President of the Casino Chamber of Commerce, Luke Bodley, lends his support to proposed environmental vandalism on a large scale

Des Euen and ‘friend’ on the Iluka side of the Clarence River mouth at an unspecified date

There is obviously one born every minute somewhere in the world and on 26 May 2016 it was the turn of the National Party's Luke Bodley of Realo Group Pty Ltd to step into the limelight and be recognised .

Here he is on Facebook promoting a proposal to destroy existing environmental, cultural, social and economic values in the Clarence River estuary:

And who is he doing this promotion for? Why for a $1 shelf company, with no apparent business address (instead using the address of the Minter Group), no listed business phone number and, most importantly,  no local, state or federal government support.

A phantom-like company which states it has had international development funding approved for five inter-related projects est. to cost $42.7 billion in total.

Projects which appear to still be mere sketches on the back of envelopes if this plan for a large industrial port is any indication:

Figure 1 shows a port precinct which covers an est. 27.2 % of the entire Clarence River estuary, 
www.aid-australia.com.au/project-1/

According to Mr. Euen the indicative timeline will see Stage 1 of this approx. 36 sq km super-port operational sometime in 2018 - even though not one of the required in-depth reports has been generated to date by AID Australia, no planning application has been submitted yet and no comprehensive surveying undertaken. He laughably states the entire proposed port infrastructure will be completed in around twelve years.

I wonder if Mr. Bodley has ever puzzled over the fact that there is no roar of support emanating from the Clarence Valley for these personal projects of former Queensland truck driver Desmond John Thomas Euen?

Has he thought about why an infrastructure 'plan' that has been hawked around the country for at least the last four to five years has been unable to gain official support in all that time from either local, state or federal governments?

Or wondered why Euen isn't holding his "summit" in the area covered by the lynch-pin in his grandiose plan, the Lower Clarence?

Perhaps this Google Earth snapshot of what the lowest section of the Clarence River estuary looks like today might give him a hint:

What this image shows is a river from the mouth to Harwood which has been held under Native Title since 2015 and an approach to the river partially blocked by a culturally & spiritually significant coffee rock reef which is the indigenous ancestor Dirrangun.

It shows the base for the largest commercial river & offshore fishery in NSW (generating in excess of an est. $92M output and $15.4M annual income) which supports a fleet moored on both the Iluka and Yamba sides of the river and as far up as Maclean.

There are also oyster leases and aquaculture ponds within the estuary.

This snapshot covers part of the range of one of only two river-dwelling dolphin pods on the east coast of Australia and one which successfully co-exists with the tourism-reliant small towns of Yamba, Iluka and Maclean, as well as with the many domestic and international yachts and other pleasure boats which use the lower river.

The green is this image predominately comprises cane farms, extensive national parks, dedicated foreshore nature reserves and one of this country’s few World Heritage areas, a 136 ha remnant of the ancient Gondwanna subtropical rainforests proclaimed by the United Nations in 1986.

In 2006-07 the people of the Clarence Valley successfully fought off a Howard Government proposal to dam and divert water from the Clarence River catchment for the benefit of mining, agricultural irrigation and land development interests in the Murray Darling Basin and southern Queensland.

That fight was part of the reason why Australia’s federal government changed in 2007.

As late as 30 May 2016 Nationals MP for Clarence and Parliamentary Secretary for the North Coast, Chris Gulapatis, has this to say in response to Euen's scheming:

While even Des Euen himself recently told The Daily Examiner that it is NSW Government policy to direct import-export sea freight to the major ports of Port Jackson, Port Botany, Port Kembla and the Port of Newcastle.

