NEW SOUTH WALES, QUEENSLAND, VICTORIA: Australian East Coast Is Speaking Out

Climate Media Centre, Media Alert, 6 July 2022, excerpts:

With warnings still in place in parts of NSW, many of those in flood affected areas are starting to assess the damage…….

Emma Heyde, Councillor for C Ward, Hornsby Shire Council said:

“Year-on-year floods, storms and fires is the new and frightening reality for people in Hornsby Shire. Damage to livelihoods and properties from climate chaos like this week’s floods could eventually affect up to a third of all residents.

For us in Hornsby Shire, climate hazards now mean thousands of homes are potentially uninsurable because of floods in winter and fires in summer. Thousands of Hornsby Shire residents have pleaded for action on the climate emergency since 2018.

The Hawkesbury floods are just another example of why it is so urgent that our local politicians not only send thoughts and prayers, but actually act on the root cause of these increasingly frequent disasters: climate heating.”

Mark Greenhill, mayor, Blue Mountains City Council, can speak about his community’s experience in the current major weather event which has included major landslips, road failures and has stranded tourists and campers at Megalong Valley…..

“The climate change-supercharged Black Summer fires, followed by massive rain events, followed by two years of Covid, followed now by two seasons of massive rain events, have seen nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of damage done to our council infrastructure, and a community and a local economy that’s been battered by natural disaster following natural disaster following natural disaster. In our city, strung along a ridgetop for 40km, we are experiencing the extremes of climate change at the front line.”

Gordon Bradbery, Lord Mayor, Wollongong City Council said:

“The present devastating rain event on the east coast of Australia is just another in a series of catastrophes. The reality of the problem is not just climate change but an exhausted planet -- the depletion of and damage to natural systems. We have evolved faster in our expectations and rapacious exploitation of the natural environment - that is exceeding the planet’s ability to cope.

“The east coast of Australia is an example of increasing population density in an increasingly hazardous location. From cyclones to bushfires, droughts to floods, and coastal erosion – we are putting more people into situations of greater risk.

“Local government is expected to manage the implications of international behaviours and practices that are endangering and impacting local communities globally. We can all do our bit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but unless there is an unified International response and a national commitment to dramatic lifestyle changes we are just tinkering at the edges.”

Amanda Lamont, Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Advisor at Zoos Victoria and Co-founder of the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network, can speak about conservation and climate action for wildlife, disaster resilience, emergency management, women in disasters and ways to improve risk.

“Planning for emergencies is important but what happens when our plans run out? Eventually our plans and adaptations are not going to keep up with the disastrous impacts of climate change. The imperative to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has never been more urgent. And we all have a role to play.

“Our precious environment, our communities and the emergency sector are right now bearing the brunt of extreme and overlapping disasters, which will have long-term effects. While we need to focus on supporting communities, we cannot ignore the threat of climate change and disasters on our natural environment, our diverse wildlife and the ecosystems on which we all depend.”

Ian Lowe AO, Environmental Scientist, is an expert in the effects of coastal inundation and climate change for low-lying areas. He can talk generally about the risk of extreme weather events to communities, and what the overall warming trend means for Australia.

“The science has been telling us since the 1980s to expect ‘a more vigorous hydrodynamic cycle’, in other words because it’s warmer there is more evaporation, and because there’s more moisture in the atmosphere (and what goes up must come down!) the obvious increase of rising temperatures is more severe rainfall events. It’s pretty elementary physics.”

Dr Stefanie Pidcock, medical officer at Bega Hospital and member of Doctors for the Environment, can talk about the mental health impacts of extreme weather events on individuals and communities, as well as the additional stress these events put on regional hospitals.

“The health impacts of extreme weather events such as the current flooding in NSW go well beyond the immediate and real dangers of injury and mosquito-borne diseases.

“In Bega, many of my patients are still living with the trauma of their experiences of bushfires months and years later. With extreme weather events increasing in frequency and severity around the country, I'm concerned about the ongoing mental health of our communities.

