Maintenance in NSW public schools - it's a lottery

The new kid on the block in Macquarie Street, Chris Gulaptis (Member for Clarence), has been refreshingly honest (well, partly) in a piece that gives readers a distinct impression that he, rather than a staffer, prepared for a column "Chris Gulapris - Clarence MP" in this week's Coastal Views.

Gulaptis wrote about the government allocating $40m to its Public School Upgrade Fund.

BIG PROBLEM - Gulaptis didn't let on the time frame the $40m has to cover. In terms of what's needed to fully fund maintenance problems in NSW public school, $40m is just a drop in the bucket.

Now, to the "win-lose"scenario. Gulaptis said Casino High School "won "$70,000 to fix its roof.

Gulaptis's statement begs two questions:
1. What would have happened if Casino High School hadn't been so lucky with its lottery ticket?
2. What does the Local Member suggests other, not so lucky, schools do about their maintenance problems?

St. Patrick's Day 2012

Sydney turns green on Sunday the 18th of March

for the

2012 Sydney St Patrick's Day Parade & Family Day

The Parade commences with pre-parade entertainment in front of Town Hall on George St from 10.30am to midday, to keep early crowds entertained.

The parade commences at midday and consisting of floats, marching bands and walking groups, starting at the corner of Town Hall on George Street and Bathurst Street continuing to Park St and around Elizabeth St, ending at Hyde Park near St James Station.

The festivities continue at the Family Day at Hyde Park, from 1.00pm until 6.30pm. There will be two stages with Irish music and dancing, Irish food stalls to sample the best of the nation’s cuisine, children’s areas and of course, a the bar will stock Guinness to toast St Patrick himself!

Keep safe and drink responsibly

Have Fun!

Graphic from HelloKids.com

National Napping Day: proof that America can no longer man-up

Ever wondered if the Home of the Brave and Land of the Free was as full of pioneer-hardy folk as its relentless skiting makes out?

Well here’s proof in Huff Post that those babies can’t even take daylight saving in their stride:

“Daylight Saving Time means more afternoon sunshine, but that may have been little consolation to those who lost an hour of sleep Sunday morning.

If you're still groggy from losing that precious hour, then take advantage of National Napping Day, observed today, March 14. This unofficial holiday encourages you to catch forty winks and enjoy the health and productivity benefits of napping.

First observed in 1999, National Napping Day is the brainchild of Boston University professor William Anthony, Ph.D. and his wife, Camille.

"We chose this particular Monday because Americans are more 'nap-ready' than usual after losing an hour of sleep to daylight savings time," Anthony said in B.U.'s press release. " 

Google Images harvested the cartoon

Ah, those were the days in Sawtell!

Google News Archives for Granny Herald on 1st January 1950 threw up a digital memory of days gone past in sleepy Sawtell

Chris Gulaptis in the chamber (Thursday, 15/3/12)

Chris had a rather quiet day at work yesterday. Hansard records him as an early riser, having spoken about Community Recognition Notices not long after the starting whistle was blown at 10.00am.

He spoke in relation to the Grafton Daily Examiner Hockey NSW Media Award  and then the Grafton Regional Gallery Foundation. After that he kept a low profile. Perhaps he'd been told to keep his head down while another north coast National MP, Geoff Provest the Member for Tweed and Parliamentary Secretary for Police and Emergency Services, donned a flak jacket and readied himself for the cross fire heading his way.

During Question Time the Leader of the Opposition, John Robertson, asked What action will the Premier take against the Parliamentary Secretary for Police, given his electoral returns clearly demonstrate he received a donation from a property developer on 30 March 2011?

The Premier replied, I am happy to seek advice on that question from the Election Funding Authority ... .

O'Farrell then added,  I will seek the advice of the Election Funding Authority, but I also make the point that we are all expected to abide by the law and if we do not, it is the Election Funding Authority and Mr Barry who will take action.

Provest jumped up at when question time finished and provided the following explanation:
 I wish to make a personal explanation. Earlier today during question time the Leader of the Opposition asserted that I accepted a political donation from a property developer. Let me say at the outset, I have always been full and frank with my parliamentary affairs—hence, the detailed nature of my pecuniary interests. I did not realise that Power Industries and/or James Power may have been prohibited donors. I am now seeking advice from the New South Wales Election Funding Authority. If those donations are not permitted under the legislation, they will be dealt with accordingly.  (Expect to hear a lot more about this in coming days.)