UPDATE

North Coast Voices received this email today:

North Coast Voices Blog - Correction of information required

From: redacted [mailto:redacted@gnfrealestate.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 8 June 2016 1:59 PM
To: northcoastvoices@gmail.com
Cc: Darren Perkins
Subject: North Coast Voices Blog - Correction of information required

Good afternoon,

With regard to the below blog link for North Coast Voices, Luke Bodley ceased employment with GNF Real Estate Pty Ltd on the 28^th April 2016. We request that the mention of George & Fuhrmann Real Estate be removed from the article.

http://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com.au/2016/06/president-of-casino-chamber-of-commerce.html

Regards

Darren Perkins

Managing Director

George & Fuhrmann

However Luke Bodley was still listed as part of this real estate company's Casino staff as at 2.28PM on 8 June 2016:

When there is public evidence online that Mr. Bodley is no longer associated with this company the mention will be removed from the body of the post, but the correspondence and comment will remain.

If your state government isn't Liberal-Nationals don't expect the Turnbull Federal Government to give a damn about 'jobs 'n' growth' for your families

The limited value to South Australia of one particular Turnbull Government defence contract....

Adelaide Now, 10 March 2016:

SPAIN is celebrating the creation of up to 3000 jobs — building Australian ships — as South Australia desperately waits for news of shipbuilding jobs here.

Local newspapers have revealed that Spain is set to get the contract for two replacement supply ships as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wraps up his trip to SA.

Officials in the shipbuilding town Cadiz described it as “great news” and a “historic” win with one report saying it would create 2000 jobs over four years and another saying 3000 jobs.

ASC was knocked out of the running for the contract early on, with the Government opting for a limited tender. The competition was between South Korea and Spanish shipbuilders Navantia, who designed the troubled Air Warfare Destroyers.

At the time, then-Defence Minister David Johnston said the ships were too big to be built in Australia.

But critics from within the industry and within Parliament said they could be built here and the jobs could help bridge the ‘Valley of Death’.

Radio 5aaa, Adelaide, 6 May 2016:

A shaken Nick Xenophon has spoken to Leon Byner about a government decision that has dashed hopes that shipbuilding work worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” would be done in Australia.

Senator Xenophon spoke to Leon Byner only minutes after stumbling across a bombshell about the deal with a Spanish shipmaker to build supply vessels.

“It was revealed in the course of Senate estimates that the supply ship contract was signed yesterday,” Mr Xenophon revealed. “No media announcement, no media release has been put out yet.”

Mr Xenophon said it was “shocking news” to discover the contract worth $800m will only include $130m of Australian content and no Australian shipbuilders.

Asked whether at least Australian steel would be used in the build, Mr Xenophon told a bemused Leon Byner that the Spanish shipbuilder had simply been given the “contact details” of Australian steelmakers.

“You’re telling me that the best they can do for local procurement is give out a phone number? Are you joking?” asked Leon.

“This is no joking matter,” replied Mr Xenophon.

“I was actually shocked. We were all quite stunned.”

The Turnbull Government continues the Abbott Government's failure to protect Australian marine life from foreign super trawlers including the Geelong Star

Image of Geelong Star (formerly FV Dirk Dirk) and position heading towards the Bass Strait on 28 January 2016

Geelong Advertiser, 2 February 2016:

THE dolphin-killing trawler Geelong Star has been cleared to return to work just days after being suspended for the deaths of seven albatross in one trip.

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority lifted its ban on the controversial fishing vessel on Sunday after authorities were satisfied the length of net cables had been reduced and made more visible.

The trawler must stop fishing “immediately” if a seabird is killed by the cable until the authority has investigated.

Geelong Star’s management plan, updated on January 16, shows the trawler will be forced to carry an AFMA observe on “at least the next trip” if two or more marine mammals are found in the end of the net.

A full reassessment is required if any changes are made to the exclusion device, which is designed to prevent seal and dolphin deaths.

AFMA chief executive Nick Rayns said the new protection methods came on top of existing mitigation methods…..

Greens spokesman for fisheries Peter Whish-Wilson said the AFMA’s catch and release of Geelong Star risked making a mockery of the regulation.

“If a member of the public had killed seven albatross over a week they would be charged under Australian environmental laws,” Senator Whish-Wilson said.