“I'm also concerned about the increased pressure that events like this put on our regional hospitals, which are already under stress. Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, and is harming the health and safety of Australians. We need to act now to reduce emissions this decade, while also preparing our hospitals and staff to treat and support communities experiencing extreme weather.”

Dr Michael Ferguson, sole owner of the Wauchope Veterinary Clinic, and a member of Vets for Climate Action, runs a mixed practice in Wauchope NSW where he looks after domestic pets and livestock from nearby farms.

“For those with cattle around Windsor the difficulty is that beef producers have to move their cattle so quickly off flood plains. Logistically that can be quite difficult with road closures and trying to muster up cattle in wet conditions and finding somewhere to take them. This flooding event will have impacts on these producers even after flood waters go back down. I have seen producers in my area that had badly flooded paddocks and then the grasses that came back were not as good - it was too cold so there was a feed shortage and cattle were at risk of starving so producers had to source feed. That’s a lot of financial impact.

“We also see a lot more lameness issues in cattle and horses because their feet are wet - also for cows mastitis goes right up as well.

“Domestically we see the cats stay inside and not want to go to the toilet and get bladder issues after big rain events. They don’t want to go outside to wee and they get blocked up and have to come to the vet clinic.

“The other thing is leptospirosis - a water-borne disease spread from animals’ urine into the water. There had been a few cases around Sydney and Newcastle and with these wet boggy conditions likely to be a lot more. We offer vaccines to pets for this and it’s part of the normal seven-in-one vaccine for cattle. It’s a disease that can pass to humans, it's quite nasty and serious and it’s quite bad for animals as well.”

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On the subject of inappropriate development consent on the West Yamba flood storage area currently at the initial landfill stage:

Never thought I would see storm water replace river flood water as the main problem for us [Anon, on the subject of homes threatened by unmanaged groundwater runoff during heavy rain periods being redirected by presence of landfill in West Yamba, Valley Watch-sponsored community meeting] 9 July 2022]

The story of a little town in the Clarence Valley and a growing problem

 

There have been people living on this coastal land since time immemorial - fishing, hunting, gathering food and raising families.

In 1799 the first people who did not belong to this little settlement at the mouth of the Clarence River in northern NSW turned up unexpectedly. They didn’t stay more than a day or two and sailed on.

However in the 1800s a lot more people came to the area to cut timber, farm and fish. Many of them stayed.

The little settlement was given a new name taken from the newly re-named river. It was called Clarence Heads.

By then life had become harder for the families who had lived there from time immemorial because the new people kept taking their land and moving them on. But they never went completely away and proudly live there still as valuable members of the community on land they now hold Native Title over.

By 1864 the settlement had been proclaimed a town called Yamba and in the 1930s the one dirt road leading in and out of the little town slowly began to be sealed.

Eventually a bridge and two causeways were built along that long main road, because fingers of the Clarence River had always meandered around and through the land on which the town was built.

In fact if one looks at a map of the Clarence River estuary it is easy to see that only a thin strip of land less two kilometres wide at is narrowest point stops Yamba from becoming an island.

Over the years the town grew and grew until by about 2016 it had spread to where the town limits encompassed 1,692 hectares with a population of almost four people per hectare.

The 2016 Australian national census shows that there were 6,342 men, women & children in Yamba on Census Night, with 6,076 being local residents living in 3,820 dwellings with an average household size of 2.09 persons.

That census also confirmed what had been known for some time, Yamba was a retirement destination and almost 37 per cent of all residents were 65 years of age and older.

The town by then not only had a long-established fishing fleet, two mixed shopping & cafe precincts and a small industrial area, it was also a popular tourist destination with a constant stream of visitors throughout the year culminating in a Christmas rush which sees the town’s population roughly double for the duration of the holiday period.

In 2019 the estimated resident town population was 6,228 men, women and children and, plans were well underway to develop land on the edge of the town limits which would grow the town's total population to 9,476 people aged from babies under 1 year of age to older people aged 85 years and older.

Not all town residents lived in family groups – est. 865 lived alone. Not all had their own transport – est.166 households had no car.

The story so far is typical of many coastal towns in northern New South Wales.

