Wise words from The Daily Examiner editor
29 September 2009
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This week there were at least 10 separate fires burning at some stage on the NSW North Coast.
Current NSW fire danger information and total fire bans at the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Current NSW fire incidents
But there's more. In July, Planning Minister Kristina Keneally created Joint Regional Planning Panels (get the Orwellian touch?). The JRPP are, according to Keneally, "the next step in building Australia's best planning system", and "another clear step in taking the politics out of the planning process".
Alarm bells should start to ring when phrases like "taking the politics out of..." drop easily from the lips of a minister. Regardless, the JRPP do nothing of the sort.
These panels, there are five of them, act like hit squads to determine "development proposals with a value between $10 million-$100 million, sub-divisions of more than 250 lots and specialist development proposals, such as eco-tourism, with a value in excess of $5 million".
Each has five members, of which three are appointed by Keneally, the two others nominated by a council. (The three state appointees are permanent, the other two rotating depending on which shire is under review.)
So, how "non-political" are they? As an illustration take the panel that covers the area where I live: the Northern Region from Tweed Heads in the north to Port Macquarie in the south, Liverpool Plains and Moree Plains in the west.
The three state appointees are: Garry West (chair), Pamela Westing and John Griffin. West is no stranger to Macquarie Street. He sat in the NSW Parliament for 20 years as a National Party MP until 1996, running a swag of departments including Tourism, Lands and Forests, Police and Emergency Services.
Westing is a former general manager of Byron Shire. After five years at Byron, her application for a two-year extension to her contract was refused by councillors in 2008. She now runs her own town planning and business management consultancy.
Griffin is a former general manager of the Tweed Shire Council — hardly a political virgin given the scandals over development applications and alleged but never prosecuted links between some councillors and developers in that shire. What is remarkable about Griffin's appointment is that he was rejected as the local member by the council he ran for 15 years, only to pop up again as Keneally's appointee.
Jobs for the boys and girls, while residents living in areas where major developments are proposed will find it even harder to make their voices heard.
It is projected this new tax will result in 16 mines closing prematurely. It will cut thousands of jobs in the coal industry.
For every direct coal job lost it’s estimated that at least two more jobs will go with them – mainly in regional towns. Shopkeepers, small businesses, council workers – everyone could be affected.
Unemployment in some regional areas will rise even more. Property prices could be impacted. Many families will have to move away to find new lives and employment.
Well, Messrs. Hillman and Lawrence - I live in one of those electorates you intend to target and I just don't believe this over-the-top doom saying.
In fact not even the Minerals Council of Australia believes your nonsense because on 1 September 2009 it forecast continued prosperity for the coal industry in Boom forecast for coal output.
ACA Executive Director Ralph Hillman (below) now joins my personal climate change shame file:
This week the United Nations released its draft document for the UNFCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Northern Star reports:
The terminal will connect to the main rail line and from there freight will travel to destinations and ports around Australia.
With the capacity to load two 750m long trains or a single 1550m train, it is expected one short train will depart for Brisbane daily and one long train will head southward to Sydney or Melbourne every two to three days.
Phillip Imrie, the Sydney-based engineer behind the proposal, said the terminal represented the future of freight in Australia.
An industrial estate will form part of the terminal. From there, businesses will be able to load goods directly onto waiting trains.
The Casino branch of the stockfeed company Riverina currently brings in more than 100,000 tonnes of grain and protein from Northern NSW and South-East Queensland every year by road.
“A facility such as this would give us access to southern grain markets which are currently cost prohibitive by road,” branch manager Col Shelton said.
Stage one of the terminal will employ 10 to 20 people on a full-time basis, although more will be working during the construction phase.
Mr Imrie said the terminal was likely to attract new businesses to Casino and this would bring more jobs.
Richmond Valley Council general manager Brian Wilkinson said the council was very keen to see the proposal go ahead and supported the overall concept.
Source: The Northern Star
A heifer died two days after giving birth to a large bull calf, so I ended up with a poddy to raise.
I am pleased to say that he is going well, if a little bit confused.
He is being bucket fed and to avoid mess at feeding time I have drilled a hole in a stable wall which the milk teat goes through.
This works really well, except he now has a wood fetish.
Fence posts are fully examined to make sure that there are no teats and since the teat is black rubber the car tyres are of great interest to him.
To give him a more balanced view of the world I have been taking him out into the paddock and introducing him to the aunties (cows), this is working beautifully.
Each morning Arnold Bully the calf and I wander into the herd where I do my best cow impersonation.
Over the last week I have managed to have him accepted into the herd kindergarten.
This is where cows leave their older calves in the care of others and go off and feed; the calves play, have naps and generally learn how to be cows.
This is brilliant.
He has the whole day out with the herd and comes home to his stable at night.
The problem for me is it is now my turn to look after the kindergarten kids - help!
