Banyam Baigham, the Sleeping Lizard, returned to the Widjabul Wia-bal Traditional Custodians

An excellent example of natural justice for the Widjabul Wia-bal Traditional Custodians and genuine recognition of their connection to country and culture by Lismore City Council. Well-written and empathetic journalism by Eve Jeffrey.

Echo NetDaily, 14 July 2021:

Everybody (almost) hands up! Councillors Vanessa Ekins, Darlene Cook, Elly Bird, Eddie Lloyd, Nancy Casson, Adam Guise and Neil Marks, vote to hand back the Sleeping Lizard to the local mob. Councillor Bill Moorhouse voted against the motion.

In an emotional and historic vote, Lismore City Council last night passed a motion to hand back Banyam Baigham – Sleeping Lizard, known as the North Lismore Plateau, to the Traditional Custodians.

Lismore Mayor, Councillor Vanessa Ekins, spoke at length about the significance of handing back the Council owned land.

Representatives from the local mob including Uncle Mick Ryan, Aunty Marie Delbridge, Aunty Thelma James and Mindy Woods, and North Lismore Plateau Protection Association Inc. spokesperson Dot Moller, took the opportunity to speak in favour of the motion during public access.

The authority and standing to speak for Country

Uncle Mick Ryan said he had both the authority and standing to speak for that country.

‘At the outset, I say to you all that tonight is an historic moment. Grasping this monumental opportunity is a real positive action, more than just empty words.

‘This is a very big step by our community for justice and reconciliation. For all of us, Aboriginal and non-indigenous alike.

‘Not supporting this hand back will just be a continuation of all the injustices people have suffered through massacre, dispossession, stealing of their children in the 200 years of the discriminatory policies enacted by colonial, state and Commonwealth governments.

‘What happens tonight will reflect not only on the Council but the wider community.

‘I believe it will not only be a tragedy but an opportunity lost. There is no question the land to be handed back has been identified as containing some of the most significant and sacred sites within the Bundjalung nation.

‘My responsibility as a senior elder of the Bundjalung nation is toward the protection of ancestral lands and all the animals, plants and people who dwell within.

‘Let’s commence this process of reconciliation and recognition in a meaningful way to right the great injustice, for Council to listen carefully to what I have said and did a proper thing.

‘We Aboriginal people have a strong tradition embedded in our culture of sharing and caring and welcoming.

‘Go beyond the personal politics and point-scoring.

‘All of you see the demand for supporting this historic occasion and supporting the hand back of our sacred land to the rightful landowners,’ said Mr Ryan.

A deep affinity with particular areas of land

Also speaking for the Bundjalung was Mindy Woods who said that Traditional Custodians have a deep affinity with particular areas of land. ‘Much of our sense of identity is derived from it,’ she said.

‘One area is not exchangeable for another, unlike those of Western land systems. We recognize the cultural, spiritual and historical significance of Banyam North Lismore Plateau.

‘This land is steeped in our history, our culture, our spirituality, and our very existence. This is your history.

‘We support and hope to celebrate the motion that custodianship of Council-owned land on North Lismore Plateau be returned to the Widjabul Wia-bal clan group.

For you, our Councillors, this is a significant decision, but a small and vital step to a long journey towards genuine recognition, reconciliation, protection and celebration of our history,’ she said.

‘We extend our thanks and extend our hand to join you on this journey.’

The Sleeping Lizard

Cr Ekins, who moved a motion that Council hand back Council-owned land on the North Lismore Plateau to the Traditional Owners, was very passionate in her address to the chamber, imploring all councillors to vote in favour of the motion.

‘This is a pretty important decision that we’re making to heal Country.

‘We’ve been talking about the North Lismore Plateau and development on it for 20 years. We’ve spent many years in consultation with the Aboriginal community about the significance of that land. And we know that the site is really significant to the Aboriginal community. It’s Sleeping Lizard Hill, it’s well documented and known to us.

‘We need to hand back Council-owned land to the Traditional Custodians. It’s a really small but significant gesture. And it links Lismore with the National Native Title process that’s going on around us everywhere.

‘A Native Title claim was lodged in 2013, and what that claim has done for the Widjabul Wia-bal Custodians, it has recognized that there is connection for Widjabul Wia-bal people to the North Lismore plateau, going back time immemorial.

Cr Ekins outlined the distant and recent history of the land and concluded that the best use for that land is that it be handed it back to the care and control of the Widjabul Wia-bal Traditional Custodians. ‘It’s a pretty easy decision tonight Councilors, we just decide to hand it back.

‘We can’t use this land. We haven’t used it for 40 years, and we’re unlikely to use it for another decade, but it’s really important to the Widjabul Wia-bal Traditonal Custodians. They can protect it and manage it.’