However there is a nasty worm in the middle of a still welcoming Yamba.

Remember the almost-an-island, surrounded by ocean, river, channels and lake, town with only one road leading out to the wider world?

Well that scenario holds the answer to the nature of this nasty worm. Flooding.

Approximately every three years it floods somewhere in the Clarence River catchment area and sometimes that flooding flows all the way down the Clarence River and Yamba gets its feet wet.

Historically, that’s all that usually happens because even through much of Yamba is only around 2-4 metres above sea level, within and just beyond the town limits is 620 hectares of flood storage land which soaks up most of the flood water before it enters the more heavily built-up sections of the town.

Or should I say the town did have a 620ha buffer zone, because right now developers are beginning to fill 127.4ha of that zone to house those 3,250 additional men, women and children who are expected to increase the town’s population to 9,476 souls over the next 25 years or so. 

Yamba is now spread so wide and has so many residents that any change to where flood water can safely flow is bound to have a knock-on effect. Because water has a will of its own and doesn't always follow the dictates of flood modelling.

If readers don't believe me ask NSW Transport - there's at least one cloverleaf interchange not far from here and another new bridge about halfway down the state which are  evidence of human hubris.

Yamba is already a leaky boat in flood events over the 1 in 5 year flood depth.

Its one road in and out gets cut at multiple points even near the centre of town, a number of its smaller streets often have water over the road which is sometimes to a depth that closes them to traffic.

Inundation within the town commences in earnest once floodwaters pass 2.40 metres in depth.

In floods stormwater becomes more than a nuisance when shallow open drains overflow and underground pipes backflow so that water lies over footpaths and enters peoples yards. Another trap for the unwary is that flood water covering Yamba land is often strongly tidal and can sweep a persons feet out from under them even when its less than than a metre deep.

In a 1 in 20 year flood 122 houses are at risk of having water enter part or all of their rooms, in a 1 in 100 year flood that number builds to 1,223 houses and in an extreme flood it is expected that 2,144 of the up to 4,351 houses currently in Yamba will be flooded.

So Yamba already has around 49% of its houses at some degree of risk during a time when reputable scientists, along with federal, state and local government, are telling its residents that climate change is occurring. That this change is likely to alter seasonal weather patterns and see natural disasters such as major floods increase in severity.

To make matters worse, the only really high ground in the town, Yamba Hill, in prolonged rain events combined with strong seas - conditions that are often seen in times of flooding - is destabilised over a large part of the hill and at risk of land slippage. Particularly in parts of the hill where people might congregate as flood water rises elsewhere in the town.

Of course town planners and land developers don’t always look at the bigger picture and in 2021 Yamba finds itself in an uncomfortable position. Land owners - in that 127.4ha of the flood storage area due to be drained and raised in height by approx. 1.8 million tonnes of landfill – are pushing the envelope as to the number of houses they want approved per hectare.

In other words, the future population in what is known as the “West Yamba Land Release Area” will in all likelihood grow beyond the number originally anticipated and, that one road in and out of town I keep mentioning will now be expected to perform emergency evacuation miracles in a major flood event in Yamba.

It has been obvious for some time that the correlation between our town population size, the physical impacts of natural disasters and evacuation requirements is something all levels of government have studiously avoid considering in any depth.

The Yamba Floodplain Risk Management Plan was created in 2009 and is still displayed as current on Clarence Valley Council's website. It contains a wish list of matters to be considered by local government & emergency services but no concrete evacuation plan.

Apart from a small SES leaflet indicating a short evacuation route within the town - running along Yamba Road from its T-intersection with low lying Shores Drive to the relatively low lying Yamba Bowling and Recreation Club - along with instructions to assemble at the bowling club, register and "then stay with friends or relatives" and advice to "act early before roads and evacuation routes close".

There is silence about the logistics of evacuating via at least 3,587 vehicles taking to a narrow two-lane road to get across a bridge and two causeways before Yamba Road closes. There is also silence about where this caravan is to go, given by then much of the Lower Clarence is beginning to flood.

