This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
WHERE
& WHEN: Wooli Street Hall, (Wooli Street & Public Library, Yamba Road vehicle entrances) Tuesday 4 February at 5.30pm
PRESENTATION
BY: Mr Greg Mashiah, Manager Technical Services, Clarence
Valley Council, with responsibilities including delivery of major
water infrastructure and sewer projects
Given
the situation we are facing as a community, with the recent influx of
large residential developments and proposed population growth in
Yamba and the Lower Clarence, we feel these are matters of immense
importance.
Residents
need to be fully informed about the current status and future plans
for water quality, supply, infrastructure and emergency management.
Information
will be presented about local flood data, (how to interpret it as it
affects you), stormwater and floodplain management.
The
presentation will be followed by a designated Q&A session.
Community
members have informed Yamba CAN they are especially interested in an
updated status report on the Rushforth Road Water Filtration Plan
project that is currently under review.
It
appears many people in our community do not have a good understanding
of the process involved in the CVC water supply network from the
Nymboida River and Shannon Creek Dam via the Rushforth Road Water
Treatment Plant and reservoirs at Maclean and Yamba to end users in
Yamba and elsewhere throughout the Valley.
There
are a number of issues of ongoing concern in respect of catchment
management, water quality and security of supply. There are also some
quite complex contractual arrangements between CVC and City of Coffs
Harbour as regards sharing of responsibilities for water and
infrastructure between the two LGAs. Huge amounts of investment will
be needed to fund ongoing maintenance and necessary infrastructure
improvements.
How
much does/will this cost? What provision has CVC made regarding
budgeting and reserves for the necessary works? Where is the money
coming from? What is the estimated time for completion?
Released
by: Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Water
The
Minns Labor Government is reducing red tape which has in practice
stifled farmers’ ability to fight fires on their own property.
During
a fire emergency, a landholder can now take water from surface water
and groundwater sources on their land without needing to have a water
licence and water use approval. This includes streams, creeks and
rivers abutting the boundary.
This
commonsense exemption has been made via amendments to the Water
Management (General) Regulation 2018.
The
water can be used by landholders on their property and adjacent land
to fight fires. It can also be used for training and controlled
burning when it is carried out by or under the authority of a
firefighting agency such as the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), and for
the testing and maintenance of firefighting equipment.
Landholders
who wish to prepare for the threat of bushfires can now also lawfully
take water and store it in a tank or dam for future firefighting
purposes. The maximum volume for each property is 100,000 litres (0.1
ML) per year.
The
NSW Government will carry out targeted periodic surveys of
landholders to understand how the exemption is being used and to
identify the extent and scale of water use.
While
landholders are not required to submit reports, they are encouraged
to log the volume of water they take under the exemption, for their
own records.
“Rules
to protect the state’s water security are important – but the
fact is, when there is a fire, no one should need to stop and think
if they are allowed to access water to keep themselves and their
property safe.
“This
is a common-sense decision, and it is great to see these amendments
now in place in time for summer. When fire threatens life and
property, landholders need fast and easy access to water to protect
their properties and themselves.
“These
changes make it easier and cheaper for farmers and property owners to
access water to prepare for and respond to emergency fire
situations.”
Minister
for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:
“When
it comes to emergencies, landholders can play an important role in
bushfire response, and this change further empowers them to act when
their properties are under threat.”
“The
NSW Government has been proactive in finding common sense ways to
make it easier for landholders to fight fires on their properties,
which also includes a trial to make it easier for farmers to keep
firefighting vehicles on their properties.”
to
prepare for and fight fires to protect life and property, and
to
take and store water (e.g. in a tank or dam) for future fire
fighting needs. Water taken and stored is subject to a 100,000-litre
limit per fiscal year.
The
exemptions also support fire preparedness activities such as training
and controlled burning (by or under the authority of a fire fighting
authority), maintenance of fire fighting equipment, and wetting down
buildings and land surrounding buildings whenever a fire is
threatening a property.
There
is no reporting date listed for this particular Inquiry.
After
a 53 day submission period in which 78
submissions
were received, the Inquiry held 5 hearings commencing on 5 August
2024 and ending on 17 December 2024. Videos of all 6 hearings can be
found at:
Commencing
on 2 July 2024 the Inquiry received
40 documents
to assist in its deliberations.
