Quote of the Week

 

‘Numerous investigative reports have revealed that the former President, through the complex arrangements of his personal and business finances, has engaged in aggressive tax strategies and decades-long tax avoidance schemes, including taking a questionable $916 million deduction, using a grantor trust to control assets, manipulating tax code provisions pertaining to real estate taxes, and extensively using pass-through entities. Media reports have also revealed that he benefited from massive conservation easements, and that certain of his golf courses failed to properly account for wages paid to employees, raising questions about compliance with payroll and Social Security tax laws. As President, he took pride in “brilliantly” maneuvering the tax laws to his personal benefit. Even as he was championing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the former President referred to the tax code as “riddled with loopholes” for “special interests—including myself.” ’

[US Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, 20 December 2022, “REPORT ON THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE'S MANDATORY AUDIT PROGRAM UNDER THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION (2017-2020)”, a review of taxation law and an the examination of former president Donald J. Trump’s federal income tax returns requested on 16 June 2021 & received between 30 November 2022 and 11 December 2022]

The Berejiklian-Maguire saga continues behind closed doors at NSW ICAC inquiry

Reading between the lines it seems Premier Dominic Perrottet is hoping to have a final NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption determination in the Operation Keppel Public Inquiry by October 2022, concerning former premier & former Liberal MP for Willoughby Gladys Berejiklian, so that he can create some clear air before the March 2023 state election.

Perhaps optimistically believing that state voters will forget that the stench of Liberal corruption is not just attached to the federal parliamentary branch of this political party.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 July 2022:

The anti-corruption commissioner overseeing the inquiry into former premier Gladys Berejiklian’s conduct has had her term renewed for another six months in the latest extension to the high-profile probe.

Former Court of Appeal judge Ruth McColl, SC, will continue as a temporary commissioner in the investigation known as Operation Keppel until the end of October, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has confirmed.

Gladys Berejiklian was grilled before the NSW ICAC for two days last year. CREDIT:ICAC

Read the full article here.

 

The aftermath of Northern Rivers February-March 2022 floods revealed a failure of planning and emergency response, NSW Upper House inquiry told

Locals rescuing locals
Lismore March 2022
IMAGE: ABC News, 7 March 2022

AAP General Newswire, 30 May 2022:

A failure to plan was behind "devastation" caused by severe flooding to towns across northern NSW, an inquiry has been told.

Northern NSW towns hit by this year's devastating floods have been left "exposed" by the emergency, which highlighted a housing crisis, telco failures and government missteps in the region, an inquiry has been told.

A NSW parliamentary committee is looking into the official response to the flood catastrophe of February and April that struck primarily in the Northern Rivers region.

At least 10 people died in the wild weather that forced thousands of residents to flee their homes and left many towns in the region severely damaged.

Federal and state authorities have faced criticism over their handling of the emergency, including their response times, preparedness and recovery.

On Monday, Byron Shire Council mayor Michael Lyon told the inquiry the floods revealed an "inability to deal" with a housing crisis which existed before the crisis.

"We've put planning proposals (in on) tiny homes, caps on short-term letting, we've been attempting this for several years, we haven't been able to get those through," Mr Lyon told the inquiry, sitting in Ballina.

"What that meant was that the exacerbation caused by the floods, and that existing crisis, left us really exposed and it's made things so much harder in the aftermath of the floods.

"If you fail to plan then the plan is to fail and I think that's what we saw in a number of areas as the result of this devastation."

He also hit out at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, saying the agency failed at times, especially on setting up evacuation centres.

He pointed to one evacuation centre in the town of Mullumbimby having to be "informally stood up" as DCJ "didn't really make the effort to get in there".

"That left residents stranded with nowhere to go," he said.

Telstra was also in Mr Lyon's firing line for the communications network remaining down for weeks during and after the floods.

He said the telco giant had serious questions to answer over the way its network was designed and whether its privatisation contributed to its performance.

"I'm interested to know how that can be improved so that we are ... more resilient for the future," he said.

