State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin is calling for a blanket ban on mineral mining in the Northern Rivers region to protect water catchments which feed into the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed river systems

 

From the Office of NSW Labor MLA for Lismore Janelle Saffin, media release, 8 October 2021:

‘Gold, silver, copper & cobalt diggers’ be gone

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin is calling for a blanket ban on mineral mining in the Northern Rivers region to protect water catchments which feed into the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed river systems.

Ms Saffin wants the NSW Government to agree to a moratorium on mineral mining, revoking all licences for exploration or active mining, and financially compensating affected companies like it did with Shenua’s open-cut coal mine near Gunnedah.

Ms Saffin says she stands with thousands of local residents campaigning against a wave of ‘gold, silver copper and cobalt diggers’ who have our pristine back country firmly in their sights.

As Federal Member for Page from 2007 to 2013, Ms Saffin worked with local communities to repel the Coal Seam Gas industry from the region because of the threat to our water resources, and continues to support the activism of the Knitting Nannas.

And before this, as Labor’s candidate for Page, she helped torpedo Federal Coalition plans to dam and divert the mighty Clarence River inland.

“I’m proud of my track record of protecting our most precious resource – water – and our traditional industries like farming, fishing and tourism which help to sustain the economic prosperity of our local communities,” Ms Saffin said.

“’The Nationals in Government’ appear to be prepared to ignore the groundswell of anti-mining sentiment in their electorates to appease mining companies who will come and plunder for quick profits then potentially leave an environmental mess behind for future generations.”

With Parliament resuming next week, and despite COVID-19 issues expecting to dominate, Ms Saffin will speak on the fundamental need to protect our water during a debate scheduled in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, 14 October.

This debate was triggered after Ms Saffin on 9 June submitted a community petition with the Lower House, calling for a moratorium on future mineral mining, both exploratory or active, in the Clarence Catchment and surrounding Local Government Areas.

The petition was collected by the Clarence Catchment Alliance and has been signed by almost 11,000 mainly local residents of the Clarence Valley and Northern Rivers.

“I have met with Alliance representatives and agree that the risks of tailings dam failure from mineral mining, which is quite different from normal quarry operations, are too high, particularly in our high rainfall and floodprone region,” Ms Saffin said.

“I see where five councils – Kyogle, Coffs Harbour City, Bellingen Shire, Glen Innes-Severn Shire and Byron Shire -- have shown solidarity with Clarence Valley Council’s resolution seeking a mining moratorium in the Clarence Valley and which former Deputy Premier John Barilaro effectively ignored.”

For more information on the Clarence Catchment Alliance and the community petition go to https://linktr.ee/Nominesclarencevalley

NSW Nationals MLA for Clarence Chris Gulaptis intends to fight against community and Clarence Valley Council opposition to mining in the Clarence River catchment

 

Original Image: The Daily Telegraph

The employment history of NSW Nationals MLA for Clarence & Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry Chris Gulaptis (left) shows that from 2006-2007 he was involved with Land Partners Limited (formerly Aspect North & KFM Partnership) – a company which participated in the planning, design and construction phases of the Eastern Gas Pipeline in 1999-2000.

It also shows commencing around 2009 and presumably finishing when he won NSW Nationals pre-selection for the Clarence by-election in 2011, he was a senior operations manager for Brazier Motti Pty Ltd engineering and mining surveyors in Mackay, Queensland – a position he used to enthusiastically support the mining industry.

In 2007, 2012 and 2013 Gulaptis supported coal seam gas exploration on the NSW North Coast - including in the Clarence Valley.

The Berejiklian Government of which Gulaptis is a member is subsidisng mining exploration. Currently it has granted Perth-based Corazon Mining Limited a reimbursement of 50 per cent of per-metre drilling costs, up to a maximum of $200,000 with regard to its cobalt-copper-gold exploration lease near Mt. Gilmore (approximately 25km northwest of Grafton) in the Clarence River catchment area as part of the state's New Frontiers Cooperative Drilling program. 

So this comes as no surprise......