What is it about NSW National Party MPs and the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Police? The former, now disgraced, Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell obtained his 15 minutes of fame as a consequence of events he was associated with when he was in that position. Is it just a matter of a couple of good local MPs having a run of bad luck or is it something more sinister?

Here's what Gulaptis said earlier in the day:

 Grafton Daily Examiner Hockey NSW Media Award
 (1) Congratulates The Grafton Daily Examiner on winning Hockey New South Wales's top media award for Outstanding Coverage in 2011.

(2) Commends sports writer Gary Nichols for his reporting on local hockey activities in the Clarence Valley.

(3) Commends the Grafton Hockey Association, in particular Robyn Anderson, Stephen McIlveen and photographer Shane Sedger for the role they play in compiling articles on local hockey.

 Grafton Regional Gallery Foundation
 (1) Congratulates The Gallery Foundation, its Chairperson George Burkitt and Committee, on the successful d’Art 7th Anniversary Dinner and Art Auction on 2 March 2012.

(2) Thanks author Dr Shirley Walker being the guest speaker for the evening.

(3) Commends the Foundation for its commitment and dedication to support the Grafton Regional Gallery through various fundraising activities during the year to fund the gallery's collection and facilities.

(4) Notes the economic benefits from the gallery and its contribution to the cultural, social and educational life of the Clarence Valley.

It's only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole big enough to bury its head in

It’s only taken the Australian Securities and Investment Commission three years to dig a hole deep enough to bury its head in. The Age must be wondering why it bothered outlaying time and resources on investigative journalism.

The Age 31 October 2009:

BIPARTISANSHIP is rare in Canberra these days, but the Government and Opposition are as one on the scandal-racked Reserve Bank subsidiary Securency: they don't want to know about it. Since May, The Age has exposed a string of allegations about the way the company goes about the business of selling its banknote polymer to other nations, some of which are notoriously corrupt.

The Age 5 March 2012:

FEDERAL police have referred to the corporate watchdog evidence of possible illegality by senior Reserve Bank officials and business figures in connection with the nation's worst bribery scandal.

The referral to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission marks a significant shift in the investigation of the Reserve firms Securency and Note Printing Australia, which allegedly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to win foreign banknote contracts.

For the first time in three years - and after last year charging 10 former senior banknote executives with paying bribes - authorities are examining the conduct of several Reserve-appointed directors of NPA and Securency between 1998 and 2009.

It is understood federal police have gathered significant documentary evidence and witness statements that point to improper corporate behaviour and have sought legal advice about the material before referring it to ASIC. Those whose conduct is under scrutiny over possible illegality include:

A former deputy governor of the Reserve and former chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, Graeme Thompson, who chaired NPA and Securency and who allegedly approved highly irregular company behaviour that fuelled bribery.

An assistant governor at the Reserve, Frank Campbell, who as NPA director was privy to information about company corruption and bribery in 2007 which he and his board did not refer to the police.

The managing director of NPA, Chris Ogilvy, who also sat on Securency's board and who was party to highly irregular corporate behaviour, including the payment of secret commissions via inflated contracts.

A former Reserve assistant governor, Les Austin, who was a director of Securency and NPA.

If ASIC pursues civil or criminal charges against any of the directors, they could face jail sentences or heavy fines.

Company directors have a legal obligation to act honestly and diligently, and if their recklessness is found to have contributed to bribery or other improper conduct, they can be charged.

ABC News 12 March 2012:

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says it will not launch an investigation into bribery allegations against two companies linked to the Reserve Bank.

Seven former employees of polymer banknote companies Securency International and Note Printing Australia (NPA), and the companies themselves, have been charged in relation to bribes allegedly paid to foreign officials to win note-printing contracts overseas.

Securency is 50 per cent owned by the RBA, while NPA is wholly owned by the RBA.

ASIC says it looked for evidence of possible breaches of the Corporations Act in material supplied by the Australian Federal Police.

"In line with its normal practice, ASIC has reviewed this material from the AFP for possible directors’ duty breaches of the Corporations Act and has decided not to proceed to a formal investigation," the regulator said in a statement.

Millions of dollars were alleged to have been paid in bribes to officials in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam between 1999 and 2005 to secure contracts to produce bank notes for those nations.