In
August 2024 the Standing Committee on State Development visited
former mining sites in Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and the
Upper Hunter and held two public hearings (Muswellbrook &
Singleton).
More
than 60,000 mines have been abandoned across Australia, according to
a report that raises concerns about how land rehabilitation is
managed as the mining boom ends.
Key
points:
Australia
Institute report finds lack of reliable data on Australia's mining
activity
Research
finds more than 60,000 abandoned mines across Australia
Only
a handful of mines have ever been fully rehabilitated
Report
raises concerns over how land rehabilitation is managed
The
Australia Institute research, obtained exclusively by Lateline, said
there were few reliable statistics on the state of Australia's mines
and there was evidence that only a handful had ever been fully
rehabilitated.
State
government agencies were only able to name one example of a mine that
had been fully rehabilitated and relinquished in the past 10 years —
the New Wallsend coal mine in New South Wales.
Some
of the abandoned mines date back to gold-rush days and the 60,000
figure includes thousands of mine "features", such as
tailings dams and old mine shafts.
The
Australia Institute said it was difficult to obtain basic statistics
on the number of operating mines across the country, putting the
figure between 460 and 2,944.
The
Institute said it was even harder to get data on mines that had
suspended operations or were undergoing rehabilitation.
"What
is certain is [mine abandonment] is not a practice limited to distant
history," the report said.
"As
the owners of the largest mines come under financial pressure, close
attention needs to be paid to the ongoing phenomenon of mine
abandonment in Australia.".....
In
New South Wales, approval has been granted for 45 massive coal pits,
or voids, to be left after mining finishes.[my
yellow highlighting]
Twelve
of those voids are around Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter and the
biggest is at BHP Billiton's Mount Arthur mine.
It
is 4.5 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide. BHP would not provide
details on its depth....
....ongoing
antimony contamination of water bodies and land protected by
Environmental Planning Instruments is not unknown from previous
mining ventures in northern NSW.
The
Macleay Argus 2 September 2011:
HIGHER
than average levels of heavy metals have been recorded in the Macleay
River at Bellbrook after a dam overflowed at a gold and antimony mine
near Armidale.
NSW
Health and Kempsey Shire Council said higher than normal levels of
metals including arsenic, zinc and copper had been detected in the
waters of the Macleay River.
But
both organisations said the concentration of the heavy metals was not
high enough to warrant concern to people.
As
a precaution NSW Health has contacted residents in the upper Macleay
to inform them not to drink water from the river unless it has been
processed through the Bellbrook water treatment plant.
Council
has undertaken further testing to determine whether the contamination
has spread beyond Bellbrook….
The
Office of Heritage and Environment (OHE) reported the breach occurred
on Tuesday when there was a release of material from a sediment
erosion control dam at the Hillgrove antimony and gold mine.
"The
mine is currently not operating but is in 'care and maintenance'
mode," a spokeswoman said.
"The
spill occurred after continued wet weather produced excess stormwater
which exceeded the amount of water that could be stored in the dam
resulting in the spill - when the mine is operating the stormwater
would normally have been used for mineral processing."
NSW
Office of Environment and Heritage Media Release 5 July 2010:
Straits
(Hillgrove) Gold Pty Limited has been fined $50,000 and ordered to
pay costs of $24,000 in the NSW Land and Environment Court today
after being found guilty of polluting waters.
Straits
pleaded guilty to the charge; pollution of water under the Protection
of the Environment Operations Act.
The
company 'Straits' conducts gold and antimony mining activities at the
Hillgrove Mine, near Armidale in NSW.
In
sentencing today, Justice Biscoe convicted and fined Straits $50,000
and ordered it to pay the prosecutor's legal costs of $24,000.
The
court heard that in April 2009 a protective bund at the premises had
been lowered to allow access for an electrical contractor. When a
screening device used in the mine became blocked and 'slimes'
discharged and spilled into the bunded area, it then overflowed the
bund and discharged into the local environment.
The
spill, of up to 3000 litres of 'slimes,' contained antimony, arsenic
and lead and is toxic to some aquatic life.
Department
of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), Director General,
Lisa Corbyn said the penalty provided a timely reminder to companies
that they must ensure measures are in place to contain pollution.
"This
case highlights the potential for serious damage to occur and
highlights the importance of companies having safeguards and
operating procedures in place to control pollution at all times.
