South Australian motorists are wondering why their NSW cousins have a workable Fuel Check and they do not

One of North Coast Voices South Australian readers alerted us to this.

CHRISTMAS 2015…..

ABC News, 24 December 2015:

Motorists will soon have access to the same petrol price information as retailers, under a deal brokered by the competition watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has reached agreement with petrol price information service Informed Sources and four major petrol retailers to make almost real-time data available to motorists.

Currently, the retailers have exclusive access to information about petrol price moves within 15-30 minutes of when they occur through Informed Sources.

Under the deal, Informed Sources will make the same information available to consumers for free and to third parties on commercial terms.

The ACCC's chairman Rod Sims told ABC News that this will facilitate improved competition amongst petrol retailers.

"Consumers will have the information to shop and get the best deal, that will improve competition on the ground," he argued.

"Secondly, ourselves and motoring organisations and others will be able to see exactly what's going on, who's leading prices up, who's leading prices down."

See: Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), Petrol price information sharing proceedings resolved

IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA JUST ON 9 MONTHS LATER……

RAA, media release, 17 September 2016:

Site specific fuel prices will no longer be available via RAA’s website due to a deal struck by the ACCC, and it could cost motorists up to $24 a tank when filling up. 

RAA Senior Manager Mobility & Automotive Policy Mark Borlace said the agreement comes into effect from today. 

“At the moment we receive site specific fuel prices for Adelaide twice a day, and we share that information with motorists via our website,” said Mr Borlace. 

“We also use the data to monitor price trends day-to-day, which allows us to notify motorists when a price spike is imminent, just as we did this week when prices spiked +27cpl. 

“As of today, we are only able to provide a daily average price for fuel in Adelaide, which is significantly inferior to what motorists have benefited from via our website for more than a decade.” 

Using RAA’s website, on occasion Adelaide petrol motorists could spot as much as a 40cpl variation in prices between the best and worst sites. 

“Using this information, Adelaide motorists would have saved anywhere between $12 and $24 per 60L tank over the past year,” said Mr Borlace. 

“If motorists are left to rely on street price boards, they won’t be able to see the ‘bigger picture’ to decide which route to take on any given day to get the best deal on fuel.” 

RAA is disappointed that motorists will not be able to get reliable site-specific fuel price information online as a consequence of the ACCC’s deal with the fuel industry, and has called on the State Government to take action. 

“Earlier this year, New South Wales introduced legislation that compels every fuel retailer to report their fuel prices in real-time to a government agency who provides this to the public free of charge without any restrictions,” said Mr Borlace. 

“Not only would an initiative like this allow motorists to find the cheapest prices, it also means we could continue to scrutinise the fuel industry and enhance competition amongst retailers who have to compete with a good price to attract customers.” 

RAA will continue to investigate all avenues to cater for motorists’ needs when it comes to purchasing fuel. 

“Limited pricing information is available via a number of smartphone apps but these offerings do not reliably tell motorists where to find the cheapest fuel,” said Mr Borlace. 

“We’re also concerned that by only providing fuel prices in one format, it disadvantages over half of our members who don’t use smartphone apps. These people are generally the most sensitive to fuel price movements and would benefit most from knowing where to find the cheapest prices. 

“In reality, most motorists will be left in the dark when it comes to fuel prices due to the ACCC’s agreement with the fuel industry.” 

SA Fuel price information is available at raa.com.au/fuel

South Australia’s Deputy Premier John Rau has allegedly told the RAA that it would be too expensive to change the law to make releasing the petrol price information legal.

So Malcolm Turnbull wants to continue Tony Abbott's vendetta against the former Labor Government's industrial relations legislation

After Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Bligh Turnbull initially promised to abolish a road safety tribunal if re-elected, following the body's attempts to introduce a new minimum pay rate for trucking contractors, he then announced that the demolition process would begin in this week's special parliamentary sitting.

So what did he actually abolish on 18 April 2016 and why?

The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) began operation on 1 July 2012.

The Tribunal makes road safety remuneration orders, road transport collective agreements, deals with certain disputes relating to road transport drivers, their employers or hirers, and participants in the supply chain and, conducts research into pay, conditions and related matters that could be affecting safety in the road transport industry.

One month after the last federal election which saw the Liberal-Nationals coalition win government, the Abbott Government announced a review of the RSRT as part of its election promise to review industrial relations law made since the abolition of Work Choices.

The Government’s pre-election Policy to Improve the Fair Work Laws (May 2013) included a commitment to review the operation of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal as a matter of urgency. [Review of the Road Safety Remuneration System, Rex Deighton-Smith Jaguar Consulting Pty Ltd, 16 April 2014]

This review was published on 16 April 2014 and, such was the alleged urgency of the matter that the government did not act on its recommendations.