If you own a dot com website the U.S. Government 'owns' you

In March 2012 Wired.com blows the whistle on Uncle Sam:

“When U.S. authorities shuttered sports-wagering site Bodog.com last week, it raised eyebrows across the net because the domain name was registered with a Canadian company, ostensibly putting it beyond the reach of the U.S. government. Working around that, the feds went directly to VeriSign, a U.S.-based internet backbone company that has the contract to manage the coveted .com and other “generic” top-level domains.

EasyDNS, an internet infrastructure company, protested that the “ramifications of this are no less than chilling and every single organization branded or operating under .com, .net, .org, .biz etc. needs to ask themselves about their vulnerability to the whims of U.S. federal and state lawmakers.”

But despite EasyDNS and others’ outrage, the U.S. government says it’s gone that route hundreds of times. Furthermore, it says it has the right to seize any .com, .net and .org domain name because the companies that have the contracts to administer them are based on United States soil, according to Nicole Navas, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

The controversy highlights the unique control the U.S. continues to hold over key components of the global domain name system, and rips a Band-Aid off a historic sore point for other nations. A complicated web of bureaucracy and Commerce Department-dictated contracts signed in 1999 established that key domains would be contracted out to Network Solutions, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2000. That cemented control of all-important .com and .net domains with a U.S. company – VeriSign – putting every website using one of those addresses firmly within reach of American courts regardless of where the owners are located – possibly forever….”

Reg King issues invitation to his mob to gather on Friday 16 March 2012 to protest mining on NSW North Coast

At A Black Cockatoo on Wednesday, March 14

A Special Invitation : Friday 16th

Born and bred Cubawee elder of the Bundjalung Nation Reg King strongly supports his cousin Harry Boyd Ngaraakwal elder in his call for a public enquiry into the decision made by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to apply for exploration licences for petroleum and gas mining in the Northern Rivers.

Reg met with both a NSW Aboriginal Land Council (ALC) councillor and Ngulingah Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) representative to verify Geoff Scott’s published views in the Northern Star and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers earlier this week.

Reg says “I was disgusted by Ngulingah’s official position as a representative body, which supports mining exploration, in the Northern Rivers. Especially given that the role of the Ngulingah LALC is to represent and respond, to the concerns of LALC members and Bundjalung people.”

Reg and other elders are fully aware of the significant dangers that coal and coal seam gas mining present for us all.

This Friday 16th March Reg and other community members will meet at 55 Carrington St Lismore - out the front of Thomas George’s office. Reg will be sharing the message that we want clear representation from our local State MP.

Reg says “The Bundjalung Nation and the whole of the Northern Rivers do not want coal or CSG mining.” Reg would like to extend a special invitation to all of his Mob, to join him on Friday for this very important gathering.

To date, Thomas George’s position on CSG mining in the Northern Rivers is unknown. Given the NSW ALC’s confirmed motives towards mining Reg feels that George’s current role in protecting the Northern Rivers is of essential concern.

Gathering commences at 10:00am.

Any enquiries about the gathering can be directed to Wanda on 0427 302 725.

The adventures of Chris in Macquarie Street

Yesterday, Wednesday 14 March, Chris Gulaptis MP, spoke twice in the chamber (see below). 

The Member for Clarence is yet to get his portrait on the parliamentary website. Why? He's never been known to be camera shy. 

1. At 8.13pm he spoke to support the Government Information (Public Access) Amendment Bill 2011. That was a rather simple, straightforward task. After all, the bill was being given bipartisan support.

2. At 9.04pm he was on his feet again, making a Private Members' Statement on the Maclean Highland Gathering. Again, no big challenge.

Mr Gulaptis commenced his speech with an acknowledged of the efforts of the Lower Clarence Scottish Association for its continued support of the Maclean Highland Gathering.

He then went on to add:

Maclean is of course renowned for being the Scottish town in Australia. Maclean's Scottish character originates back to the 1830s and 1840s in Scotland following the Jacobite's defeat at Culloden, the Highland Clearances, potato blight famine and prevailing disastrous economic conditions. The only future lay in emigration. In Australia John Robertson pushed through Parliament the Free Selection Act legislation, which provided for anyone to take up land from 40 to 320 acres for a down payment of 5 pence per acre with three years to pay. Some 450 Scottish families settled in Rocky Mouth. Surveyor-General Alistair Maclean ordered the town to be properly laid out. That was done in 1862 and named Maclean after the Scottish-born Surveyor-General. Many of its new streets were named after places in Scotland—Argyll, Morvern, Clyde, Oban and the like. Commerce and hotels sprang up under Scottish businessmen, such as Alexander Cameron, Samuel MacNaughton and John McLachlan. Churches were an intrinsic part of Scottish life and elders of the Free Kirk erected their church in 1868. It remains the oldest church still in use in the Clarence.

