Showing posts with label NSW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NSW. Show all posts

Thursday 27 July 2017

More Australians live in New South Wales and Queensland than in the other states & territories combined


Australian Bureau of Statistics, media release, excerpt, 12 July 2017:

Queensland and New South Wales home to 52.1 per cent of Australia’s total population according to the 2016 Census of Population and Housing ……

NSW certainly has the numbers on their side, outnumbering Queensland residents by close to three million people (7,480,228 to 4,703,193), but Queensland is making a strong play with a faster growth rate of 8.6 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent for NSW. …..

The 2016 Census tells us there are 28,864 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in NSW aged 18-35 years, just edging out Queensland with 25,053.

Between the two battling states, it seems the Cockroaches are the bigger earners, with NSW households earning a median income of $1,486 per week compared to $1,402 per week for a household in Cane Toad country. However, Queensland residents gain an edge with household costs – their median monthly mortgage repayment is $253 cheaper than it is south of the border, while the Sunshine State’s median weekly rent is $50 less. 

The Maroon State also tend to work more in the home, with a higher rate of people engaging in unpaid domestic work (71 per cent in Queensland to 68 per cent in NSW) and child care (28 per cent in Queensland to 27 per cent in NSW). However, the Blue State has a higher rate of providing unpaid care for a person with a disability (12 per cent in NSW to 11 per cent in Queensland)……

…..64.9 per cent of persons in NSW embraced the digital Census, completing their Census form online (above national average), just edging Queensland, where 62.9 per cent of persons used the online Census form (below national average). 


Note: All data presented is based on Place of Usual residence data in the 2016 Census

Wednesday 26 July 2017

Greed, plain and simple, is killing off NSW koalas and the Berejiklian Coalition Government continues to ignore this vandalism of habit


ABC News, 20 July 2017:

A koala habitat 50 per cent larger than the Royal National Park has been destroyed by logging, according to a new conservation report.

The report titled Clearing Koalas Away by conservationist Dailan Pugh, says more than 23,000 hectares of koala habitat near Coffs Harbour has been "virtually cleared".

"They're hitting them really hard. We're looking at about 40 per cent of koala habitat in state forests," he said.

Mr Pugh, an environmentalist for over 40 years, sourced the forestry data under freedom of information (FOI) legislation, in a bid to measure logging against known koala habitats.

Last year, then-environment minister Mark Speakman admitted "intensive harvesting" on the North Coast was "not consistent" with regulations, and said the Environment Protection Authority was investigating.

An EPA spokesperson declined to answer questions, but said "current rules are over 15 years old and lack clarity in important areas, including intensive harvesting".

Recent studies suggest less than 9,000 koalas survive on the North Coast, a 50 per cent decline in the past 20 years.

Habitat loss is widely acknowledged as a driver of the decline.



Mr Pugh said a sustainable logging method called "single-tree selection" is being misused by Forestry Corporation.

Single-tree selection permits the selective harvest of just 40 per cent of eucalypts trees in a logging zone — leaving 60 per cent of trees as off-limits.

But the off-limits status is temporary, and evidence shows these trees are heavily logged in later operations.

The reports highlights examples like Kerewong State Forest, with photos showing the heavy clearing of a mapped koala habitat.

Echo NetDaily, 13 March 2017:

A representative of the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) was ejected from a meeting that he called with the Environment Protection Authority at Gibberagee State Forest after it was ‘gatecrashed by the Forestry Corporation’.

NEFA auditor Dailan Pugh said he was invited to Gibberagee by the EPA on Friday (March 10) so that he could show them logging was taking place into what were meant to be exclusion zones around the nationally Endangered Narrow-leaved Melichrus, which only occurs at Gibberagee.

But he was directed to leave by the Forestry Corporation without being allowed to show the EPA anything.

‘A month ago I sent the EPA a complaint after identifying that the Forestry Corporation were refusing to identify the legally required buffers around the Endangered plant Narrow-leaf Melichrus,’ Mr Pugh told Echonetdaily.

He added they were ‘recklessly damaging hollow-bearing and recruitment trees, and logging “unmapped” streams in the immediate catchment of the regionally significant seagrass beds of The Broadwater.’

‘Bryce Gorham of the EPA invited me to come out to the forest last Friday “to accurately identify (on ground identification) of the alleged breach of intrusion into a Melichrus sp.Giberagee exclusion zone”,’ he said.

‘I expected that the EPA would only invite me if they had the authority to do so.

‘The EPA were late, so while waiting I looked around, finding two more places where logging had extended into what were meant to be 50m exclusion zones around Narrow-leaf Melichrus, in one case by 22m.