Just hand it back

‘I’m just asking you to make the decision tonight. Just to hand it back,’ said Cr Ekins.

The motion was passed with votes in favour from Crs Ekins, Lloyd, Bird Marks, Cook, Casson and Guise with only Cr Bill Moorhouse voting against.

Northern Rivers Feral Deer Alert : Bambi is cute inside a picture book but not so loveable in the bush

 

The Richmond River Times, 7 July 2021

If you live in or are visiting in the Richmond, Tweed, Kyogle or Lismore local government areas – when out driving, bushwalking or working in your own paddocks - and see a deer please contact the local council and report the sighting.

Richmond Valley Council (02) 6660 0300 or email council@richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au

Tweed Shire Council 02 6670 2400

Kyogle Council 02 6670 2400 or email

council@kyogle.nsw.gov.au

Lismore City Council (02) 6625 0500

Pathetically low fines for non-compliance with rules enforced by the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) leaves Murray-Darling Basin irrigators in NSW laughing all the way to the bank with those dollars earned from what is essentially water theft

 

https://www.mdba.gov.au/importance-murray-darling-basin/where-basin

The State of New South Wales is currently not in drought. However, its rivers often have highly variable water flows so it was not surprising to find the morning of Tuesday 13 July 2021 revealing that WaterNSW State Overview real time data record showed that 14 of the state's rivers were flowing at less than 20%. While 15 of the state's principal dams registered volume levels at between 31.4% and 95.9% of capacity, with another 3 registering over 100% of recommended capacity.

Some of those rivers and dams fall within Murray Darling Basin boundaries.

Apparently - even in time of relative water plenty - healthy rivers, environmental water flows and intergenerational equity are not part of the business plan for many of the irrigators growing cotton, almonds, rice, fruit, vegetables, grape vines and other food & pasture crops - how else does one explain this?

The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July 2021:

Nearly half of the biggest irrigators in NSW have made no effort to install meters that comply with new water laws more than six months after they became mandatory, an audit has found.

The NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator found that 45 per cent of large pumps that draw from rivers and creeks were not using compliant meters to measure how much water was taken, contrary to new laws designed to prevent water theft.

Only 23 per cent were fully compliant with a further third on their way to compliance based on evidence provided by way of invoices, product orders and emails confirming validation appointments.

NRAR’s chief regulatory officer Grant Barnes said there had been “a positive shift” in compliance rates since its desktop audit in April, which found two-thirds of irrigators were non-compliant, but there was still more work to be done with those water users who had neither installed the meters nor made an effort to do so.

“For us, this is about ensuring those water users who have done the right thing and have complied with the regulations get a fair go, and so these results will be disappointing to those people,” Mr Barnes said. “[Compliance] is also important to those who recognise the importance of a social licence for irrigators.”

Individuals who have shown no effort to comply face fines of up to $750 and irrigation companies face $1500 fines.

“The pumps in question here are gigantic, half-meter diameter straws that have the capacity to suck the lifeblood out of our rivers.”

Independent MP Justin Field

The meters were a central recommendation from the 2017 Murray Darling Basin Compliance Review, which found irrigator compliance in NSW and Queensland was “bedevilled by patchy metering, the challenges of measuring unmetered take and the lack of real-time, accurate water accounts”…...

Read the full article here.

News Corp's The Daily Examiner continues to die the death of a thousand cuts

The Clarence Valley had a resident population of est. 51,730 souls in 2020.

Up until mid 2020 it was home to three print newspapers, The Daily Examiner, Coastal Views and the Clarence Valley Independent. 

Only the 'Independent' remains as a print newspaper with a dedicated website, as the other two were part of a media purchase made by foreign-owned News Corp Inc. and these print mastheads have been allowed to wither and die.

In July 2021 News Corp boasts The Daily Examiner has a digital Facebook following of est. 20,747 people (presumably worldwide), an Instagram following of 1,806 and, a Twitter account showing one published tweet from 2009 with a following of only 105.

There is of course no longer a print circulation or a presence on Press Reader because Rupert Murdoch quickly killed off this newspaper which had been the purveyor of news from 1859 to mid 2020. Even its dedicated web address now redirects to a section of The Daily Telegraph website called “Grafton News”. 

One is left to wonder when the ghost of The Daily Examiner masthead will fade from the Internet completely. 

The corporate planned lingering death of a news outlet is sad to witness.

COVID-19 State of Play: Progression of NSW Delta Variant Outbreak up to 12 July 2021

NSW Health, media release, 12 July 2021

Sometime between 17-18 June 2021 it is highly likely that it became obvious to state authorities that the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 which causes a highly infectious form of COVID-19 was now loose in New South Wales.