In 1886 the Murray Brothers, natives of Thurso, and local sawmillers, sponsored the first local Highland gathering in Maclean, and with the exception of the war years it continues to this day. This year at Easter will be the 108th Highland gathering. The Lower Clarence Scottish Association was formed in 1893. It has now existed continuously for 119 years. A pipe band was formed in 1898 under Donald Mathieson—formerly from Inverness—and has continued to this day. The primary function of the association is to organise the annual Highland gathering held at Easter each year. It is a major function of State and national significance in Scottish circles. The association has always required a chieftain as its head, and usually the chief remains in the post for many years. The current chief is Chief Peter Smith and the immediate past chief was Reverend Kenneth Macleod, he being a native Scot and probably the only Gaelic speaker currently in the Lower Clarence. The current secretary, Robert McPherson, OAM, and previous secretary, Norman McSwan, have held the secretarial portfolio for at least 57 years between them. Current senior chieftain is Roger McLean, junior chieftain is Graham Anderson, and Treasurer—for some 34 years—is John McPhee.

At this year's gathering 25 inter-district bands from Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand will attend the gathering in a competition arena and there will be sports and fellowship. Competitions commence on Good Friday in drumming and solo piping, and on Friday night the main street is closed for a street festival with bands, dances, massed bands, a civic welcome and a concert in the Civic Hall. Easter Saturday commences with a full regalia street march of visiting and local bands through the shopping centre. Activities then take place at the Maclean showground where drumming, piping, dancing and bands compete, and there is a full array of Highland games such as caber tossing, pole wrestling, tug of war and the like. The finale of the day is always a very stirring massed bands display—a fitting end showing what Maclean is all about.

In 1986 local bank manager Mr Graham Leach initiated the thematical idea of rediscovering the town's Scottish heritage. Thus the Maclean Scottish Town in Australia Association was formed. The association's committee has undertaken numerous tasks to benefit the town's Scottish identity, including erecting a Scottish cairn in a town park, a pioneers memorial wall, painting some 220 power poles with Scottish tartans, organised concerts for Tartan Day and Kirkin' o' the Tartan Services for Easter Sunday. There have been only two presidents of the Maclean Scottish Town in Australia Association—Howard Cowling for two years and Robert McPherson, OAM, for the past 24 years. Secretary for 24 years is Warren Rackham and Treasurer is Roger McLean. Hardworking member Nancy Bain, OAM, has also been on the committee since its inauguration. I commend the efforts of the Lower Clarence Scottish Association.

At 9.10pm his parliamentary colleague Craig Baumann (Member for Port Stephens and Parliamentary Secretary (Regional Planning)) [9.10 p.m.] " congratulate(d) the hardworking member for Clarence on advising the House of the upcoming Maclean Highland Gathering."

Mr Baumann added, "Many of us have Scottish skeletons in the closet and these gatherings and festivals are a great way to enjoy and celebrate that heritage. 

"I notice there is a tradition of developers naming streets after their children. It is good to see that in those days surveyors-general named towns after themselves."

Source: Full Day Hansard Transcript (Legislative Assembly, 14 March 2012, Proof)

Why is the NSW Aboriginal Land Council ducking and weaving over its lack of community consultation?

New South Wales woke up this month to find that the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC), a peak body said to represent an estimated 23,000 members, had applied for three Petroleum Special Prospecting Authority licences covering roughly more than half the New South Wales land mass.

The Council’s chief executive, Geoff Scott, is reported in The Sydney Morning Herald as saying; None of the titles fell on land owned by Aboriginal people.

Although it quickly became apparent that many local aboriginal land councils and native title claimants on the NSW North Coast and elsewhere had been unaware of the Council’s plans, it is still puzzling to find the bizarre claim that no land owned by indigenous individuals or communities fall within these applications.