Ballina Shire Council mayor Sharon Cadwallader, in her evidence, said residents knew the area faced a flood risk, but "mitigation money" had been inadequate.

Ms Cadwallader also cited communication problems during the crisis which left the area isolated, labelling what happened as "totally inadequate" .

The situation was so dire, she said, "runners" had to go between evacuation centres and people had to cross the border to Queensland to get messages out.

Rebecca Woods, chief executive of the Bogal Local Aboriginal Lands Council, testified that in Coraki -- a small town at the juncture of the Richmond and Wilson Rivers -- flood-hit residents had been taken in by others, resulting in overcrowding.

Ms Woods said the practice had led to the "tragedy" in the town of two and three families living in houses meant for six people.

The upper house inquiry continues in Lismore on Tuesday.

NSW parliamentary committee calling for submissions to the Inquiry into the response to major flooding across New South Wales in 2022

Northern Rivers Times, 14 April 2022:

A parliamentary committee is calling, for submissions into an inquiry into the response to major flooding across New South Wales recently.

In particular, the inquiry will consider the preparation, coordination and response to the flooding experienced on the North Coast and in Western Sydney.

Committee Chair and Shadow Minister for the North Coast, the Hon Walt Secord MLC, stated: ‘The floods we have seen on the North Coast and in Western Sydney over the last few weeks have been devastating on local communities. A parliamentary inquiry was established to examine concerns raised by local communities about the adequacy of support and resources available to them.’

The Chair continued: “The committee encourages all interested stakeholders, including affected communities, organisations and experts, to share their experiences and views on the response to flooding across the state as this will help us to consider lessons for the future.”

In particular, the committee is seeking views on the:

• preparation, coordination and response by government agencies to the floods

• role, composition and resourcing of key government agencies involved in the flood response

• coordination between various stakeholders including the state government, federal government, local governments, private sector organisations and the community

• public communication, systems and strategies

• implementation of recommendations from inquiries into previous natural disasters

• overall effectiveness of the flood response.

Submissions close 8 May 2022 and can be lodged online.

[my yellow highlighting]

The committee will also be reaching out directly to local communities to encourage participation given that many people may be disconnected from the internet or otherwise may not have the resources to make a submission.

The Chair said: “We are aware that people in the most affected regions may be without services and are understandably focusing on rebuilding. For this reason, we are making every effort to liaise with local, state and federal members as well as local community groups to ensure that as many people as possible can contribute to the inquiry if they wish and as they are able.”

The committee will also hold public hearings on the North Coast and in Western Sydney, providing an opportunity for local communities to contribute directly to the inquiry.

[my yellow highlighting]

For information on making a submission please see the committee’s website and the terms of reference for the inquiry.

While the personal stories of those directly affected by the floods will be valuable to the inquiry, it is important to note that the purpose of the inquiry is to make recommendations to the government.

If you have a question about how you can make a submission or contribute to the hearings, please contact the committee secretariat on 02 9230 3067 or email floods@parliament.nsw.gov.au.

Click on image to enlarge

Select Committee Membership

Chair: Walt Secord, (ALP, LC Member)

Deputy Chair: Mark Banasiak, (SFF, LC Member)

Members:

Scott Barrett, (NAT, LC Member)

Catherine Cusack, (LIB, LC Member)

Cate Faehrmann, Cate (GRNS, LC Member)

Rod Roberts, (PHON, LC Member)

Penny Sharpe, (ALP, LC Member)

• Resolution establishing the committee - 23 March 2022

• Terms of reference - Response to major flooding across New South Wales in 2022

ACOSS calls on Morrison Government to act on the 30 recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into Purpose, Intent and Adequacy of the Disability Support Pension

 

An est. 4.4 million Australians have a recognised disability and, included in this number are est. 1.4 million are considered to have a profound disability.

The majority of people with a disability live in private homes. Of these: 1 in 3 people need help with health care;  1 in 4 need help with property maintenance and/or household  chores; and 1 in 2 aged 5 and over have a schooling or employment restriction.

