Greens visit Coffs Harbour to campaign against polluting mining practices

Greens visit Coffs Harbour to campaign against polluting mining practices.

Released: June 11

Jeremy Buckingham, Greens MP in the NSW Upper House and Greens Senator Larissa Waters will be visiting Coffs Harbour on Friday, June 14.

The pair will attend a forum 'Giving landholders the right to say No to coal and coal seam gas,' at the Grafton District Services Club, 6.30pm on Thursday, June 13.

The next morning they will travel to the Dundurrabin village to meet with locals concerned about the planned mining of minerals near the Blicks River in the headwaters of the Clarence River and Coff Harbour's water supply. Jeremy and Larissa are very mindful that the mining of minerals also brings arsenic to the surface and that the Macleay River has been polluted by the overflow of holding ponds and mining 'run off' from our extreme rainfall events.

They will then travel to Coffs Harbour Botanic Gardens at 1.15pm, to meet with representatives of local groups opposing mining in the headwaters of the Macleay, Orara and Nambucca Rivers.

Jeremy and Larissa will then launch a sticker calling for the protection of our rivers from mining pollution. You will see it on cars across Cowper within the next few weeks. The sticker will be available at various sites including: Kombu Wholefoods, Bellingen, The Alternative Bookshop, Bellingen, The Happy Frog, Coffs Harbour and The Grafton Environment Centre.

The Greens care for people and the environment. Always have. Always will. 

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Media contact: Phone: 0402308231, 66552090

Website: http://candidates.greens.org.au/cowper

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Carol Vernon (Greens4Cowper) on Twitter

Blog: http://mncgreens.blogspot.com.au

E: Cowper@nsw.greens.org.au

Clarence Valley Council's economic management

Clarence Valley Council is preparing to increase farmland, residential and business property rates across much of the local government area, but is quarantining Grafton and South Grafton CBD businesses from these increases for the next four years.

Apparently this particular council is pleading income poverty.

Well if this little tale of the economic management of just one of this council’s own Grafton properties is anything to go by, is it any wonder?

The Daily Examiner 11 May 2012:

TENDERS for Grafton's art gallery cafe closed earlier this week without a single expression of interest being received by Clarence Valley Council.

Council's manager of assets George Kriflik said that the only option would be to readvertise.

The art gallery cafe has been the home to Georgie's Cafe for the past 11 years and has been the subject of lengthy negotiations due to a proposed rate increase by council.

Mr Kriflik said that due to a confidentiality agreement between the parties involved, he was not able to disclose many of the details of the lease or negotiations, but he did confirm the previously quoted figure of a 40 per cent rent increase was an error (The Daily Examiner, April 17), with the original increase being closer to 33 per cent.

"After a re-valuation the rate was reduced to a 14.5 per cent increase," Mr Kriflik said.

However, this too was declined by the lessors and resulted in the current cafe operators deciding to move on.

Suddenly at the end of June 2012 the council has vacant commercial space where it previously had an income which it never denied represented full market value. Still it somewhat optimistically expected The loss of income from the current lessee will be offset by the new lessee under a new lease arrangement [Clarence Valley Council Ordinary Meeting 17 April 2012, Minutes].

By July 2012 Clarence Valley Council did indeed have a new tenant at what was then rumoured to be a bargain basement priced three year lease with renewal options having only CPI rent increases attached - which saw it losing income and the restaurant turning into a daytime only café with limited opening hours.

However, in June 2013 that tenant also departed and was replace by Cr. Jeremy Challacombe’s son Murray and his daughter-in-law who took over the bargain basement lease to run the gallery café.

Three tenants in just under a year and how much money is council down? Possibly those valley residents facing yet another rate hike will never know, but mention of $20,000 per annum is being tossed around some dinner tables.

Few Lower Clarence ratepayers are impressed with the Grafton-centric attitude of council as it is and this is merely the icing on a huge dissatisfaction cake.

A political party in disarray?

One would think from what the mainstream media reports that it is only the Australian Labor Party which is cracking up since the 14 September federal election date was first mentioned.

Yet in would appear that on the NSW North Coast it is the National Party which is quietly tearing itself apart.

This month I received an email, sent in alleged defence of a card carrying National Party member, which was so full of misinformation, unsubstantiated allegation and political game playing that I honestly felt like disinfecting my Inbox.

If Hartsuyker and Hogan suddenly find their internal polling numbers are not looking as optimistic as they had hoped - it may well be their own party members and fellow travellers who are to blame.

To an outsider it looks suspiciously like personality clashes abound and that factional interests at branch, regional and state level are more intent on settling old scores than they are on giving newbie Kevin Hogan a leg up.

While the high-handed intrusion into Page of the Federal Nationals 'team', with Hogan tagging along in its rear, is definitely reflecting badly on him in certain quarters.

