Let's run an online poll for our readers.....

 

Poll: What's your favourite part of Thursday's DEX?

 

Occasionally The Daily Examiner runs a poll on its website and if a reader has signed in his or her vote will be recorded against their name/pseudonym.

 

Here is the voting history of one such reader:

Voted in a poll 3:10pm Oct 31st
Do you use your mobile phone when driving?

Voted in a poll 5:03pm Oct 30th

Choose your top 10 rules that should be applied to Jaca Thursday and we’ll print them in Thursday’s DEX.

Voted in a poll 12:30pm Jul 27th

What's your favourite day of the week?

 

Voted in a poll 5:25pm Jul 25th

What's your favourite part of Thursday's DEX?

 

Voted in a poll 11:32am Jun 26th

What should we put on the cover of our On Track magazine?

Voted in a poll 9:09am May 25th

How do you spell it:

 

Ooops! Did I say reader? I meant the voting history of the editor of the newspaper conducting these polls.

The editor is not alone. A senior journalist at The Daily Examiner has voted in a number of the same polls, another has a penchant for the political when it comes to the polls he adds his mite to, yet one more has voted only twice and one other three times. However, the journalist who wins hands down has voted 33 times.

Just how many polls in this newspaper are being padded out by staff?

Things are bad when even Van Olsen abandons you

Onetime apologist for all things Lib Peter Van Olsen in the Sunday Telegraph on 17th November 2012:

"It is high time the Liberal Party changed its name to the Conservative Party.Voices of moderates within the party have all but been extinguished, and thefew remaining so-called moderates wouldn't know a progressive cause worthfighting for if it hit them in the face, much less be prepared to put theircareers on the line to do so…..The Liberal Party looks set to win the nextelection, but there will be nothing liberal about the government it becomes."

Singing for her supper - a little blogger light relief

 

 

http://youtu.be/ljKE_hugFfc

 

Cardinal Pell's smear claim doesn't stand up to scrutiny

 

 

Cardinal George Pell in The Australian 13 November 2012

 

In November 2012 Cardinal George Pell attacked a ''persistent press campaign'' and ''general smears that we are covering up and moving people around'', and suggested that abuse by Catholic priests had been singled out and exaggerated.

However, his statements do not sit easily with the historical record.

Brisbane Times 16 November 2012:

 

THE Catholic Church has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to defend priests and brothers who have already been tried and convicted of serious sexual assaults against children in their care.

A Fairfax Media investigation has revealed that at least two Catholic orders have continued to fund the legal defences of some of their religious members as they went to trial for the second, third and even fourth time for the sexual abuse of children.

This includes the funding of multiple appeals, hiring top barristers who charge thousands of dollars a day, and hiring private investigators.

In some cases the result has been that criminal prosecutions and the victims of abuse are dragged through the courts for many years.

 

This is the opening paragraph of a 1998 appeal judgement in R v Best in which the court directed that a new trial of the applicant be had:

 

CALLAWAY, J.A.: The applicant, who is now aged 57, pleaded not guilty in the County Court at Melbourne to a presentment containing 18 counts of indecent assault on a male person under the age of 16 contrary to s.68(3A) of the Crimes Act 1958 as it stood at the time of the alleged offences. They related to five boys, who were pupils at a Christian Brothers primary school of which the applicant was the principal. I shall call them "M", "K", "D", "W" and "B". After a trial occupying 13 days the jury returned verdicts of guilty on counts 4 to 7, which related to K, and counts 12 and 13, which related to D. The applicant was acquitted on the remaining counts. The verdicts of not guilty on counts 8 (one of several counts relating to M) and 16 to 18 (three of four counts relating to B) were unanimous. All the other verdicts were by majority. On 27th March 1998 the learned trial judge heard a plea for leniency, following which the applicant was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment on each count. His Honour directed that three months of each of the sentences imposed on counts 5 to 7, 12 and 13 be served cumulatively upon each other and upon the sentence imposed on count 4, making a total effective sentence of 24 months' imprisonment. The return of prisoners does not include the words "upon each other and", but the sense is clear from the specification of the total effective sentence. Twelve months of that sentence were suspended for an operational period of three years. The applicant seeks leave to appeal against both conviction and sentence.

Geelong Advertiser June 2011:

The Christian Brothers yesterday also confirmed it had forked out millions of dollars for Best's long and drawn out trials where top barristers, that included Queen's Counsel and Senior Counsel, were hired to get him off dozens of charges.

