This includes the provision of healthy, safe and reliable water supplies, and reporting on the performance of water utilities.

Ninety-two Local Water Utilities (LWUs) plan for, price and deliver town water services in regional NSW. Eighty-nine are operated by local councils under the New South Wales’ Local Government Act 1993, and other LWUs exercise their functions under the WM Act. The Minister for Water, Property and Housing is the responsible minister for water supply functions under both acts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Audit Report Conclusion, section in full:

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has not effectively supported or overseen town water infrastructure planning in regional NSW since at least 2014. It has also lacked a strategic, evidence-based approach to target investments in town water infrastructure.

A continued focus on coordinating town water planning, investments and sector engagement is needed for the department to more effectively support, plan for and fund town water infrastructure, and work with Local Water Utilities to help avoid future shortages of safe water in regional towns and cities.

The department has had limited impact on facilitating Local Water Utilities’ (LWU) strategic town water planning. Its lack of internal procedures, records and data mean that the department cannot demonstrate it has effectively engaged, guided or supported the LWU sector in Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) planning over the past six years. Today, less than ten per cent of the 92 LWUs have an IWCM strategy approved by the department.

The department did not design or implement a strategic approach for targeting town water infrastructure investment through its $1 billion Safe and Secure Water Program (SSWP). Most projects in the program were reviewed by a technical panel but there was limited evidence available about regional and local priorities to inform strategic project assessments. About a third of funded SSWP projects were recommended via various alternative processes that were not transparent. The department also lacks systems for integrated project monitoring and program evaluation to determine the contribution of its investments to improved town water outcomes for communities. The department has recently developed a risk-based framework to inform future town water infrastructure funding priorities.

The department does not have strategic water plans in place at state and regional levels: a key objective of these is to improve town water for regional communities. The department started a program of regional water planning in 2018, following the NSW Government’s commitment to this in 2014. It also started developing a state water strategy in 2020, as part of an integrated water planning framework to align local, regional and state priorities. One of 12 regional water strategies has been completed and the remaining strategies are being developed to an accelerated timeframe: this has limited the department’s engagement with some LWUs on town water risks and priorities. [my yellow highlighting]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NSW Nationals in disarray in 2020

NSW Nationals Leader and Deputy-Primer John Barilaro is reportedly on mental health leave from 18 September 2020 and MLA for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams quit the Nationals on 20 September to join the NSW Liberal Party.

This junior partner in the Coalition is showing the strain of having such a divisive leader. Barilaro has been at the helm for less than four years and in that time the Nationals have lost four seats in the state parliament - Lismore, Murray, Barwon and now Port Macquarie. 

The Nationals now hold only 12 seats in the 93 seat NSW Legislative Assembly.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 2020:

Two senior NSW Nationals figures have quit the party and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams has had her membership of the Liberals accepted a day after abandoning the Nationals in disgust.

Former Nationals leader and deputy premier Troy Grant last week resigned from the party, while former Water Minister and deputy leader Niall Blair has not renewed his membership.

Mr Grant and Mr Blair did not want to comment on their decision to leave the Nationals, but a source close to Mr Grant said he did not "support the direction of the party".

Ms Williams' membership of the Liberals was rubber-stamped on Monday morning, ensuring she did not have to sit on the crossbench when NSW Parliament resumes on Tuesday.

Her shock resignation on Sunday came after John Barilaro, the NSW Nationals' leader, and his MPs threatened to destroy the Coalition by moving to the crossbench if they did not get a raft of changes over a contested koala planning policy.

Ms Williams released a statement on Sunday saying: "Sadly, the events of the past weeks and months have cemented my decision."

The former head of the New South Wales Young Nationals and chair of its women’s council Jess Price-Purnell has also resigned from the party after being threatened with expulsion from the party because she publicly criticised John Barilaro's handling of the Koala planning policy issue.

Today NSW Nationals are officially Australia's dumbest state political party

Having individuals members of the National Party of Australia get away with it in the past, on 9 September 2020 the NSW Nationals decided they will no longer support their Coalition partner but will remain in Cabinet, on the expenditure review committee and seated on the government benches.

Why? 