On 11 December 2015 the Tribunal published its Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 which was to take effect from 4 April 2016.

This was the second remuneration order it has made – the first being in 2014.

Subsequent to Remuneration Order 2016 the Abbott-Turnbull Government ordered a second review of the RSRT which was published in January 2016 – a year in which not so co-incidentally it faces a federal election.

On application by Australian Trucking Association (ATA) and National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) the Federal Court of Australia granted a stay on the remuneration order on 1 April 2016, which it later lifted on 7 April 2016.

This is where the matter stood on 18 April 2016 as to the continuing existence of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and the validity of its remuneration orders relating to time and distanced travelled by contract drivers.

But what of the road safety issue? Many people on the NSW North Coast are concerned about their safety when travelling on routes used by heavy commercial vehicles. Anecdotes concerning near misses and reckless heavy vehicles are common when it comes to travel on the Pacific Highway between Coffs Harbour and the NSW-QLD border.

Heavy vehicles reportedly make up 3 per cent of all Australian road traffic and heavy vehicle speeding above posted limits is recognised by governments, the trucking industry and the community as a serious issue in Australia.

Although speeding is a significant risk factor for road crashes for all types of motor vehicles, it is generally considered to be a more critical factor in heavy vehicle crashes. This is because of:

longer breaking distances—heavy vehicles require between 20 to 40 percent more stopping distance;

shorter reaction times—reaction time is a smaller proportion of stopping distance;

greater instability—heavy vehicles are less stable than lighter vehicles, which makes emergency manoeuvres and loss of control on curves more likely; and

greater collision energy—due to their size and rigidity, heavy vehicles exert more collision energy and cause more damage on impact than do other vehicles (Bishop et al. 2008; Brooks 2002; NTC 2005). [Australian Institute of Criminology, October 2012, Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 446]

The federal Dept. of Infrastructure and Regional Development publishes quarterly bulletins on fatal heavy vehicle crashes.

These following statistics are found in its December 2015 bulletin and accompanying tables.

During the 12 months to the end of December 2015, 210 people died from 187 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks or buses.

These included:

– 115 deaths from 102 crashes involving articulated trucks

– 79 deaths from 72 crashes involving heavy rigid trucks

– 20 deaths from 17 crashes involving buses.

Of those 58 fatal crashes which occurred in NSW:

* 31 involved articulated trucks (5 of which did not involve another vehicle) – resulting in 34 deaths of which 22 were drivers of either the heavy or light vehicle involved

* 22 involved heavy rigid trucks (1 of which did not involve another vehicle) - resulting in 24 deaths of which 16 were drivers of either the heavy or light vehicle involved

* 5 involved buses – resulting in 5 deaths of which 3 were drivers of the bus or light vehicle involved.

The correlation between truck drivers wages and safety has been drawn to the attention of the Turnbull Government.

The Conversation, 13 April 2016:

On the question of pay and road transport safety, the Pricewaterhouse Coopers report said:

directly comparing remuneration and safety does demonstrate statistically significant correlations. However, results vary substantially.

the four most recent papers range in conclusion from a) a very large effect, b) a U-shaped curve, in which a large positive effect of initial remuneration rises eventually turns negative, through to c) and d) with a very small effect

the literature is very limited in size and focuses on employee drivers

Drivers are likely to benefit the most [from tribunal orders] due to increased remuneration and fewer road accidents, followed by government and members of society who face costs following road crashes, and will therefore benefit from an improvement in safety.

You can read the full response from O'Connor’s spokeswoman here.

If you just read that Pricewaterhouse Coopers report excerpt above, you might think that the evidence is fairly mixed. In fact, the overwhelming weight of evidence supports Albanese’s claim: there is persuasive evidence of a connection between truck driver pay and safety. [my red bolding]

So there we have it.

The Turnbull Government ignored evidence and supported trucking industry calls to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and, with the assistance of Senate cross benchers on 18 April, set in motion the removal of a minimum wages award for contract drivers.

However, voters and other road users are being told ‘don’t you worry about that’ when it comes to the safety of themselves and their families when sharing roads with commercial heavy vehicle operators seeking to make profits under a no minimum wage, performance (time) based system.

First Dog on the Moon slyly put the case for the continuance of a minimum wage, without the ongoing political interpretive dance (left) being performed by Michaelia Cash in pursuit of the creation of Work Choices Mark II:

Click on image to enlarge

This is what passes for community consultation at Clarence Valley Council in April 2015

Take a good look at this concept plan below.