It can now be revealed Best, who has close links to Cardinal George Pell, pleaded guilty this week to six sex abuse-related charges of three boys aged between 11 and 12.

 

According to The Age in August 2011:

 

Best has admitted 27 indecent assaults on 11 boys who attended schools at which he taught as a Christian Brother in Ballarat, at Box Hill in Melbourne and in Geelong.

He is already in jail serving four separate terms for indecent assaults against boys at his schools….

Detective Sergeant Carson is somewhat constrained in what he can say about the Best case by the law and the rules of his job.

But sometimes his sense of right and wrong combined with the tragedy of what has happened in a church he once respected, make it too difficult to stay within those bounds.

"Best got convicted for earlier crimes last December and the church knew that," he said.

"Yet the Catholic Church spent millions of dollars on this bloke's defence in his latest trials and did nothing for the victims."

 

Excerpt from a 2008 Supreme Court judgment in Tasmania v Ferguson:

79 Although C1 does not claim it, evidence is available from Father Jago that upon an indecent assault by the accused being reported to him by C1, Father Jago reported it to the school principal. However, prosecuting authorities were not informed. C1 says that he has been deeply affected by the sexual assaults he believes were committed on him by two of the teachers at the school and by the caretaker of the nearby oval. I conclude that it is in his interests and in the interests of the public, that his allegations, which are charged in count 1, should go to trial.

80 There is available evidence from C2 and Christopher Bartlett that C2, who was aged 13 at the time, complained to a prefect who in turn reported the matter to the school principal. Although the report, along with all the other similar reports Father Hosie appears to have received, may have resulted in the accused being quickly transferred in his employment to another place, with the protection of the school's reputation seemingly gaining prominence, the alleged conduct was not reported to the police as it should have been at the time. There is no evidence that C2 was permanently and adversely affected by the one indecent assault that he alleges took place. Nevertheless, he reported it at the time to a responsible person and it was in no way his fault that his report was not passed on to the police. It is in the interests of the public that his allegations should go to trial.

81 Although C3 says that he did not report to the school's principal the sexual assaults he says were committed against him by the accused, he reported to the principal on the following morning the incident he witnessed that involved the accused sexually misbehaving in the presence of boys in his room. He says that for his pains the principal accused him of lying. He was deterred from reporting the sexual assaults upon himself. Even his father was reluctant to listen to him. His explanation for not reporting the matters to the police until 2004 was that he had spent 30 years being upset by it but he had not been game enough to do so. It was only as a result of the police contacting him that he eventually told them about what he says occurred. It is in the interests of the public and in his interests that his allegations should go to trial.

82 C5 says that he made no report of the crimes committed by the accused against him, either to the school, his parents or anyone else for over 30 years. He believes that many of his life problems, such as alcohol and drugs, and his offending, stemmed from the accused's sexual assaults upon him. It was not until 2002 that he told anyone about them. Subsequently, the police approached him, it would seem as a result of his opening up to others. It is in the interests of the public and in his own interests that his allegations should be allowed to go to trial.

83 C6's allegations are extremely serious ones. They include oral sex, attempted anal sex and urinating on him. He says that he was also the subject of sexual assaults by another teacher. He says that after the first occasion of being assaulted by the accused he was crying in the dormitory and the teacher-in-charge told him to stop blubbering. He was 12 years old at the time. Thereafter the assaults continued for a time and he felt unable to tell anyone of what had happened. It is an all too typical account of child sexual abuse. It appears that his report to the police only came about following his breaking down earlier this year and telling his wife about what had occurred. It is in the public interest and in his interests that his allegations should be allowed to go to trial.

 

ABC News December 2007:

 

70 year old former priest convicted of maintaining a sexual relationship with a person under the age of 17 has been jailed in the Launceston Criminal Court.

Gregory Laurence Ferguson was sentenced today to three years imprisonment with an 18 month non-parole period.

Ferguson sexually abused a 12 year old boarder at Burnie's Marist College in 1970, when he was a teacher and priest there.

Ferguson was convicted on two other sexual abuse charges earlier this year, and was jailed for two years.

He now has a total of five years imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of two and half years.

 

ABC News February 2008:

 

72-year-old Roger Michael Bellemore has been sentenced to four years imprisonment, with a two-year non-parole period.

