Censoring what local government councillors, residents & ratepayers can see

On 12 March 2013 Clarence Valley Council management achieved a veritable censorship coup.

The Civil &Corporate Committee Meeting business paper contained a ‘ghost’ submission in Item 13.034/13.

There is an assertion that it exists but no full text of one submission is attached to this item. [See Page 7 snapshot below]

Presumably any councillor who happened to realise that a document was being withheld from them would be given access to it by council management.

However, it is hard to see how residents and ratepayers would be able to view that same obscured document.

The Environment, Economic & Community Committee Meeting business paper dispensed altogether with the idea of summarizing a submission which allegedly should have been attached to Item 12.044/13.

It simply denied that it existed at all. [See Page 62 snapshot below]

Not even the most wide awake councillor would suspect that a ratepayer may have submitted an opinion on this aspect of the somewhat ironically titled Draft Community Engagement Policy (2013):

Click on snapshots to enlarge

Stephen Koukoulas on the subject of Tony Abbott as an economic forecaster

From Market Economics 9 March 2013:

In his Budget reply speech in May last year, Mr Abbott made the following claim:

§  “Madam Deputy Speaker, from an economic perspective, the worst aspect of this year’s budget is that there is no plan for economic growth; nothing whatsoever to promote investment or employment.”

Since that speech was delivered, this has what has happened to growth, investment and jobs:

§  The economy (real GDP) has grown by 1.9% in the three quarters to December 2012. This is an annualised increase of 2.5%.

§  Private sector business investment has risen by 2.5% in the three quarters to December 2012 to be a thumping 70.0% higher than the  level of investment when the Coalition was last in office. The capital expenditure expectations data were, according to Westpac, “robust” with investment likely to rise a stunning 11% in 2013-14 to fresh record highs.

§  Since June 2012, 53,400 jobs have been created, 30,000 of these full-time positions.

 Stephen Koukoulas

Equal Rights: reaffirming the core values and principles of the Commonwealth in 2013

Excerpt from the Commonwealth Secretariat’s 8 March 2013 media release:

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, will mark Commonwealth Day on Monday, 11 March by signing the Commonwealth Charter, an historic document which brings together, for the first time in the association's 64-year history, key declarations on Commonwealth principles.

The Charter signing will take place at a reception hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at Marlborough House in London. It will be the Queen’s first official engagement since leaving hospital earlier this week.

After the signing, the Queen will address High Commissioners and other dignitaries at the reception.

Heads of Government adopted the Commonwealth Charter on 14 December 2012, following a year-long consultation with member governments and civil society. The signed Charter will remain on display at Marlborough House…….

Charter of the Commonwealth

We the people of the Commonwealth:

Recognising that in an era of changing economic circumstances and uncertainty, new trade and economic patterns, unprecedented threats to peace and security, and a surge in popular demands for democracy, human rights and broadened economic opportunities, the potential of and need for the Commonwealth – as a compelling force for good and as an effective network for co-operation and for promoting development – has never been greater,

Recalling that the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of independent and equal sovereign states, each responsible for its own policies, consulting and co-operating in the common interests of our peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace, and influencing international society to the benefit of all through the pursuit of common principles and values,

Affirming that the special strength of the Commonwealth lies in the combination of our diversity and our shared inheritance in language, culture and the rule of law; and bound together by shared history and tradition; by respect for all states and peoples; by shared values and principles and by concern for the vulnerable,

Affirming that the Commonwealth way is to seek consensus through consultation and the sharing of experience, especially through practical co-operation, and further affirming that the Commonwealth is uniquely placed to serve as a model and as a catalyst for new forms of friendship and co-operation in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations,

Affirming the role of the Commonwealth as a recognised intergovernmental champion of small states, advocating for their special needs; providing policy advice on political, economic and social development issues; and delivering technical assistance,

Welcoming the valuable contribution of the network of the many intergovernmental, parliamentary, professional and civil society bodies which support the Commonwealth and which subscribe and adhere to its values and principles,

Affirming the validity of and our commitment to the values and principles of the Commonwealth as defined and strengthened over the years including: the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles, the Harare Commonwealth Declaration, the Langkawi Declaration on the Environment, the Millbrook Action Programme, the Latimer House Principles, the Aberdeen Agenda, the Trinidad and Tobago Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles, the Munyonyo Statement on Respect and Understanding, the Lake Victoria Commonwealth Climate Change Action Plan, the Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles, and the Commonwealth Declaration on Investing in Young People,

Affirming our core Commonwealth principles of consensus and common action, mutual respect, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability, legitimacy, and responsiveness,

Reaffirming the core values and principles of the Commonwealth as declared by this Charter:

I. DEMOCRACY

We recognise the inalienable right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, in particular through free and fair elections in shaping the society in which they live. Governments, political parties and civil society are responsible for upholding and promoting democratic culture and practices and are accountable to the public in this regard. Parliaments and representative local governments and other forms of local governance are essential elements in the exercise of democratic governance.