This map showing the application areas in shades of red-pink tells another story. On the New England-Clarence Valley-Mid North Coast application alone over twenty local aboriginal land councils are potentially affected by any prospecting licence granted to NSWALC (and its future joint venture partner) by the O'Farrell Government.

Click on image to enlarge.

One in the eye for Monsanto & Co

The Australian 12 March 2010:

A SALT-RESISTANT wheat variety developed by an Australian team through old-fashioned cross-breeding rather than genetic modification is increasing crop yields by up to 25 per cent in salinity-prone areas, and could help counter food security concerns.

Researchers from Adelaide University's Waite Institute, the CSIRO and the NSW government first isolated the gene in an ancient relative of durum wheat -- used to make couscous and pasta flour -- 15 years ago.

The breakthrough was published in the international journal Nature Biotechnology overnight…..researchers had spent more than a decade using traditional cross-breeding techniques to blend the 10,000-year-old durum with its modern cousin to increase its salt resistance without genetic modification…..

Rana Munns, Richard A James &  Bo Xu, Asmini Athman, Simon J Conn, Charlotte Jordans, Caitlin S Byrt,  Ray A Hare, Stephen D Tyerman, Mark Tester, Darren Plett and Matthew Gilliham are to be congratulated for the research behind Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na+ transporter gene in the March issue of  Nature Biotechnology (R.M., R.A.J., R.A.H., M.T., D.P. and M.G. conceived the project and planned experiments. R.M. and M.G. supervised the research. B.X. performed all Xenopus, yeast and protoplast experiments and R.A.J. performed field research. C.S.B. performed wheat genotyping. S.D.T. assisted with electrophysiology experiments. S.J.C., A.A. and C.J. performed in situ PCR and qPCR. M.G., D.P., R.A.J. and R.M. wrote the manuscript. All authors commented on the manuscript).

Dr. Rana Munns is Chief Research Scientist at the C.S.I.R.O. and began her investigations many years ago - her profile is here.
 
The C.S.I.R.O. is reported to have conducted field trials of durum wheat varieties containing new salt tolerant genes in northern NSW in 2009-10.

This is science which seeks  to improve cereal crops but does not risk contaminating wild grass populations with novel genetically modified organisms which never existed before in nature. It potentially does not have the same exploitative limitations imposed on farmers by biotech industry giants like Monsanto & Co.

As there are 12 types of groundwater flow systems contributing to dryland salinity across Australia, research into salt resistant food crops is also very relevant to national food security.

National Report by Australia on Measures Taken to Support Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Commonwealth Intergovernmental Working Group for the UNCCD, April 2002

So it is more than a pity that the C.S.I.R.O. is looking at an additional use for this ancient gene - adding it into the GMO research it already conducts on wheat and other food crops. [ABC AM 12 March 2012]

It appears that once an Australian scientific agency gets into bed with Monsanto it is for life.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

The mystery of Blue's beer

Onya, Bazza!

YOUR article ("Soldiers' 'solace in binge drinking' ", 3-4/3) got us thinking down at the RSL the other night.

Blue just wanted to know who drank his beer. We struggled with the maths but finally agreed that 7.5 million cans over six months divided by troop strength meant we should have had six cans a night each.

However, The Ant reminded us that in camp at Nui Dat our ration was two cans a night and when we did occasionally get to Vung Tau he only drank local beer. Then, always alert, Grunt said: "Wait on, at any one time, a third of us were out on patrol. It was hard enough carrying water and ammo let alone beer."

We also recalled that some stronger willed Nashos did not drink alcohol. So the remaining third of us had to get through 18 beers every night. Since the boozer opened at 5pm, was closed for dinner and curfew was 10pm, we conceded the task was beyond even us.

We concluded that there must have been a phantom company that had Olympian drinking capacity was sent over along with the beer. Or else the whole story is a furphy.

Nevertheless, if it is true that if 7.5 million cans were dispatched from Australia to Vietnam for us Diggers over six months, whoever got them, it's your shout.

Barry Golding, Sherwood, Qld

Google Images supplied the beer pic

Cansdellgate - believe it or not!

A Daily Examiner correspondent has expressed his amazement [and it's most likely the same view that thousands of others have] about the speed with which the NSW DPP worked on the stat dec matter associated with disgraced former MP for Clarence, Steve Cansdell.

