Showing posts with label Northern Rivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northern Rivers. Show all posts
Tuesday 5 February 2019
NSW Chief Scientist's interim report re Independent Review of the Impact of the Bottled Water Industry on Groundwater Resources in the Northern Rivers region was due on 1 February 2019
The
NSW Chief
Scientist and Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte is currently conducting an Independent Review of the Impactof the Bottled Water Industry on Groundwater Resources in the Northern Riversregion of NSW.
As part of the review members of the Office of the NSW Chief
Scientist & Engineer conducted consultation sessions in the area with
stakeholders on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 January 2019.
The NSW Coalition Berejiklian Government was scheduled to
receive an initial report from the Chief Scientist and Engineer on 1 February
2019.
This date, coming as it did during the period when there is a growing awareness of the ongoing ecological crisis cause by mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin water resources by federal and states governments, may explain why there has been no mention made by the NSW Government of this interim report in the media.
However, concerned communities and residents in the Northern Rivers region deserve to have this report made publicly available as soon as possible. Not conveniently hidden away until after the 23 March state election.
BACKGROUND
Environmental Defenders
Office NSW, November 2018:
The NSW Chief Scientist
& Engineer will provide advice on sustainable groundwater extraction limits
in the region, as well as advice on whether the current or proposed groundwater
monitoring bores are sufficient.
Local councils have been
advised to suspend approving any new applications for water mining until the
report is complete in mid-2019.
Since 2017, EDO NSW has
been providing advice to clients in the Tweed valley who have concerns about
the way in which water bottling developments are assessed, approved and
enforced.
Water bottling – the
extraction, processing and bottling of groundwater for sale - is controversial,
as it can compete with other water users and have adverse impacts on
groundwater-dependent ecosystems. These operations also generate considerable
plastic waste and the water transport tankers can impact the amenity and safety
of people living in rural areas.
With bottling looking
set to expand in the Tweed valley, our Legal Outreach team conducted a workshop
on water regulation and enforcement in the Tweed Valley to help the community
understand and participate in the regulation of water bottling operations. We
also drafted several letters to the local council on the approval process for
bottling facilities in order to clarify the legal standards in the local
environmental plan and the scientific studies needed to support a development
application for a facility.
With our assistance, our
client produced a detailed report alleging ongoing and systemic breaches of
development consent conditions for four local water bottling facilities and
setting out the range of enforcement options available to Council. We then met
with Council and briefed Councillors on their powers and responsibilities as
the regulator under law. We were able to work constructively with Council to
ensure the full range of investigation and enforcement options were understood
and since then Council has taken decisive steps to ensure water bottling
operations in the Tweed are complying with the law.
The Chief Scientist
& Engineer is expected to provide his initial report by early February
2019, with a final report to be published in mid-2019.
Sunday 13 January 2019
Tourism numbers in 2017 and 2018 on the NSW North Coast according to Tourism Research Australia
Pippi Beach, Yamba, australiaswims.com.au |
According to Tourism Research Australia in 2017 a
total of 263,000 international tourists visited six of the seven local
government areas in NSW Northern Rivers region, along with 6,145,000 visitors (including
day trippers) from elsewhere in New South Wales and interstate.
Northern Rivers Local Government Tourism Profiles 2017:
Kyogle – no data
Note: Data is based on a four year average from 2014 to 2017.
Note: Data is based on a four year average from 2014 to 2017.
The total tourism spend in the Northern Rivers region in 2014 to 2017 was est. $1.7 billion.
In the year
ending September 2018 there was a total of 354,000 international tourists
visiting the entire NSW North Coast - from just above Newcastle to the NSW-Qld
border and taking in Hamilton Island.
These international tourists spent a total of $246 million with an average spend per person of
$696.
According to
media reports there were also 5,569,000 domestic visitors to the entire North
Coast region in the same period.
An est
145,000 of all tourists were backpackers, who stayed a combined total of 1.48 million
nights across the entire NSW North Coast in 2018.