There is no scale to accurately judge distance, eg. changes to road width.

There is no legend to decode symbols drawn on areas which are to be altered, eg. footpaths and outdoor dining areas.
There is no gradient given for the ramps on either side of the proposed change to the Coldstream Street pedestrian crossing.

There is no indication of how high the proposed roundabout will be above the road surface or its final design and visual impact, eg. potential to obscure a pedestrian’s view of oncoming traffic.

Without scale, legend, gradient and full description of the roundabout, Yamba residents have no way of judging whether it will be safe to step onto the new pedestrian crossing. 

Neither will they be able to calculate the stopping distance required by the Yamba to Grafton bus if it is negotiating the roundabout at the same time an elderly person is traversing this pedestrian crossing. Nor judge whether the traffic lane narrowing at one point accommodates the full width of a standard passenger bus.

It is also difficult to judge whether there will be a significant loss of the outdoor dining tables locals enjoy.

The small central business district in Yamba probably has the highest number of pedestrian movements within the town as it services not only local residents but also the many tourists who visit or holiday in the area.

So one wonders why Clarence Valley Council decided that this sketchy concept plan was the single document it would post online when exhibiting Proposed Roundabout Intersection Yamba Street/Coldstream Street, Yamba for comment.

Just as one may wonder why council appears to believe there is a compelling need for a roundabout in the centre of town when there appears to have been no call from the local community to install one there, no history of serious accidents and apparently no traffic movement study conducted on the intersection to determine if there are significant capacity/delay issues associated with it to date.

A roundabout and associated modifications which in council's March 2012 monthly meeting minutes was costed at an estimated $371,688 and will in all likelihood exceed that amount in 2015.

Click on image to enlarge

Has The Daily Examiner editor drunk the National Party kool aid?

Opinion in The Daily Examiner on Page 7 of the 1 January 2015 issue:

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2015.

It promises to be an exciting time for the Clarence Valley, with the pending start to work on the Pacific Hwy upgrade, including a second crossing of the Clarence at Harwood, as well as the start to the second bridge at Grafton.

The announced injection of Federal and State funding for these projects is unprecedented and seems certain to have a highly positive impact on the Valley economy.

Local residents could do a lot worse than to make their new year's resolution coming up with a way to be part of the economic boost heading our way.

You don't need to know how to build a bridge or drive a dump truck to take advantage of the big projects.

Many businesses and service suppliers are poised to benefit from the boost to employment and the economy.

Schools could see an enrolment lift and landlords could be in for a golden period.

Just like a resolution to lose weight, however, those who benefit most from the construction boom will be those who work hardest and are best prepared.

The Daily Examiner reported on 11 December 2014 something which a look at NSW Roads & Maritime Service’s website confirms in January 2015, the second Grafton Bridge has not yet received approval:

CONSTRUCTION of a second bridge for Grafton is in limbo with no announcement yet on when works will begin.

A spokeswoman from Roads and Maritime Services said there would be "no comment" on the proposed bridge while the project was under review by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Meanwhile a spokesman from the Grafton Chamber of Commerce and Industry has raised concerns that an election promise, made in 2011 by the (then) Deputy Opposition Leader and Leader of the Nationals Andrew Stoner as well as current Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis, will not be met.

Des Harvey, board member of the Grafton Chamber of Commerce, said the community deserved clear answers.

"Given it is already December 2014, and the construction industry typically winds down for Christmas and the January holiday period, the Grafton Chamber is very concerned the deadline of 28 March 2015 for commencement of construction will not be met as promised," Mr Harvey said.

"People stop and ask me in the street - what's happening? - at the end of the day we want to see actual construction; we want to see tractors digging holes."

Mr Harvey acknowledged the project had progressed significantly, but he also noted that $177 million had been allocated for construction in the current term.

"I know plenty of work has already been done but the election is getting closer and the problem hasn't gone away," he said….

The second crossing of the Clarence River at Harwood is still at submissions from the community stage at this time, with tenders for preliminary first stage of soft soil treatment still being assessed.

Tenders are still being assessed for preliminary soft soil work on the Pacific Highway upgrade between Woolgoolga and Ballina generally.

This year is unlikely to see the hoped for golden period for the Clarence Valley - more likely there will be a slow trickle of employment opportunities in the second half of 2015.

Of course, if as is likely, the Baird Coalition Government is returned at the 28 March 2015 state election with a comfortable majority then any perception of political urgency in Macquarie Street will have subsided.