About 340,000 people living with a disability are on an approved plan with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. An est. 53% of people living with a disability are participating in paid employment and 43% rely on a government payments as their sole source of income. Approximately 64% of people with a disability who are not dependents are home owners. [AIHW, "People Living With A Disability 2020"]

Based on the last published Census in 2016, there are est. 19,840 living with a disability and, who require assistance with daily living, residing in the seven local government areas of Northern NSW from the Clarence Valley to Tweed Shire on the NSW-Qld border. That represents 5% of all people in NSW with a disability who require assistance.  

On 13 May 2021, the Senate referred an inquiry into the purpose, intent and adequacy of the Disability Support Pension to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 30 November 2021. That date was extended twice and the full report was tabled on 18 February 2022.

The full 145 page report can be found at:

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/024728/toc_pdf/Purpose,intentandadequacyoftheDisabilitySupportPension.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf. 

Below is the response to this report by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). 

Key disability advocacy groups join with ACOSS to urge the Australian Government to act on the Disability S... by clarencegirl on Scribd

 

A NSW Legislative Council "Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales" has been underway since August 2020, but curiously its terms of reference do not mention gender bias

 

Gender bias takes many forms and the media perhaps more frequently reports on gendered income bias. Such as the longstanding pay gap between the average weekly full-time earnings of males and females, which predominately favours men. Currently Australia's national gender pay gap stands at 13.4 per cent. Or the end of working life disparity between the superannuation outcomes of men and women.

However, it has been apparent for many years now that the health professions, hospitals and governments carry a general societal bias against women into the healthcare sector and that bias barely rates a mention when governments establish terms of reference for parliamentary inquiries into aspects of health service delivery and outcomes.

The NSW Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No.2 - Health’s Terms of Reference for its current Inquiry Into Health Outcomes And Access To Health And Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales Health Outcomes And Access To Health And Hospital Services In Rural, Regional And Remote New South Wales is no exception to this lack of consideration of gender bias.

A bias which has the potential to disproportionally affect the health outcomes for females from low income families, those women who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and women living in regional, rural and remote areas.

So these articles below are a timely reminder that the existence of gender bias is indicated in Australia and also of the global scale of such bias.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, “Cardiovascular disease in women”, report excerpt, July 2019:

1.1 A focus on women

Much of our knowledge of heart disease is based on research conducted primarily among men (McDonnell et al. 2018), which shapes our view of how cardiovascular disease impacts the Australian population. However, it is known that there are important differences between women and men in risk factors for CVD, in symptoms, and in treatment and outcomes.

Need for greater awareness

Many women are unaware of the risk that CVD presents to their health. Their knowledge about heart attack symptoms and CVD as a cause of death is less than optimal—in 2018, for example, only one-fifth (21%) of Australian women correctly perceived heart-related causes to be the leading cause of death (Bairey Merz et al. 2017; Flink et al. 2013; Heart Foundation 2018; Hoare et al. 2017).

2 Cardiovascular disease in women

Women presenting with CVD often have different symptoms than men. These symptoms may not be recognised as CVD, thus increasing the likelihood of a missed diagnosis.

Although men with heart attack typically describe chest pain or discomfort, women are more likely to have non-chest pain symptoms such as shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue and indigestion (Mehta et al. 2016; Wenger 2013), and frequently with worse consequences (Maas et al. 2011; McDonnell et al. 2018; Pagidipati & Peterson 2016).

Women generally present with CVD later in life than do men. Older women are also more likely to have other health conditions, making their CVD more complex to diagnose and treat, which in turn can lead to worse health outcomes (Bennett et al. 2017; Saeed et al. 2017).

Physicians are more likely to underestimate CVD risk in women, and this can influence their diagnosis and treatment (Wenger 2013). Research finds that younger women aged under 55 with acute coronary syndrome are more likely to be misdiagnosed and discharged from emergency departments than men (Bairey Merz et al. 2017; Saw et al. 2014).

