I'm Kevin, I'm from Lismore and I'm here to wipe the egg off my phiz

Half the Clarence Valley must’ve been rolling on their kitchen floors on Thursday morning 15^th November 2012 when NSW North Coast Nats candidate at the next federal election, Little Kevvie Hogan, came out swinging at sitting MP Janelle Saffin in The Daily Examiner:

"While I have the utmost respect for Her Excellency Marie Bashir, I must voice my vehement opposition to any plans to pinch water from the Northern Rivers," Mr Hogan said.

"These plans have been rehashed time and time again, and each time the people of the Northern Rivers have made their position loud and clear - not a drop of our water should be diverted to the Darling.

"Ms Bashir's comments may have won a few fans in Menindee, but she's in for a shock if she thinks they will get any sort of a hearing within our local communities.

"Anyone with grand designs on our water should consider themselves on notice - Northern Rivers people won't stand for it, and I will be doing my utmost to make sure it is never allowed to happen.

"I would call on the local Member to offer a similar guarantee, rather than standing idly by and allowing these outrageous plans to go unchallenged."

What Kevvie forgot was this 6^th October 2012 published letter to the editor:

“Not A Drop still holds water
I have noticed a growing number of correspondents expressing concern about the Clarence River, specifically about those who would dam it and divert our water inland or to Queensland.
I reiterate my rock solid commitment to 'Not A Drop', the slogan we all adopted from The Daily Examiner's highly successful 2007 campaign against such moves.
I simply will not allow it, and the Australian Government, as expressed many times through the Leader of the House Anthony Albanese in Federal Parliament, will not allow it.
I wanted to put this firm policy stance on the public record again, for the benefit of people among us who have moved to the Clarence Valley in recent times.
I am sure that these new residents will be surprised and shocked to hear that many vested interests have tried this on for years.
I have urged locals to make submissions to the NSW Legislative Council's Standing Committee on State Developments' current inquiry into the adequacy of water storages in New South Wales.
While the closing date for submissions was August 31, the inquiry is prepared to take late submissions for another six weeks. They can be emailed to statedevelopment@parliament.nsw.gov.au
The primary contact is Cathryn Cummins on 02 9230 3528. I understand the inquiry will hold further publics hearings in Wagga Wagga and Sydney in November and possibly more hearings early next year.
One thing I can be sure of is that there will be some of the regulars who want to raid our water supply - the mighty Clarence.
I call them the River Raiders; they seek every and all opportunity to lay claim to our river.
I thought it was a big worry when the NSW National Party's 2008 State Conference resolved to "support greater efforts to reduce the amount of eastern water lost to the ocean and campaign for more in-depth investigations into finding ways to turn this water inland." - Tweed Daily News, June 16, 2008.
I urge Clarence Valley residents to be watchful of anyone who would have designs on tampering with our most precious natural resource - water.

Janelle Saffin MP

Federal Member for Page”

Now his silliness is writ large in The Daily Examiner and the laughter continues because a day after his public dig at Saffin he was quoted again; "No I did not read that particular letter," Mr Hogan said. He said his comments were solely in reaction to Prof Bashir's comments and not Ms Saffin's long-held stance on the issue.”

Kevvie either doesn’t bother to buy the main newspapers in the electorate he hopes to represent or he just doesn’t bother to read anything but Chris Gulaptis’ old election campaign running sheet.

Doubt now exists over all NSW mining exploration licences and mining leases granted since 1991

Chart from Eddie could always phone a friend
in The Sunday Telegraph 18 November 2012

 
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is currently; investigating, among other issues, the circumstances surrounding a decision made in 2008 by the then Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for Mineral Resources, the Hon Ian Macdonald MLC, to open a mining area in the Bylong Valley for coal exploration, including whether the decision was influenced by the Hon Edward Obeid MLC (Operation Jasper).

There are now questions being asked about other NSW mining exploration licences and mining leases approved or extended between 1991 and 2012, with the media reporting allegations that an unspecified number of departmental files are now missing and therefore not available to the Inquiry.

Doyles Creek Mining, NuCoal Resources and Newcrest are three of the corporate names being mentioned in relation to alleged irregularities with their licences/leases.

Given the large number of exploration licences that have been granted over land on the NSW North Coast it might be advisable for concerned residents and community groups to investigate the application background of these licences, as well as the state political donation history of those mining companies involved.

Latest on Coal Seam Gas fugitive emissions

Click on image to enlarge

The Brisbane Times 14 November 2012:

Vast amounts of methane appear to be leaking undetected from Australia's biggest coal seam gas field, according to world-first research that undercuts claims by the gas industry.

Testing inside the Tara gas field, near Condamine on Queensland's Western Downs, found some greenhouse gas levels over three times higher than nearby districts, according to the study by researchers at Southern Cross University.

Methane, carbon dioxide and other gases appear to be leaking up through the soil and bubbling up through rivers at an astonishing rate, the researchers said.

"The concentrations here are higher than any measured in gas fields anywhere else that I can think of, including in Russia," said Damien Maher, a biochemist who helped conduct the tests. "The extent of these enriched concentrations is significant."….

The team also took samples of airborne methane from major wetlands and high-density cattle operations near Casino in northern NSW.

ABC Rural 15 November 2012:

Dr Damien Maher says they can't say definitively that the higher methane levels are due to coal seam gas mining activity in the Tara region.

"What we can say is that we've got multiple lines of evidence that suggests that is what's causing it, so we looked at the chemical footprint of the methane that was added to the atmosphere and that chemical footprint was the same as coal seam gas in that area," he said.

"We looked at other traces, radon and CO2, and we found similar trends with those as well".

The researchers from SCU Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry Research:

Issac Santos curriculum vitae

Dr. Damian Maher curriculum vitae

Joint Submission on National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2012 - Fugitive Emissions from Coal Seam Gas

Rather predictably Metgasco's managing director complains that the research shouldn't have been released until it was peer reviewed. Conveniently forgetting that the submission was made as part of public comment sought by the Federal Government on a consultation draft of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2012 and, it can be found on Dept. of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website along with other submissions received.

Indian Myna Control Workshop at Yamba, 10am 30 November 2012