Clarence Valley Independent, 18 August 2021:

VOICES FOR THE EARTH

Political Inconsistency

The Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA) has campaigned strongly for the past three years, educating the community on the potential threats posed by mining to our Clarence Valley environment, particularly water quality.

During that campaign, CCA volunteers diligently collected over 10,000 signatures on a petition calling for a ban on mining in the Clarence River catchment. That petition has been tabled in State Parliament and is scheduled for debate.

The Clarence Valley Council’s motion calling on the State Government to impose a moratorium on mining within the LGA, would have been partially prompted by that campaign, and the community support it generated.

The CCA took their concerns, via Zoom, to local State Member, Mr Gulaptis, on 23rd April, where he vigorously argued that mining should be allowed, with any risks effectively managed by the stringent conditions that would be imposed. He also indicated he would be speaking to the Parliamentary debate, arguing against a ban on mining in his electorate.

So, when reading the ‘Northern Star’ the following day, specifically its article on the Dunoon Dam debate, the CCA team could be excused for being more than a little perplexed. The reason being, that on the very same day that Mr Gulaptis belittled the CCA’s campaign, and dismissed its 10,000-signature petition as NIMBYism, he is quoted as stating:

“… it is vital our communities have a clean and reliable water source.”, and then finished with: “It is often said that local government is the government closest to the people. Clearly that is not the case of the five elected councillors (that voted against the Dunoon Dam proposal) in this instance, who are ignoring the will of more than 10,000 constituents”.

Mr Gulaptis had previously been strongly critical of Clarence Valley Council, when it took notice of the more than 10,000 people who signed the CCA’s petition, and called on the State Government to impose a moratorium on mining.

It seems that some politicians only feel a need to consider the will of their constituents if it happens to agree with their own philosophy.

- John Edwards

Clarence Valley Council seeks allies in it fight to keep the Clarence River and its tributaries healthy and able to sustainably supply water to est. 129,378* people

"The Clarence River has the largest catchment and is the longest river on the NSW east coast, and our big river or Briemba/Breembia, is our greatest national asset."  [Issuu, from Clarence Valley Council - Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement, April 2020]

The Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2021:

Coffs Harbour City Council is being asked to form a united front with its northern neighbours over concerns mining in the Clarence River catchment could put our water supply at risk.

Mayor Denise Knight has put forward a motion before this Thursday’s council meeting to support Clarence Valley Council in opposition to mining in the Clarence River catchment, despite sounding far from resolute on the matter.

A vast majority of the more than 125,000 people in both council areas rely on water from the Clarence River catchment for drinking via the Shannon Creek dam.

Ms Knight would not confirm where she stood on the issue and said she was putting the motion forward as had been requested by Clarence Valley Council Mayor Jim Simmons. “I am just doing them a solid,” she said.

“It is important to listen to the debate and hear what councillors think and feel.” In his letter to Ms Knight, Mr Simmons outlined his council’s position, which is to seek a moratorium on mining and mining exploration.

Clarence Valley Council are also asking the state government to deem the catchment a “no-go zone” for minerals mining due its “unique natural and cultural values”.

“(This is being done) on behalf of the community who are concerned that mining will not only have detrimental environmental effects but also puts at risk our drinking water for the Clarence and Coffs Harbour Council area,” Mr Simmons said.

With the price of precious metals running hot in recent years, exploration licenses have been sought across the region which was once known for its mining.

In September 2020, Christopher Wilson Investments lodged a series of applications with the state government for exploration across 391sq km of land which included parts of Coffs Harbour and Grafton council areas.

The licence in Coffs Harbour covers an area of 198sq km and cuts across the Orara River in between Coramba and Nana Glen.

The increase in licence applications, along with a series of more advanced projects, also prompted local conservation groups to step up efforts to prevent mining in the Clarence catchment.

Clarence Valley Independent, 30 July 2021:

At last week’s Coffs Harbour City Council (CHCC) meeting, the executive summary regarding the reaching of an agreement between Essential Energy, Clarence Valley Council and CHCC – on ownership of water supply infrastructure – concluded, “The final step is to gain the formal consent of Clarence Valley Council and the Essential Energy Board to conclude the transaction to transfer the assets to Clarence Valley Council ownership.”

