This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
Showing posts with label Northern Rivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northern Rivers. Show all posts
An independent newspaper which came into being in the wake of News Corp's shutdown of regional print newspapers, The Northern Rivers Times has well and truly established itself. The child of Heartland Media's Jeff Gibbs, it is a pleasure to read. It's good to see the advertisers come onboard and at $2 a copy this weekly newspaper is cheaper than print versions of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and The Courier Mail. Not only that, The Northern Rivers Times is free online where it can be read in digital format or downloaded for more leisurely perusal. The 10 September 2020 issue can be read at https://issuu.com/heartlandmagazineaus/docs/the_northern_rivers_times_edition_10 and the newspaper archive is at https://issuu.com/heartlandmagazineaus.
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’…...
Approx. 7.5km south of the Tweed Heads river entrance, situated between Cook Island Nature reserve and Wommin Bay, this purpose-built artificial reef is being installed at a depth of 25 metres.
It is hoped that installation will be complete in time for summer fishing this year.
Species anticipated to frequent the reef are expected to include Kingfish, Cobia, Trevally, Snapper, Mulloway & Mackerel.
According to NSW Dept. of Primary Industries, the Tweed offshore reef will be the State’s most northern reef complex and is likely to be influenced by subtropical species endemic to Queensland waters.
The artificial reef itself is a 10 metre high conical steel construction surrounded by 32 concrete modules.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 August 2020: A fire in the NSW far north-east has triggered the state's first major deployment of water bombers for the 2020-21 bushfire season, with crews battling to keep the flames away from properties and the Pacific Motorway.
The blaze near the town of Duranbah, not far south of the Queensland-NSW border had burnt through about 180 hectares swampland and grass by late Wednesday afternoon, Angela Daly, a NSW Rural Fire Service spokeswoman, said.
"It's the first response [involving water-bombers] for a fire of a bigger scale," she added.
At least six trucks and crew joined the fight to keep the flames away from nearby properties.
Since July 1, the state has recorded 702 bush, grass and scrub fires, with about 10 burning on Wednesday. By contrast, this time last year, NSW had recorded triple that number or 2224 blazes.... The cause of the fire near Duranbah was not clear although the RFS suspects it was a fire on private property that the owners had not been able to control. Smoke could be seen many kilometres away, including from the popular resort town of Byron Bay....
Australian
Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott
Morrison
has chosen a global pandemic as a suitable time to both extinguish
the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and increase the level
of secrecy and lack of procedural transparency surrounding decisions and actions of the federal government he leads. COAG represented all three tiers of Australian governments - federal, state and local - and its role since 1992 was to manage matters of national significance or matters that need co-ordinated action by all Australian governments. The President of the Australian Local Government Association had been a member of COAG since it was first convened. It was included because all parties recognised that Australia has three levels of
government and that the tier with most impact on people’s daily lives in terms of the provision of
local services and infrastructure is Local Government - as well as it being the most accessible form of government for citizens. In early March 2020 Morrison created the ultra-secret National Cabinetcomprising of himself as prime minister, all state premiers and territory chief ministers and, he appears to be the sole spokesperson for this body. On 29 May 2020 Morrison announced that COAG was indeed dead. That the National Council was now going to be the centre of a new National Federation Reform Council (NFRC) and that the existing Council on Federal Financial Relations (CFFR), consisting of federal and state treasurers, will report to the National Cabinet. According to Morrison all these bodies now fall under the confidentiality privileges of the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet which will also act as meeting coordinator. As will all the previous 8 COAG sub-councils and 32 ministerial forums, in whatever form they take after a planned review. No minutes of meetings will be available nor will all issues discussed be made public. According to the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet the NFRC has been agreed to by Premiers, Chief Ministers and the Prime Minister. Local governmentwas not consulted and now has no representative on the peak national body, as neither the National Council or the new National Federation Reform Council include a local government member. Local government is not amused. Clarence Valley Council. Ordinary Monthly Meeting, Minutes, p. 3, 28 July 2020:
Unless local government has an official seat at the table - in both the National Council and the National Federation Reform Council then neither of these bodies can be, either in name or practice, genuine national councils of Australian governments. It is not hard to see why Scott Morrison & Co do not want local government included as a member of these two national councils. It can be seen in the titles of the six new National Cabinet Reform Committees created on 12 June 2020 as part of the NRFC-National Council:
Rural and Regional Australia
Skills
Energy
Infrastructure and Transport
Population and Migration
Health
Federal and state governments are not enamoured with the planning & decision-making powers which still remain with local government - only finding local councils useful as a vehicle to cost shift their own financial obligations onto ratepayers.