Then the federal funding earmarked for 2013-14 and the state's $395 million earmarked for 2014-15 may be the only funding not pushed forward past 2016-17 in this year's state budget papers, where such deferred spending would sit with further promised federal funding listed in forward estimates past the end of the Abbott Government's current (and perhaps only) term in office. 

Fighting for Ballina's Koalas

Letter to the editor in The Northern Star on 12 June 2014:

Koalas at risk

Yesterday on the ABC, Mr Bob Higgins, Pacific Highway upgrade manager for the RMS, said about the proposed Broadwater to Ballina deviation: "The route that was selected is on mostly cleared land."

His statement is not correct. The reality is that the proposed route will clear and sever intact corridors of forest and wetland that connect the Wardell heathland (part of the National Reserve system called the Ngunya-Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area) with the nationally significant forests (and koala habitats) of the Blackwall Range. Indeed, these areas are recognised as some of the most important wildlife corridors in Ballina Shire.

What Mr Higgins has repeatedly failed to address is that the proposed route is several kilometres longer than the existing highway.

It will require clearing large tracts of nationally important koala habitat and result in the isolation and permanent degradation of hundreds of hectares of adjacent koala habitat. It will clear and fragment the largest and most significant tracts of native vegetation in Ballina Shire.

The RMS policy about biodiversity states:

"When managing biodiversity, RMS aims to: 1. Avoid and minimise impacts first. 2. Mitigate impacts where avoidance is not possible. 3. Offset where residual impacts cannot be avoided".

There are numerous options available for building a highway between Broadwater and Ballina that won't have any impacts on biodiversity (including koalas).

Mr Higgins has been informed (in person and in writing) since 2005 that building a highway along the proposed route will cause local extinctions of nationally protected species, such as the koala and long-nosed potoroo. He knows there is no native vegetation, protected areas or culturally significant features along the existing highway between Broadwater and Ballina. He also knows that avoiding any impacts on biodiversity is readily achievable.

Mr Higgins, you have no excuse for killing Ballina's koalas.

Mark Graham

Coffs Harbour (formerly Meerschaum Vale)

Court case reveals Clarence Valley Council's poor management practices

In Collins v Clarence Valley Council (No 3) [2013] NSWSC 1682 judgment went in Council’s favour.

However, the case exposed a numbers of flaws in its policies and processes that councillors need to address.

Excerpts from the judgment:

1 At about 3.00pm on Friday, 9 April 2008, the plaintiff, Dr Ann Collins, was riding her bicycle along the Bluff Bridge. She was participating in an organised charity ride. The Bluff Bridge is a wooden bridge and forms part of the Orara Way. It straddles the Orara River at Lanitza, New South Wales. The front wheel of Dr Collins' bicycle became stuck in a gap between planks on the bridge. Dr Collins fell over the low guardrails on the side of the bridge, with the bicycle still attached to her feet. She fell into a rocky ravine adjacent to the river. Dr Collins suffered significant injuries. It is common ground that if she was to succeed in these proceedings she would recover damages in the amount of $822,632.00 less any deduction for contributory negligence.

7 To some the success of the Council in defending Dr Collins' claim may appear counter-intuitive. While riding her bike in a proper and lawful manner she encountered a wooden bridge on a public road in a poor state of repair. Dr Collins responded to the risk that she perceived was posed by the bridge in a reasonable manner, namely by weaving her way across her side lane of the bridge to avoid her wheels becoming trapped. Yet the accident still happened. The Council is able to avoid liability primarily because of its own ignorance of the risk posed by the structure whose responsibility it was to maintain and the limits on its own resources. Its ignorance of the risk does not reflect well upon its own practices. Whether the limits on its resources exist because of its own inefficiencies or because of factors beyond its control cannot be inquired into. However all of these matters reflect policy choices made by the Parliament in enacting the CLA. Whether those choices reflect a sensible approach to loss distribution that encourages efficient and safe practices of public bodies is not a matter for the Court to assess.

197 ....I have already noted the concession by Mr Bailey as to his state of knowledge of the use of the Orara Way by cyclists and the inadequacies of the bridge for use by cyclists in [54] and [64] above. Clearly Mr Bailey's inspection was less than adequate. What is the point of conducting inspections on a road if an obvious defect that can cause danger to a known category of lawful users of the road is not identified and reported upon?... 