We support the role of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to address promptly and effectively all instances of serious or persistent violations of Commonwealth values without any fear or favour.

II. HUMAN RIGHTS

We are committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights covenants and international instruments. We are committed to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, for all without discrimination on any grounds as the foundations of peaceful, just and stable societies. We note that these rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and cannot be implemented selectively.

We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.

III. INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

We firmly believe that international peace and security, sustainable economic growth and development and the rule of law are essential to the progress and prosperity of all. We are committed to an effective multilateral system based on inclusiveness, equity, justice and international law as the best foundation for achieving consensus and progress on major global challenges including piracy and terrorism.

We support international efforts for peace and disarmament at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. We will contribute to the promotion of international consensus on major global political, economic and social issues. We will be guided by our commitment to the security, development and prosperity of every member state.

We reiterate our absolute condemnation of all acts of terrorism in whatever form or wherever they occur or by whomsoever perpetrated, with the consequent tragic loss of human life and severe damage to political, economic and social stability. We reaffirm our commitment to work together as a diverse community of nations, individually, and collectively under the auspices and authority of the United Nations, to take concerted and resolute action to eradicate terrorism.

IV. TOLERANCE, RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING

We emphasise the need to promote tolerance, respect, understanding, moderation and religious freedom which are essential to the development of free and democratic societies, and recall that respect for the dignity of all human beings is critical to promoting peace and prosperity.

We accept that diversity and understanding the richness of our multiple identities are fundamental to the Commonwealth’s principles and approach.

V. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

We are committed to peaceful, open dialogue and the free flow of information, including through a free and responsible media, and to enhancing democratic traditions and strengthening democratic processes.

VI. SEPARATION OF POWERS

We recognise the importance of maintaining the integrity of the roles of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. These are the guarantors in their respective spheres of the rule of law, the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and adherence to good governance.

VII. RULE OF LAW

We believe in the rule of law as an essential protection for the people of the Commonwealth and as an assurance of limited and accountable government. In particular we support an independent, impartial, honest and competent judiciary and recognise that an independent, effective and competent legal system is integral to upholding the rule of law, engendering public confidence and dispensing justice.

VIII. GOOD GOVERNANCE

We reiterate our commitment to promote good governance through the rule of law, to ensure transparency and accountability and to root out, both at national and international levels, systemic and systematic corruption.

IX. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

We recognise that sustainable development can help to eradicate poverty by pursuing inclusive growth whilst preserving and conserving natural ecosystems and promoting social equity.

We stress the importance of sustainable economic and social transformation to eliminate poverty and meet the basic needs of the vast majority of the people of the world and reiterate that economic and social progress enhances the sustainability of democracy.

We are committed to removing wide disparities and unequal living standards as guided by internationally agreed development goals. We are also committed to building economic resilience and promoting social equity, and we reiterate the value in technical assistance, capacity building and practical cooperation in promoting development.

We are committed to an effective, equitable, rules-based multilateral trading system, the freest possible flow of multilateral trade on terms fair and equitable to all, while taking into account the special requirements of small states and developing countries.

We also recognise the importance of information and communication technologies as powerful instruments of development; delivering savings, efficiencies and growth in our economies, as well as promoting education, learning and the sharing of culture. We are committed to strengthening its use while enhancing its security, for the purpose of advancing our societies.

X. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT

We recognise the importance of the protection and conservation of our natural ecosystems and affirm that sustainable management of the natural environment is the key to sustained human development. We recognise the importance of multilateral cooperation, sustained commitment and collective action, in particular by addressing the adaptation and mitigation challenges of climate change and facilitating the development, diffusion and deployment of affordable environmentally friendly technologies and renewable energy, and the prevention of illicit dumping of toxic and hazardous waste as well as the prevention and mitigation of erosion and desertification.