Mining companies, heavy industry and property developers in particular would like to see local government sidelined at policy level and, it appears that Scott Morrison is willing to oblige groups which include the Coalition's largest and most consistent political donors.
Chris
Ingall, an executive on the Medical Staff Council at the Lismore Base
Hospital, said the health service was "scrambling" to cope
with the effects on patients & staff, who must quarantine for 14
days if they enter Queensland from outside the so-called border
bubble in the Tweed Shire.
"You've
got over 100 doctors that work at Lismore Base Hospital that live in
Queensland; they are no longer available to us because they don't
want to leave their families & not get back," he said.
"So
we are scrambling for doctors, anaesthetists, emergency doctors, a
lot of the frontline doctors who are no longer going to be able to
support Lismore Base Hospital."
Dr
Ingall said it was having a significant impact on the risk posed to
residents in the Northern Rivers.
"This
doesn't need to happen at all from a medical perspective because
there is no community transmission in the Northern Rivers," he
said.....
Queensland
has relaxed its border restrictions for people "entering to
obtain specialist health care, or as a support person to a person
obtaining specialist health care, that cannot be obtained at their
place of residence".
But
those entering from beyond the border bubble will have to go into
government-provided quarantine for 14 days.
The
cost for an adult is $2,800; one adult and one child is $3,255.
People
classified as vulnerable or who can prove financial hardship can
apply to have the fees waived.....
Jane
Williams was at work, half an hour’s drive from her home in Coraki
on the North Coast of NSW, in April 2016 when she got a phone call to
say the police had picked up her eight-year-old son for throwing
rocks at a car with his cousins.
She
raced home in a panic, to find no one knew her son’s whereabouts.
Police
said he had been taken to his aunty’s place, but there was no sign
of him. Her own house was empty.
Williams
rushed to the police station to demand answers, only to be told the
officer involved had been called to another job. The officer at the
station made a phone call to get to the bottom of it.
"He
got on the phone and I just knew from the expression,” Williams
says.
The
officer rushed outside and found the boy in the back of the police
truck, where he’d been left unattended for up to two hours.
“I
couldn't believe my eyes," Williams says. "My baby ... his
cheeks were that red. It was painful to look at him like that."
With
the assistance of Grafton lawyer Joe Fahey, the mother-of-two sued
NSW Police for damages last year, resulting in an undisclosed
settlement.
Months
after the incident, according to court documents, the officer who’d
picked up her son pulled her over while driving and asked: “You
sure you haven’t got anybody in that boot Jane?”
She
says the comment was intended to make her feel hurt, shame and
embarrassment.
Four
years on, Williams says her son is still distrustful of police.
The
Black Lives Matter movement has put a spotlight on interactions
between Indigenous Australians and the criminal justice system. In
the first of a three-part series this month, the Herald examines how
these interactions play out in the Northern Rivers of NSW, beginning
with the relationship between Aboriginal people and police.
The
investigation found allegations of police misconduct from former
officers, while a Herald analysis of data obtained under freedom of
information laws suggests the police force is struggling to retain
Indigenous officers across regional NSW. Despite increasing recruit
numbers there are more Indigenous officers leaving, too, which has
stalled the proportion of Indigenous operational officers in regional
areas at around 1 per cent - or 183 people in a statewide workforce
of 17,111.
Fahey
says he has handled “easily 30 or 40” cases where Aboriginal
clients have successfully sued the police over the past four to five
years, mainly for wrongful arrests and related assaults in the towns
of Grafton, Coffs Harbour and Casino, with the odd case from Moree or
Sydney….
A Herald analysis of police data found officers in northern NSW recorded using force, such as restraints and holds, more often than anywhere else in the state during random breath tests from 2014 to 2018. In the same period, officers in the Coffs/Clarence district used force against people charged with offensive language 147 times over the five years - the fourth-highest occurrence in the state....