Well the Nats want to repeal State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019 which seeks to encourage the conservation and management of areas of natural vegetation that provide habitat for koalas to support a permanent free-living population over their present range and reverse the current trend of koala population decline.

Apparently their developer and logging mates don't like it.

This State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) applies to land in around 79 local government areas on which there has been a verifiable koala presence for the last 18 years. However, in reality it seems no koala habitat is off-limits to clearing or offsetting under the SEPP.

The NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party of Australia's response to the Nationals dummy spit was clearly and brutally worded..... 

NOTE: In all of John Barilaro's parliamentary speeches since the beginning of 2019 I am yet to find him on his feet in the Legislative Assembly objecting to State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019. It appears Barilaro prefers to have this political stoush play out in the media.

NSW Nationals continue to betray the Northern Rivers region when it comes to Berejiklian Government push for coal seam gas mining expansion

Echo Net Daily, September 2020:

An area of the Pilliga Forest where a CSG wastewater
spill occurred in 2011. Nothing has grown back.
Photo David Saunders.

Many of the NSW Chief Scientist’s recommendations on regulating the CSG industry will not be adopted, according to the government response.

Instead, the NSW Liberal and Nationals government claim the ‘state’s regulatory framework for resource projects and the reforms to date ensure NSW is well positioned to develop a safe and sustainable domestic gas industry’.

Of the 17 recommendations by the NSW Chief Scientist, only two are supported.

They are improving transparency of information, and reviewing all new findings in relation to health impacts, which would be included in any new CSG assessment.

The other recommendations are ‘noted’ or ‘supported in principle’ by the government.

In the reply, the government outlined what regulatory improvements had been made since the issue attracted ‘community concern’ in 2011.

The response concludes by saying that existing gas projects are winding down, and the only one ‘in the pipeline’ is the Santos Narrabri gasfield project, which is awaiting determination by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).

No new areas for CSG exploration have been released, says the government report, ‘And if [that did happen] in the future, it would take considerable time for any potential production projects to emerge’.

As such, the report argues that the Chief Scientist’s recommendations have been achieved.

Yet there was no mention of the gas expansion expected to occur under an agreement struck between the federal and NSW government. SMH (Nine) and other media reported in January that ‘Nearly $3 billion will be pumped into NSW to increase gas supplies’.

Local Nats MLC supports his govt

When asked whether he supported his govenrment’s response, local Nationals MLC, Ben Franklin repeated his government’s justifications for not implementing all the recommendations, while accusing the committee oversight body of ignoring ‘robust CSG-related regulatory controls delivered by the NSW government’…...

Berejiklian Government bows to National Party slash & burn mentality in its media release but the Final Report of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry tells another story

In which the NSW Nationals through Deputy-Premier & MLA for Monaro John Barilaro insert into a government media release their dislike of national parks and unexploited Crown land. 

NSW GOVERNMENT, media release, 25 August 2020:

The NSW Government has released the independent NSW Bushfire Inquiry, which examined the causes, preparation and response to the devastating 2019-20 bushfires.

All 76 recommendations will be accepted in principle, with further work to be done on specific timelines to give communities assurance that changes will be made to keep them safe.

Any issues not covered in the report that are still relevant to the protection of property and life will also be further examined.

Resilience NSW, led by Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, has been tasked with coordinating and overseeing the implementation of the Inquiry’s recommendations as the government finalises its approach.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Owens and Professor Mary O’Kane AC for their hard work on this report.

“The NSW Government has worked in lock-step with the RFS and Resilience NSW to ensure the state is as prepared as it can be to face the next fire season, but the learnings from this Inquiry will help us further improve our preparedness and response,” said Ms Berejiklian.

“The NSW Government has already delivered more than $45 million in additional funding, announced in May 2020, to fast-track hazard reduction and deliver upgrades to our firefighting capability.

“This was a terrible bushfire season and we will look at all the steps we can take, especially in relation to helping people protect their property.”

The findings of the report show that there is an opportunity to strengthen governance and responsibility, which we are in the process of addressing.