In an effort to inform the Independent’s readers about the issue, given all of CVC’s discussions have been confidential, here’s a full transcript of CHCC’s executive summary of the matter….

Read the full article here.

NOTE:

* the figure of 129,378  people is based on the combined Clarence Valley & Coffs Harbour City 2020 LGA population projections published by Idcommunity demograpic resources.

The world can see evidence of Australia's methane pollution from space

 

Bloomberg Green, 22 July 2021:

Potent methane plumes have been detected in a key coal mining district in Australia, one of the world’s biggest exporters of the commodity, underscoring the fossil fuel’s role in exacerbating climate change.

Clouds of the invisible greenhouse gas, which is over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth in its first couple decades in the atmosphere, were spotted near multiple mines last month, an analysis of European Space Agency satellite data by geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS showed.

Methane detected over the Bowen Basin on June 21. Source: Kayrros SAS

Two large clouds of methane were spotted over the Bowen Basin on June 21, and were visible across more than 30 kilometers each. While Kayrros attributes the clouds to the coal sector, the plumes were diffused and could have come from multiple sources.

The leaking of methane into the atmosphere has come under increasing scrutiny as awareness grows over their harmful global warming effects. Scientists view reducing emissions from the fossil fuel industry as one of the cheapest and easiest ways to hold down temperatures in the near term, especially as improving technology makes it easier to identify polluters.

Efforts to curtail coal use have largely focused on the large amount of CO₂ generated when it’s burned, but mining the fuel is also problematic because producers can release methane trapped in underground operations to lower the risk of explosion. The coal sector is forecast to account for about 10% of man-made emissions of the gas by the end of the decade, according to the Global Methane Initiative.

The Bowen Basin is a key producing region for Australia, the world’s top exporter of metallurgical coal used in steel-making. For every ton of coal produced in the region, an average 7.5 kilograms of methane is released, according to Kayrros. That’s 47% higher than the global average in 2018, the geoanalytics company said, citing International Energy Agency data.

When contacted about the larger of the two plumes, Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science said it didn’t receive notice of methane releases in the two days through June 21. Coal mining companies have reporting obligations under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme that is regulated by the federal government, the department said.

Students Win Landmark Climate Case. In Global First, Judge Determines That Federal Environment Minister Has Duty Of Care To Protect Young People From Climate Change

 

The group of teenagers took the federal government to court on behalf of "young Australians everywhere".

(ABC News Brendan Esposito)

Final Media Release

STUDENTS WIN LANDMARK CLIMATE CASE. IN GLOBAL FIRST, MINISTER HAS DUTY OF CARE TO PROTECT YOUNG PEOPLE FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

SYDNEY MAY 27, 2021: Eight high school students have welcomed today’s landmark judgment in the Federal Court of Australia that found the Federal Environment Minister has a duty of care not to cause them harm from climate change.

The students brought the class action against Minister Sussan Ley in September 2020, asking the court to recognise the Minister has a duty to protect young people around Australia from foreseeable future climate change harms.

The students alleged that approving a major extension to the Vickery coal mine in northern New South Wales would breach the Minister’s duty. An injunction was not ordered but there will be further submissions on what the duty means for the Minister’s decision and the mine.

“I am thrilled by today’s judgement,” says Ava Princi, 17, one of the students.

“I’m thrilled because this is a global first. We understand it is the first time a Court of law,anywhere in the world, has ordered a government to specifically protect young people from the catastrophic harms of climate change.

“My future - and the future of all young people - depends on Australia joining the world in taking decisive climate action.”

“But this case is not over. While the Court stopped short of preventing the Minister from approving the Vickery mine extension today, it has ordered parties to come together to find a way forward. We are still optimistic that the climate harms from this mine will not happen.”

In Sharma and others v Minister for the Environment the Court accepted evidence brought by independent experts that carbon emissions released from mining and burning fossil fuels will contribute to wide-ranging harms to young people.

The judgment means the Environment Minister should not make decisions that harm young people, however the judge stopped short of preventing the Minister from approving the Vickery Extension Project.