An
Aboriginal teenager is suing the state of NSW, alleging that he was
assaulted by police in an incident caught on video, which appears to
show an officer striking the boy in the head as he was walking home
at night in Casino last year.
A
statement of claim filed in the Lismore district court described the
alleged incident as "abhorrent and racist" and an
"oppressive abuse of police powers"....
The
Bundjalung teenager, then 17, claims he was walking home at around
12.30am last September in the Northern Rivers town of Casino when he
was approached by three police officers.
The
recording that emerged shortly after the incident shows police
following him for about half a block and then surrounding him and
questioning the teenager, who can be heard repeatedly saying "I'm
going home."
One
officer, who the boy's lawyers allege in the statement of claim to be
Senior Constable Benjamin David Chivers, appears to shove the boy in
the chest as he attempts to walk away.
Another
officer puts their hand on the boy's arm and the boy appears to push
his hand away.
The
first officer then strikes the boy in the head, knocking his hat off.
After police are alerted that the incident is being filmed, the first
officer begins asking the boy, "Why'd you have a swing at him?",
gesturing to his fellow officer.
The
boy replies he didn't "take a swing".
The
statement of claim alleges: "Police officers targeted an
Aboriginal boy, for no reason whatsoever, and then proceeded to
degrade and humiliate him in the most cynical way."
It
accuses the officers of acting "in stark indifference" to
their duties as guardians.
"The
conduct complained of demonstrates a failure by the Richmond Local
Area Command to properly train, discipline and educate its police
officers to prevent them from racially vilifying young Aboriginal
males in the Casino area," the statement says.....
Proposed Dunoon Dam site. Google Earth overlay. Image: Echo NetDaily, 14 July 2020
In
July 2020 Rous County Council announced the proposed Future Water Project 2060– a $245 million plan the county council states will
future-proof the community’s drinking water supplies.
The
revival of the concept of a second dam on Rocky Creek, near Dunoon,
sparked debate across the Northern Rivers and the Dunoon Dam Proposal Action Group was formed.
A
community group opposed to a possible dam in Dunoon have continued
their push to raise public awareness surrounding the issue.
The
proposed 50 gigalitre Dunoon Dam is part of Rous County Council’s
Future Water Project 2060 but has caused controversy, with the group
concerned about the project’s impacts on sacred Aboriginal sites
and The Channon gorge.
The
group held a stall at The Channon Markets on Sunday — the first
time they held an official activity against what they describe a
“destructive dam”.
“People
need to be aware that it’s happening here, it’s like (800m) from
the bridge near here,” group member Terri Nicholson said.
The
group is urging Rous County Council to investigate alternative water
conservation methods.
“Some
of the alternatives are strong demand management, use purified,
recycled water, water tanks to name a few,” Ms Nicholson said.
On
Friday, the proposal’s submission timeline was extended until
September 9 by Rous County Council for the public to have their say.
Details
on where to send a submission can be found here.
Last week was NSW Local Government Week 2020. Clarence Valley and Lismore City councils received recognition.
