Clarence Valley Council: when each end of the debate spectrum is right and both are wrong

At the Extraordinary Meeting of 25 September 2012 which saw the new configuration of Clarence Valley shire councillors formally take up their roles, there was a single business item dealing with the creation of dedicated parking spaces for recreational vehicles within Grafton City precincts.

This item was progressed by council on a 7-2 vote and, all things being equal, Grafton City should have formal RV Friendly accreditation very soon as a commitment has been made to create the required lower order infrastructure.

Despite the tenor of certain online comments below recently published media articles on the subject and, a rather misleading print-only article, the fact of the matter was that both sides in the debate undertaken before this vote had legitimate points to make.

Firstly, Cr. Karen Toms quite rightly pointed out that Clarence Valley Council senior management had once again markedly overstepped its authority. A fact staff appeared to have admitted.

Just as they admitted that some of the proposed extended-hours parking for these recreational vehicles would be in the vicinity of residential properties and that property owners had not been informed of any impact this might have on access to street parking for their own visitors or emergency vehicles.

Secondly, Cr. Sue Hughes in her turn was right to point out that attracting more overnight, short and long-stay tourists to Grafton would be of economic benefit to the city and that the present state of the local economy made a proactive stance desirable.

The business item was a rather odd interlude in an extraordinary meeting whose purpose was to elect a new mayor and deputy mayor, as well as appoint councillors to internal committees or as council representatives on external committees.

The fact of the matter was that on 25 September past personal enmity, in-fighting and scapegoating were being carried forward into this new local government term and, the level of dysfunction which had begun to characterize governance for the last four years is now being writ large enough for the political jackals in Governor Macquarie Tower to consider moving in on Clarence Valley Council if they so choose - as they did on Maclean Shire Council when its last mayor went politically feral and on Grafton City and Copmanhurst councils when they could no longer hide the fact that they were being held together by sticky tape and creative accounting.

Councillors would be wise to heed the negative example of Singleton Council which still suffers the impact of past political and organisational disarray and, accept that they need to turn and face the problem in a constructive manner before the level of community dissatisfaction becomes vocal enough to reach the ears of the NSW Premier.

The O’Farrell Government will have no compunction about using this ongoing friction and growing evidence of poor governance as a reason to either formally refer matters to the Division of Local Government for determination or refer any significant documented irregularities onto ICAC.

The presence of National Party members among the nine elected representatives is no guarantee that the Premier and Minister for Local Government will not dismiss or dismantle Clarence Valley Council should it become a public embarrassment.

This state government has already demonstrated that regional New South Wales (and the Clarence Valley in particular) is of little consequence to it.

There is not one of the nine current councillors and not one of the senior management 
team who would be blameless if this were to happen, because every single one has already brought into that old, infantile schoolyard game of who's in and who's out of the magic circle with considerable gusto.

Clarence Valley residents and ratepayers deserve better than this from their elected representatives and from council management.

Clarence Valley Council wants to introduce you to family skeletons, ghosts and black sheep

Clarrie Rivers has his hands full at the moment, but he suggested North Coast Voices readers might be interested in this:

Mayor: Richie Williamson General Manager: Scott Greensill 25 September 2012 The family tree branches out at Clarence Regional Library Family history buffs across the Valley who are keen to meet their ancestors can now trace them simply by visiting their local library. The Clarence Regional Library has announced the launch of the Ancestry Library Edition database, allowing people to delve into branches of the family tree simply by clicking onto the Library's website - www.crl.nsw.gov.au. Mayor Richie Williamson has described the Ancestry Library Edition as a wonderful new tool for the library. "The service is ideal for the family historian or the social historian," he said. "Ancestry Library Edition provides the most genealogical information available on-line, with more than five billion names in more than 4000 collections. It offers a wide and diverse variety of unique content to help users trace their family lineage or help historians access historical records that have previously not been available online. It is continuously expanding with new content added every business day." Content highlights include: Immigration Collections Parish and Probate Records Family and Local History Collections U.S. Federal Census 1790 – 1930 England and Wales Census Collection, 1851 – 1901 England and Wales Civil Registration Index, 1837 – present "Ancestry Library Edition allows access anywhere within the library system to any number of users," the mayor said. "It's a resource that both the beginner and the advanced researcher can use again and again to explore history and their own family's history." Clarence Regional Library members can access Ancestry.com by visiting their local Library and booking one of the computers. Release ends. Authorised by: Richie Williamson MAYOR   02 6643 0245 or 0427 457 382  For further information contact: Des Schroder Deputy General Manager (Environment & Economic) 0447 430 261 or 02 6643 0203

Grafton Regional Art Gallery - Exhibition just for kids from 24 October to 2 December 2012

 

Noel McKenna Dog, Vaucluse 2006

 

At the Grafton Regional Art Gallery, Prentice House, 158 Fitzroy Street, Grafton NSW 2460, from 24 October - 2 December 2012:

 

Best of JADA: Jada for kids

Prentice West

A selection of works from the JADA collection

hung at a height for children to get the best view.

Drawing activities will accompany this exhibition.