Labels:
Northern Rivers,
NSW North Coast,
regional economies,
tourism
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....
Monday 10 December 2018
Australia 2018: Is long-term rental destroying the wellbeing of low income households?
Across the nation,
people who rent are living on insecure tenancies. Almost 9 in 10 Australians
who rent (88%) are on leases of a year or less, and are not certain of where
they will be living in a year’s time. This impacts a person’s ability to feel
part of the local community and establish roots.
The
Land, 1 May
2018:
AFFORDABLE rentals on
the state’s North Coast are increasingly few and far between, but the
continued rise of the Airbnb-model now sees 3000-plus homes sit empty
while low-income and government-assisted tenants are shut out.
Anglicare’s latest
Housing Affordability Snapshot says the region’s rental crisis has
worsened as property owners in Ballina, Byron Bay, and the Tweed are
incentivised to target short-term holidaymakers through web-based booking
companies instead of potential long-term renters.
The Anglicare report,
released on Sunday, showed available
North Coast rental properties were in steep decline (down from 795 in
2017 to 660 in 2018) with all family groups on income support, and single
households on minimum wage, likely to struggle to find housing for themselves
and their children.
Clair, A. et al, 24 May 2016, The impact of housing payment problems on health status during economic recession: A comparative analysis of longitudinal EU SILC data of 27 European states, 2008–2010, excerpt:
Transitioning into
housing arrears was associated with a significant deterioration in the health
of renters…..
Housing arrears is one
of the so-called ‘soft’ ways in which housing influences health (Shaw, 2004),
especially mental health, alongside the ‘hard’, physical impacts of the
infrastructure itself, such as damp, mould, and cold. A growing body of
scholarship indicates that people who experience housing insecurity,
independent of other financial difficulties, experience declines in mental health
(Gili et al., 2012, Keene et al., 2015, Meltzer et al., 2013, Meltzer et al., 2011, Nettleton and Burrows, 1998).
In Australia, analysis of the longitudinal HILDA dataset found that those in
lower income households who had moved into unaffordable housing experienced a
worsening in mental health (Bentley, Baker, Mason,
Subramanian, & Kavanagh, 2011), with male renters faring worse (Bentley et al., 2012, Mason et al., 2013).
One has to
wonder if being a long-term renter affects quality of life to such a degree
that on average renters die earlier than
home-owners.
Labels:
Australian society,
cost of living,
health,
housing,
Northern Rivers
Sunday 9 December 2018
Loss of nearly every wild oyster in the Richmond River estuary more than two years ago became a catalyst for action
Echo
NetDaily, 5
December 2018:
Recently Rous County
Council voted unanimously to prepare a proposal for a $150 million bid to the
State’s Snowy Hyrdo Legacy Fund to ensure long term water security, natural
flood mitigation and improved river health for the Northern Rivers region.
Rous County Council
Chair, Cr Keith Williams, said the idea for the Northern Rivers Watershed
Initiative was born with the realisation that flood risk and river health are
interrelated. ‘Slowing water flow in strategically selected streams by
revegetating and fencing off stream banks, can reduce downstream flood peaks,
improve water quality and provide habitat,’ said Cr Williams after the vote.
‘Similarly, by better understanding ground water flows and recharge zones, we
can target efforts to revegetate and increase soil moisture retention and
improve infiltration rates in important ground water source areas.
‘By having a wholistic
view of water within the combined Northern Rivers catchments the Initiative can
deliver multiple benefits from the same dollar of investment.’
‘It would be a fitting
legacy of the Snowy River Scheme to restore some of the natural function of the
Northern Rivers of NSW and ensure a sustainable water supply for the region.’
Labels:
environment,
Northern Rivers,
Richmond River
Friday 23 November 2018
Water Wars 2018: water mining of the Alstonville aquifer suspended pending government review
BLOCKADE:
Around 100 people were there for the 'Stop water mining rally in Uki' on
Saturday 27 October, where residents stopped water trucks in the main street. Dave
Norris/The Northern Star
Echo
NetDaily, 20
November 2018:
Regional water minister
Niall Blair has requested an independent review into the impacts of the bottled
water industry on groundwater sources in the Northern Rivers.