Source: Letters, The Daily Examiner, 14/3/12

So who wants to mine our backyard?

http://www.minerals.nsw.gov.au/mv2web/mv2?cmd=MainMap&topic=ttl

On 9 March 2012 the NSW Aboriginal Land Council announced it had applied for three Petroleum Special Prospecting Authority licences - about 49km ESE  White Cliffs (approx.. 368,340 sq km area), six kilometres SSE  Murwillumbah (approx.1,330 sq km area) and about 45km SSW Grafton (approx.47,040 sq km area). Murwillumbah and Grafton are on the NSW Far North Coast.

The  Murwillumbah  application PSPAPP 55 runs from the Dorroughby, Rosebank, Federal region right up through the ranges to the NSW-QLD border. The much larger Grafton application PSPAPP 56 roughly covers an inland area which goes from the Stanthorpe-Tenterfield region in the north to past Armidale in the south – extending across to the coastal zone from Mount Tucabia and Yamba in the north, Coffs Harbour midway, down to just above Crowdy Head.

So it was of more than passing interest to find that on the same day The Sydney Morning Herald reported a spokesperson stating that NSWALC already had a joint venture partner who apparently did not wish to be identified:

''Our initial geology studies are showing their potential is enormous. This is a paradigm shift.''

The council had a joint venture partner that would provide most of the cash and expertise required to follow any petroleum exploration and extraction through, he said. He would not identify the partner. Profits would be split equally. None of the titles fell on land owned by Aboriginal people, he said.

By 13 March 2012 The Daily Examiner was revealing a lack of consultation with local land councils:

NORTH Coast Aboriginal community leaders have sought to distance themselves from a plan by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council to apply for licenses to explore for petroleum and coal seam gas in the region……

But Ngaraakwal/Ngarangwal elder Harry Boyd has called for a public inquiry into the decision, describing it as a "back room deal" which was made without consultation.

"The matter of the NSW Land Council signing-off on petrol exploration licenses means for us, all of us, the entire community, a rubber stamp on coal seam gas," Mr Boyd said.

"But my people and I speak for most of the 'blackfellas' in the Northern Rivers here, (and) we were not present at the signing of any agreements.

"We were not consulted by the Land Council ... and we have not been represented by the Land Councils for many years."

He said those who signed the "back room documents" needed to explain themselves to the people of the North Coast.

"This matter needs to be opened up for public inspection as it affects us all," he said.

"We want those people ... to explain to us what ground they are standing on.

"All of this leads to confusion for everyone and it upsets my people who still consider the ground sacred.

"The land councils are meant to protect the culture, not just do deals."

Mr Boyd said he made it clear to Federal Government representatives in April that Aboriginal people of the North Coast did not want coal seam gas.

"Our unborn spirits are in the underground water, and we consider this industry as a great offence," he said.

Mr Boyd's comments were supported by Arakwal community representative Gilbert King.

Mr King said the proposal potentially affected the traditional land of his people, but that they were not consulted in the decision.

Bundjalung elder and Gugin Guddaba Local Aboriginal Land Council deputy chairwoman Patsy Nagas also said her group were strongly opposed to the development of coal seam gas in the region.

Also on 13 March 2012 ABC North Coast NSW confirmed another LALC which had not been consulted:

The Tweed-Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council says it's surprised by its state counterpart's application for petroleum exploration licences on the north coast

The chairman of a local Aboriginal land council on the state's far north coast says he wasn't consulted about plans to mine in the area.

ABC Indigenous  indicated that the unease was felt further afield:

A far west Aboriginal elder says local indigenous communities still haven't been consulted about the NSW Aboriginal Lands Council's plan to invest in the mining industry….

Doctor Beryl Carmichael, an elder of Ngiyaempaa country, said local Aboriginal people weren't told about the plan.

"There's been no consultation, with the grass root people, nor the custodians of this country," she said.

"And I think they should have had the decency to let us know, indicate something to us, that this was going on."

"They are, will be operating in Ngiyaempaa country, and I think they should start sitting down and coming out and sitting down with the grass root people, and talking about their plans."

Doctor Carmichael said mining the land goes against traditional Aboriginal beliefs.

"The land's our mother, and if these people want to go and exploit the land, well where are they coming from, you know?" she said.

"Where's their connectedness to the land and the environment? They don't even know their culture, what culture really means."

"No, I'll certainly argue with this one, I think, I've got to for the sake of my ancestors."

UPDATE:

MinView mapping indicates that all three NSWALC prospecting applications may also include areas under current native title claims. Click on images to enlarge.