‘When the EPA belatedly arrived they had a Forestry Corporation employee, Jamie Churchill, with them.

‘He told me to leave the forest on the grounds of occupational health and safety. I insisted that I had been invited into the forest by the EPA and that, in the area where we were, logging had finished some three months ago so we were not interfering with an active operation and there were no safety issues.’

Mr Pugh said he told both the EPA and Forestry Corporation that he had just found another legal breach nearby, and asked to at least be able to show it to them.

But, he added, the Forestry Corporation refused ‘and the EPA went along with them’.

‘After driving two hours to get there I was forced to leave without being allowed to show the EPA anything.

‘The EPA should never have invited me if they don’t have the authority to stand up to Forestry Corporation bullying.

* Image of  koala mother and cub from Independent Australia

Monday 12 June 2017

Crime remains comparatively low in the NSW Northern Rivers region during the first quarter of 2017


As communities in the NSW Northern Rivers have come to expect our region is not the worst when it comes to instances of recorded crime but it is not the best either.

In the first quarter of 2017 in Coffs Harbour-Grafton and Richmond-Tweed statistical areas recorded incidents for domestic violence, non-domestic assault, sexual assault, indecent assault & other sexual offences all rose, while Richmond-Tweed saw the number of people murdered rise from one to four.

Tweed and Clarence Valley local government areas had the highest recorded incidents for domestic violence in the Northern Rivers at 312 and 213 instances respectively and, Lismore and Tweed local government areas had the highest recorded incidents for sexual assault at 77 and 56 instances respectively.

Indecent assault & other sexual offences were most prevalent in the Lismore local government area at 107 instances.

While the dubious honour of highest recorded incidents for non-domestic violence goes to Tweed (292), Lismore (281) and Clarence Valley (278) local government areas.

Sadly, it would appear that crimes against the person are our forte thus far in 2017.

SYDNEY, RURAL AND REGIONAL NSW - MARCH 2015 TO MARCH 2016
                                          

SYDNEY, RURAL AND REGIONAL NSW - MARCH 2016 TO MARCH 2017


SYDNEY, RURAL AND REGIONAL NSW – CRIME RATE MARCH 2016 TO MARCH 2017



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

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, media release, 8 June 2017:

Crime remains low: NSW Recorded Crime Statistics quarterly update March 2017

None of the major crime categories have increased in NSW over the last two years. In the 24 months to March 2017, four of the 17 major offences were trending downward and the remaining 13 were stable.

The offences trending down were:
1. robbery with a weapon not a firearm (down 10.9%);
2. break and enter dwelling (down 5.9%);
3. steal from person (down 15.2%);
4. fraud (down 4.3%).

However, parts of the Hunter and Western NSW have experienced significant increases in particular crimes over the two year period to March 2017.

Newcastle and Lake Macquarie experienced a significant increase in four of the 17 major offences:  non-domestic assault (up 6.9%), steal from retail store (up 19.6%), steal from dwelling (up 8.7%) and malicious damage to property (up 9.6%).

The New England and North West have experienced significant increases in three of the 17 major offences: non-domestic assault (up 4.1%), break and enter - dwelling (up 16.2%) and steal from dwelling (up 20.8%).

The Far West and Orana have experienced significant increases in three major property offences: break and enter - dwelling (up 18.8%), motor vehicle theft (up 28.1%) and steal from retail store (up 28.0%).

Commenting on the results the Deputy Director of the Bureau, Jackie Fitzgerald, said that while it was reassuring that no major offences were trending upwards at the State level it should not be overlooked that some pockets of NSW were experiencing crime problems. 

“The growth in crimes in the West and North West of NSW is particularly concerning because the crime rates in these areas are already more than twice, and in some cases more than three times the State average.”

Coal Seam Gas Exploration and Mining potentially allowable in the NSW Northern Rivers region once more


“The Minister must not grant a petroleum title over any of the following land (the excluded areas):
(a)  an area designated by the Minister, by notification published in the Gazette, as an area in respect of which a petroleum title is not to be granted,”  [Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991 No 84, current version for 6 January 2017 to date] 

In 2015 the NSW Baird Coalition Government announced that its NSW Gas Plan included:
Action 4 of the NSW Gas Plan https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0p1jzW0zOmc_Rnh6s4OqCEV7xGYtTBE9j0dvH8S_qDwUwN4Puj4FUY_Q1exaKDExuZFtpCWKkUaNJb1WSAnBNhgCecop5Vu07-ZuoFuqcTYgNEhIkFgL9s9geJlYGn0mIWQLtPMmcdteZ/s320/image001-719512.png [2.84 MB] is to establish a one-off buy-back of petroleum exploration licences (PELs) for titleholders across the state. This provides an opportunity for holders of PELs to surrender their titles. The NSW Government commenced the buy-back program on 11 December 2014. 
To date, the NSW Government has bought back the following PELs:

PEL 2 (AGL Upstream Investments Pty Ltd) view map  [5549 KB] & view map  [1762 KB]
PEL 4 (AGL Upstream Investments Pty Ltd) view map  [2854 KB]
PEL 5 (AGL Upstream Investments Pty Ltd) view map  [352 KB]
PEL 267 (AGL Upstream Investments Pty Ltd) view map  [4434 KB]
PEL 437 (Pangaea PEL 437 Pty Ltd) view map  [426 KB]
PEL 442 (Apex Energy NL & Sydney Basin CBM Pty Ltd) view map  [418 KB]
PEL 444 (Apex Energy NL & Sydney Basin CBM Pty Ltd) view map  [392 KB]
PEL 445 (Dart Energy (Bruxner) Pty Ltd) view map  [2.64MB]
PEL 454 (Apex Energy NL & Sydney Basin CBM Pty Ltd) view map  [381 KB]
PEL 457 (ERM Gas Pty Ltd) view map  [1 MB]
PEL 459 (Dart Energy (Apollo) Pty Ltd) view map  [432 KB]
PEL 460 (Dart Energy (Apollo) Pty Ltd) view map  [280 KB]
PEL 463 (Dart Energy (Apollo) Pty Ltd) view map  [362 KB]
PEL 464 (Dart Energy (Apollo) Pty Ltd) view map  [403 KB]
PEL 476 (Pangaea Oil & Gas Pty Ltd) view map  [450 KB]
PEL 478 (Clarence Moreton Resources Pty Ltd ERM Gas Pty Ltd) view map  [425 KB]
PEL 479 (Clarence Moreton Resources Pty Ltd ERM Gas Pty Ltd) view map  [694 KB]

In November 2015 the Baird Government added Metgasco Limited’s PEL 13, PEL 16 and PEL 426 to this buyback list.

The NSW Nationals Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis called on communities to “trust the NSW Gas Plan” to make the Northern Rivers gas field free.

Although buybacks occurred, to date the NSW Northern Rivers region does not appear to have been gazetted as an area in respect of which a petroleum title is not to be granted.

In June 2017 the NSW Berejiklian Coalition Government released its NSW STRATEGIC RELEASE FRAMEWORK FOR COAL AND PETROLEUM and surprise, surprise, the Northern Rivers region is once again potentially available for exploitation by unconventional gas mining corporations by way of an exploration licence auction process – highest bidder above the government reserve declared the ‘lucky winner’.

The strategic release framework also states; The expunged petroleum title applications provisions under the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991, if triggered, still necessitate compliance this two part auction process…….An exception to this process is prescribed under the Petroleum (Onshore) Act 1991, Schedule 2, Expunged petroleum title applications. Expunged petroleum title applicants are required to be given first opportunity to make new applications, where the proposed new release area was the subject of an expunged application. To trigger this provision, the expunged title applicant must be the same entity. The two part auction process still applies. An expunged title applicant must satisfy the minimum standards, work program and reserve price requirements. There is no automatic granting of a prospecting title. An expunged title applicant may choose not to apply

In other words Gladys Berejiklian & Co are merrily inviting the same environmental vandals to return to the very land from which concerned local communities fought so hard to remove them.

This was Lock The Gate Alliance on the subject on 6 June 2017:

Lock the Gate Alliance says the NSW Government’s ‘Strategic release framework’ for coal and gas exploration, announced today, leaves the state’s groundwater and farmland unprotected.

Under the framework, parts of the state will be made available for coal and gas exploration and it has been announced that the new framework will immediately be applied to two areas in the state’s far west where explorers have sought access to unconventional gas. 

The new framework also allows holders of “expunged petroleum titles” to reapply for areas where licences have been bought back or cancelled, including in the Northern Rivers and Sydney’s drinking water catchment.

"There’s nothing in this framework that will prevent the Minister and the Cabinet opening up the Northern Rivers or Sydney’s drinking water catchment to new gas exploration” said Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Georgina Woods.

"The public is still waiting for long-overdue promises to protect farmland, water and communities from coal and unconventional gas mining to be delivered.

"Without those protections in place, this Strategic Release Framework is a major threat to our land and water resources.

"With a state election coming up in a year and a half, this failure is likely to lead to an electoral backlash from affected communities if it is not quickly addressed," she said.

The Framework is partly a response to ICAC made nearly four years ago and warning that the process for releasing coal exploration licences was "conducive to corruption” but Lock the Gate says there are important elements of these recommendations unfulfilled.