Bellemore sexually abused three male students when he was a teacher, priest and football coach at Marist.

Justice Ewan Crawford said Bellemore had used his superiority to have his way with the boys.

One of Bellemore's victims was 11 at the time he was assaulted in 1966.

 

The Age July 2004:

 

In his first interview since allegations against the Salesians surfaced worldwide, Father Murdoch revealed that he made two trips to Rome to persuade the Vatican to expel David Rapson, who had been sentenced to two years' jail in 1992 for sex abuse of a 15-year-old student at the Salesian school Rupertswood, near Sunbury.

Father Murdoch also revealed that he had prevented a former head of the order, Father Julian Fox, from returning from Rome to Australia unless he agreed to face his accusers in a case of alleged sexual assault.

The Salesians also paid $35,600 compensation following sex abuse allegations against Father Fox.

The New Zealand Herald April 2006:

With the 21 guilty verdicts in a four-week trial that ended in Christchurch last month, and one guilty plea by McGrath as the trial began, it was now clear that he had not made full admissions in 1993.

McGrath was being sentenced on 13 charges of indecent assault, eight charges of inducing an indecent act, and one charge of doing an indecent act.

The offending related to nine victims at Marylands School where McGrath was a brother, teacher and housemaster. The victims were aged between 7 and 15 at the time.

The New Zealand Herald November 2012:

One was Brother Bernard McGrath, a New Zealander who has been convicted in both countries…….

McGrath was trained in Australia and sexually assaulted boys at the Kendall Grange boarding institution for the intellectually disabled, near Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle. In 1986 he moved back to Christchurch, working at Marylands and the Hebron trust. In 1993 he was sentenced to three years' jail for abusing children at the two institutions.

Later, in Sydney, he was sentenced to nine months for abusing a pre-teen boy and in 2006 he was sentenced again in Christchurch to five years' jail on eight charges involving indecent assault.

News.com.au  November 2012:

 “There was one priest in Victoria who admitted when caught that he had confessed 200 times and nobody had reported him, because priests are not allowed to report anyone who confesses in a confessional."

Priests are not subject to mandatory reporting laws so they don't have to report child abusers who confess to them.

The Sun Herald November 2012:

 

A FORMER priest charged with sexually abusing seven boys over an 18-year period blamed God for making him do it, a court has been told.

David Rapson, 59, is charged with abusing the boys while teaching at Salesian College Rupertswood, in Sunbury, between 1973 and 1990.

The former college vice-principal is charged with one count each of rape and gross indecency and a string of indecent assault charges.

Simply Handmade Market at Raymond Laurie Sports Centre in Yamba on 2 December 2012

 

The first Simply Handmade Market will be held at the Raymond Laurie Sports Centre, Yamba on Sunday, December 2 2012 between 9am-2pm.
To book a stall call 6646 3388.

Visit the Facebook page for more information www.facebook.com/simplyhandmadeyamba

White Ribbon Day 2012 in New South Wales

 

Monumental FAIL

 

White Ribbon Day is Australia's national campaign to stop violence against women and it is represented by 1,900 Ambassadors from across Australia. They are sportsmen, comedians, politicians, performers and community members working in their networks and social spheres to inspire change.

 

In New South Wales one of those ‘ambassadors’ on 25 November is:
 

The Hon Tony Abbot MP
Leader of the Opposition, Federal Member for Warringah, Australian Parliament

What on earth were the organizers thinking?

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."

Opening a can of judicial worms or establishing a new social right?

 

The Guardian UK 13 November 2012:

 

Banning anyone from the internet is an "unreasonable" restriction, two appeal court judges have ruled, suggesting that access to a computer at home has become a basic human right.

The decision by Mr Justice Collins and Judge Nicholas Cooke QC signals judicial recognition of how pervasive digital communications are in an era when a multitude of services can be obtained online….

Upholding a complaint from a sex offender that he was being cut off from the world, the two judges declared it was "unreasonable nowadays to ban anyone from accessing the internet in their home".

Phillip Michael Jackson had been convicted of using a secret camera to film a 14-year-old girl in the shower. Jackson, 55, of Dartford, Kent, doctored a shampoo bottle and hid his mobile phone inside it to take the surreptitious video of the girl.

 

Clarence Valley Watch on the web

Valley Watch has a new website!
It's at http://www.clarencevalleywatchyamba.com/index.html
 

http://www.clarencevalleywatchyamba.com/index.html

Valley Watch identifies key activities that may impact on the Clarence Valley.