The report also acknowledges the significant contribution of both climate change and the vast expanse of the state’s bushland towards these devastating fires.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said all 76 recommendations in the Inquiry are based on the harsh lessons learnt from the catastrophic bushfires of last summer.

“Last bushfire season was unlike anything we have ever dealt with before and we need a government response to match,” Mr Barilaro said.

“Things like strategic hazard reduction and better land management no matter the tenure are essential when it comes to keeping our communities safe.”

Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said NSW is more prepared than ever before for the 2020-21 fire season.

“We have already begun implementing the Inquiry’s recommendation to replace and retrofit the fleet, with 120 new trucks and 70 refurbished trucks to be rolled out before the end of the financial year,” Mr Elliott said.

“I would like to thank all our emergency personnel and volunteers who made us all proud over this relentless bushfire season.”

Read the Final Report of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry

Find out about the NSW Bushfire Inquiry and public submissions

[my yellow highlighting]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In which the conclusion was reached that when it came to bushfires, precautionary hazard reduction had limited value and, assumed land management practices in national parks and state forests or on private land did not significantly influence whether a fire started or a fire's outcome.

FinalReport of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, 31 July 2020, excerpts, pp. 49, 52-53, 56:

2.2.2.1 Fuels on different types of land

Another common theme in the feedback to the Inquiry has been that fuel is managed better (or worse) on different types of land, with national parks in particular being criticised for ‘locking up’ land and allowing fuel to accumulate putting other landowners at risk, and that activity such as grazing should have been allowed in the parks to manage fuel loads.

The Research Hub examined this question using the Bees Nest fire in northern NSW as a case study to see whether aspects of fuel structure in forests – in terms of its cover and vertical connectivity – differed between different tenures: conservation estate (national park and State conservation area), State forest and privately owned land. These aspects of fuel cover and vertical connectivity are the factors considered likely to influence the likelihood of high intensity crown fires occurring.

The analysis used airborne LiDAR imagery to look at vegetation cover of the understorey (0.5-5 m height), lower canopy (5-15 m height) and upper canopy (greater than 15 m height).

In summary, this analysis showed that fuel cover and vertical connectivity between fuel levels were similar across different land tenures, and that there was no clear influence from inferred different management practices (for example, logging in State forests or grazing on private land) on the fuel properties of the forests on different land tenures. Therefore, in this case study area in northern NSW, the resultant bush fire hazard may have been similar across land tenure and the forest flammability (represented by measures of fuel structure) did not appear to have been a significantly influenced by different land management regimes.

The Inquiry notes that this work is only one case study and, as noted in the Research Hub’s report, relies on certain assumptions about management practices on the different tenures, and does not exclude the possibility that variations in logging and livestock grazing practices (e.g. different harvesting treatments, stocking rates etc.) could result in different results, or that different forest types might respond differently. However, as an initial case study, this points to some important issues that should be examined further in a more detailed investigation of the information generated from the 2019-20 fires across NSW.

2.2.2.2. Would more hazard reduction have helped?

…..In general, recent bush fires (unplanned fires) appeared to have a greater influence on preventing fire spread than recent prescribed burns, and while some recent prescribed fires had an influence on reducing fire severity, many had no obvious influence on fire severity. These effects are shown for the three case study areas in Figures 2-11, 2-12 and 2-13.

Overall, this work concluded that prescribed burns can reduce the severity of subsequent bush fires. However, “this effect is less than that of wildfires, it is short lived, and it is less effective under severe fire weather conditions”, findings that are consistent with much of the available literature…..

Another important question is whether fuel load or age had an impact on the number of successful ignitions. Certainly, dryness had an impact on the efficiency of ignitions by lightning (i.e. many lightning strikes resulted in ignitions because the fuel was so dry).

While this question cannot be answered with certainty for the 2019-20 season, research by Penman, Bradstock and Price (2013)123 on the Sydney basin found that, on days of Severe or Extreme fire risk, with a Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI)124 value greater than 50, the likelihood of ignition in younger fuels (recently burnt areas) is still high. This work found that fuel reduction is likely to influence lightning ignitions on days with low values of the FFDI – however, it notes that days with low FFDI values are not the conditions when large, serious bush fires tend to occur.
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