Friday 26 May 2017

NSW nurses & midwives stand with Pilliga-Narrabri communities against Santos coal seam gas project


“Santos expects to build 850 production wells over the next two decades” within the mining lease. ABC NEWS, 10 April 2017, PHOTO: An aerial shot of the Santos CSG exploration project in the Pilliga. (Audience supplied: Dean Sewell)

Echo NetDaily, 19 May 2017:

Local nurses are voicing their concerns about the threat to health in a submission to the government objecting not only to the Santos Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Project, but to all CSG mining across NSW.

It was following a successful motion put forward by the Lismore Base Hospital branch of the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association that the a submission was lodged.

‘As nurses and midwives we believe that an ecologically sustainable environment promotes health and wellbeing. We are greatly concerned about the health of communities impacted by CSG’, said Heather Ryan Dunn, midwife and Vice President of the Lismore Base branch of the NSWNMA. ‘We also know that climate change is the biggest threat we are currently facing and that decisions made today will impact greatly on future generations.’

The 20 page submission which includes references to CSG well accidents and risks to human health via contaminated water and air pollution, is one of approximately 12,000 already submitted in response to the EIS, a record breaking and resounding ‘no’ from objectors to the project.

Friday 10 February 2017

Baird may be gone but mining versus farming land conflicts remain


NSW Dept. of Industry: Energy and Resources:
On 1 December 2016, the Mining and Petroleum Legislation Amendment (Land Access Arbitration) Act 2015 was commenced to reform the land access arbitration framework. It introduced a range of improvements in line with recommendations of the 2014 Walker Report. Read more about the Walker Report.....

In line with the recommendations of the Walker Report, the Act requires the holder of the prospecting title to pay the reasonable costs of a landholder’s participation in negotiating the access arrangement (section 142).

To ensure these costs do not become uncontrollable at the stage of negotiation, they have been capped at $1,500 for exempt prospecting operations and $2,500 for assessable prospecting operations (both exclusive of GST). The explorer must pay the GST amount in addition to the landholder’s capped costs. Caps are set out in a Ministerial Order published in the NSW Gazette.

No cap has been set on the reasonable costs payable by an explorer at mediation and arbitration as these processes can vary substantially depending on the circumstances. The explorer must still cover the landholder’s costs in making the access arrangement during these stages of the process.

The particulars of each case at mediation and arbitration are to be considered in the determination of reasonable costs at these stages. Nothing in the legislation prevents a titleholder from paying an amount above these caps. If parties cannot come to an agreement on reasonable costs, the arbitrator or the courts will make this determination.


The Land, 9 December 2016:

NEW regulations to balance mining and gas development against private property rights threatens to cause perverse outcomes, pushing landholders to lock the gate and head straight to court.

An alliance of Cotton Australia and NSW Farmers, Irrigators and Country Women’s Association (CWA) hit out at the caps on costs to be borne by mining and gas explorers, saying they fall short, leaving landholders potentially thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The group issued a statement “calling out the NSW government” and putting it on notice ahead of a compulsory review of the new regulations, set to kick off in six months. 

“The caps announced by the NSW government are a far cry from the actual costs likely to be incurred,” said NSW Farmers president Derek Schoen.
NSW CWA president Annette Turner said “unfortunately, (the regulation) fails to live up to the promise of a balance between landholders and resource companies”.

To be continued.....

Wednesday 4 January 2017

As New South Wales grows so does the NSW Northern Rivers


The New South Wales population continues to grow and projections indicate that an additional 9.9 million people will live in this state by 2036.

The Northern Rivers region is part of this growth over the next 20 years and, local government areas with large population centres, multiple coastal tourist destinations or established international reputations are expected to sustain modest if erratic annual growth.

NEW SOUTH WALES POPUATION PROJECTION

Northern Rivers Region:

The tables shows the annual average growth rate for every five year period from 2001 to 2031. Growth rates for 2001-06 and 2006-11 are based on historical estimated resident population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Growth rates from 2011-16 onwards are based on the 2014 NSW population projections. [NSW Dept. Planning & Environment, Population Projections]

Symbols show drivers of population change.

LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
BALLINA
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
0.00%
0.00%
1.00%
LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
BYRON
1.00%
0.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
CLARENCE VALLEY
0.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
0.00%
0.00%
1.00%
LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
KYOGLE
-1.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%









LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
LISMORE
0.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
0.00%
1.00%
LGA
2001-06
2006-11
2011-16
2016-21
2021-26
2026-31
2031-36
2011-36
RICHMOND VALLEY
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
1.00%
0.00%
0.00%
1.00%