Differences in treatment

A number of studies have identified disparities between women and men in CVD treatment and in outcomes. Women with acute coronary syndrome tend to receive fewer medications, are less likely to have their condition treated aggressively and have fewer invasive interventions (Kuhn et al. 2014, 2015, 2017; Pagidipati & Peterson 2016; Saeed et al. 2017).

Similarly, women with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI: a type of heart attack) are less likely to receive invasive management, revascularisation or preventive medication at discharge (Khan et al. 2018). Women with stroke are more likely to have a delay in care than men, and are less likely to receive aspirin, statins or thrombolytics (Raeisi-Giglou et al. 2017).

Healthier women

An increased recognition of gender differences in risk factors, presentation, treatment and outcomes will contribute to improving women’s cardiovascular health in Australia.

The Australian Government, the Heart Foundation, the Stroke Foundation and other key stakeholders contribute by building awareness among the public and health-care providers about the risks of CVD to women’s health.

Chronic conditions, including CVD, and preventative health are a priority for action in the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 (Department of Health 2018). The development and delivery of a national campaign to promote awareness of the different risks for and symptoms of CVD in women is a key action in the current strategy. The ongoing monitoring of the impact of CVD is an important component of policy and programme initiatives that focus on women’s health.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Cardiovascular disease in Australian women — a snapshot of national statistics, June 2019:

”Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women. Decades of grassroots campaigns have helped to raise awareness about the impact of cardiovascular disease in women, and positive changes affecting women and their health have gained momentum. Despite these efforts, there has been stagnation in the overall reduction of cardiovascular disease burden for women in the past decade. Cardiovascular disease in women remains understudied, under-recognised, underdiagnosed, and undertreated. This Commission summarises existing evidence and identifies knowledge gaps in research, prevention, treatment, and access to care for women. Recommendations from an international team of experts and leaders in the field have been generated with a clear focus to reduce the global burden of cardiovascular disease in women by 2030. This Commission represents the first effort of its kind to connect stakeholders, to ignite global awareness of sex-related and gender-related disparities in cardiovascular disease, and to provide a springboard for future research.” [THE LANCET COMMISSIONS, The Lancet women and cardiovascular disease Commission: reducing the global burden by 2030, 16 May 2021]

 

The Lancet, 19 June 2021:

Ana Olga Mocumbi (May 2021) “Women's cardiovascular health: shifting towards equity and justice”

Cardiovascular disease in women is understudied, under-recognised, underdiagnosed, and undertreated globally, despite being the leading cause of death in women worldwide, as highlighted by a new Lancet Commission.¹ Several misperceptions contribute to this neglect, notably, the persistent view that cardiovascular disease primarily affects men or only women in high-income countries and results from poor lifestyle choices. The Lancet women and cardiovascular disease Commission¹ identifies disparities in prevalence and outcomes of cardiovascular disease in women worldwide, delineates the substantial impact of socioeconomic deprivation in determining these differences, and proposes strategies to address these inequities, increase sex-related research, and support integration of care and strengthening of health systems.¹

From 1990 to 2019 there have been large declines in cardiovascular disease age-standardised rates of death, disability-adjusted life-years, and years of life lost.² There have been declines in age-standardised prevalence of coronary heart disease and stroke mortality rates in men and women in most parts of the world, with greater age-specific reductions in coronary heart disease in men than in women.³

Between 2010 and 2019, the age-standardised cardiovascular disease death rate increased or stagnated in many other parts of the world, including eastern Europe and countries in central, south, and east Asia.² In a Canadian setting, the 30-day acute myocardial infarction mortality rates declined similarly for women and men from 2000 to 2009, but women younger than 55 years had an excess mortality risk compared with men of the same age.⁴ Under-representation of young people in clinical studies on cardiovascular disease, as well as worse risk profile due to comorbidities, might contribute to these slow improvements. Importantly, because of women's longer life expectancy, overall deaths from cardiovascular disease are higher in women than in men, and this excess number of cardiovascular disease deaths in women is likely to increase with population ageing. Moreover, the success in declining age-standardised cardiovascular disease mortality over the past decades has been limited to countries with a high Socio-demographic Index (SDI); some countries with a low SDI had the highest cardiovascular disease mortality rate shift from men to women.²