And local councils have
been advised to suspend approving any new applications for water mining until
the report is complete in mid 2019.
The NSW chief scientist
& engineer will provide advice on the sustainable groundwater extraction
limits in the region, as well as advice on whether the current or proposed
groundwater monitoring bores are sufficient.
Minister Blair said the
NSW Government ‘recognises the pivotal role that water plays in regional
prosperity and long-term growth of communities’.
‘Local community members
and community leaders have made representations to me on behalf of their constituents
and we are taking action,’ he said.
‘I have asked the chief
scientist & engineer to investigate the sustainability of groundwater
extraction in the Northern Rivers for bottling purposes.
‘Water is a finite
resource and we are completing this review to make sure that water remains
available into the future in the Northern Rivers catchment for all purposes
including stock and domestic users and for groundwater dependent ecosystems,’
Mr Blair said.
Labels:
Northern Rivers,
people power,
water wars,
water mining
Sunday 4 November 2018
Scott Morrison just can't get his political spin to stick up here on the NSW Northern Rivers
Interim Australian Prime Minister and Liberal Member for Cook Scott Morrison just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
He tweeted what looked like one of his own staff's media releases which had been taken up by the Murdoch media, only to have Byron Shire Council issue a denial of his claim that it had backed down.
SBS
News, 29
October 2018:
Byron Shire mayor Simon
Richardson has dismissed the Morrison government’s claim the council has backed
down from plans to change the date of its Australia Day festivities.
Immigration minister
David Coleman stripped the council of its right to hold citizenship ceremonies
in late September as a punishment for “politicising” the day, only
to reinstate the right on Monday.
The government claimed
Mr Richardson’s council had “reversed” its plan to change Australia Day
ceremonies.
But the mayor said the
bitter argument with the government was triggered by a “misunderstanding”.
Byron Shire will proceed with its plans to move Australia Day speeches and
awards to January 25, he said.
“Nothing has changed,
from our perspective,” Mr Richardson told SBS News on Monday…..
The council plans to
hold a citizenship ceremony in the coming weeks. The events are held
semi-regularly throughout the year.
BACKGROUND
North Coast Voices, 26 September 2018:
An est. 5 per cent of the total population of the Northern Rivers are Aboriginal people principally from the Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr and Githabul Nations.
They are an integral part of townships and villages spread across seven local government areas and, able to clearly demonstrate cultural connection to country, hold Native Title over land and water in parts of this region.
These families and tribal groupings contribute to the richness of community life in the Northern Rivers.
These families and tribal groupings contribute to the richness of community life in the Northern Rivers.
So Byron Shire Council's media release of 20 September 2018 comes as no surprise.
However, Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison's reaction and the manner in which it was delivered did surprise me.
SBS News, 24 September 2018:
A NSW mayor says his council's decision to change the date of an Australia Day ceremony is to reflect history after Prime Minister Scott Morrison weighed in.
A NSW mayor whose council won't hold its Australia Day ceremony on January 26 has hit back at Scott Morrison after the prime minister tweeted about the issue.
Byron Shire Council will hold some council events on the national holiday but has announced its official ceremony will move to January 25.....
Labels:
Australia Day,
history,
local government,
Northern Rivers,
people power
Sunday 26 August 2018
Waiting for home care in Australia in 2018
There are now 108,000 older Australians on the
waiting list for Home Care Packages.
On this list
are individuals who have:
*
not yet been approved for home care;
*
been previously assessed and approved, but who have not yet been assigned a
home care package; or
* are receiving care at an interim level
awaiting assignment of a home care package at their approved level.
Waiting time
is calculated from the date of a home care package approval and this is not a
an ideal situation, given package approval times range from est. 27 to 98 days
and the time taken to approve high level home care packages is now than twelve
months - with actual delivery dates occurring at least 12 months later on average.