The judge called upon the parties to confer on orders over the future of the proposed project.

“I feel elated by this decision,” says Laura Kirwan, 17, another student behind the class action.

“This is a victory for young people everywhere. The case was about young people stepping up and demanding more from the adults whose actions are determining our future wellbeing. Our voices are powerful and I hope this case inspires more young people to push for stronger, fasterand deeper cuts to carbon emissions.

“Our futures depend on it.”

ENDS

Avi Prince, 17 years of age,  media statement here.

Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May 2021 Federal Budget

 GRAFTON KNITTING NANNAS CAMPAIGN ON FUNDING OUR FUTURE - NOT GAS

Knitting Nannas setting up for the day in Grafton
Photographs supplied

The Grafton Nannas Against Gas and Greed joined a community campaign – Fund Our Future Not Gas – in the lead-up to May’s Federal Budget. Those participating in this campaign include Nannas from around the state, 350.org and GetUp. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the folly of the federal government’s gas led recovery and highlight where budget money should go to improve the lot of all Australians – not just the polluting fossil fuel companies which the Government plans to shower with largesse.

At the Grafton knit-in outside MP Kevin Hogan’s Prince Street office on Thursday April 22, interested passers-by were asked what they thought should be in the budget. Among the suggestions were improved funding for aged care, hospitals and health, education, the NDIS, homelessness, public housing, first home buyers, Closing the Gap, environmental protection, the ABC, and the CSIRO. As well there were calls for electric car subsidies, more renewable energy, and effective climate action. Another suggestion was not to give more money to the already rich.

Some suggestions were less about budget expenditure but highlighting the concerns many people have about politicians’ ethics and their accountability as well as the health of our democracy. These included calls for honesty, stopping lying, banning big business lobbyists, stopping the press monopoly, and stopping secret deals.

Also there were calls to stop relying on poorly paid workers from overseas (and get rid of 457 Visas) as well as for women’s rights that were real, not token, and the establishment of a Federal ICAC.

Some of those who chatted with the Nannas did not want to add anything to the list but expressed support for what had been listed while others approved of what the Nannas were doing to draw attention to the need for fairness in the budget and applauded the Nannas for getting out and campaigning.

In the follow-up to their knit-in the Nannas will be writing to Kevin Hogan about these suggestions and other general comments they received. The Grafton Nannas believe it would be in Mr Hogan’s interest to listen to what his constituents say about ditching the gas folly and ensuring public money works for his community. He should know that after our local Metgasco experience there is unlikely to be much support here for a gas led recovery, particularly amongst the increasing number of people who want fossil fuels phased out in order to cut our carbon emissions drastically.

- Leonie Blain

On behalf of the Grafton Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to 

ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration. Longer posts will be considered on topical subjects.

NSW Deputy-Premier, Minister for Regional New South Wales and Liberal MP for Monaro, John Barilaro, ignores council and communities strong opposition to mining within the Clarence River catchment area

Clarence Valley Independent, 31 March 2021:

Clarence Valley Council’s only declared politically-aligned councillor, Greg Clancy, tabled a motion at yesterday’s March 30 CVC meeting, to restate CVC’s anti-mining stance.

At the November 24, 2020, CVC meeting, councillors voted six to one (Cr Baker was opposed and councillors Williamson and Kingsley were absent) to “oppose mining in the Clarence River catchment”.

Councillor Clancy’s motion – tabled after the Independent’s editorial deadline – is a response to Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s letter to CVC, which rejected CVC’s plea to impose a moratorium on mining in the Clarence Valley’s river catchment.

Following the November decision, CVC wrote to Mr Barilaro, NSW Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean, state Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis and federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan – Mr Barilaro responded on behalf of himself and Mr Kean; Mr Gulaptis and Mr Hogan had not responded, according to CVC’s meeting papers.

Councillor Clancy’s motion sought to “thank” Mr Barilaro “for his response on behalf of the Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean”, and to “advise that CVC was not seeking an explanation of the process of developing mining in the Clarence Valley, but was advising the state government of its strong opposition to mining in the Valley”.