• View related content for this article

Poverty continues to affect a considerable proportion of the world's population, determining unique patterns of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease in young women.⁵ In countries with a low SDI, where premature cardiovascular disease mortality is largely driven by poverty, poor access to care, and underuse of interventions of proven efficacy, women face the coexistence of an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, a rise in metabolic risk factors, and endemic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and schistosomiasis. Furthermore, specific risk factors and conditions affect women in countries with a low SDI. Chronic exposure to biomass fuel is common in rural Africa and Asia and contributes to the burden of acute coronary events and stroke,⁶ affecting predominantly women; this exposure could partly explain the high occurrence of and sex differences in isolated right heart failure in non-smokers in these places.^{6, 7} Similarly, in poor countries women younger than 40 years are increasingly affected by neglected or poverty-related conditions, such as rheumatic heart disease and endomyocardial fibrosis.⁸,⁹ Moreover, maternal mortality remains unacceptably high. About 295 000 women died during and after pregnancy and childbirth in 2017.10 94% of these deaths occurred in low-resource settings, where the maternal mortality ratio was 462 per 100 000 livebirths versus 11 per 100 000 livebirths in high-income countries.¹⁰ Since cardiovascular disease is the leading non-obstetric cause of maternal mortality worldwide,¹¹ one should consider the role of disparity in fertility rates, incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy, and pre-existing uncontrolled arterial hypertension8 as potential determinants of maternal mortality. Indeed, there are a considerable number of maternal deaths due to cardiovascular disease in low-income and middle-income countries.¹² Unfortunately, even in the USA, where the maternal mortality ratio was 17·4 maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths in 2018, the maternal mortality ratio was more than double among non-Hispanic Black women (37·1 per 100 000 livebirths), with more than half of these deaths and near deaths being preventable, and cardiovascular disease being the leading cause.¹³ Inadequate access to quality and affordable health care along with long-standing health disparities plays a role in this disparity; additionally, social determinants of health can increase the risk of gestational diabetes, peripartum cardiomyopathy, caesarean deliveries, and future cardiovascular disease in neglected communities.

To address the gaps highlighted by this Commission, current knowledge must be used to achieve health equity so that no one is disadvantaged from attaining their full health potential because of their social position or other socially determined circumstance. Reduction of disparities in clinical outcomes requires the prioritisation of high-impact solutions in under-resourced areas, involving tailored strategies for decentralised and integrated care, and support from global and regional partners to improve the availability of interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention and management. Front-line health workers with shared competences for cardio–obstetric care, digital health, and portable ultrasound should be used to deliver decentralised care, improve referral systems, and support surveillance of sex-related outcomes. Digital health provides opportunities to enhance the quality, efficiency, and safety of primary health care, as well as help address racial and ethnic disparities,¹⁴ but insufficient digital health competencies among front-line health workers are among the factors that hamper the adoption of digital tools and technologies.¹⁵ Finally, as emphasised in the Commission, peer-to-peer supporters and educators in local communities should be used to empower women in improving their ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information to promote good cardiovascular health.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, values of human dignity, solidarity, altruism, and social justice should guide our communities to ensure equitable share of wealth and leveraging of efforts towards the reduction of cardiovascular disease burden in women worldwide. The Commission's recommendations on additional funding for women's cardiovascular health programmes, prioritisation of integrated care programmes, including combined cardiac and obstetric care, and strengthening of the health systems accords with efforts to bridge the gap for the world's worst off.⁵ Such a shift in women's cardiovascular care would be a major step towards equity, social justice, and sustainable development.

I declare no competing interests.

References

1.Vogel B Acevedo M Appelman Y et al.

The Lancet women and cardiovascular disease Commission: reducing the global burden by 2030.