“If over the period of a year a member of public had killed some dolphins, some more dolphins, then some seals and finally some albatross then that person would probably end up doing jail time.

“But it is one law for the member of the public and another for the Geelong Star.

“The Geelong Star has been given a license to kill protected marine species and it’s time its license was revoked.”

Stop the Trawler and Environment Tasmania spokeswoman Rebecca Hubbard said it was time for the Federal Government to overrule the AFMA and ban the trawler outright….

Mercury, 1 February 2016:

A COALITION of environmentalists and recreational fishers has expressed alarm at a recommendation by a newly appointed scientific panel to increase the Geelong Star’s total catch.

The Stop the Trawler Alliance argues that the recommendation — disclosed at a stakeholder forum in Hobart on Thursday — had been made, despite ongoing concerns from recreational fishers and conservationists that the large factory freezer trawler could cause localised depletion of fish stocks.

“A newly appointed scientific panel is now proposing to increase the total catch from 42,000 tonnes to over 49,000 tonnes,” said Rebecca Hubbard from Environment Tasmania.

“Instead of listening to community concerns the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) have further reduced stakeholders input into critical decision-making processes.”…..

A brief history of this super trawler owned by Parlevliet & Van der Plas Beheer B.V. and contracted to its Australian subsidiary, Seafish Tasmania, can be found here.

Marine reserves in Australian waters may also be under further threat from commercial fishing with The Guardian reporting this on 6 February 2016:

Australia’s leading marine scientists are appealing to the federal government to reject a review expected to recommend a significant reduction in the size of ocean sanctuaries and an expansion of areas permitted for commercial fishing.

Tony Abbott announced the review of the boundaries of Labor’s marine parks, counted by the former government as one of its greatest environmental achievements, during the 2013 election campaign, and said he would scrap the just-finished management plans so that the fishing industry could be given a greater say.

The leading scientists understand the review, now finally completed, recommends a sizeable reduction in some areas previously designated as closed to fishing and trawling, particularly in the Coral Sea, and say it has ignored expert scientific advice.

“If the government winds back what was already just partial environmental protection it would be terrible for the environment and send a terrible message to the world,” said West Australian marine science professor Jessica Meeuwig.

“We have no faith in this process. They haven’t spoken to marine scientists, despite our best efforts. They spent a lot of time talking to the extractive industries. 

If Malcolm Turnbull is serious about being guided by science and by evidence he will reject recommendations to reduce marine sanctuary zones,” she said.

Meeuwig is one of 10 leading marine researchers who have formed the Ocean Science Council of Australia and have published benchmarks against which the review should be judged, including:

* No further diminishment of marine national park zoning in bioregions and key ecological features should occur as these are already significantly under-represented in the 2012 plans

* The international standard for ocean protection of a minimum of 30% of each marine habitat in highly protected no-take marine national parks should be met;

* Very large marine national parks such as that proposed for the Coral Sea should be preserved.......

This is one of the areas potentially under threat:

Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve

The new Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve covers 989 842 km2 and is an important national asset in near pristine condition. The reserve will be managed for the primary purpose of conserving the biodiversity found in it, while also allowing for the sustainable use of natural resources in some areas. The reserve includes the different marine ecosystems and habitats of the Coral Sea marine region and will help ensure our marine environment remains healthy and is more resilient to the effects of climate change and other pressures.

The Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve will provide additional protection for many species listed as endangered or vulnerable under Commonwealth legislation or international agreements, including the endangered loggerhead and leatherback turtles and the critically endangered Herald petrel. The reserve also supports the world's only confirmed spawning aggregation of black marlin.

Sites of high productivity in the reserve, such as those around seamounts, are important aggregators for a range of species including lanternfish, albacore tuna, billfish and sharks. Large marine mammals journey hundreds or even thousands of kilometres to breed in the reserve, or to travel through en route to breeding areas.

The new Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve encompasses the former Coral Sea Conservation Zone, former Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve and former Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve. Transitional management arrangements apply until a management plan for the Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve is in place.