Keeping an eye on activities in the Valley

Focusing on the natural environment

Aiming for a region that nurtures all who live here

Well done, Valley Watch!

Here's another fine mess courtesy of Clarence Valley Council management

On 15 November 2012 The Daily Examiner published an article with this opening:

CLARENCE Valley Council achieved "the biggest failing you can have in project management".
Costs are spiralling for the redevelopment of the Townsend Depot and councillors at this week's committee meeting grilled management.
By his own admission, council deputy general manager Rob Donges conceded the plans for the redevelopment had not been thought through.
"The biggest failing you can have in project management is that at the start of the project not all parties agree on what you're doing," Mr Donges said.
"That's what happened here."
The initial "plucked" figure given to councillors for the project, which started in 2010, was $1m, which has since increased to nearly $2m.
Now, there is a request for an additional $589,867, which would bring the total cost of the project to about $2.6m.

What the article did not say was that when council management put a $1million guesstimate as to total project costs to a council meeting before the redevelopment was put out to tender, it had done little or no prior investigation of the site or consultation in relation to the work related needs of the end users.

In December 2010 three of the seventeen tenders submitted for demolition, site preparation, electrical work and construction of buildings were accepted and, council management was authorised to negotiate with one or more of these successful tenderers for construction of Modular Offices and Amenities because their original tenders were not considered best value for money in that area.

During the same meeting Council's elected members were also made aware that the redevelopment budget had blown out to $1.9 million. Around that time it was decided to sell and lease back the nearby Water Cycle Townsend Depot to assist with redevelopment costs.

The sale of the North Coast Water site brought in more money than council management expected. However by September 2011 when authorization was granted to transfer the property title to the new owners, council management was telling a council meeting that sale of the North Coast Water depot had resulted in $21,474 worth of costs not budgeted for.

The next piece of bad news for councillors and ratepayers did not turn up until 13 November 2012, when Clarence Valley Council's Civil & Corporate Committee Meeting was informed that further cost overruns had blown the Maclean Depot redevelopment budget out to somewhere between $2.6 and $2.8 million.

It seems that every stage of the redevelopment is running over budget, primarily because council management decided that it would be a competent project manager.

This is now a running joke among increasingly cynical residents and ratepayers.

Graphic from Google Images

A whacky message from your Aussie transit authority

http://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw

What's happened to Steve's friends?

The former and disgraced Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, has resurfaced on Facebook and it would seem he can now hold get-togethers with his friends in telephone boxes. Yes, that's right, Steve has so few friends he can count them on one hand ... one, two, three, four.

Wild Cattle Creek antimony harvest still plagues the NSW North Coast

 

 

 

 

According to the NSW Soil Conservation Service most of the contaminated material at the Antimony Processing Plant site in Hillside Drive Urunga; came from Stibnite ore mined at Wild Cattle Creek, Dorrigo. The poor management of the site during such activity has caused the contamination. [Email 15 November 2012]

Metgasco starts to drill at Glenugie in the Clarence Valley

 

Metgasco appears to be leading a charmed life when it comes to government support as the coal seam gas industry appears to have the NSW Energy and Resources Minister Chris Hartcher and the O’Farrell Government in its corner.

 

The Managing Director's Presentation to the 13 November 2012 Annual General Meeting supplied to the Australian Stock Exchange is littered with favourable quotes from government and Chairman Nicolas Heath told this meeting that the political cloud over coal seam gas in NSW has been removed.

 

As I write Metgasco is said to be clearing land at Glenugie on the NSW North Coast so that yet more exploratory drilling can commence in the face of widespread community opposition.

 

South Grafton firm McLennans Earth Moving is said to be preparing the site and embattled construction company AJ Lucas contracted to undertake the drilling.

 

According to The Daily Examiner  today:

 

COAL seam gas miner Metgasco has downplayed the significance of activity at a site at Glenugie where it is preparing to take rock samples.

A neighbour, George Oxenbridge, was alarmed when he saw trucks and an excavator on the site on Avenue Rd at Glenugie yesterday.

Mr Oxenbridge said Metgasco had promised to notify people in the region before any activity took place, but nothing had been provided.

Late yesterday CSG protesters were considering a blockade of the site.