The three applications marked in purple

Native title claim areas in red

Cansdell continues to haunt the NSW parliament

According to Hansard former and disgraced Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, was in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday 13 March 2012 a bit after 3.30pm and voted with the government on its Education Reform motion That this House supports the Government in delivering on its election commitment to give decision-making power back to local schools and school communities.

How very convenient  it must be for the newly elected Member for Clarence, Christopher Gulaptis, to be able to sneak out of the house when a division is called and know his good old best mate Steve is ever ready to stand in for him.

A rare frog the NSW Minister for Resources and Energy & Anchor Resources intends to ignore?

Giant Barred Frog found on the Wild Cattle Creek property

Scientific name: Mixophyes iteratus
Conservation status in NSW: Endangered
National conservation status: Endangered

Image found at

Protect & Preserve the Dorrigo Plateau

It is no secret that NSW Minister for Resources and Energy, Chris Hartcher, is enthusiastic at the prospect of mining on the Mid and Far North Coast – particularly when it comes to gold and antimony mining on the Dorrigo Plateau.

A plateau which takes in the Clarence River catchment high country which supplies fresh water to an estimated 125,419 residents (based on 2010 ERP figures) in Coffs Harbour City and Clarence Valley Shire local government areas.

Local government areas falling within a region which has a population expected to grow more than 28% to around 424,400 by 2031.

Given the ongoing exploration within Anchor Resources Limited’s Wild Cattle Creek EL 6388 lease and the corporation’s recent history of environmental degradation, one has to wonder why Minister Hartcher and his department head have not yet thought fit to insist on a formal environmental assessment of the lease area.

NSW Department of Environment and Conservation:

Description

Giant Barred Frogs are large frogs, up to 115 mm in length. They are olive to dark brown above with paler or darker blotches, and cream to pale yellow below. The skin is finely granular. The pupil of the eye is vertical and the iris is pale golden in the upper half and brown in the lower half. The call is a deep ‘ork’ breaking into a series of ‘orks’ and grunts. The Giant Barred Frog can be most easily distinguished from other barred frog species by the black thighs with smaller yellow spots, distinct barring on the limbs, dark blotches on the sides, absence of a creamy stripe on the upper lip and the distinctive eye colour.

Location and habitat

Distribution

Coast and ranges from south-eastern Queensland to the Hawkesbury River in NSW. North-eastern NSW, particularly the Coffs Harbour-Dorrigo area, is now a stronghold. Considered to have disappeared south of the Hawkesbury and there are no recent records from the Blue Mountains. [my bolding]

Habitat and ecology

• Giant Barred Frogs forage and live amongst deep, damp leaf litter in rainforests, moist eucalypt forest and nearby dry eucalypt forest, at elevations below 1000 m.
• They breed around shallow, flowing rocky streams from late spring to summer.
• Females lay eggs onto moist creek banks or rocks above water level, from where tadpoles drop into the water when hatched.
• Tadpoles grow to a length of 80 mm and take up to 14 months before changing into frogs. When not breeding the frogs disperse hundreds of metres away from streams. They feed primarily on large insects and spiders.

Threats

• Reduction in water quality, from sedimentation or pollution.
• Changes in water flow patterns, either increased or decreased flows.
• Reduction of leaf-litter and fallen log cover through burning.
• Timber harvesting and other forestry practices.
• Vegetation clearance.
• Predation on eggs and tadpoles by introduced fish.
• Weed spraying close to streams.
• Chytrid fungal disease.

An empty vessel satirized

http://youtu.be/JyxTX8ozLGI

Of course it's harder to laugh at the bloke when you read some of the dangerous nonsence that pours out of the clutter of empty brain boxes on his hand-picked team.
"Asking mining companies to fund dam projects was one of the options being considered.
''For instance, some of the dam work we are looking at, we think we can get - instead of taxing the mining industry - suggest to them they can invest in a dam and then have access to water to wash their coal. And they'll pay serious amounts of money, in fact they will pay for the construction of the dam,''

The price we pay for Tony Abbott's never-ending censure motions and other nonsense

After the general election ballot box, Question Time in both houses of Australia’s federal parliament is perhaps the principle way that the government of the day is held accountable - now that much of the national mainstream media spends most of its time uncritically regurgitating political media releases as a substitute for investigative journalism.