Lancet. 2021; (published online May 16.)

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00684-X

2.Roth GA Johnson C Abajobir A et al.

Global, regional, and national burden of cardiovascular diseases for 10 causes, 1990 to 2015.

J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017; 70: 1-25

3.Bots SH Peters SAE Woodward M

Sex differences in coronary heart disease and stroke mortality: a global assessment of the effect of ageing between 1980 and 2010.

BMJ Global Health. 2017; 2e000298

4.Izadnegahdar M Singer J Lee MK et al.

Do younger women fare worse? Sex differences in acute myocardial infarction hospitalization and early mortality rates over ten years.

J Womens Health. 2014; 23: 10-17

5.Bukhman G Mocumbi AO Atun R et al.

The Lancet NCDI Poverty Commission: bridging a gap in universal health coverage for the poorest billion.

Lancet. 2020; 396: 991-1044

6.Bassig BA Dean Hosgood H Shu XO et al.

Ischaemic heart disease and stroke mortality by specific coal type among non-smoking women with substantial indoor air pollution exposure in China.

Int J Epidemiol. 2020; 49: 56-68

7.Stewart S Mocumbi AO Carrington MJ Pretorius S Burton R Sliwa K

A not-so-rare form of heart failure in urban black Africans: pathways to right heart failure in the Heart of Soweto Study cohort.

Eur J Heart Fail. 2011; 13: 1070-1077

8.Mocumbi AO Sliwa K

Women's cardiovascular health in Africa.

Heart. 2012; 98: 450-455

9.Zühlke L Engel ME Karthikeyan G et al.

Characteristics, complications, and gaps in evidence-based interventions in rheumatic heart disease: the Global Rheumatic Heart Disease Registry (the REMEDY study).

Eur Heart J. 2015; 36 (122a): 1115

10.WHO

Maternal mortality, key facts.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality

Date: 2019

11.Kassebaum NJ Barber RM Bhutta ZA et al.

Global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015.

Lancet. 2016; 388: 1775-1812

12.Heemelaar S Petrus A Knight M van den Akker T

Maternal mortality due to cardiac disease in low- and middle-income countries.

Trop Med Int Health. 2020; 25: 673-686

13.Bond RM Gaither K Nasser SA et al.

Working agenda for Black mothers: a position paper from the Association of Black Cardiologists on solutions to Improving Black maternal health.

Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2021; 14e007643

14.López L Green AR Tan-McGrory A et al.

Bridging the digital divide in health care: the role of health information technology in addressing racial and ethnic disparities.

Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2011; 37: 437-445

15.Jimenez G Spinazze P Matchar D et al.

Digital health competencies for primary healthcare professionals: a scoping review.

Int J Med Inform. 2020; 143104260

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01017-5

Copyright

© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Some lessons never get learnt by NSW local government and this is but one recent example

 

IMAGE: Google Earth 2008

In what seems an appropriate response to a proposed retrospective development consent the NSW Office of Local Government and NSW Ombudsman have commenced a preliminary investigation into building works undertaken at 19 Gumnut Road, Yamba, a waterside residential property of approx. 651.70 sq metres, which according to Clarence Valley flood mapping is at risk of a degree of inundation even in a 1 in 5 year flood event and in a 1 in 100 year event water likely reach the top floor of the house.

A development application DA 2019/0439 was lodged on 14 August 2019, however subsequent construction did not follow the structural plans to which Clarence Valley Council had granted consent on 2 December 2019 apparently by delegated authority.

After a site inspection in February 2021 when build inconsistencies could not be ignored by council officers, the owners of 19 Gumnut Road were obliged to lodge DA2021/0153 and MOD2021/0016.