Dutch super trawler finally leaving Australian waters

 

 

In the space of twenty-one days Seafish Tasmania and Parlevliet En Van Der Plas Beheer B.V blinked........

THEN

AAP 13 February 2013

 

The operators of banned super-trawler Abel Tasman have begun legal action against the government.

Super-trawler operator Seafish Tasmania has begun court action to sue the federal government and two ministers over the ban on the controversial fishing behemoth Abel Tasman.

Seafish managing director Joe Pirrello says documents have been sent to the Federal Court instigating action against the government, Environment Minister Tony Burke and Fisheries Minister Joe Ludwig.

Mr Burke used new powers to ban the 142-metre vessel last year after a public backlash and on Tuesday announced he would knock back a plan for it to be used as a "mother ship".

Under the proposal, smaller boats would fish for Seafish's 18,000-tonne quota of jack mackerel and redbait, with the Abel Tasman to be used as a giant offshore freezer.

The ship, formerly known as the Margiris, has been berthed at Port Lincoln in South Australia since its arrival from The Netherlands in August, costing Seafish more than $10,000 a day.

"About eight days ago we presented the Federal Court (in) Queensland with documents to sue the federal government, Tony Burke and Joe Ludwig in order to overturn his original declaration," Mr Pirrello told AAP.

In a statement, the company added: "The Australian government, through AFMA (the Australian Fisheries Management Authority), encouraged Seafish Tasmania to spend millions of dollars to bring the Abel Tasman to Australia.

"Now the Australian government wants us to go away. We won't be going away."

NOW
 

FV Able Tasman from Google Images

  

The Hon. Tony Burke MP

Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

 

Wednesday, 6 March 2013
 

Statement from Tony Burke on the Super Trawler

 

Seafish Tasmania today put out a statement saying the Abel Tasman is leaving Australian waters.

The Gillard Government last year acted to stop the Super Trawler – formally named the FV Margiris - from fishing in Australian waters until the sufficient scientific checks have been completed.

At the core of this issue was one principle - there was significant uncertainty about the environmental impacts of this new form of fishing.

When faced with this sort of uncertainty you can either be cautious and wait for the scientific work to be done or roll the dice and run the risks.

Australia chose to be cautious when it came to protecting the ocean. It was the right thing to do.

The Gillard Government makes no apology for not taking risks when it comes to protecting our precious oceans.

 

Background here.

So the Kingdom of the Netherlands objects to how the Commonwealth of Australia protects its sovereignty ...

..as well as its environmental, social, cultural and economic interests within its own marine territorial waters and economic zones? Tough.

The media reports that the Dutch Government has raised concerns about Australia’s proposed new legislation strengthening the precautionary principle in relation to fishing activities of super trawlers, in light of the planned fish take of Parleviet & Van der Plas B.V. and its freezer trawler RV Able Tasman.

I also read that the Canberra-based Dutch Deputy Head of Mission, Nico Schermers, has expressed these concerns at a recent meeting of senior diplomats at the delegation of the European Union to Australia.

It would be interesting to know just how he couched his complaints at this meeting, when sudden changes in the structure and function of marine ecosystems and fish stock collapse due to overfishing are a feature of certain marine areas where Parleviet & Van der Plas (among others) has traditionally fished since the 1960s and, the European Union is well aware of this problem as seen by the first link below.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, POLICY DEPARTMENT B, STRUCTURAL AND COHESION POLICIES: Fisheries, November 2011:

Overfishing has been shown to seriously affect the ecosystems of the world oceans. In addition to direct fishing effects on target stocks, ecosystem effects are increasingly reported as a result of unsustainable exploitation levels. There is now compelling evidence that fishing-induced changes at the top of the food web can have profound indirect effects on all trophic levels and hence change the structure and functioning of the whole food web. Such trophic cascades involve a top-down (i.e. consumer) control view on ecosystem functioning, which opposes the traditional bottom-up (resource) control view that existed

for marine ecosystems……

prominent examples of ecosystem regime shifts in the North Pacific and

the Eastern Scotian Shelf off the East coast of Canada, as well as the North Sea, the Baltic and the Black Sea...

