Scoop: Local MP plans to appear in avatar format

At yesterday arvo's meeting of The Table of Knowledge at the local watering hole Tom, who claims to know everything and anything about politics, had his wife's sister's young fella (truly, that's how Tom refers to the strapping young man, not simply his nephew) along as a guest.

When the agenda moved to consider the absence of our local charmer, oops that should be member, Chris Gulaptis's smiling dial on the parliament's website the young visitor remarked, "Reckon he's probably put it out for tender."

"What do you mean?" enquired Tom.

"Oh, sorry, Uncle Tom, but I thought from the way you and Aunty spoke about your local MP at home you reckon he's the ants' pants, a sorta 2012 SNAG (sensitive new age guy) type of bloke.

"And, that being the case, he wouldn't want something as ordinary as a mug shot on the website. Nah, he's probably waiting quietly till his designer has finished his avatar."

Well, readers, remember you read that scoop here.

Hmmm, we're wondering what Chris's designer will come up with. Any suggestions?

New Carbon Farming Handbook Launched In Casino by Saffin and Dreyfus

THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP

Cabinet Secretary

Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation

THE HON JANELLE SAFFIN MP

Federal Member for Page

MEDIA RELEASE

New Carbon farming Handbook to help australia’s farmers create extra revenue

29 March, 2011

Farmers, landholders, waste operators and other clean energy businesses in the Northern Rivers region seeking to take part in the Gillard Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) can now access information in a new handbook launched in Casino today by the Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus.

Speaking at a carbon farming forum organised by Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin, Mr Dreyfus encouraged farmers, land owners, local government and other stakeholders to utilise the Carbon Farming Initiative to generate extra income by reducing agricultural and landfill waste pollution.

“Climate change poses a serious risk to the future of Australian agriculture and food production, with scientists confirming a strong link to less predictable and more intense weather events. Over the next six years, the Gillard Government will support the land sector by investing $1.7 billion dollars of carbon price revenue to support the CFI and other programs to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability,” said Mr Dreyfus.

“Farmers and landholders have an important role to play in our nation’s clean energy future by increasing the land sector's resilience to climate change and improving long term farm productivity.”

“The Carbon Farming Initiative Handbook will be a great resource for farmers in the Northern Rivers region. It sets out how farmers and landholders can improve their land and farm sustainability while generating carbon credits that can be sold on domestic and international markets,” said Ms Saffin.

“Farmers and landholders in the Northern Rivers region can now benefit from methodologies that have already been approved under the CFI, including reducing methane in piggeries, flaring landfill gas, planting native species and reducing pollution from savanna burning,” said Ms Saffin.

“CSIRO, universities and other research bodies are developing a number of other methodologies with the federal government, including dairy cattle food supplementation, enhanced efficiency fertilisers, manure management and soil carbon,” said Mr Dreyfus.

While in the region, the Parliamentary Secretary also visited Casino West Public School, which received funding under the National Solar Schools Program, and met with local councils to discuss the CFI and the Government’s Clean Energy Future plan.

Further information about the Carbon Farming Initiative is available at: www.climatechange.gov.au/cfi

Media contact: Giulia Baggio 0400 918 776 (Dreyfus) and  Matt Dunne 0417 287 456 (Saffin)

Planet Under Pressure 2012 Conference: Recommendations for Navigating the Anthropocene

The Planet Under Pressure Conference 2012 at its March 24-29 London gathering released this:

Science for Policy:

Recommendations for Navigating the Anthropocene

Nine Policy Briefs to help inform policy agenda in next decade

International science community has published a series of Policy Briefs for the United Nations Rio+20 conference in June 2012.

“Rio+20 is an opportunity for progress. We commissioned these nine briefs to summarise scientific findings relevant to the Rio+20 agenda: the green economy and sustainable development.” says Nobel Laureate Professor Elinor Ostrom, the conference chief scientific advisor. “They cover a variety of topics, but a key feature of all briefs is the need for an interconnected approach to addressing our global challenges.”