XI. ACCESS TO HEALTH, EDUCATION, FOOD AND SHELTER

We recognise the necessity of access to affordable health care, education, clean drinking water, sanitation and housing for all citizens and emphasise the importance of promoting health and well-being in combating communicable and non-communicable diseases.

We recognise the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.

XII. GENDER EQUALITY

We recognise that gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential components of human development and basic human rights. The advancement of women’s rights and the education of girls are critical preconditions for effective and sustainable development.

XIII. IMPORTANCE OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE COMMONWEALTH

We recognise the positive and active role and contributions of young people in promoting development, peace, democracy and in protecting and promoting other Commonwealth values, such as tolerance and understanding, including respect for other cultures. The future success of the Commonwealth rests with the continued commitment and contributions of young people in promoting and sustaining the Commonwealth and its values and principles, and we commit to investing in and promoting their development, particularly through the creation of opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship.

XIV. RECOGNITION OF THE NEEDS OF SMALL STATES

We are committed to assisting small and developing states in the Commonwealth, including the particular needs of small island developing states, in tackling their particular economic, energy, climate change and security challenges, and in building their resilience for the future.

XV. RECOGNITION OF THE NEEDS OF VULNERABLE STATES

We are committed to collaborating to find ways to provide immediate help to the poorest and most vulnerable including least developed countries, and to develop responses to protect the people most at risk.

XVI. THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

We recognise the important role that civil society plays in our communities and countries as partners in promoting and supporting Commonwealth values and principles, including the freedom of association and peaceful assembly, and in achieving development goals.

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We are committed to ensuring that the Commonwealth is an effective association, responsive to members’ needs, and capable of addressing the significant global challenges of the future.

We aspire to a Commonwealth that is a strong and respected voice in the world, speaking out on major issues; that strengthens and enlarges its networks; that has a global relevance and profile; and that is devoted to improving the lives of all peoples of the Commonwealth.

Dated this 14th day of December 2012

Is this the future of Northern Rivers water if the O'Farrell Government, Metgasco and Dart prevail?

 

Enduring and sustainable river and ground water systems have long been a focus of community concern on the NSW North Coast.

 

Metgasco Limited has been exploring for coal seam gas in the region for a number of years and to date has drilled 50 wells of various types which tap into what the company describes as shallow aquifer water.

 

It does not specify how much carted-in domestic water and aquifer water it has used thus far, although its estimates for seven incomplete/new core, pilot and ‘conventional’ wells range from 200,000 litres through to 1 million litres per well by 2014.

 

Nor does it rule out produced waste water and/or treated water seeping into local aquifers.

 

Ultimately Metgasco intends to have an estimated 1,000 wells in commercial production in the Richmond Valley and, an as yet unspecified number in the Clarence Valley.

 

Dart Energy has only recently purchased an existing mining exploration tenement in the region and takes responsibility for the 15 exploration wells already sunk.

 

So what might this level of exploration phase and future production phase water extraction mean for North Coast rivers and aquifers?

 

Because Metgasco does not publicly broach this subject unless pressed on specifc issues by the media, one must look to the National Water Commission and Queensland for a sense of what may come to pass.

 

In June 2012 the Australian Water Commission published a CSG water management position paper which stated:
 

Potential risks to sustainable water management

• Extracting large volumes of low-quality water will impact on connected surface and groundwater systems, some of which may already be fully or overallocated, including the Great Artesian Basin and Murray-Darling Basin.

• Impacts on other water users and the environment may occur due to the dramatic depressurisation of the coal seam, including: - changes in pressures of adjacent aquifers with consequential changes in water availability - reductions in surface water flows in connected systems - land subsidence over large areas, affecting surface water systems, ecosystems, irrigation and grazing lands.

• The production of large volumes of treated waste water, if released to surface water systems, could alter natural flow patterns and have significant impacts on water quality, and river and wetland health. There is an associated risk that, if the water is overly treated, 'clean water' pollution of naturally turbid systems may occur.

• The practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fraccing, to increase gas output, has the potential to induce connection and cross-contamination between aquifers, with impacts on groundwater quality.

• The reinjection of treated waste water into other aquifers has the potential to change the beneficial use characteristics of those aquifers.

Also in 2012 the Queensland Government produced the Surat Underground Water Impact Report which predicts that petroleum tenure holders will extract approximately 95,000 megalitres of water per year over the life of the industry and this extraction will impact on water levels.

 

There are some 21,000 water bores within the Surat CMA with bore water used for grazing, irrigation, industry and urban consumption.
 