The world is also aware of the dangers of regional overfishing.

The Spatial Expansion and Ecological Footprint of Fisheries (1950 to Present), December 2010 :

In the late 1980s, global catches ceased to increase and peaked at 90 million t when account is taken of systematic over reporting of catches by China [9]. The slow decrease of about half million t per year which then ensued has not been reversed since [7], and is not likely to ever be [10].

This decrease occurred, essentially, because the rate at which new fish stocks (for example of deep sea fish; [11]) were accessed, from the late 1980s on, failed to compensate for the rate at which ‘traditional’ stocks were depleted. Moreover, the number of new stocks has been decreasing linearly over time [12].

European Parliament, Committee on Fisheries Meeting 6 September 2012  - video in which Northern Hemisphere fisheries management and overfishing is discussed.

UPDATE:

September 15 2012

OMBUDSMAN BUSTS AFMA - WILKIE COMPLAINT UPHELD

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has been advised by the Commonwealth Ombudsman that AFMA did in fact fail to comply with the Fisheries Administration Act when it set the quota relevant to the super trawler.

Over the last two months Mr Wilkie has lodged a number of complaints with the Ombudsman regarding AFMA’s conduct when setting the quota. She agreed to investigate and this became central to Environment Minister Tony Burke’s condemnation of AFMA and Independent Rob Oakeshott’s decision to support banning the vessel.

“This is a dramatic development and a thumping win for proper process and the rule of law,” Mr Wilkie said.

“No less than the Commonwealth Ombudsman has agreed AFMA has acted unlawfully, and this should rule a line under the whole sorry super trawler saga and compel the Senate to kill the project forever next Monday.

‘‘Moreover the Ombudsman has informed me she is investigating ‘other matters’ which adds to the case that AFMA is in serious need of reform, that the Government’s decision to stop the boat is entirely warranted and that the House of Representative’s passing of legislation was the right thing to do. It’s up to the Senate now to finish the job.

“Super trawlers stink, but even worse is government agencies thinking they’re above the law. Hopefully this will lead to changes which might give us much more confidence in future that our environment as well as recreational and sensible commercial fishing is protected.’‘

People power brings the super trawler to a halt

France 24 International News

After Seafish Tasmania the Dutch-owned operator of super trawler FV Abel Tasman, formerly known as the FV Margiris, had indicated it would still fish around the east coast despite the toughest conditions Mr Burke was able to impose under existing environmental law (having previously draped itself in a flimsy undertaking research as we fish veil) thousands of ordinary Australians appear to have been motivated enough by the precautionary principle to contact the Australian Government over the issue and demand action.

The Federal Member for the NSW North Coast seat of Page, Janelle Saffin, also deserves an honourable mention for approaching Minister Burke when the potential for localised fish stock depletion and destructive by-catch first became apparent - telling him that if he did not currently have the power to halt the vessel's intended fishing activities then people expected him to resolve the situation by changing the law.

This is the government response.

The Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities:

Gillard Labor Government Acts to Stop Super Trawler

Media release
11 September 2012

Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has announced plans to legislate to extend his legal powers over the super trawler FV Abel Tasman, (formerly FV Margiris), to prevent the vessel fishing in Australian waters.

“If we get this wrong there are risks to the environment, to commercial operators and to everyone who loves fishing and they are risks I am not prepared to take,” Mr Burke said.

“There has never been a fishing vessel of this capacity in Australia before and the EPBC Act needs to be updated so that it can deal with it.”

The 142m super trawler is currently docked at Port Lincoln in South Australia.

Mr Burke acted after first raising concerns over the potential for harmful by-catch of dolphins, seals, seabirds and threatened or protected species.