Authorities turn the fact that realistically this town cannot be safely evacuated during natural disasters into the 'virtue' of an ad hoc policy which effectively says that, with the exception of assisted medical evacuations, early self-evacuation by residents is preferred but shelter in place is advisable if water isolates your home.

It’s been many years since local councillors would amusingly talk about “vertical evacuation” in Yamba - meaning residents could climb the stairs to their second storey or climb onto their roofs during a major flood - and about the same amount of time since SES members joked that the only thing they could do for Yamba residents in times of major flooding would be “to take the flood boat out into the middle of the river and toss life jackets to you all as you float out to sea”. 

Times change, or so do they? The year 2021 finds Yamba residents facing the same basic attitude towards their safety and wellbeing. 

Yamba is becoming a trifle nervous about its future and, some are voicing concerns not just about potential property loss but about the more confronting potential for loss of life as the town's population grows.

Sometime towards the end of this month Clarence Valley Council staff are holding a public meeting at the Treelands Drive Community Centre to clarify the progression of development plans for West Yamba.

I have no doubt that council staff too will resist looking at the big picture. Unless local residents go toe-to-toe with them on the need for a population ceiling for Yamba township as a whole and West Yamba in particular. With such a ceiling to be established as a matter of importance and adhered to by way of firm housing density and multiple occupancy residential dwelling limits.

Principal sources:

Clarence Valley Council documents

Port of Yamba Historical Society at https://www.pyhsmuseum.org.au/

Yamba Community Profile at https://profile.id.com.au/clarence-valley/about?WebID=240

2016 Census Quick State- Yamba (NSW) at 

https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC14458#:~:text=In%20the%202016%20Census%2C%20there,up%204.5%25%20of%20the%20population.&text=The%20median%20age%20of%20people,State%20Suburbs)%20was%2056%20years

Google Earth

Historical imagery from 1985

West Yamba subdivision questioned

Clarence valley residents and the environmental group Valley Watch continue to ring alarm bells in relation to a proposed subdivision in West Yamba.

Today's Daily Examiner reports: Valley Watch member Ros Woodward said she was disappointed to see the development go through without proper consideration for the sensitive natural environment around it.

"West Yamba could be an example to the world of how to develop sustainably with a small footprint in a very sensitive area, but I am afraid all they can envisage is slab houses on great big mounds," Ms Woodward said.

A submission [to Clarence Valley Council] from Valley Watch raised concerns about how sewage would be dealt with in the development and how practical the filling solution was in the area.

Also in the Examiner is a letter to the editor addressing the issue:

DA concern

It is with a sense of foreboding that I notice that once again council will consider on Tuesday a subdivision on Carrs Drive, West Yamba. This time the proposal is for 15 lots instead of 22, but fundamental problems of sewerage, fill and truck movements remain.

Since Maclean Shire Council endorsed in November 2003 the recommendations of the Yamba Wastewater Management Strategy, the community has been told regularly that development of West Yamba will not go ahead until the sewage treatment works are upgraded. One reason for this was that dual reticulation - a key element of the strategy - was only feasible on a greenfield site. Now we learn that on-site wastewater systems (that is, septic tanks) are proposed for the subdivision in spite of the Zone 1(y) objective that the land be connected to reticulated sewerage. Onsite sewage treatment in a flood-prone area is a major concern, but of even greater concern is the likelihood that this subdivision will make dual reticulation difficult or impossible for the future.

Dual reticulation (that is, use of high quality recycled water for toilet flushing, garden watering and car washing) will substantially reduce the amount of drinking-quality water being used - an important consideration given Yamba's growing population and an increasing risk of below average rainfall, higher temperatures and evaporation, and below average runoff, according to the CSIRO. Its implementation cannot be put at risk by a 15-lot subdivision.