Labor’s Shadow
Minister for Ageing and Mental Health issued a statement which pointed out that
“With
the waiting list growing by almost 4,000 older Australians in just three
months, the 3,500 new home care packages a year committed in the Budget won’t
come close to keeping pace with demand”.
With more
than half the applications for permanent entry into residential aged care taking
more than 3 and up to 8 months to be met, this is not going to be a go-to first
option in any solution for this lengthy home care waiting list - even if enough older people could be persuaded to give up the last of their independnce and autonomy.
By June 2017
New South Wales had the largest number of persons on the home care waiting
lis at 30,685.
Given the
high number of residents over 60 years of age in regional areas like the the
Northern Rivers, this waiting list gives pause for thought.
Then there is
this side effect of the waiting list and home care start dates identified by Leading
Age Care Services Australia (LAGSA):
Consumers with unmet
needs and unspent funds
LASA has undertaken an extensive review of the
disparity that exists in the current release of HCP assignments, noting that
there are substantial numbers of consumers on HCPs with either unmet needs or unspent
funds . This bimodal distribution of home care package assignments reflects a
mismatch between consumer package assignment and a consumer’s current care
needs. The mismatch appears to be a function of the extended lapse of time that
exists between approval assessments and package assignments. Until this dynamic
is sufficiently addressed by Government, LASA expects that providers will be
faced with a unique set challenges in 2018 when providing care to HCP
consumers. This is likely to increase the need for regular care plan reviews in
the context of unmet needs and unspent funds. This dynamic could be considered
more closely within the context of developing a single assessment workforce.
Thus far Australian Minister for Aged Care and Liberal MP for Hasluck Ken
Wyatt is offering no insight into federal government thinking on this
issue.
Sources:
Friday 20 July 2018
Too warm, too dry as Winter draws closer to Spring in Australia 2018
Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), 12 Jly 2018:
Warmer days and nights favoured
for August–October
August to October days
and nights are likely to be warmer than average for most of the country, with
high chances (greater than 80%) in eastern Victoria and NSW, and southern
Tasmania.
Days and nights in
August are likely to be warmer than average for most of Australia, with high
chances (greater than 80%) of warmer days in the southeast.
Historical accuracy for
August–October maximum temperatures is moderate for eastern and northern parts
of Australia, as well as southern WA. Elsewhere, accuracy is low to very low.
Historical accuracy for minimum temperatures is moderate for the northern half
of Australia, SA, and Tasmania, but low to very low elsewhere.
Temperature - The chance
of above median maximum temperature for August to October
Drier than average
August–October likely in northeast and southeast mainland
August to October is
likely to be drier than average in Victoria, NSW, southeast SA and northeast
Queensland
The August outlook shows
most of Victoria, NSW and Queensland are likely to be drier than average.
Historical outlook
accuracy for August to October is moderate over most of the country, except for
interior WA, where accuracy is low to very low.
Rainfall - Totals that
have a 75% chance of occurring for August to October
Drought
June rainfall was below
average for most of Australia, and very much below average for parts of the
east coast
The start of the
southern wet season has been drier than average
Rainfall deficiencies
persist in both the east and west of the country, increasing in the east at the
6- and 15-month timescales, and along the west coast at the 15-month timescale
Lower-layer soil
moisture was below average for June across most of New South Wales, the
southern half of Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, the
Kimberley and the south of Western Australia
Soil Moisture
Soil moisture in the
lower layer (from 10 cm to 100 cm deep) for June decreased over
eastern Australia, and increased over parts of northwest Western Australia
following above average rainfall for June.
Lower-layer soil
moisture was below average for the Kimberley and southern Western Australia
away from the west coast, most of South Australia and the Northern Territory,
New South Wales and eastern Victoria, southern and eastern Queensland south of
a line between Birdsville and Townsville, and along the coastal fringe of
eastern Cape York Peninsula.