Carelessness meant that simple containment structures which could
have prevented the spill from leaving the mine site were not in
place. Fortunately the environmental harm from this particular spill
was low.
"Importantly,
the company did report the spill to the DECCW Environment Line and
cooperated with the DECCW officers throughout the investigation."
Anyone
who sees pollution is urged to contact the Environment line on 131
555.
Bellingen
Shire Council State of the Environment Report 2009-2010:
Urunga
antimony processing site
A
seriously contaminated site has been identified at Urunga, Portions
138 & 169 Parish of Newry. Contamination also affects adjacent
Crown Land and a SEPP 14 wetland. The site was previously used for
antimony ore processing, since abandoned without rehabilitation of
the site. DECCW have undertaken an investigation of the site and
researched remediation options.
General
Council
maintains records of properties known to be affected by
contamination. Council must consider the requirements of the
Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 and State Environmental
Planning Policy 55 – Remediation of Land in assessing proposed
changes to the use of land.
Antimony
and arsenic dispersion in the Macleay River catchment, New South
Wales: a study of the environmental geochemical consequences,
February 2007:
A
baseline geochemical study of stream sediments and waters of the
Macleay River catchment in northeastern New South Wales indicates
that although most of the catchment is unaffected by anthropogenic or
natural inputs of heavy metals and metalloids, the Bakers Creek -
trunk Macleay-floodplain system has been strongly affected by
mining-derived Sb and As. The dispersion train from the Hillgrove Sb
- Au mining area to the Pacific Ocean is over 300 km in length. Ore
and mineralised altered rock from Hillgrove contains vein,
breccia-hosted and disseminated stibnite, arsenopyrite, pyrite and
traces of gold. Historic (pre-1970) mine-waste disposal practices
have resulted in high to extreme contamination of stream sediments
and waters by Sb and As for ∼50 km downstream, with high Au values
in the sediments…..
Estimates
of sediment migration rates and amounts of Sb and As transported in
suspension and solution imply that the catchment contamination will
be long-term (centuries to millennia) such that environmental effects
need to be ascertained and management strategies implemented…
[Ashley,
P. M.; Graham, B. P.; Tighe, M. K.; Wolfenden, B. J in Australian
Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 54, Number 1, February 2007 , pp.
83-103(21)]
North
Coast Voices,
"NSW
North Coast antimony contamination makes it onto national
television",
25 October 2011, excerpt:
The
Sydney Morning Herald also addressed the issue of historic and recent
contamination from the Hillgrove antimony mine:
A
PLUME of toxic pollution from an old antimony mine appears to have
killed fish for dozens of kilometres along the Macleay River in
northern NSW.....
a
study published by the CSIRO in 2009 described the waterways near the
mothballed mine as ''highly contaminated'' and estimated about 7000
tonnes of waste had accumulated along the bed of the Macleay River.
Water
tests have shown antimony levels at 250 times background levels, with
high levels detected along the river to the coast at Urunga, where
the mineral was once processed for export.
Right
now the Clarence River flow at Newbold Crossing is registering in the
>80% stream flow percentile, the Shannon Creek side dam is at 99%
capacity and soil moisture is for the most part within acceptable
limits across the Clarence Valley which is classified 100% non-drought.
However,
the Australian Summer officially begins on 1 December 2024 and air temperatures and water evaporation rates are bound to rise.
So
how is the New South Wales Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) Map
likely to look come December?
Where
we are going?
NSW
Dept. of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Climate
Branch, Drought
Forecasting, 17 November 2022:
NOTE:The DPIRD drought forecast for NSW presents the ‘Most
Likely’ Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) category for the forecast
period. The Most Likely CDI category is determined by identifying the
'mode' of the CDI. The mode is the category that appears most
frequently across all possible forecast outcomes in the ensemble run.
It is the most common prediction for drought conditions in the
forecast period based on the model's simulations.
Where have we been along the Clarence Valley drought history continuum, 20 November 2019 to 9 October 2024?
Click on graphs to enlarge
Fine Flower & environs
Heifer
Station & environs
Grafton & environs
Maclean & environs
Yamba
*All maps & graphs were created on 17.11.24 using interactive tools created by NSW Dept. of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Climate Branch
The
NSW Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) includes four indicators for
rainfall, soil moisture, plant growth and drought direction which,
used together, can indicate the five phases of drought.