206 The findings that I have made above necessarily mean that the test posed by s 43A(3) is not satisfied in relation to all of the suggested precautions save for a sign (and an inspection). However in relation to a sign I am satisfied that the test in s 43A(3) is made out. Objectively considered there was no rational reason to confine Mr Bailey's inspection in February 2008 to the risk posed by motor vehicles. Why exclude motorcycles and bicycles given that they are common on roads? Even a cursory inspection of the bridge as at that time would have revealed that the bridge was a potential danger for cyclists. Further, as at March 2008 the Bluff Bridge was ranked eleventh most in need of replacement and six of the bridges ahead were scheduled (and funded) for a complete rebuild. The local cycle club had nominated the area of road including the Bluff Bridge as its preferred area for at least its annual race and possibly monthly outings. While a sign was hardly a perfect response it was cheap and easy to undertake and was likely to ameliorate the risk faced by at least a significant group of the likely cyclists traversing the bridge. If the Council did not propose to take some step to repair or rebuild the bridge then it was unreasonable in the sense used in s 43A(3) for it not to have at least erected a sign as it did subsequently. (I make the same finding in relation to the inspection conducted by Mr Bailey for the reasons noted at [197]. However, as noted, this conclusion does not advance the matter beyond the conclusion that the Council should have placed a sign at the southern entrance to the Bluff Bridge.)

207 Thus Dr Collins has succeeded in establishing the Council was negligent in satisfying s 5B(1)(c) and overcoming s 43A in failing to placing a sign of the kind that they subsequently erected on the southern approach to the Bluff Bridge. However for the other reasons I have stated her case fails.

209 For the sake of completeness I will address the allegation of contributory negligence. The Council contended that Dr Collins' own negligence contributed to her accident in that she failed to dismount either before or while she was on the bridge, she slowed down at the crucial time and it is submitted that she must have not been keeping a proper look out at the point she fell over. I reject all of these contentions. I have already found that prior to entering the bridge she observed the gaps in the planks and decided to cross the bridge at a diagonal, bearing in mind the need to avoid the middle of the road because of the potential threat posed by logging trucks. To suggest that Dr Collins should have taken some further steps for her own safety beyond that is to truly engage in hindsight analysis.

Saffin comes out fighting over upgrading the Pacific Highway

STATEMENT ON UPGRADE OF THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY

WHEN I was elected in 2007 I made a commitment to secure funds for the Pacific Highway to ensure that it would be rolled out in our region and in a timely way.

I have done what I committed to, and in this case, so has the Federal Minister responsible Anthony Albanese.

He has allocated $7.9 billion for the dual carriageway works in six years of this Federal Government.

This is an extra $6.6 billion more than that allocated by the previous Federal Coalition government, which allocated $1.3 billion over 12 years.

Some of the funding came from stimulus funds during the height of the Global Financial Crisis. It was good to get this extra money.

The Ballina Bypass was first completed as the planning had been done and that has helped the development of the Pacific Highway in our region enormously, in terms of safety and the 1800 jobs that it created.

The Devil’s Pulpit section (Tabbimoble) is being done now with $62 million in Federal funding and $15 million from New South Wales.

The same is happening there with the project creating 87 construction jobs and I met local lads who scored some of these jobs. 

The planning works for the stretch from Woolgoolga to Grafton, Woodburn, Broadwater, Wardell and Ballina have also been done.

The pre-construction works from Woolgoolga to Grafton, Woodburn, Broadwater, Wardell and Ballina are the next to be done.

I am told that the NSW Roads and Maritime Services is ready to go on with this work. 

Following my recent meetings with Minister Albanese to discuss the Pacific Highway, I understand that significant Federal dollars will soon be released for the highway.

I have asked him to come to Grafton and make an announcement on this so that the public can hear from him and me together.

Regarding the O’Farrell-Stoner Government’s reneging on the 50/50 funding agreement for the Pacific Highway upgrade, the facts are as follows:

The parameters of this long-standing agreement were set by John Howard when he was Prime Minister.

It is instructive to note that the former NSW Labor government provided a total of $2.5 billion for the highway during the Howard years, not only complying with the agreement but doing even better, to a point where it was spending

$2 for every $1 spent by the Federal Coalition.

Barry O’Farrell and Andrew Stoner repeatedly promised when in Opposition to continue this arrangement, but broke this promise after winning the 2011 March election. They said they wanted to change it to an 80/20 funding split, and of itself, that would be ok if they did not lie, but lie they did, saying it had always been 80/20.

It was a cunning ploy because due to the GFC there had been more stimulus money made available, so they took this extra windfall and said, see 80/20!

“The Coalition will declare the Pacific Highway as a road of national importance and will, on a dollar-for-dollar basis with the State governments, commit $75 million per year over a period of ten years to a special program of upgrading the highway...” – John Howard-led Coalition election policy: Transport for the Next Century, February 7, 1996.

“It was the Howard Government that set the 50/50 funding split for the Pacific Highway from 2006 and the NRMA has supported this approach since day one.” – NRMA Motoring & Services President Wendy Machin, February 27, 2012.