Then there is the matter of the fill necessary for the site. There are 15 lots in this proposal, but the Flood Plain Risk Management Plan recommends that key services remain operable during times of flood up to at least the 100 year +0.5m level - that is 3.24 metres AHD. The height of land in West Yamba at present is between 1.0 metres and 1.5 metres. To fill it to 3.24 m AHD to allow key services to remain operable will take over 12,000 twenty-tonne truckloads a year for about nine years. (Yamba Floodplain Risk Management Study, Webb, McKeown and Associates Pty Ltd, July 2008)

One has to ask what the impact of this traffic will be on our roads and bridges. A twenty-tonne truck crossing Shallow Channel every six minutes is a scary thought!

If Yamba wants to remain a desirable tourist destination it cannot afford to have its one road in and out of town clogged with trucks.

Gary Whale, Yamba

Something fishy about a Clarence River virgin

Come in spinner and fall for this one hook, line and sinker.

Trawling around the net produced this interesting chat line that had quite a few fishos engaged.

First fisho, Crash71, said, "Heading down to Iluka in a couple of weeks and was wondering if anyone had any tips or pointers of where to start fishing. Never fished the area before but I have dreams of fishing the close in reefs from my tinny as well as chasing Jewies and Tailor from the wall, perhaps even a flathead or two in the river. So many hopes but no idea so hopefully someone can help me out with any knowledge they have of the area."

A number of fishos rose to the task.

1. kingcray:  "Always a feed of bream at Browns Rocks. Other than that fish the middle wall for flatties and jew. Should be plenty of blackfish along the walls."

2. theoldlegend: "Mosey on up to Browns Rocks, go past the green beacon for about 60 metres or so and sound around for the drop off. That should put you on to them. About 2 hours before the top and a couple of hours after the top should be the best times. Then there's always flatties on the Yamba side of Middle Wall at low. Try for jew on the Iluka side of Middle Wall towards the eastern end provided the tide's not roaring too much."

3. 095rat: "Good jew at high tide on full moon near the end of middle wall (Iluka side),used stinky old pillies I had intended to use as berley."

Crash71 was so appreciative of the advice offered: "Can't wait to talk to a local at the boat ramp or pub. I contacted Ben the owner of Dizzys Bait & Tackle at Iluka and he was sensational. I chewed his hear for 10 or 15 minutes about whats on at the moment and where a Clarence River virgin should start fishing. Can't wait to call in on arrival and continue our chat, I'm also very keen to support his shop as he has already provided good info & it seems only fair he profits from his knowledge.

"Both 'Kingcray & the Old legend were spot on regarding Browns Rocks. It appears the bream are schooling around there and the flathead (reportedly) are also being caught from the rocks and further upstream. Appreciate the advice, cheers."

So, now, we're all in the picture about where to drop a line. Tight lines, one and all.

Credit: Sourced from AusFish

Developer's dream goes west in Yamba?

For years longtime Yamba residents have pondered the possibility that the ill-advised release of a large section of flood storage land for future urban development would be a graveyard for the speculative developers who currently own this land.

In 2012 they are perhaps seeing the first cracks in the Clarence Valley Council-NSW Government grand plan to eventually place over 2,000 new residents in flood prone West Yamba – with Lot 8 DP1062514 apparently coming onto the market in a forced sale.

This lot is subject to Stage Two of the Yamba By-Pass Road construction. Stage One is currently being progressed by Council.

22 Carrs Drive, YAMBA NSW 2464

Receiver Sale - Residential Subdivision - Yamba

- Potential for 172 lots
- 17.66* ha majority zoned residential (2C)
- 300 metres* to town centre and close to famous surfing beaches
For Sale by Offers to Purchase Closing Thursday 24 May, 2012 at 4pm

Extracted from ASIC's database at AEST 07:21:44 on 15/04/2012

Name EAST COAST PTY LTD
ACN 074 704 028
ABN 91 074 704 028
Type Australian Proprietary Company, Limited By Shares
Registration Date 03/07/1996
Next Review Date 03/07/2012
Status ** UNDER EXTERNAL ADMINISTRATION and/or CONTROLLER APPOINTED **
Locality of Registered Office Yamba NSW 2464
Jurisdiction Australian Securities & Investments Commission

Date Number Pages Description
13/03/2012 7E4331310 11 5011B Copy of Minutes of Meeting of Members, Creditors, Contributories or Committee of Inspection Under S.436e Or S.439a

Paddy's fly in the ointment - a postscript to his one big day in the year

The main agenda item at the Table of Knowledge at the local watering hole on Saturday afternoon was traffic congestion in the Lower Clarence area.

