Newcastle Trades Hall Council joins Lock The Gate in opposing CSG exploration/drilling in Hunter Valley

Newcastle Trades Hall Council (NTHC) and Lock The Gate 14 May 2013 statement:

The Lock The Gate Alliance looks forward to working with the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, after the peak union body declared it is totally opposed to further coal seam gas (CSG) exploration and drilling in the Hunter Valley.

The motion passed by the Council cites risks to the environment and the community, and concerns for agricultural lands and townships, and supports the NTHC working closely with groups opposing CSG until the unconventional gas mining practice is proven safe.

NTHC Secretary Gary Kennedy said that CSG drilling technology was not proven to be safe. “The dangers to aquifers, the environment and the community are real, with little public benefit,” he said.

“While it is true that there is a shortage of natural gas, this is because we are selling our gas to overseas markets to maximise corporate profits.”

“The NSW Government have not gone far enough to fully protect the environment, landowners, and the community,” said Kennedy.

Lock The Gate's regional coordinator for the Hunter, Steve Phillips, welcomed the involvement of the NTHC in the campaign to protect the Hunter Valley from CSG. “The movement to protect the Hunter Valley from CSG includes residents groups, farmers, vignerons [wine producers], and environmentalists. It now includes the peak trade union body in the region — the Trades Hall Council,” he said.

“People and organisations are uniting to fight coal seam gas, because CSG is a major threat to farmland, ecosystems, waterways, and public health. Propaganda from both gas companies and the NSW Government — through it's laughable CSG “information” website — cannot hide the facts.”

“In Queensland, where the CSG industry has been allowed to take hold, the worst fears of the community are coming true. Gas is leaking up uncontrollably from the ground, and from rivers. Kids are getting sick. Communities are being destroyed.”

“More than 80% of surveyed residents in Tara report health problems since the development of the British Gas-owned CSG field there. Symptoms include coughs, chest tightness, rashes, difficulty sleeping, joint pains, muscle pains and spasms, nausea, vomiting, spontaneous nose bleeds, skin irritation, and eye irritation.”

“Lock The Gate welcomes the inclusion of the Trades Hall Council in this critical campaign to protect public health, agriculture, ecosystems, and waterways from coal seam gas drilling,” concluded Phillips.

The spinning top that is Tony Abbott

Almost every utterance of Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has to be taken with a grain of salt.

This was Tony Abbott during the House of Representatives’ Question Time on 30 May 2013:

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind her that the latest IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook shows that Australia's competitiveness has slumped to its lowest ranking in 17 years….

Oh dear, poor Mr. Abbott. The 2013 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook actually showed that Australia’s ranking has risen since 2012. Which means he has been a little slow in noticing the ‘slump’.

Mr. Abbott also doesn’t mention that this year’s IMD report records Australia at rank 16 as being more competitive than the United Kingdom, Mainland China, Japan and New Zealand among others.

I wonder if he has noticed that none of the data used by the Swiss business school which produces this year book is actually sourced directly from Australia?

Just when you think the Institute for Cetacean Research cannot sink any lower, the media reports this..................

ABC News 2 June 2013:

Japan's peak whaling body has launched a new campaign to promote whale meat as a nutritious food that enhances physical strength and reduces fatigue.

With about 5,000 tonnes of whale meat sitting unwanted in freezers around Japan, the country's Institute for Cetacean Research has decided to launch a new campaign to promote the by-product of its so-called scientific whaling program.

Once popular in school lunches, younger generations of Japanese rarely, if ever, eat whale.

But the institute hopes to revive flagging interest by advertising whale meat as a great source of balenine - a substance believed to enhance energy and physical health….

Sushi made from Minke whale meat and blubber

Where Australian political parties and candidates are officially finding their funding

The Guardian's DataBlog posted these graphs covering donations to Australian political parties/candidates based on the latest publicly available information:

 

The Australian Electoral Commission:

Entitlement to election funding

A candidate or Senate group is eligible for election funding if they obtain at least 4% of the first preference vote in the division or the state or territory they contested. The amount to be paid is calculated by multiplying the number of votes obtained by the current election funding rate. The funding rate for the 2010 federal election was 231.191 cents per House of Representatives and Senate vote. This rate is indexed every six months to increases in the Consumer Price Index.