Excellence in Communication - Division B - population between 30,000 and 70,000: Winner
Clarence Valley Council Communicating in Recovery Judges' comment Outstanding. An amazing example of innovative and responsive best practice that is informed by the community and also specialised sources such as Red Cross and NY post 9/11. As someone who was directly impacted by bushfires last summer and is involved in community led recovery, this is a fantastic example of how to implement a disaster recovery engagement plan within existing resources. Excellence in Leadership Award - Division B - Outstanding Individual Contribution: Highly Commended
Clarence Valley Council Des Shroder for Strong Leadership in times of Crises Judges' comment Des demonstrated leadership in dealing with the important issue of high youth suicide in the area; he proactively sought solutions to improve the mental health and well-being of the community and his hard work and commitment facilitated delivery of important services to provide for the needs of young people. Innovation in Special Events - Division B - population between 30,000 and 70,000: Highly Commended
Clarence Valley Council Introduction to Surf Safety for non-English Speakers Projects - Division B - population between 30,000 and 70,000: Highly Commended
Lismore City Council Dungarimba Wandarahn (Lismore place of learning)
The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 2020: In Byron Bay, sales of a $9.30 large green G-Force smoothie reveal how the COVID-19 wave has dumped on the NSW tourist town. In good times, with 2.4 million visitors a year ranging from backpackers to festival goers and others looking for yoga, surf and a healthy lifestyle, Byron can support six smoothie businesses. One of them, Sweet Byron, would sell 19 of these large green smoothies a day. Then coronavirus hit, forcing the closure of domestic and international borders. Byron's foreign visitors dried up, and its English language schools nearly emptied. COVID-19 caused the cancellation of weddings and events such as the Writers Festival and the Splendour in the Grass misic festival, which usually provide a boost in the slow winter months. Ninety per cent of shops, hotels and restaurants in the town closed. When they reopened before school holidays, the streets were empty and Sweet Byron was lucky if it sold two Gforce Smoothies. Those students and backpackers who had remained headed north when the Queensland border re-opened earlier this month. More than 60 per cent of businesses in Byron are now relying on JobKeeper to stay afloat, according to a map by data analytics company Taylor Fry released last week. This is the most in any local government area in Australia and double the number in capital cities. Without JobKeeper Mika Cohen, the owner of the Sweet Byron smoothie shop, said his business wouldn't survive. Smoothie sales bounced back during the recent school holidays after coronavirus travel restrictions lifted and the town filled with families who followed the sun north. Mr Cohen was back to selling 8 Gforce Smoothies a day, still less than half the number he sold pre-COVID. With nearly all of Byron's economy tied to tourism, hospitality and the creative arts, Byron mayor Simon Richardson said the pandemic has delivered a "triple whammy".
"It is really dangerous times for us," he said. Hotel bookings looked healthy for summer, but if the town doesn't get that "fattening" he feared it could "lurch into real danger". Hotel owner Christian Millett said Byron had been a stable market all year long, in the past. But after coronavirus shut down weddings and festivals, Mr Millett said he would not have been been able to justify keeping his doors open outside of school holidays if he wasn't receiving JobKeeper..... Taylor Fry's analysis found smaller firms in retail, hospitality, manufacturing and construction sectors are especially dependent on JobKeeper to retain their staff...... When the tourism dried up, it affected the rest of the region with "all the pork and tomatoes, macadamia and the mueslis which aren't being bought".
Cr Richardson said there was a "false sense of affluence" associated with Byron because of its multimillion-dollar beach houses and movie-star residents like Chris Hemsworth. "For every $10 million house at Wattegos Beach there are 10 homes that are in some of the poorest areas in NSW," he said. Four areas in the LGA are among the most disadvantaged 20 per cent in Australia, and two are among the most affluent..... Rents are also high, and Cr Richardson said he has seen more people couch surfing after losing their jobs. A shopkeeper said his landlord wanted to restore rents to pre-COVID levels after providing discounts earlier: "In this time, we can't afford the full rent for the premises ... because there are 60 to 40 per cent fewer tourists." Taylor Fry's principal Alan Greenfield said without JobKeeper he was nervous about the future of regional tourist towns, especially if restrictions on travel continued. "If locals can't see a future where they live, they might be inclined to move away." Simon Westaway, the executive director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, said the impact of COVID-19 on his 10,000 members had been "diabolical". Unlike other industries, it had been hard for tourist operators to "pivot" to other business. Even if people could travel, the impact of continuing uncertainty over jobs and rising mortgage stress – estimated to grow to $200 billion from $60 billon now – meant visitors were not necessarily buying the most expensive "smoothie". "You put all these figures together, and you go wowie kazowie, who is in a mindset to have a decent holiday? Let alone if you are allowed out [by governments]. " Although business was down now, surf school director and founder of Let's Go Surfing Brenda Miley said Byron was an aspirational place that will bounce back. "Everyone wants to go there. It is well worn trek from Bondi to Byron, and that all came together last school holidays." She thinks it will be booked out next summer if government restrictions on travel aren't in place. "People who were planning to go skiing in Colorado or France are so happy to go to Byron and surf for a week or two," she said.
Percentage of NSW Northern Rivers Businesses relying on JobKeeper Payments by Local Government Area - as of 22 July 2020
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
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