Rainfall
Index (RI)
The
RI is the percentile rank of rainfall aggregated over 12 months. The
ranking is made using a 30 year (1980-2010) baseline which captures
recent big shifts in climate variability, and factors in climate
change. This provides an index between 0 and 100 where values
approaching 0 are close to driest, and those approaching 100 close to
the wettest, for any given region. Percentile-based indices like the
RI have a uniform distribution regardless of their climatic setting,
which is an attractive feature in NSW given the presence of
rangeland, temperate and sub-tropical climates which have skewed,
normal and log-normal rainfall distributions.
Soil
Water Index (SWI)
The
SI is calculated using the same procedure as the RI, but uses a soil
moisture field derived from the DPI AgriModTM soil water balance.
Plant available soil water from layer one (0-10cm) and layer two
(11-45 cm), the assumed maximum rooting zone, are aggregated and used
to calculate the SWI. Similar to the RI, the SWI is an index between
0 and 100. In most districts of NSW a value of 0 means there is no
plant available water held in the profile. The SWI is a hydrological
index, but its configuration means that it is more useful as an
indicator of conditions for dryland than irrigated agriculture.
Plant
Growth Index (PGI)
The
PGI is calculated using the same general procedure as the RI, using
the output from DPI’s crop and pasture models. Crop stress and
pasture growth data are taken from DPI AgriModTM, and the percentile
rank calculated for each day. If the predominant land use in a given
area is cropping, the PGI uses the crop-derived data, otherwise it
uses the pasture growth indicator. The PGI is an agronomic drought
index which is not only sensitive to moisture but also temperature
variation and seasonal events such as frost. It is important to note
that the PGI tracks the influence of climate on production potential
across broad areas only. This provides a regional indicator of
conditions. In the paddock, management decisions like fertiliser
application and timing, sowing times and stocking rates drive
outcomes on the ground, and in-field conditions can be above or below
the regional indicator reported by EDIS.
BACKGROUND
The
main water supply (other than the village systems of Wooli and Minnie
Water) in the Clarence Valley is sourced from the Nymboida River,
flowing through a section of the wider Clarence River
catchment area.
At
this time of year the Clarence Valley urban water supply is drawing
around 14.26ML/per day from the river weir.
The
Nymboida River also gravity feeds water to Shannon Creek Dam when
required and, if the Nymboida river flow is too low (less than 225
Megalitres a day) or turbid post-flood, the Clarence Valley's principal urban
areas receive water sourced from the off-stream storage at Shannon
Creek.
Overall,
Shannon Creek Dam is used to supply the Clarence Valley’s water
about 5% of the time. Right now this dam is at 99% capacity.
This
scenario is complicated by the fact that historically the Clarence
Valley also supplies water out of the catchment to Coffs Harbour City
local government area and this draw on catchment water is constant and
always exceeding an optimal sustainability level for average daily drawn down.
More
than 30 affected residents say their properties are at the bottom of
Wilsons Creek and some areas of Mullumbimby Creek, and they were only
told they will likely be cut off from town water after questioning
Council staff about the Mullumbimby Water Supply Strategy.
Spokesperson
for the Wilsons Water Rights Action Group (WWR) Mel Macpherson said she was
shocked to find out from a neighbour about Council’s plans to
remove their connection to town water without any direct written or
verbal communication.
‘One
would think the appropriate action for Byron Shire Council would be
to talk to us individually, and let us know that their preferred
water strategy means cutting us off – for the 30 residents this has
drastic ramifications, we have a right to know.
‘I
honestly feel the communication from Byron Council has not been
acceptable at all. This decision directly affects our health,
businesses, infrastructure and property values. Relying on us to scan
social media or listen to the radio to find out we are getting cut
off has left me baffled.
‘I
only found out because my neighbour who has lived here for 90 years
told me, and knew the history of the weir and local infrastructure,
and noticed this in the water strategy plans......
I
grew up and live in Mullumbimby, and I know locals have a strong
opinion about the Byron Shire Council. I had always given them the
benefit of the doubt – as it’s not an easy job. But last week I
changed my mind.