At that point the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 5,442 people, including interstate residents in NSW health facilities.

On 26 June 2021 the Berejiklian Government issued public health orders - eventually locking down Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Shell Harbour and the Central Coast.

By 8pm on Sunday 11 July 2021 the percentage of COVID-19 infections acquired in the community had grown to est. 92% of all confirmed new cases from all infection sources recorded since the Delta variant outbreak began in the state.

"NORMAN SWAN: This graph tells the story. The number of people who have been infectious while in the community keeps rising - day in, day out." [ABC “7.30” program, 12 July 2021]

To date there has only been one confirmed death in New South Wales due to COVID-19 infection since the new outbreak began on 17 June 2021.

NOTE:

See "2021 media releases from NSW Health" at

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/2021-nsw-health.aspx 

UPDATE

NSW Health, media release, 13 July 2021

 

Australian Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison's inept handling of the COVID-19 vaccine supply contracts revealed, as business turns to former Labor prime minister Rudd for assistance

 

Letter dated 30 June 2021 concerning Pfizer vaccine supply - from former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Ru... by clarencegirl on Scribd

The New Daily, 12 July 2021:

The ABC, which obtained a copy of the letter, reports that Mr Rudd stepped in after a senior Australian business figure living in the USA held two meetings with Pfizer because he was despairing of the Coalition government’s vaccine supplies.

The ABC reports that senior Pfizer executives had been astonished that Mr Morrison had not directly spoken to the Pfizer chairman and suggested that Mr Rudd — who was known to them because of his work in the United States — may have some influence.

If it was possible for Pfizer to accelerate the doses, Mr Bourla indicated they would need a contractual request from the Australian government, Mr Rudd’s letter states…..

Nine days after Mr Rudd’s Zoom meeting [with Mr. Bourla], Mr Morrison announced on Friday [9 July 2021] that Australia’s Pfizer doses would be brought forward, with 1 million jabs per week starting in July......

Immediately after the media reports began to circulate on 12 July 2021 Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care & Liberal MP for Flinders Greg Hunt began issuing denials that Mr. Rudd had any involvement in the contractual delivery schedule of Pfizer COMIRNATY BNT162b2 (mRNA) doses to Australia being accelerated.

However the letter of 30 June clearly indicates that Rudd had earlier proactively contacted Pfizer and that Pfizer would be amenable to being contacted further in relation to the supply schedule by the Morrison Government, its contractual partner.

The letter also indicates that prior to the 30 June letter being sent Rudd personally contacted Prime Minister Morrison informing him of the initial contact with Pfizer.

In my opinion the contents of Rudd's letter are more credible than deflective statements made by Minister Hunt.

Statement from Kevin Rudd’s office just now on the Pfizer stuff. pic.twitter.com/DaSYR5I85p

— Rick Morton (@SquigglyRick) July 12, 2021

State and territory disability ministers have shot down Morrison Government's controversial reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme

ABC News, 9 July 2021:

State and territory disability ministers have shot down controversial reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), in what advocates say is a huge win for the disability community.

For months, disability advocates have been warning against the changes, which would have forced all NDIS participants and people wanting to access the scheme to undergo independent assessments.

The federal government announced its plan to introduce the functional assessments in August last year, and the NDIS has trialled the program.

But after a meeting between disability ministers today, NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed the federal government would not push ahead with the proposal.

"I can absolutely confirm that we agreed with the Independent Advisory Council's recommendation that the independent assessments in their current form will not proceed," she told the ABC.

"So are independent assessments as we currently understand them dead? Yes, they are."

Do you know more about this story? Email Specialist.Team@abc.net.au.

The move has been welcomed by disability advocates, who had argued the independent assessments plan was not fair.

"We are glad that the state and territory disability ministers have listened to the thousands of people with disability and their families who have contacted them this week to ask them to say no to the NDIS independent assessments," said El Gibbs, from campaign group Every Australian Counts.

"We have worked together for months to raise our voices and say that these changes were wrong."

'Back to the drawing board' for NDIS assessments

The independent assessments program would have involved an allied health professional, unknown to the person with disability, either meeting with the prospective participant face-to-face or holding a teleconference assessment.

That assessment would have determined someone's eligibility for an NDIS funding plan.

Currently, a person's usual doctors, specialists and allied health professionals provide reports to determine if someone is eligible for an NDIS plan.

The federal government had always maintained that independent assessments were an original part of the NDIS and would make it fair and equitable for everyone.

But many in the disability community said it was a box-ticking exercise designed to cut costs.

Opposition to independent assessments grew steadily last year within the sector, and in February more than 20 organisations, led by Every Australian Counts, called on the government to abandon the plan.

One of the architects of the NDIS had also criticised the independent assessments model…...