These documents show:

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CARPORT AND AWNING ATTACHED TO EXISTING DWELLING

2 CONSTRUCTION OF [detached] RUMPUS ROOM AT REAR OF LOT

3 CONSTRUCTION OF DECK AT REAR OF LOT

4 NEW FENCE ALONG WESTERN BOUNDARY

* NOTE: POOL AND SURROUND TO BE APPROVED AS SEPARATE D.A

Additionally the documents described a retractable privacy screen and awning, rainwater tank and floating pontoon. The rainwater tank and retractable awning were constructed without Council approval and do not meet the development standards for exempt development (i.e. development that does not require Council approval) listed in State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. The retractable privacy screen has not been constructed or installed and the floating pontoon has been removed from the application. Accordingly, this application only seeks approval for: 

• Proposed retractable privacy screen 

• Existing retractable awning (as-built) 

• Existing rainwater tank (as-built)

The 40 year-old house and additional structures now appear intended to cover around 85-90 per cent of the lot.

Apparently eager to oblige these particular local business owners, council staff formally recommended to Council in the Chamber that retrospective consent be given as well as consent for certain proposed construction and, predictably the 'all-development-is- good-but-over-development-is-better' brigade holding a majority on Clarence Valley Council also agreed to oblige the owners on 25 May 2021. 

Quite frankly, the article below does not do full justice to the level of non-compliance shown in photographs taken in 2020 and supplied to Clarence Valley Council by local residents. Nor is the mention it contains of the rumpus room/studio adequate to describe the aesthetically bereft, freestanding structure that was actually built.

Clarence Valley Independent, 2 June 2021:

Councillors were split four to three at the May 25 Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting, when they approved a raft of existing building works at a Gumnut Road property in Yamba, however, three councillors lodged a rescission motion after the meeting.

Nearby residents lodged objections (a total of nine submissions and a petition signed by 40 people) to the “as-built inconsistencies with the approved” development applications (DA) and other unapproved works, which council’s planning staff described as “minor” or “very minor”.

Some of the modifications and works approved were non-compliant with CVC’s development control plan (DCP).

Objectors have raised issues with Ombudsman NSW, regarding how CVC has managed processing the DAs and CVC’s alleged indifference to unapproved building works.

Ombudsman NSW is currently making “preliminary enquiries” into the matter.

Councillors Debrah Novak, Karen Toms and Greg Clancy lodged the rescission motion, which outlined six reasons:

Council did not undertake progress inspections during construction works for both DA 2019/0439 (now MOD 2021/0016) and DA 2021/0153);

Council has varied the residential DCP floodplain management controls in relation to the required floor level of 2.9m Australian height datum (AHD) for the studio, consequently, CVC’s DCP would need to be updated as this has set a precedent;

The applicant has not provided a survey completed by a registered surveyor as required … when the DA was lodged or prior to commencement of construction;

The applicant has not provided a valid structural engineer certification for the whole build of the studio … occupation is prohibited without a valid structural engineer’s certification;

No valid structural engineer’s certification has been submitted for the existing retaining wall, which is now the foundation for the large extended deck; and,

The applicant has enclosed a deck without obtaining prior approval from council. [my yellow highlighting]

Acting general manager Laura Black said the rescission motion would be tabled at the June 2021 CVC meeting; however, she said the rescission motion “bears no relation to the ombudsman’s enquiry, at the moment”.

“As we [CVC] understand it, the ombudsman has received a complaint from a ratepayer … and the [ombudsman has] made an enquiry [regarding] our communication with that ratepayer,” Ms Black said.

“We are unaware of the nature of the complaint and we’ve provided a response to the ombudsmen, including all of our correspondence with that particular ratepayer.

“This rescission motion, though, is purely a rescission motion from three councillors, in accordance with the code of meeting practice, and it puts on the table that … the motion that we’ve resolved in relation to the DA modification [could] be rescinded….

“At this stage, the ombudsman is just undertaking preliminary enquires; we don’t know the nature of the complaint, but the ombudsman’s office actually doesn’t have any power to stop council from making a decision.

“We have been advised [Ombudsman NSW] has no intention of interfering in council’s decision making – so the rescission motion itself is not related to the ombudsman.”

Councillors Richie Williamson and Karen Toms were absent.