The rest of his motion stated: “Advise [Mr] Barilaro that the council, representing the community’s strong opposition, is seeking support for the Clarence Valley to be identified as a no-go zone for mining due to its almost unique natural and cultural values, many of which depend on the Clarence River, and which support essential and valuable industries contributing to the local economy;

“Write to the Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, advising her of Council’s resolution and seeking her support for a moratorium on mining in the Clarence Valley;

“[and], write to the adjoining councils that have responsibility for areas draining into the Clarence River catchment requesting that they support council’s stand and ask them to pass resolutions to oppose mining in areas affecting the Clarence River catchment.”…...

Clarence Valley Independent, 6 April 2021:

In last week’s story, ‘Greens councillor revisits CVC’s anti-mining stance’, the Independent outlined a motion put to the March 30 Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting, however, the motion was deferred to the April meeting.

Councillor Greg Clancy withdrew his motion when it became apparent that time was running out as Councillors discussed technical issues regarding how the motion should be put.

 

Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ & NAB banks spending billions financing the fossil fuel industry

 

The Rainforest Action Network supported by a great many non-government agencies has created an interactive website packed with data and published a report titled BANKING ON CLIMATE CHAOS 2021.

Here are just four excerpts from this report:

• In the 5 years since the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 biggest banks have financed fossil fuels to the tune of $3.8 trillion. Runaway funding for fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure fuels climate chaos and threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions.

• These banks poured a total of $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels from 2016–2020. Fossil fuel financing dropped 9% last year, parallel to the global drop in fossil fuel demand and production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet 2020 levels remained higher than in 2016, the year immediately following the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The overall fossil fuel financing trend of the last five years is still heading definitively in the wrong direction, reinforcing the need for banks to establish policies that lock in the fossil fuel financing declines of 2020, lest they snap back to business-as-usual in 2021

• JPMorgan Chase remains the world’s worst banker of fossil fuels over this time period, though its funding did drop significantly last year. Citi follows as the second-worst fossil bank, followed by Wells Fargo, Bank of America, RBC, and MUFG. Barclays is the worst in Europe and Bank of China is the worst in China.

• ...the current wave of bank commitments to reduce their financed emissions to “net zero by 2050,” as well as related policies like measuring and disclosing financed emissions, and emphasizes that no bank making a climate commitment for 2050 should be taken seriously unless it also acts on fossil fuels in 2021. Moreover, until the banks prove otherwise, the “net” in “net zero” leaves room for emissions targets that fall short of what the science demands, based on copious offsetting or absurd assumptions about future carbon-capture schemes, as well as the rights violations and fraud that often come hand in hand with offsetting and carbon markets.

According to the report, between 2016 and 2020 the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the National Australia Bank (NAB) committed $6.24 billion and $4.43 billion respectively to the total global financing of the fossil fuel industry. While the ANZ Bank contributed a hefty total of $15.22 billion and Westpac $6.5 billion.

All four banks financed fossil fuel expansion by the top 100 fossil fuel companies, as well as financing fuel production based on tar sands and LNG.

The Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac financed ventures in the Arctic and offshore areas.

ANZ also financed production companies involved in fracking.

All four banks financed coal mining and coal power companies over the same five year period.

The four banks were given dismal  policy scores out of 200 points, ranging from 13.5 (Westpac), 14 (NAB), 18 (CBA) to 22.5 (ANZ).

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, along with 39 other heads of government, will be attending a U.S. Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 and 23, which will be live streamed for public viewing.

Given his lack of enthusiasm for any “zero emissions” target and his government's paucity of effective climate change mitigation policies, it is highly likely that at this summit Morrison – rather than representing the nation – will be representing the commercial interests of these banks, along with those of the fossil fuel mining & production sectors .

The Tweed Valley may be extensively explored for gold and minerals if NSW Deputy-Premier and Nationals Leader John Barilaro has his way

 

Tweed Valley IMAGE: nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au

On 30 September 2020 Gold Belt Pty Ltd (registered August 2020) announced that in late August it had applied for an exploration licence covering a 118 square kilometre corridor, approximately 33kms in length as the crow flies, from Bilambil Heights in the north to Dunbible in the south of the Tweed local government area. 