“Last week I used all the powers available to me under the EPBC Act, (Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act), to ensure that all legal steps are being taken by the super trawler to limit its impact on any listed species, but I want to do more,” Mr Burke said.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the community about the environmental, social and economic impacts of a fishing vessel of this size.

“At the moment there are no general powers in the EPBC Act to prevent new fishing vessels like the FV Abel Tasman from fishing while further scientific assessments are undertaken.

“I have been lobbied for some time on this issue by a large number of Labor MP’s.

“It was my view that legislative change should not be pursued until we knew how far I could go under current law.

“Once it was clear that my legal powers under the EPBC Act were constrained I commenced working with my department on these changes.

“That is why I directed that urgent legislation be drafted to amend the EPBC Act to stop the FV Abel Tasman,” he said.

The amendment will prohibit the super trawler engaging in a declared fishing activity in Commonwealth waters while a further assessment is undertaken by an expert panel that will report directly to the Minister.

“If the amendment I am proposing is passed by the parliament I will be able to work with the Fisheries Minister to set up an expert panel to conduct an assessment of all of the potential impacts of the FV Abel Tasman before it can be given approval to fish in Commonwealth waters.

“Until this expert panel has reported to the parliament on their assessment, the declared fishing activity will be prohibited.

“It is important we undertake an open and transparent assessment process to help restore the public’s confidence in our management of our Commonwealth waters.

“We are not in the business of taking big risks with the ocean which is why Australia has the best-managed and most sustainable fisheries in the world,” Mr Burke said.

On the same day:

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, has today announced a major review of Australian fisheries policy and legislation, the first of its kind in over twenty years.

UPDATE:

On its website PARLEVLIET EN VAN DER PLAS BEHEER B.V. states that the home port of the newly renamed Able Tasman is Brisbane, Queensland. In April 2012 this Dutch company appears to have registered a second entity for SEAFISH TASMANIA PELAGIC PTY LTD in Brisbane.

UPDATE:

 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Declared Fishing Activities) Bill 2012 - C2012B00148

Passed the House of Representatives on 13 September 2012

Stop the world - I want to get off!

Ever wondered how we're all going to respond to an increasingly hostile physical world?
What path we'll go down as we confront the dire consequences of our own collective actions?
In the face of one monumental environmental disaster the only psychological defence left for some is laughter:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – At a conference of oil leak experts in Washington today, attendees proposed plugging the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico with executives of BP, the company responsible for the catastrophic spill.

"We've tried containment domes, rubber tires, and even golf balls," said William Cathermeyer of the National Oil Leakage Institute, a leading consultancy in the field of oil leaks. "Now it's time to shove some BP executives down there and hope for the best."

Submerging the oil company executives thousands of feet below the ocean's surface could be a "win-win" situation, Mr. Cathermeyer said.

"Best-case scenario, they plug the leak," he said. "And at the very least, they'll shut the fuck up."

But even as the oil leak experts proposed their unorthodox solution, environmental expert Marilyn Sufranski warned of the possible negative consequences of plugging the oil leak with BP executives.

"The Gulf of Mexico is slimy enough already," she said.

Dolphins at play, Iluka NSW

Photographs by Mike Litzow displayed at his blog

Once In A Lifetime.

The adventures of Mike, Alisa and young Elias on the sailboat Pelagic.

Web camera trial now operating on NSW North coast bar crossings

NSW Maritime has extended its trial of web-cam vision of the coastal bars to help boat owners in preparing for a voyage offshore.

This is just one part of a suite of measures being pursued by NSW Maritime to address bar crossing safety in this State.

When considering crossing a bar, the best catch phrase for skippers – who are ultimately responsible for the safety of all on board – is 'If in doubt, don't go out'.

Logging on to find live web camera footage may be very useful in making this decision.

Below is a list of live web-cameras currently installed along the NSW coastline:

North Coast Brunswick Heads Coffs Harbour Iluka \ Yamba Port Macquarie Tweed Heads Other web cameras are to be located at: Manning River, Richmond River, Ballina, and will be online over the coming months.