Our
neighbour, Ray Musgrave, alerted us and other neighbours we’d be
losing town water access on our properties. At first, I thought this
was simply the Mullum rumour mill, but I called around at Council and
found out it was true. Without any doorknocks, phone calls, or
letters, we found out dozens of residents at the bottom of Wilsons
Creek, including us, would lose town water access if Mullum is
connected to Rous water.
While
this decision has not been officially made by Council – yet – we
all know it is the likely decision. I work in media and
communications, sometimes as a consultant for state and federal
government, and I’ll admit that tactics are sometimes a little
underhanded, but, when it comes to infrastructure and impacting
households like this, there would always be doorknocks to every home
at a minimum in the communications plan. So, I’m simply shocked at
these sneaky tactics by our local council.
Luckily,
we have all been neighbours for decades or generations here and were
able to quickly agree to work together to try and save our town
water. Wish us luck!
Casey
Fung, Wilsons Creek
According
to the Byron Shire Council website as of 15 July 2024:
All
urban areas in Byron Shire are supplied water from Rocky Creek Dam,
which is managed by Rous County Council.
Mullumbimby
is supplied from Council's Lavertys Gap Weir.
Rous
County Council supplies drinking water to seven reservoirs in the
Byron Shire Council from the Nightcap Water Treatment Plant.
Under
the Water Supply Agreement, we are responsible for maintaining water
quality in the reservoirs and reticulation system......
The
Mullumbimby Water Treatment Plant provides treated, filtered, and
disinfected drinking water to Mullumbimby.
The
drinking water supply is sourced from Wilsons Creek via the Lavertys
Gap Weir.
Water
flows to the plant by gravity through a heritage-listed race, via a
mountain tunnel.
Council documents indicate approximately 13 properties along
Wilsons Creek Road are connected to the trunk main from the water
treatment plant.
The
preferred option of council staff coincides with advice contained
in a Hydrosphere
Consulting Pty Ltd report (updated May 2024) which clearly
stated in 12.4 Option 4 - Full Connection to RCC Regional
Supply:
The
customers along the Wilsons Creek Road trunk main would not be
serviced with this arrangement.
In
an alternative scenario within Option 4 Hydro Consulting suggested an
Option 4B - emergency connection to regional supply:
As
an alternative, the existing RCC emergency supply pipeline could be
extended to service the remaining areas
of Mullumbimby as an emergency supply only. BSC would then retain
Lavertys Gap Weir and WTP as the
normal supply regime with future augmentation with another raw water
supply source. The customers along
the Wilsons Creek Road trunk main would still be serviced by the weir
supply and WTP if there was sufficient
water in the weir storage.[my
yellow highlighting]
However,
Byron Shire Council on its public exhibition webpage did not
immediately draw attention to the fact that some properties may lose a reliable long-term connection to town water.
In
the first instance it presented the case thus, with the fate of Wilsons Creek Road concealed in webpage links:
The
consultant’s report short-listed four water supply scenarios,
summarised below.
Each
scenario has associated benefits and costs.
Council’s
engineering staff recommend Scenario 3 – permanent connection to
the Rous County Council water supply.
For
each scenario, some factors remain the same, including:
continued
use of the weir and Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in the short term
short-term
WTP upgrades to ensure consistent, safe water supply
extension
of the Rous County Council emergency bulk water supply connection to
all of Mullumbimby.
Indeed within its boasting about the
benefits of what it calls "Scenario 3" it is
clear that the potential loss of a long-term reliable town water supply for 30 shire residents &
ratepayers is a short-term cost cutting measure.
Rous
County Council is the regional water supply authority for the Byron
Shire, with the exception of Mullumbimby.
Rous
also supplies:
Ballina
Shire
Lismore
Shire
Richmond
Valley Shire.
Permanent
connection to the Rous regional water supply would mean that water is
no longer sourced from Lavertys Gap weir and the Mullumbimby water
treatment plant (WTP).
As
a result, there would be no need to build a new WTP at Mullumbimby.
Permanent,
full connection to the regional water supply is the option
recommended by the consultants and Byron Shire Council staff based on
the environmental, economic and social assessment.
Benefits
of full connection
Connecting
to the regional supply has significant benefits over local supply
scenarios.[my
yellow highlighting]
Full
connection offers:
minimal
environmental impact
lower
energy consumption
reduced
infrastructure modifications.