Of these, there are 528 bores which are expected to experience a decline in water level of more than the trigger threshold as a result of CSG water extraction.

 

The trigger threshold referred to is five metres for consolidated aquifers (such as sandstone) and two metres for unconsolidated aquifers (such as sands).

 

Eighty-five of the 528 bores are expected to decline by more than the trigger threshold within three years.

 

All 528 bores tap into geological formations involved in current or proposed coal seam gas exploration and production.

 

Note: The Walloon Coal Measures is a geologic formation of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). The GAB includes aquifers of economic importance and which feed springs of high ecological and cultural significance. The Condamine Alluvium overlies the GAB and is also an aquifer of major economic importance.

 

Of the 71 spring complexes in the area, there are five where the predicted decline in water levels in the source aquifer for the spring is more than 0.2 metres at the location of the spring.

 

In 2013 it was reported in a peer-reviewed paper that fugitive gas emissions from a CSG gas field near Tara in Queensland may be higher than previously thought.

 

This paper hypothesizes that the lowering of the water table and the alteration of subsurface strata creates enhanced soil gas exchange, which results in higher radon concentrations near CSG wells.

 

A previous submission from the SCU Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry Research also highlighted a possible relationship between CSG mining activity in the Tara region and the presence of higher than expected levels of the greenhouse gas methane in the air.

Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson gets a slap down for 'defeatism'

 

Letter to the Editor, The Daily Examiner 5 March 2013:

Stronger stuff

For the past two Sundays, I have listened to ABC News Radio and I have heard two very different mayoral reactions to multiple flooding events in their respective council areas.

The first was our own Mr Williamson who told the nation, before we had even seen the peak, that The Clarence Valley was "on its knees".

The second, whose name escaped me, has responsibility for Dalby and its surrounds. He said that while Mother Nature was giving it to them, his people "just kept coming back with more".

I appreciate that you were angling for federal and state flood funding for our Valley Mr Williamson but, personally, I believe the Clarence Valley will only be on its knees after the rest of Australia is on its face, dead.

DI Gilks

Who said what in the current Australian gun crime debate

 

Police Association of NSW 27 February 2013:

 

SYDNEY, Feb 27 AAP - NSW Attorney General Greg Smith says there’s a long way to go until drive-by shootings in western Sydney are brought under control.
Addressing a Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) conference in Sydney, Mr Smith said the problem of drive-by shootings was “smaller now than it was in 2001”.
However, he conceded the coalition government had not yet been able to fully combat it across western Sydney.
“It’s of great concern and we still have a long way to go in bringing it fully under control,” Mr Smith told the conference.
The comments come after a wave of shootings in the city’s west that have forced NSW police to establish Operation Apollo, a special strike force targeting gun crime.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald 7 March 2013:

 

On Sunday, Ms Gillard announced a $64 million ''national anti-gang taskforce''.
Ms Gillard said: ''When we look at the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, we see that, over the past 15 years, shootings in public places have soared.''

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research  Media Release 6 March 2013:

 

The claim by the Prime Minister that shooting offences in public places in NSW have ‘soared’ over the last 15 years is incorrect, according to the head of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

The claim was reportedly made by the Prime Minister last Sunday when announcing various measures to tackle organised crime in NSW and other States.

According to the Director of the Bureau, the total number of non-fatal shooting offences in NSW peaked at a six-month average of over 40 incidents a month in November 2001 and then began to fall.

By December last year the six-monthly average number of non-fatal shooting incidents had dropped to around 25 a month.

‘Only one type of shooting incident has increased over the last two years. The offence of ‘unlawfully discharge firearm into premises’ rose from a six-monthly average of five in February 2010 to a six-monthly average peak of about 11 a month in August 2012.’

‘In the last three months of 2012, however, the incidence of this offence dropped sharply. The six-monthly average in December last year was back down to around 6 to 7 offences a month.’

More serious offences, such as ‘shoot with intent to kill’ have remained fairly low and stable since 1997. Homicide offences involving a firearm have actually fallen across Australia.’

 

National statistics

 

http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/pages/bocsar_mr_20130306

 

NSW Statistics

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/the-merchants-of-death/story-e6frg6z6-1226564559935

Click on graphs to enlarge

 

Found on Twitter.....

Steve Thompson

@stevethompson49

Liberal voter appalled at the prospect of Tony Abbott as PM. Poly-atheist. CF father. I don't suffer fools and I challenge hypocrisy, myths and bullshit.

Sydney, Australia