Hogan is no hero.

Tony Abbott and his untaxable mates?

Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott with 'mates' Gina Rinehart, Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest,  James Packer, John Howard, Cardinal George Pell and of course – himself

* Images from The Vine and Google Images

Mining industry and New South Wales: a warning to act before 28 June 2013

Queensland Country Life 7 June 2013:

In a decade’s time, the Queensland centre of Dalby will be unrecognisable as a farming community, according to Darling Downs lawyer Peter Shannon.

Mr Shannon, Shine Lawyers, who hails from Dalby, said the mining industry was taking over the district at such a rate that the scale of agriculture the regions are known for may not survive the next 10 years.

One of the only benefits to be had from this was that NSW producers could hopefully learn from what has happened to Queensland to prevent coal and coal seam gas (CSG) mining taking over their prime agricultural land.

“It’s an inevitability that wherever there is coal in NSW, there is also good farming land,” said Mr Shannon, who was in Moree last week to talk to growers at the Australian Cotton Trade Show.

“The mining industry will eventually take over agriculture if the agricultural industry doesn’t look after itself, and it’s up to the landholders themselves to make sure their industry is looked after.

“Unfortunately you get more consumer protection buying a fridge in Queensland than you do when entering an agreement with a mining company and if the legal fees available to landholders are capped then it will be impossible for those landholders to have a fair fight…..

“Mining is something that’s usually remote to everyone until it’s knocking on their door and while the law states that a landholder is not allowed to be worse off after signing an agreement with a mining company, you can promise the landholder won’t be better off, while the mining company and government are making fortunes.”…..

Cotton Australia mining and CSG policy officer Sahil Prasad said one of the key changes proposed in the review of the NSW Planning system was the need for developments to be “sustainable” rather than “ecologically sustainable” – a move he said which “essentially negates the right to protect the environment and the important agricultural land around a mining project”.

“Submissions for the review of the system are due on June 28 and I strongly suggest landholders take a good look at this and make sure it’s going to work for them.” [my bolding]

This is the document in question: White Paper – A New Planning System for NSW. Exhibition period ends on 28 June 2013. Submissions may be lodged online.

Vision4Change Aboriginal Arts Exhibition, Yamba Museum 8 June-15 July 2013

The prophetic words of deceased Aboriginal Elder Uncle Allan Laurie “Black and White must work together for the benefit of our young people” is embodied in this first time collaborative project between four Clarence Valley museums and the Aboriginal Community.

This exhibition brings to life a number of historic photos which have been borrowed from a number of collections dating from the 1870’s.

The idea for the exhibition is a response to the call by many non-local non-Aboriginal people from the Clarence Valley who want to learn and connect in some meaningful way with local Aboriginal people.

The collaborative project between Yamba, Maclean, Grafton and Lawrence Museums, some members of the Clarence Valley Aboriginal community and four acclaimed Clarence Valley Aboriginal artists is a demonstration of how well we all can work together for the common good if we put our mind to it…..

16 Elders have also had their photos taken with a number of their stories recorded for a short film.

Debrah Novak  

Cansdellgate - a neverending story

The Daily Examiner and other APN websites are featuring another piece about disgraced former Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell. The report is reproduced below.

DPP yet to act on advice to charge Steve Cansdell with lying

Authorities are "ducking and weaving" when it comes to pursuing criminal charges against disgraced Clarence MP Steve Cansdell, says shadow Attorney-General Paul Lynch.

The Liverpool MP has challenged his political rival, NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith, to respond to the advice of retired senior barrister Bruce James that Mr Cansdell could have been charged with lying under oath. 

The advice followed an independent review of the police investigation into Mr Cansdell, who resigned in 2011 when it was revealed he had lied about not being behind the wheel when his car was snapped by a speeding camera. 

Charges against him were dropped when a former female staffer, who Mr Cansdell originally claimed had been driving, refused to give a statement. 

During parliament question time last week Mr Cansdell asked Mr Smith when the community could expect the DPP to respond to Mr James's advice. 

The official reply, which has since been placed on the record, read: "The advice from Mr James QC was unsolicited advice and, as such, it is a matter for the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions". 

The DPP has confirmed he received the advice but has yet to announce whether he will act on it.

Give yourself a pat on the back if you picked the blooper in the Examiner's piece.

Hint: How can the disgraced former MP get to ask questions in the parliament? Besides, isn't he flat out doing his new job? Then, again, perhaps he has been moonlighting and making casual appearances while his successor, Mr Walker, attends to extra-curricula activities. 

Oops! Delete that last surname and insert 'Gulaptis'. Constituents in the electorate of Clarence can however be excused for thinking their current local MP is a Mr Walker - that's the Phantom's name and it's also synonymous with the very pedestrian performance the local MP is making.

Credit: The Daily Examiner