There
are significant capital cost
savings in avoiding the need to replace the WTP and upgrade the weir
supply in addition to constructing new infrastructure.
However, the ongoing costs of a regional supply are higher than local
scenarios. [my
yellow highlighting]
Permanent
connection to the regional supply means Mullumbimby’s long-term
water security is determined by Rous County Council's bulk supply
system, as is the case for the rest of Byron Shire.
Byron Shire Council is scheduled to decide on its water supply strategy at its August monthly meeting.
A
development application DA 2023/0711 for a $6.65 million 95 lot
manufactured home estate at South Grafton is currently being assessed
by Clarence Valley Council and submissions from the public are
invited.
The
DA lodged by John Codling is for the demolition of existing buildings
at 252 to 298 Rushforth Road and construction of a 95 dwelling
manufactured home estate, a community building, a 25m by 10m swimming
pool, children’s play area, community gardens, recreation areas and
community title subdivision.
The
Statement of Environmental Effects SEE, lodged with the DA states the
95 home manufactured housing estate will take up 8.57 hectares of the
11.54-hectare property, with proposed residential sites varying from
282 square metres to 450 square metres.
The
Manufactured Home estate will be located on the southern and eastern
portions of the property, with the northern and western areas
remaining unimpacted by construction.
“The
proposed large community clubhouse, centrally located at the entrance
to the development, will act as an indoor and outdoor meeting place
for residents of the estate and their visitors,” the SEE states.
“The
proposed dwelling sites and community facilities will be set in a
landscaped environment supported by recreational facilities.”......
Sounds
like low income retirees heaven, doesn't it?
Until
one realises that an existing wide drainage channel easement dissects
the planned manufactured home estate and discharges into what appears
to be marshland and creek. Which sets the mind a-wondering.
From
there it is easy to discover that the entire manufactured home estate
on that lot will be directly in the path of the maximum possible
Clarence
River flood
(based
on probable
maximum
precipitation)
according to Clarence Valley Council 2022 flood modelling.
Clarence River very dark blue, 1
in 100 probability in any given year for a flood event is coloured
darker blue and, the full range of a maximum probability flood
coloured light blue with est. 11.5 ha DA site in dark red.
2.
The subject site is subject to Clarence River flooding during an
‘extreme event’. This is limited to
the northeastern portion of the site (Figure 4).....
5.
The entire site is subject to flooding during a Probable Maximum
Flood (PMF) event (Figure 8). Depth
and velocity information is not available.
6.
Site inundation due to 1:100 storm event runoff from the Rushforth
Reservoir (Figure 9) is similar
but of a lesser extent than what is mapped as fluvial inundation
(Figure 5). Nine lots are
affected by shallow (<0.2m)
inundation (Figure 11).
7.
A Rushforth Reservoir dam break would inundated a large component of
the northeastern site precinct
(Figure 10). The inundation depth in the northeastern part of the
site where the lots are
is generally below 0.5 metres (Figure 12), but it increases to 0.8
metres along the eastern site
boundary (past the lots).
The developer cannot fail to be aware that the site will experience everything from episodic, low-level nuisance flooding from the creek to a probable maximum full inundation from the river 13.6-13.7m in height potentially sending on a conservative calculation 0.6-3.8m or somewhere between 2-12 feet of rushing water though the manufactured home estate.
Bottom line is that the next time climate change throws a record breaking Clarence River flood at valley communities, South Grafton will possibly have another 190+ people to evacuate to higher ground - as is advised at Page 18 of the developer's document "Stormwater Management Plan & Preliminary Flood Assessment".
North Coast Voices no longer allows the Facebook Button sited at the end of each blog post to activate when it is clicked on by a reader.
This button has been deactivated because it has become clear that Facebook Inc. is not now and has never been a corporation genuinely committed to principles of digital privacy and security of Internet users' personal information and other associated data.
Unfortunately, because Blogger installs this button as part of a set, Gmail, Blog This!, Twitter, Pin Interest and Google + have also been deactivated and, we apologise to readers who may use these features.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
When making comment defamatory statements, racist remarks, hate speech, incitement to violence, gratuitous insults, obscenities, sexual innuendo, active matters before the courts and linking to commercial products/promotions should be avoided.
Trolling will not be tolerated. Spam will not be accepted.
The blog administrator reserves the right to reject comments which ignore this policy.