The final four briefs for the series, released at the London Planet Under Pressure conference today, focus on energy security, green economy, health and wellbeing. Five Policy Briefs, published in late 2011, deal with interconnected risks and solutions, international governance for sustainable development, water security, food security and biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Key findings overleaf here

All nine Policy Briefs will be officially presented by a high-level scientific panel moderated by Georgios Kostakos, Deputy Director of the UN Secretary General’s Global Sustainability Panel, at the Planet Under Pressure conference, Monday, March 26, 2012, 1.00-1.40pm British Summer Time, Plenary Hall.

A parallel suite of scientific white papers is published in a special issue of the Journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Volume 4, Issue 1 – selected pp. 1-158 (February 2012).

Note to Editors

The research discussed in the press release, the conclusions drawn and the opinions offered are those of individual speakers or research teams at the Planet Under Pressure conference.

*The Anthropocene

The Anthropocene as a new geological epoch was first proposed in 2000 by Dutch Nobel Laureate Professor Paul Crutzen and US academic Professor Eugene Stoermer (1934-2012). Crutzen, Stoermer and others argued that the vast human enterprise now rivals the great geological forces of nature.

More information about Planet under Pressure Conference

The international science conference will be the biggest gathering of global environmental change specialists in advance of the United Nations Rio+20 Summit: 2,500 scientists, policymakers, industry and media representatives will meet to hear the latest research findings on the state of the planet and discuss concepts for planetary stewardship and societal and economic transformation towards global sustainability.

More information on the web: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/

Earth Hour 2012 - give Mother Nature an even break at 8.30pm March 31

Turn all your house lights and electrical applicances off
for one hour

 at 8.30pm on Saturday March 31, 2012

Mother Nature deserves a little breathing space
to digest all that greenhouse gas

Don't blame Dallas - former north coast rep on NSW Aboriginal Land Council wants nothing to do with petroleum exploration

Letter to the Editor, The Northern Star

Local decisions

I was the elected councillor representing the North Coast Region on the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) from December 2010 to August 2011.

It has been mentioned to me that people are insinuating that I, as a councillor, was party to the NSWALC decision to apply for the petroleum exploration licences in the North Coast. I deny this.

In my time as councillor it was never mentioned about exploration licences on the North Coast.

My belief is that such decisions should come from the local level and not from the top down.

I personally find it repulsive that NSWALC made the decision they did without having the decency to talk with local Aboriginal land councils and other indigenous stakeholders. Shame on them.

Big brother has again returned to Aboriginal affairs.

I do not have an issue with mining where it is culturally and environmentally okay. The beautiful North Coast is not the place to pillage.

Dallas Donnelly, Grafton

Source: Letters, The Northern Star, 30/3/12

Iluka Road and the Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Petition

This was the Nationals MP for Clarence during his successful 2011 by-election campaign:

Now Mr Gulaptis said he has a 1500-signature petition signed by local residents calling for the speed limit to be raised to 100km/h….

Mr Gulaptis could not answer whether the petition was a recent one, or one launched six years ago in opposition to the speed limit reduction, as he said he hadn't seen it, despite claiming he had it on radio yesterday morning.

This was another Nationals MP for Clarence six years ago in 2006:

The Minister did not answer my urgent letters of months ago and last week. That is why I now raise the matter directly in the people's forum, Australia's first Parliament, along with 800 signatures taken in three days, to show the real community interest there. Labor was quick to slash the speed limit to 80 kilometres an hour on Iluka Road in a misguided attempt to protect emus…..

What do these two quotes tell us about ‘Steve’ Gulaptis’ request to the NSW Roads and Maritime Service for a review of the speed limit on Iluka Road in the Lower Clarence Valley?

Well, they tell us that the petition he was touting was unlikely to have ever contained 1,500 signatures – in fact it probably had a 700 signature shortfall.

They also suggest that he is attempting to use this petition a second time, as the former Member for Clarence had brought the petition to the attention of the NSW Legislative Assembly years ago.

Not rogering strangers in The Territory

Thousands of Territorians having crazed anonymous sex in public?
Naah, the pooches give the game away. If their owner was doing the wild thing in the bushes they would be trying to join in.
Betting that all the bloke on this NT News frontpage is doing is having a quick pee or the pic was posed.