I mean, seriously, who are you going to believe?

I challenge my National Party opponent to deny the facts I have set out as follows, and if he does, it proves that he is either ignorant of this funding history or deceiving us.  Either way, it is not a good look for someone who aspires to represent the people of the Federal seat of Page. 

“The Pacific Highway is a State road, designed, built, owned and maintained by the NSW Government.” – Federal Nationals Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker, demanding that NSW Labor fund it 50/50, in 2006.

I mean, seriously, who are you going to believe here?

“Should we be elected next March, one of the first things I’ll do is sit down with Anthony Albanese and talk about spending up the project ... The Pacific Highway should be above party politics. It’s an ongoing partnership between the Federal Government and the State Government.” – NSW Liberals Leader Barry O’Farrell, The Northern Star, April 9, 2010.

“The NSW Liberals and Nationals will immediately fast-track the upgrade of the Pacific Highway if elected in March.” – NSW Nationals Leader Andrew Stoner, Media Release, February 21, 2011.

“Our plan is to make sure that the upgrade of the highway to dual carriageway will be completed by 2016.” – NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay, The Coffs Coast Advocate, April 6, 2011.

I mean, seriously, who are you going to believe?

I am going with the facts as evidenced by third party sources such as the NRMA President and former Prime Minister John Howard.

It is clear that my National Party opponent, along with the current Nationals Leader Warren Truss, has decided to try and make this an election issue, causing unnecessary concern in the community. 

I can declare that I am not buying into their fabricated nonsense and promises to complete it by some time this decade, having gone from 2016 to now 2020; saying they will use funds from the Parramatta-Epping rail line in Sydney, which are just not there since the O’Farrell-Stoner Government decided that it did not want to do that work.

It is classic National Party tactic; say anything, muddy the debate, try to create confusion and then promise to fix it, whatever it is. 

I cannot abide this sort of tactic as too many people have lost their lives in accidents on the highway, leaving families suffering terribly, and I believe to deliberately deceive people on this issue is unconscionable.

I shall stand on my record of being straight with the electorate, of being consistent, no matter who is government and at what levels. If my own need a serve, I will give them one; securing funding for the Pacific Highway upgrade and having the work done in our area; and importantly, of not having played games with it, trying to seek political advantage as my National Party opponent now seeks to do, aided and abetted by his NSW State Coalition colleagues.

Shame on all of them, I say.

There has to be some areas which are off limits in political life and this is one of them.  I realised that I kept arguing with them and that is pointless, as once they have lied they will again.  

On the North Coast alone, the Ballina Bypass, the Glenugie Upgrade, and the Banora Point Upgrade are all done, finished.

In addition, we’ve started work on The Devil’s Pulpit Upgrade and the duplication of the section between Tintenbar and Ewingsdale, and planning works are done for the remaining stretch between Woolgoolga and Ballina.

The roll out of the upgrade is decided between the State and Federal authorities and it is done where it is most dangerous.

That is a hard call as there are so many dangerous spots, but that is how it is.  It would be great if it could roll out all at once, but it is a working highway and one which we need to upgrade section by section.

I remain committed to getting the job done. The Nationals simply cannot be believed.

Janelle Saffin MP

Federal Member for Page.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013.

What the NSW Roads & Maritime Services appears intent on ignoring about the new Pacific Highway route from Woolgoolga to Ballina - including the Glenugie to Iluka turn-off leg

 

NSW North Coast Pacific Highway Upgrade Biodiversity Assessment, November 2012 - Executive Summary excerpt

 

Much of the native vegetation in the study area has been cleared or fragmented for agriculture and rural development, with the exception of the Summervale Range and associated foot slopes, Wardell heath, and several adjoining state forests and conservation reserves. The project traverses a number of these key habitats and corridors including the boundaries of eight state forests

 

These formations consist of 57 separate vegetation communities including six Threatened

Ecological Communities listed as Endangered under the NSW Threatened Species

Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act) and one Critically Endangered Ecological Community

listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC

Act).
 

These are:

• Sub-tropical coastal floodplain forest of the NSW North Coast Bioregion (TSC Act)

• Swamp sclerophyll forest on coastal floodplains of the NSW North coast, Sydney Basin

and south east corner bioregions (TSC Act)

• Swamp oak floodplain forest of the NSW North Coast, Sydney Basin and South East

Corner bioregions (TSC Act)

• Coastal Cypress Pine shrubby open forest of the North Coast Bioregion (TSC Act)

• Freshwater wetlands on coastal floodplains on the NSW North coast, Sydney Basin and

South East Corner bioregions (TSC Act)

• Lowland Rainforest on floodplain in the NSW North Coast Bioregion (TSC Act)

• Lowland Rainforest of sub-tropical Australia (EPBC Act).

