Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Report (part 3 - final)

On to the wetlands in the Tullymorgan area picking up those elusive White-winged Choughs on the way and a nearby immature White-bellied Sea-Eagle soaring overhead.  A Wonga Pigeon was at its expected location and then four adult Brolgas were first heard and then seen on a property near the Clarence Broadwater.  An adult and three nestling Black-necked Storks were on the nest in that area and an Azure Kingfisher was observed partly obscured by creek side vegetation.  They can be difficult to find on a Twitch in our area even though we have a few possible locations for them.  A stop at some eucalypt forest produced a Jacky Winter and then three raptors were seen firstly by Russell.  One was an adult Pacific Baza (you beauty!!!) and the other two were Wedge-tailed Eagles (which had been listed the day before).  The Pacific Baza had eluded us on a number of Twitchathons, one year being seen 20 minutes before the start time but not in the ensuing 24 hours so we were very happy to tick this beautiful raptor species.  We did see one in 2011 though.  Glossy Ibis were at the wetland where I had seen them the previous Thursday and although already recorded the sight of over 200 Whiskered Terns at this location was very impressive.  A wetland at Lawrence produced the first Red-kneed Dotterels seen in the Valley since the big wet inland and Pink-eared Ducks were present and had ducklings in tow.   A pair of Yellow-billed Spoonbills was present amongst the hundreds of Royal Spoonbills and Australian White Ibis.  A group of seven Yellow-billed Spoonbills was later seen on Woodford Island and nearby a Pallid Cuckoo flew over the road.  The cuckoo was our first for the season and made species number 201 at 1239 pm.  The ‘chuk chuck’  call of the Cicadabird was heard at Tyndale and Gary wondered if Russell and I were delusional until it did its more typical cicada-like call.  Russell spotted a kingfisher on the top of a dead tree and said that it looked like a Forest Kingfisher.  We had checked out a number of kingfishers during the day hoping to tick off the Forest but they had all been Sacred Kingfishers.  This one however was a Forest Kingfisher - great.  A stop at Glenugie State Forest with its wonderful Large-leaved Spotted Gums and Grey Box trees produced the Fuscous Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper and an adult female Brown Goshawk sitting on a nest.  The Brown Falcon that I had seen at a wetland near Coutts Crossing a few days earlier was still present and made bird number 209.  The location where we usually get Weebill and Speckled Warbler produced only a few species that we had already tallied as these two species were absent.  No new birds were added during the last 30 minutes at this site so our final total was 209, putting us in fourth place out of 17 teams.  Where were the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos, the three Bronze-Cuckoos, Varied and White-winged Trillers, Collared Sparrowhawk, Weebill and Speckled Warbler and all of those other certainties that we missed? Oh of course it was Twitchathon weekend and the birds knew it!   A flock of 30+ Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos flew over South Grafton on Monday and an adult male Collared Sparrowhawk was perched in a eucalypt in our backyard on the same day.  Anyway it is no good dwelling on those birds that we missed as we really enjoyed those that we saw or heard including the following threatened species: Coastal Emu, Black-necked Stork, Eastern Osprey, Brolga, Sanderling, Comb-crested Jacana, Bush Stone-curlew, Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Sooty Oystercatcher, Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Little Tern, Wompoo Fruit-Dove, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Little Lorikeet, Ground Parrot, Masked Owl, Rufous Scrub-bird, Brown Treecreeper, Grey-crowned Babbler, White-eared Monarch and Paradise Riflebird as well as four threatened mammals – the Parma Wallaby, Long-nosed Potoroo, Rufous Bettong and Humpback Whale.

Greg Clancy

Head Stalker

Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Team 

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

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]

Gulaptis knew full details of Grafton Gaol closure by 20 June 2012

 

Excerpt from evidence given by National Party MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis before the Select Committee On The Closure Or Downsizing Of Corrective Services NSW Facilities’ hearing of 23 November 2012:

 

On Wednesday 20 June, I was asked to go to the Minister's  [Greg Smith] office. This was my second meeting with the Minister and his chief of staff. I was advised that the restructure would be somewhat more severe than initially suggested and that Grafton jail would be downsized to a remand centre. When I asked what that meant with regard to job losses I was told that it would mean the loss of about 90 jobs at the facility. I asked how many jobs would remain and I was advised that there would be about 30 jobs.

I was shell-shocked at the news and wanted to know how we could go from 30 job losses to 90 job losses and what recourse was available to change this drastic proposal.

 

According to his own evidence Chris Gulaptis had been discussing the “restructuring” of Grafton Gaol since 2 May 2012 and by 20 June he knew that the gaol would go and only a remand centre would remain in its place.

 

However this is what he told his electorate and The Daily Examiner  seven days later on 27 June:

 

STATE MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has denied a rumour there will be an announcement on Monday that Grafton Jail will close.

 

Closure of Grafton Gaol was announced on 29 June 2012 by Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham.

 

Gulaptis responded in the local media:

 

Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has defended the decision and blamed the previous Labor Government for allowing the jail to reach such a low point.

 

This is what Gulaptis was saying by 4 July:

 

GRAFTON Jail's role in the economy of the city is exaggerated, claims State Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis.

 

His spin firmed on 5 July 2012 with this:

 

“I didn’t know about the closure of the gaol as it was happening….I was not involved in the process. I was not consulted about it”

 

Saffin to Ferguson: "Please don't put your bib in where it's not required"

 

ABC News 22 November 2012:

 

A federal Labor backbencher is backing the coal seam gas scientists recently attacked by her own resources minister.

There have been calls for Martin Ferguson's resignation after he described the authors of a report on methane emissions as 'people who are trying to score political points without proper consideration of the best interests of the broader community'.

The federal member for Page, Janelle Saffin, says the minister was wrong to criticise the Southern Cross University researchers.

"Please don't put your bib in where it's not required," she said.

"These scientists are eminent scientists who did sound research... it's got integrity.

"Also, it was a submission to the Federal Government on fugitive emissions for goodness sake."