What is fascinating about this mining company’s relentless drive is that it is already operating at a considerable loss in a period when even it admits that it has been unable to attract a major player to farm in to its project and in a market which it told its shareholders is currently oversupplied with gas on the east coast of Australia.

 

In July 2012 The Australian reported that; UBS analyst Gordon Ramsay said the whole LNG industry was building projects in a high-cost environment. "The issue for the (CSG) industry is that when you get out of the sweet spots, the wells aren't as productive and that means you have to drill more wells or use more technology to drill more horizontal ones or you fracture stimulate and that means higher costs to get the gas out," he said.

By September analysts were downgrading Australian energy company valuations because of expected supply-based pressure on LNG prices and worries over the prospect that LNG export prices may drop dramatically.

 

While in October James Baulderstone, Santos Vice-president for Eastern Australia, in his turn admitted that the return to coal seam gas producers is not growing; The reality is that the price of natural gas has remained essentially flat for the past 10 years.

 

Metgasco’s monthly listed share price has reflected this overall situation – going from above 1.100 in 2008 to below 0.200 in 2012.

 

Despite its rhetoric for media and local government consumption, the company does not appear to have prospective customers knocking down its door and is hardly likely to find a ready market for residential customers given the impact of CSG industry costs on price are predicted to keep network and retailer charges rising.

 

The demand for domestic gas generally will remain relatively flat to slow growing through to 2027 according to the ACCC in its State Of The Energy Market 2009 report.

 

It would appear that Metgasco is likely to join other suppliers in finding that, even in a highly competitive and volatile international market, exporting its product overseas is the more attractive option.

 

That may create yet another headache for the Northern Rivers region as the company is still keeping its options open with regard to a floating LNG facility off the coast.

 

One thing which does stand out is that Metgasco is a small-time player in the Australian gas industry and one has a strong suspicion that local communities will see little benefit from its activities – now or in the future.

 

Metgasco might believe that politics no longer plays a part in its wildly optimistic plans, but all three tiers of government may find that this company’s activities will cause them considerable pain at the ballot box over the next decade.

Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Report (part 2)

One spinoff from searching for nocturnal birds is that you often see other fauna especially mammals.  The only drawback is that you can’t add them to the tally.  We had great views of a Long-nosed Potoroo at the base of the Gibraltar Range and two Rufous Bettongs between the Range and Grafton.  A young Parma Wallaby in the Washpool and a third Rufous Bettong on the way to the coast were others seen.  Dodging large alpha male Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the road was also an entertaining pastime which kept us on our guard.  It was still dark when we left the house on the coast north-west of Grafton the next morning.  As we climbed into the Land Cruiser we heard a Brush Cuckoo, our first bird of the day.  Off to the coastal heath where it was still very dark due to heavy cloud cover.  It wasn’t long though until we heard a Ground Parrot and also ticked off White-cheeked and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters.  Then to the estuary where we were welcomed by a vociferous Leaden Flycatcher as we were trying to identify a flock of small terns that weren’t right to be Little or Common Terns.  It turned out that they were Whiskered Terns, more common in freshwater wetlands than estuaries in our area.  A grey morp Eastern Reef Egret, a Striated Heron and a diversity of shorebirds were added to the list.  Two small plump shorebirds took some time to identify as the overcast weather made them look darker than normal.  They were Sanderlings, a species not usually found in this estuary.  As we left the estuary an Eastern Osprey flew over the road and brought the total to 141 at 6.17 am.  At a small lake nearby a Swamp Harrier was observed and a pair of Pied Oystercatchers was at their nest and at a rock platform two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were the first seen by us for the season.   A large raft of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were foraging off the rocks but the Australasian Gannet was nowhere to be seen.  Four Coastal Emus were in a cane paddock on the trip back to the Pacific Highway.  As we disembarked from the vehicle at the Iluka Nature Reserve we heard a monarch.  Someone called out Spectacled Monarch and we all agreed at first but then I the realised that it was a White-eared Monarch and not a Spectacled Monarch.  We did add Spectacled Monarch as well as Regent Bowerbird and Large-billed Scrubwren before leaving the rainforest for the estuary.  At an inlet we heard Mangrove Honeyeater and then on to Woody Head.  The extremely high tide meant that all of the shorebirds and terns were clustered together on rocks, making it relatively easy to check them off.  There were Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers and Little and Common Terns, making 180 species at 9.39 am.  To be continued.

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.

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.