 

A total of 123 threatened flora and fauna species were identified either as known from or potentially occurring in the study area comprising 63 vertebrate fauna species (one an

endangered population), 54 plant species, three invertebrate species and three fish species and six conservation reserves which adjoin the project boundary.
 

The project traverses the major river catchments of the Clarence and Richmond rivers.

Eight Nationally Important Wetlands (from the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (2001)) and thirteen State listed wetlands (State Environmental Planning Policy No.14) are located in this study area. Many of these wetlands are recharged or fed by the Clarence River catchment and support significant areas of groundwater dependent ecosystems...
 

The proposed upgrade of the Pacific Highway from Woolgoolga to Ballina would have a significant impact on aspects of the biodiversity of study area. There would be a loss of

around 948 hectares of remnant vegetation from low to high condition, one third of which (337 hectares) consists of listed threatened ecological communities. An additional potential loss of 25 hectares is likely to be required for ancillary facilities. The scale of impact highlights the importance of mitigating and managing long-term indirect impacts to rare and high quality habitats and maintaining existing connectivity in the landscape...
 

As the project would result in clearing of native vegetation including critically endangered ecological communities, threatened species and their habitat, it is unlikely that the objective of maintaining or improving biodiversity values can be met....[my emphasis]

 

The NSW North Coast Bioregion supports high biodiversity and a considerable number of State and Commonwealth listed threatened species and ecological communities. Measures to avoid and mitigate listed key threatening processes have been duly considered through the route planning process and biodiversity management strategies. This thorough process considered the long-term protection of the majority of the threatened species identified as known or likely to occur in the study area.

 

There is no conclusive scientific knowledge on the ability of each of the assessed species to sustain a loss of the magnitude expected or resilience to change including adaptation to the proposed mitigation measures. As such, there is a risk that the project could have a significant impact on several threatened flora and fauna, most notably the coastal emu endangered population and the critically endangered Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia present in the study area.....[my emphasis]

* Hat tip to Dr. Greg Clancy, Ecologist, Coutts Crossing, Clarence Valley, for drawing this assessment to my attention.

Has a misinformation campaign begun ahead of public exhibition of proposed linemarking intended to replace a 'stolen' section of the Regional Cycleway on Yamba Road?

On walking out of the 13 November 2012 Clarence Valley Council Committee Meetings one local resident was of the opinion that the attitude of the dominant clique to requests to replace a section of the Yamba Road Cycleway (which was removed without notice or community consultation) would likely see letters begin to appear in the local media presenting a distorted history of these requests.

It may be a coincidence, but this strangely ill-informed letter to the editor was published in The Daily Examiner on the morning of the 20 November council ordinary monthly meeting:

Leave road alone
CAN someone please explain to me why Clarence Valley Council is considering removing a perfectly good access and median strip in Yamba Rd? My elderly aunt and uncle feel very safe using the new access point on Yamba Rd but now a cyclist (who can ride on the road anyway) wants three cycle paths in the location - one on each side of the road and one on the road - and wants the council to spend more money undoing the great job they just did.
Residents along Yamba Rd near Freeburn St be aware, if this goes through, you are just about the lose your bus stop, street parking and the safe pedestrian access point along Yamba Rd all because the cyclist refuses to use the road, which they are able to do under the laws of the road.
On behalf of my elderly aunt and uncle and the safety of the locals, please just leave it alone.

John Wilcox

Bent Street

 

A direct response to Mr. Wilcox of Grafton (who is a big fan of the mayor*) was not published, but this letter to the editor set out below did make it onto the pages of The Daily Examiner on 23 November 2012:

 

Call for answers on lost cycleway
Nobody suggests the much-needed and absolutely necessary pedestrian refuge crossing recently installed on Yamba Rd at the Freeburn St intersection be removed.
But why has Yamba lost 150m of its Yamba Rd cycleway during construction when there was an abundance of land space available to widen the road and allow the cycleway to continue?
The Yamba Rd cycleway forms part of the regional cycleway that has safely served the community for decades.
The unnecessary loss of the section of cycleway has dangerously exposed cyclists of all ages and ability to the fast-moving heavy Yamba Rd traffic.
The erection of signs diverting all cyclists onto the Yamba Coastal Walkway - now called the "shared use pathway" - has placed the safety of pedestrians at risk.
The coastal walkway was partly funded by the NSW Government ($418,500) and was not designed for prolific cycle usage.
What's more, council is fully aware the pathway does not comply with its own safety standards, thereby deliberately breaching its "duty of care" responsibilities, which are to provide safe public facilities.
The destruction of the Yamba Rd cycleway occurred over six months ago, but still our mayor, Cr Williamson, avoids an explanation.
In fact, the subsequent erection of signage diverting all cyclists onto what is now called a "shared use pathway", knowing the pathway does not comply with council's own safety standards, suggests an attempt to cover up council's mismanagement and waste of public funds.
It's about time Mayor Williamson displayed some courage and provided a public explanation for council's waste of funds.