According to the Australian Parliament website statistics link, in 1963 (an election year) the House of Representatives sat for 53 days and the Government was asked 968 Questions Without Notice during Question Time.

In the following year 1964, the House sat for 65 days and there were 1,557 Questions Without Notice recorded.

In 2010 (an election year) and 2011 the House sat for 55 and 64 days respectively, taking  948 Questions Without Notice in the first instance and 882 Questions Without Notice in the second instance.

Now I may be wrong, but I think that the period 2010 to 2011 was only the second time that House of Representatives’ Questions Without Notice have fallen in number (when an ordinary year followed an election year) in the last forty-eight years.

It seems that Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s grandstanding is actually ensuring that other Members of Parliament are being given fewer opportunities to apply that very Australian maxim - keep the b@stards honest.

If it’s Thursday it must be censure time is not quite so funny a phrase when one remembers that, every time he rose to his feet and uttered the words I move that so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving forthwith the following motion, voters were denied an opportunity to hear their own elected representatives raise important national and local issues.

Drawing of Coat of Arms from Google Images

Things go better with Coke! Or do they?

This turned up in the mainstream meeja last week: 

“COCA-Cola and Pepsi say they have lowered levels of a chemical in caramel colouring which has been found to cause cancer in lab tests.

The move allows the companies to avoid having to label products with a cancer warning due to a California law setting safe levels of 4-methylimidazole.

Both drinkmakers said their popular and highly secretive recipes will not be altered but that caramel suppliers have been asked to reduce 4-MEI levels in California, a change that will eventually spread across the United States and - at least in Coke's case - around the world.

"We are NOT changing our recipe; or our formula," Coca-Cola Company spokesman Ben Sheidler said in an email.

"What we did do is direct our caramel suppliers to make a manufacturing process modification in order to reduce the level of 4-MEI in our caramel so as to meet the requirement set by the state of California's Proposition 65."

For its part, PepsiCo said its beverages "are and always will be safe for consumption."

"Consumers will notice no difference in our products and have no reason at all for any health concerns. There is no scientific evidence that 4-MEI in foods and beverages is a threat to human health," it added.” {new.com.au 10^th March 2012}

This is what Coca Cola South Pacific is still saying about caramel colouring at livepositively.com.au:

"Colours are added to enhance the appearance of processed foods and beverages.
For example, 'Coca-Cola' contains caramel colouring, which is a widely used food and beverage colouring found in many kinds of processed food and beverages including: brown bread, buns, and chocolate. Although made from sugar, the amount present is not physiologically significant and contributes only a trace amount of kilojoules to a can of 'Coca-Cola'."
And here's Coca Cola's global press centre denying there's any problem.
While over at US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health this is what you find on mice fed with 4-Methylimidazole (4MI) :
"Clonic seizures, excitability, hyperactivity, and impaired gait were observed primarily in 2,500- and 5,000 ppm females. The incidence of mononuclear cell leukemia in the 5,000 ppm females was significantly greater than that in the controls. The incidences of hepatic histiocytosis, chronic inflammation, and focal fatty change were significantly increased in all exposed groups of male and female rats. The incidences of hepatocellular eosinophilic and mixed cell foci were significantly increased in 2,500 ppm males and 5,000 ppm females. Groups of 50 male and 50 female B6C3F1 mice were fed diets containing 0-, 312-, 625-, or 1,250 ppm 4MI for 106 weeks. Based on the food consumption the calculated average daily doses were approximately 40, 80, or 170 mg 4MI/kg body weight to males and females. Survival of all exposed groups of males and females was similar to that of the control groups. Mean body weights of males and females in the 1,250 ppm groups and that in the 312- and 625 ppm females were less than those of the control groups. Feed consumption by exposed groups of male and female mice was similar to that by the controls. The incidences of alveolar/bronchiolar adenoma in all exposed groups of females, alveolar/bronchiolar carcinoma in 1,250 ppm males, and alveolar/bronchiolar adenoma or carcinoma (combined) in 1,250 ppm males and 625- and 1,250 ppm females were significantly greater than those in the control groups. The incidence of alveolar epithelial hyperplasia was significantly increased in the 1,250 ppm females. 4MI is carcinogenic inducing alveolar/bronchiolar adenoma and carcinoma in male and female mice. 4MI may also induce mononuclear cell leukemia in female rats."

Pic from Google Images