Map of lower level soil moisture for the previous month
NSW Dept. of Primary Industries, NSW State Seasonal Update - June 2018. Click on map to enlarge:
The entire Northern Rivers region is considered drought affected.
Labels:
Australia,
BOM,
drought,
New South Wales,
Northern Rivers,
weather
Wednesday 18 July 2018
NSW Northern Rivers koala deaths continue at an alarming rate in 2018
Echo
NetDaily, 12
July 2018:
Friends of the Koala
reports that despite its campaign to prevent koala extinction on the North
Coast, 12 sick, injured and dead koalas were brought to its Care Centre within
the space of three days this week.
On Sunday and Monday
eight animals were brought to FOK’s East Lismore centre.
Yesterday two more dead
animals came in and another two were brought in on Tuesday.
Only two of the animals
are is still alive.
Two of the dead animals
were at peak breeding age, according to FOK president Ros Irwin.
Two were hit by cars –
one in Wyrallah Road, Lismore, and one on Ewingsdale Road, Byron Bay.
Call-out to contain dogs
Marley, vet nurse at
FOK, said of the remainder most were infected with chlamydia and one adult male
had suffered multiple dog attacks.
Almost all were either
dead on arrival or had to be euthanised.
Just two animals, dubbed
Glow and Eli, are in a condition to be re-released.
‘Glow was found in a
mango tree, with no koala trees around. He’s fine and will probably released
somewhere close,’ Ms Erwin said.
‘Eli was also found “in
the wrong place” here in Lismore,’ she added.
Ms Irwin made a special
call-out to people contain their dogs at night.
‘It’s horrific,
generally there’s not much we can do because they shake them around so much,’
she said.
Horrific car strike
One of the animals
killed was collected by Bangalow Koalas’ president Linda Sparrow from
Ewingsdale Road outside SAE, where it had been the victim of an ‘horrific car
strike’.
Ms Sparrow yesterday
wrote an impassioned letter to Byron Shire councillors demanding action on
koala warning signage that she said has been long promised but not delivered.
‘I have personally
rescued three koalas in Byron in last two months alone(Ewingsdale/
Byron/ Myocum),’ she wrote
‘All three had to be
euthanised and this is the fourth one this morning.
‘The poor boy (very
healthy male) clearly had no chance. Sorry for gruesome images but this is what
it is like on the frontline when you are called to this. Cars and koalas do
not mix.
‘How much are
our koalas worth if not to provide safe passage?
‘I am still waiting
for koala signage on Lismore Road opposite Dudgeons Lane where 11
months ago I had to pick up this other healthy dead male 25 metres down from
201 Lismore Road.....
Labels:
flora and fauna,
Koala,
Northern Rivers
Monday 16 July 2018
Sea Levels and the NSW Coastine in 2018: Ballina
“A
recent study estimates that the pace of global sea-level rise has nearly
tripled since 1990 (Dangendorf et al. 2017). More than 50% of the Australian
coastline is vulnerable to erosion from rising sea levels….As sea levels
continue to rise, coastal flooding during high sea level events will become
more frequent and more severe (CSIRO and BoM 2015).” [Climate Council, 2018, ICONS
AT RISK: CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENING AUSTRALIAN TOURISM]]
New South
Wales has est. 2,109kms of open coastline and 40 per cent of this is considered vulnerable
to the effects of sea level rise.
Ballina is a
coastal town in the NSW Northern River region. Its CBD is on the banks of the tidal
Richmond River where it empties into the sea.
Sea level
rise is something Ballina has been discussing for many years because for the
Ballina community the evidence is right before residents’ eyes.
This was
Tamar Street in the CBD in January 2018 at high tide.
Tamar Street, Ballina NSW, January 2018. Saltwater intrusion at high tide, Entrance to main bus station on the left.
|
* Photograph via @Captainturtle
Labels:
climate change,
New South Wales,
Northern Rivers,
sea levels
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