Ray Hunt

Yamba

 

* With all the numbers in, not only in the Clarence Valley, but on the North Coast, it is worth pointing out that Richie Williamson is the most popular councillor on the North Coast.

Not another candidate (or group even) got near the 6975 primary votes that Mr Williamson received.
Mr Williamson has always served our community with our best interest at heart and the community thanked him for this dedication on Saturday.
Congratulations Richie! [John Wilcox 10 September 2012]

Road Roulette: airborne asbestos fibres still float over Ewingar area

 

overall evidence suggests there is no safe level of asbestos exposure

US National Cancer Institute

 

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has ordered the creation of a Remedial Action Plan in relation to gravel roads containing chrysotile asbestos (a Class1 human carcinogen) in the Ewingir area -  indicated in red on the map above.

 

Chrysotile and tremolite asbestos naturally occur in a number of areas of regional New South Wales. A number of former mine sites extracted asbestos deposits at Baryulgil (chrysotile), Barraba/Woods Reef (chrysotile), Orange district (tremolite asbestos), Gundagai district (actinolite asbestos) and Broken Hill district (chrysotile) between 1880 and 1976. [WorkCover Asbestos Blueprint November 2011]

 

In this recent instance, Clarence Valley Council’s problem stems from road fill material excavated from its own Taylor’s Quarry. Asbestos fibres taken from rock at this site average 0.22mm in length.

 

Council used contaminated gravel on public roads and, in the role of private contractor, deposited this gravel on private property.

 

Once asbestos was discovered in gravel road works in 2009 Council promptly sealed approximately 4 kilometres of road/road shoulder area. Tests carried out in this period on a number of roads (some of which were heavily compacted in preparation for sealing) showed airborne asbestos levels between less than 0.01 fibres/ml to 0.01 fibres/ml.

 

In 2010-11 Council went on to seal approximately 6 kilometres of similarly affected road.

 

So far this year it has sealed only 1.7 kilometres and states it intends to seal another 4.3 kilometres by the end of the 2012-13 financial year.

 

That appears to leave somewhere between 34-44 kilometres of gravel road still potentially raising fine airborne asbestos particles on any given day.

 

Council apparently does not intend to complete road sealing until sometime within the next five years.

However in November 2012 council management does not appear to have made elected members of Clarence Valley Council aware that the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission, whose figures it quoted, is careful to point out that its first Control Level for Asbestos set at 0.01 fibres/mL of air is not a health-based standard.

 

I’m not so sure that the good people of Ewingar will continue to agree with the slow pace of remedial road works, once the full implication of the recent ABC TV program Devil’s Dust sinks in.

 

To date no safe level of asbestos exposure for lung cancer or mesothelioma has been identified [NSW Work Cover 2008].

It can be caused by very brief intense exposures whether occupational, domestic or recreational, and by lower-level environmental exposures – sometimes after exposures which are very short – a day – or very slight……..any of the groups of asbestos fibres to which the plaintiff was exposed either alone or in combination with others could have caused his disease.

[High Court of Australia, Heydon J in Amaca Pty Ltd v Booth; Amaba Pty Ltd v Booth [2011] HCA 53 ]

Most instances of non-occupational asbestos exposure occur during home renovations and car maintenance [The Australian Mesothelioma Registry Newsletter 1st Edition - October 2012].

 

According to the NSW Workers' Compensation Dust Diseases Board, the Asbestos Education Campaign 2012 will be launched at Customs House Square, opposite Circular Quay, in Sydney today at 11:45 am to mark the commencement of National Asbestos Awareness Week.

Background

 

Clarence Valley Council Investigation report - asbestos contaminated gravel

Asbestos poses a risk to health by inhalation whenever asbestos fibres become airborne and people are exposed to these fibres. Accordingly, exposure should be prevented. [NOHSC Australia 2005]

 

By 2030 the number of asbestos deaths

in Australia is predicted to reach 60,000,

equalling the number of Australians

killed in the First World War

[ABC TV Devil's Dust, November 2012]