This corridor also includes Cobaki, Bilambil, Terranora, Bungalora, Duguigan, Tumbulgum, Duroby, Tumbulgum, Condong, Kielvale, Fernvale, Stokers Siding, Dum Dum, Uki and the outskirts of Muwillumbah. 

Exploration is for metallic minerals including gold, silver and copper and the Tweed is not the only NSW region Gold Belt and, a small cluster of other mining companies registered in Narellan NSW, are seeking to explore.

https://commonground.nsw.gov.au/#!/title/ELA%206115/1992

Google Earth snapshot showing terrain, 15 February 2021

On 15 October 2020 the Echo NetDaily reported that; ‘These areas include densely populated and rural areas and include the town drinking water catchments of the Clarrie Hall Dam and the Bray Park Weir, the Tweed River, the State Significant Coastal Lake of Terranora Broadwater, and important sugar cane growing areas that are highly vulnerable to any impacts on land availability due to production viability of the sugar mill,’ explains Cr Milne in the notes.

‘Tweed Shire recognised as one of Australia’s 8 National Iconic Landscapes and an internationally significant environment with the highest biodiversity in NSW but the highest number of threatened species in Australia.

‘Tourism is an important economy for the Tweed and any impact of these values through such mining activities would be highly detrimental to its tourism reputation.

‘There has been vehement opposition from the Tweed Community to mining activities in the past in regards to Coal seam Gas Mining and Commercial Water Extraction with these activities now prohibited in the Tweed Shire.

‘This mining application is highly inappropriate for such a sensitive and significant location as the Tweed Shire.’…..

Echo NetDaily, 15 February 2021:

The application for a mining exploration licence that covers a large swathe of the Tweed Shire continues to raise concerns for Tweed Shire Councillors and residents.

The application, that was lodged in early October 2020, covers 118 square kilometre corridor from Bilambil Heights in the north to Dunbible in the south. It relates to the exploration of metallic minerals including gold, silver and copper.

At the previous Tweed Shire Council meeting (4 February) Councillors noted that the Minister for Regional NSW had responded to their letter in mid-October that objected ‘in the strongest terms to the Exploration (Minerals) Licence Application ELA 6115 in the Tweed Shire’.

While there is no exploration on private land without the written consent of the landholder and no exploration in National Parks or nature reserves Mayor Chris Cherry (Independent) said mining consent on council land needed clarification.

Mayor Cherry told the meeting that she had ‘heard very strongly that people don’t want the mining to happen’.

The majority of councillors, with Cr Pryce Allsop (Conservative) against, voted to write back to the minister ‘to reiterate our deep concerns with regards to gold exploration/mining in the Tweed Shire due to the international significance of the environment and scenic landscape of this Shire, and…’ that the Council does ‘Not support gold exploration or mining activities on Council owned land and any requests for such, including for owners consent to lodge an application, or request for access must be brought to a Council meeting for determination.’

Courts can rule for mining

Councillor Katie Milne (Greens) clarified that while access arrangements are required for the mining exploration to take place on private land a landholder cannot always refuse consent.

‘It is shocking for a lot of people to find out that while they get compensated they don’t have the right to say no. If the negotiation between the landholder and mining company is not successful then it can be taken to court for approval,’ said Cr Milne.

‘It could be a very big and concerning issue for what is actually an internationally environmentally significant area. The Gondwana rainforest (UNESCO world heritage) is the best example (of the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest) in the world. I think sometimes the state government does not remember that we are an internationally significant environment. We have a very big duty to protect this area. Any mining – including water, sand, and gas – all has a very large impact on our landscape.

‘The land area covered (by the mining exploration licence) is absolutely vast – if it gets approved we may be in the shock of our lives.’

BACKGROUND

NSW Deputy Premier & Nationals MP for Monaro John Barilaro proves once again that he doesn't understand that mining & overdevelopment has marked downsides for communities in north-east NSW  16 February 2021

Barilaro, the stealthy empire builder in 2020 22 November 2020

Dispatches from the Australian Koala Wars 21 September 2020