NBN Coffs Harbour in hot water over biased Pacific Highway news report

27 September 2012

Nine breached accuracy and fairness code in Pacific Highway news report

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that Nine Network station NBN Ltd breached the accuracy and fairness provisions of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010 in a broadcast of NBN News on 19 January 2012.
The breaches occurred in a news item called ‘Fatal diversion’. It reported that the Federal Government had diverted funds from the Pacific Highway to the Oxley Highway, when in fact the proposed diversion of funds was from one section of the Pacific Highway to another.
The ACMA also found that the item did not present the news fairly and impartially in relation to Anthony Albanese, the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, or Rob Oakeshott, the Federal Member for Lyne.
Nine has apologised to Minister Albanese and, in response to the ACMA investigation and following discussions with Nine Network management, it has taken the following remedial actions:

• removed the item from the licensee’s website
• cautioned and provided training to relevant Nine staff
• written to Mr Oakeshott, acknowledging his concerns and the errors in the broadcast.

In addition, Nine has agreed to post a statement on its website acknowledging the findings and giving a link to the ACMA’s investigation report.
Investigation Report 2789 is available on the ACMA website.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Blake Murdoch on (02) 9334 7817, 0411 504 687 or media@acma.gov.au.

Abbott and the Klu Klux Clan Letter

 

From Tony Abbott – Intimidating his opponents since 1977 at Women Against Abbott September 12, 2012:

 

Clarence Valley anti-coal seam gas protestors tell NSW Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis they are not amused

At least thirty concerned people and, perhaps as many as fifty before the protest ended, gathered outside the electoral office of NSW Nationals MP for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, on Tuesday 25 September 2012.

 

This anti-CSG gathering met to emphatically, but politely, express opposition to NSW Government land use policies and potential coal seam gas exploration and mining in the Clarence Valley.

After the protesters had been in position for a good half hour or so, Mr. Gulaptis deigned to show himself and immediately set out to cast doubts about the legitimacy of concerns relating to coal seam gas exploration and mining.

One interested local queried the fact that Mr. Gulaptis appeared to have abandoned the precautionary principle when it came to the possibility that mining corporations might sink multiple commercial gas wells on privately owned land in the electorate he represents.

Of course Gulaptis has a history of favouring the mining industry, so his current attitude should come as no surprise.

It is understood that the Member for Clarence initially objected to his meeting with protesters being filmed by a participant and, as he is not known to be shy, one has to wonder if plausible deniability was what he hoped to preserve in this exchange with protesters.

Yesterday morning The Daily Examiner published this photograph and article online.

North Coast Voices also has these images of a somewhat uncomfortable Gulpatis meeting with ardent protesters - courtesy of our own K. Roo:

UPDATE:

Denise Deane of Yuragir Coast and Range Alliance on 27 September 2012:

Mr Gulaptis was humble to admit he indeed did not know a lot about the unconventional gas industry but was prepared to read the list of Australasian Accidents and Spillages related to CSG. He accepted literature and video educational material provide by the community. 

We remain deeply concerned that local productive industries, including the largest commercial fishing fleet in the state, will be badly affected by the by-products and pollution from the industry as has occurred in other parts of AUSTRALIA. It's astounding that we as stakeholders in shared resources such as our water, sustaining life and livelihoods have not been properly consulted and our concerns abandoned in favour of mostly foreign owned mining companies.

Fluffy assurances from CSG mining company advertising, such as Metgasco, that this industry is safe and can coexist with farming and healthy communities are inadequate. Metgasco already have a poor track record with spillages,  illegal dumping and leaking toxic ponds.

Mr Gulaptis asked for anyone directly affected by a neighbouring gas company to ensure they report to him. Funnily these were similar words from Mr Hazzard at Casino, but the crowd erupted when he said this as prevention is far better than cure. We will lock our gates. We do not want to have these huge problems.

6% of well casings fail immediately upon instalment, within 30 years, 50% of well casings fail and ultimately all of them fail. Cement is not going to withstand multiple horizontal seismic fracking and has a limited life span. 

ABC News on 26 September reporting on a gas project of which Chris Gulaptis approves:

A mining company with gas exploration licences for the Clarence Valley has just signed a multi million dollar deal with an energy company.

The almost $3 million dollar agreement between Red Sky Energy and ERM Power will fund drilling of up to nine gas wells.....
However the Clarence Valley Alliance Against Coal Seam Gas says it is extremely worried about the mining exploration deal. Spokesman John Edwards said if the project was only for nine wells in the valley, it would not be a major concern. "But if there's a resource discovered under any of those wells that will mean the companies will then move to the next level, which is a gas field," he said.
"We'll have dozens, possibly hundreds of gas wells clustered around in a very small area, connected to pipelines and roads.
"It's going to be horrific.
"If there was only nine wells to be drilled in the Clarence valley I don't think too many people would have concerns.
"But Metgasco have already admitted they want to put one thousand wells in the Casino area.
"This isn't just a single well coming up with conventional gas, whatever that is.
"It's unconventional and they're just playing with semantics, they really are."

Red Sky-ERM Power petroluem/gas titles PELs 457, 478 & 479 in the Richmond and Clarence valleys found at MinView:

 Click on map to enlarge

Japanese Fisheries Agency denies November-March Antarctic whale hunt cancelled

Wednesday September 26th, 2012



Well, it only took a few hours from when the Japanese newspaper report was released, but the Japanese Fisheries Agency has said despite the need for its main ship, the Nisshin Maru, to be overhauled, this year’s whale hunt will continue. Not only will the Southern Ocean hunt not be called off this year, as was originally thought this morning, but the 8,000-ton ship’s refitting will allow Japan to get another decade’s worth of service from it. I can hear Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd starting their boats’ engines now….