Paddy started proceedings by asking, "Where's the worst traffic spot in the Lower River area?"

Bazza replied, "Fair go, Paddy, what do you mean by 'worst'?"

"Ok, I'm referring to congestion, near misses, places you really dread, that sort of stuff."

There was a pregnant pause and then it started!

Without dissent, the intersection of Yamba Road and Treelands Drive in Yamba was given the nod, with quite a few of the lads really going to town about that part of the world and venting their spleens well and truly.

After the ambient temperature fell and normal blood pressure levels returned, Paddy chuffed, "Well fellas, I'm going to tell you something you're not going to like.

"I've been told by a very reliable source (everyone at the table knows Paddy's source is his neighbour Tom, who thinks he knows everything about everything) the Council has no intentions of putting a roundabout in there before 2015 and even then there's no iron-clad guarantee it'll ever get built.

The remarks that flowed after that announcement are not fit for publication.

Paddy continued, "My source has it on very good authority a roundabout at that intersection is on the list of things to think about at council's meeting on Tuesday, but sure as eggs they'll vote along the lines of let's do nothing until 2015 and then we'll have another think about it."

Paddy then sought and was granted an early leave pass. He was taking his good wife out for dinner for his birthday. Thoughtful bloke our Paddy is.

The session wound up shortly after Paddy's departure with all and sundry heading off to their respective abodes, However, Charlie (also known as 'The Prince') had one final shot across the bow.

"Oi, lads, I reckon Paddy's pulling our legs. You all know what today the 17th, is, don't you."

Bl**dy Typical Pollie or The Nats At Play

Rumour round the water cart is that now McDonalds has its Yamba development consent safely tucked under the arm, the North Coast Nationals are looking to create a little mischief by encouraging locals to bombard the NSW Minister for Local Government with letters complaining about Clarence Valley Council's conduct.

Of course the sitting federal and state Nats MPs were very careful to keep a low profile while there was actually a chance to send Maccas packing when the development application was first being considered (in fact I heard that Hartsuyker outright refused to get involved) and they're obviously not telling anyone that the real way to go is a formal complaint to the department head cc'd to the minister.
And pollies wonder why they're considered lower than a snake's belly!

Coral snake gif found at Google Images

Next question: Where's Harold Holt?

A couple of correspondents in letters to the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald (Saturday, 15 May) neatly summed up the shocker the Australian Federal Police put in when they contacted Dutch police about the whereabouts of accused war criminal Dragan Vasiljkovic, only to be told the fugitive was still in Australia.

In fact, "Captain Dragan", also known as Daniel Snedden, was wiling away his time at down-town Harwood Island, a satellite suburb of Yamba, "the best town in Australia", in Big River Country (aka Clarence River territory).

Dutch courage

A suspected Serbian war criminal goes AWOL under the very noses of the Australian Federal Police ('' 'Captain Dragan' tried to make a deal'', May 14). What does it do? It asks the Dutch authorities to check its end. Lo and behold they were able to tell our people not only that he was not holed up somewhere in Holland but supplied the address where he was hiding here. Good to know the AFP is on the ball.

Eddie Raggett Mosman

Is it too late for the Australian Federal Police to ask the Dutch police to find Harold Holt?

Glen op den Brouw Liverpool

Source: SMH letters

Memo to Minister Keneally: Yamba streets flooded again last night

Kristina Keneally, NSW Minister for Planning, are you listening?

Monday night's high tide produced the third consecutive night of flooding in many parts of Yamba.

And, it's no surprise!

If Minister Keneally cares to ask the residents of the flooded areas what they think about their recent experiences she'll be told that the flooding was exacerbated by developments that have seen low-lying wet land areas filled by developers.

If proposals for further development in West Yamba, which are currently on the Minister's table, get the nod prospects for local residents are indeed very grim.

Pic: smh.com.au