Amount paid

The amount of election funding payable is calculated by multiplying the number of first preference votes received by the rate of payment applicable at the time. The rate is indexed every six months in line with increases in the Consumer Price Index.

The current election funding rate from 1 January 2013 to 30 June 2013 is 247.316 cents per eligible vote.

The Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 2013:

While the parties are cagey about campaign spending, electoral commission figures show that in 2010-11, the financial year in which the last federal election was held, the Liberal Party spent $108 million, more than three times what the party spent the year before. In 2010-11 Labor spent $88 million, more than double what it spent the previous year.

Garma’wu Buku_luŋgthurra (Getting People Together), Gulkula NT, 9-12 August 2013

The Annual Garma Festival is Australia's Leading Cultural Exchange event.  It is held annually onsite at remote Gulkula, a traditional meeting ground in Arnhem land.   

This song is dedicated to Tony, Chris, Cory & the rest of the Canberra wingnuts *Warning Strong Language*

Can you post this song on North Coast Voices and dedicate it to Tony Abbott, Christopher Pyne, Cory Bernardi and the rest of Canberra wingnut crew? 

Anony-mice 
Yamba 

Look inside, look inside your tiny mind
Then look a bit harder
'Cause we're so uninspired, so sick and tired
Of all the hatred you harbor

So you say it's not okay to be gay
Well, I think you're just evil
You're just some racist who can't tie my laces
Your point of view is medieval

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Do you get, do you get a little kick
Out of being small minded?
You want to be like your father
It's approval you're after
Well, that's not how you find it

Do you, do you really enjoy
Living a life that's so hateful?
'Cause there's a hole where your soul should be
You're losing control a bit
And it's really distasteful

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you
Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you
Fuck you

You say you think we need to go to war
Well, you're already in one
'Cause it's people like you that need to get slew
No one wants your opinion

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you very, very much
'Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you
Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you

* Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at gmail dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Australian Medical Association calls for coal seam gas health checks

AMA calls for coal seam gas health checks

23/05/2013

The AMA Federal Council today passed a policy resolution calling on all Australian governments to ensure that all coal seam gas (CSG) mining proposals in Australia are subject to rigorous and independent health risk assessments before they are allowed to proceed.

The motion reads as follows:

That Federal Council adopts the policy resolution urging governments to ensure that:

• all existing coal seam gas extraction projects are regularly monitored for any health impacts and the presence of air and ground-water pollutants in their local environment; and,
• all future proposals for coal seam gas mining are subject to rigorous and independent health risk assessments, which take into account the potential for exposure to pollutants through air and groundwater and any likely associated health risks. In circumstances where there is insufficient evidence to ensure safety, the precautionary principle should apply.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that governments must strengthen the assessment and monitoring of the health impacts of coal seam gas (CSG) developments in Australia.

“Despite the rapid expansion of CSG developments, the health impacts have not been adequately researched, and effective regulations that protect public health are not in place,” Dr Hambleton said.

“There is a lack of information on the chemicals used and wastes produced, insufficient data on cumulative health impacts, and a lack of comprehensive environmental monitoring and health impact assessments.

“The assessment of the health impacts of CSG developments needs to strengthened and made consistent across all jurisdictions.  The regulation of CSG varies between the States, with standards for health regulation ranging from a degree of consideration to apparent disregard.

“In circumstances where there is insufficient evidence to ensure safety, the AMA recommends that the precautionary principle should apply.  This is essential given the threat of serious and irreversible harms to human health.

“The AMA welcomes the current move by the Commonwealth to strengthen environment protection laws relating to the impacts of CSG projects on water resources, but this must be supported with national standards and safeguards for health,” Dr Hambleton said.

23 May 2013

CONTACT:                     John Flannery                           02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
                                         Kirsty Waterford                        02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753