Wildlife becoming stressed in sustained heat

Kookaburra, Animals Australia, December 2016

The Daily Examiner, 6 February 2017, p.12:

VOICES FOR THE EARTH

EARTH Charter, Principle 2: "Care for the Community of Life with understanding, compassion and love."

Early January 2017 was for many people a joyous holiday period with family reunions and New Year resolutions but for all of us it was a time of temperatures of 40 degrees or more. Most of NSW experienced an oppressive heat wave and the people of the Clarence Valley sweltered.

Even night temperatures became difficult to bear and people needed to be careful to avoid dehydration. Some newspaper reports suggested the heat wave posed a threat to human health, especially to older people and the very young.

But in the midst of our discomfort did we consider the impact that the heatwave was having on our biodiversity?

Mid-afternoon on January 14 a king parrot suffering from the extreme temperature sought some relief in a shady porch behind our house. Even here the temperature was close to 40.

Her beak was repeatedly opening and closing and her wings were drooping. We were careful not to disturb her and she stayed in that position for at least two hours.

At the front of the house two more king parrots were perched in similar shady positions, again with beak and wings conveying distress.

Do such images have an important communique for our human community?

If we fail to limit our greenhouse gases urgently, if we go ahead with the massive Adani coal project, if the Donald Trump presidency ignores climate change, if... the list goes on.

Will this image of a king parrot suffering from heat wave conditions become a symbol for all life on our planet?

Big questions are looming and the future of our Earth Community - our biodiversity and our grandchildren - will be greatly influenced by our answers.

-- Stan Mussared, Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition

W.I.R.E.S. 2 December 2016:

While most native animals are well adapted to changes in climatic conditions they can still suffer during heatwaves.  Animals can cope with extremes in temperatures they are used to, but if these extremes are unusual for a particular area the animals there will struggle. 

If you can, please put fresh, cool water out for wildlife. Make sure you have a few sticks or stones in bowls or containers so that if small creatures fall in they can make it back out. Where possible refresh the water frequently throughout the day.

Flying-foxes are particularly susceptible to several days with low humidity and very high temperatures. This year with severe food shortages already a factor many populations up and down the coast are already suffering fatalities. If you see flying-foxes, young or old, on the ground or low to the ground in trees please call WIRES 1300 094 737 or use our report a rescue form to report. If you see flying-foxes moving to lower branches or to the ground below their roost trees please call WIRES. It is important that only trained and vaccinated carers rescue distressed and injured flying-foxes or bats.

If you are on a rural property and are concerned about water bowls attracting snakes near the house then you can choose to place shallow bowls around the perimeter fences. This can also assist in providing a water source to deter reptiles from seeking water from dripping taps closer to the house.

Animals with health issues, or are very young or old, will find it harder to cope - just like in people. The increasing loss of suitable habitat including the loss of leafy vegetation and older growth trees with hollows for shelter means more animals are at risk in the heat. 

Tree hollows are particularly essential for our native parrots and many of our marsupials and as less and less are available for shelter it means more creatures may suffer from exposure and more animals may seek refuge in unusual places e.g. garages, sheds or houses.

Please keep an eye out for animals exposed to the elements, but remember DO NOT approach snakes, monitors, flying-foxes, microbats, large macropods or raptors. These animals require specialist handling and MUST be rescued by trained wildlife rescuers. 

The American Resistance has many faces - this is one of them (3)

Kirk W. Johnson ‏@KirkWJohnson 30 January 2017

@realDonaldTrump @POTUS

Click on image to enlarge

The shocking truth about historic institutional child sexual abuse in Australia

A Child’s Morning Prayer

Lord, I awake and see your light,
For You have kept me through the night,
To You I lift my hands and pray,
Keep me from sin throughout this day,
And if I die before it's done,
Save me through Jesus Christ, Your Son.

Amen.

A Child’s Night Prayer

Angel of God, my Guardian dear,

to whom His love commits me here,

ever this night be at my side,

to light and guard,

to rule and guide.

Amen

Origin unknown

The Commonwealth of Australia Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse held its first public hearing in Sydney from Monday 16 to Thursday 19 September 2013. The Royal Commission's first public hearing into the Catholic Church in Australia and child sexual abuse began on Monday, 9 December 2013 and multiple hearings relating to Catholic institutions and specific clergy followed over the next four years. 

Excerpts from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Public Hearing into Catholic Church Authorities, Case Study 50, transcript, 6 February 2017:

1. This is the Royal Commission’s 50th public hearing…..

7. It was plain that hearings were needed to examine the responses of faith-based institutions, given that, as at the end of 2016, 60% of survivors attending a private session reported abuse in those institutions. Of those survivors, nearly two thirds reported abuse in Catholic institutions. While the percentage has varied over time, at present over 37% of all private session attendees reported sexual abuse in a Catholic institution. Consequently Catholic institutions were a key part of the Royal Commission’s public hearings. …….

26. Between January 1980 and February 2015, 4,444 people alleged incidents of child sexual abuse made to 93 Catholic Church authorities. These claims related to over 1000 separate institutions.

27. The claims survey sought information about the people who made claims of child sexual abuse. Where the gender of people making a claim was reported, 78% were male and 22% were female. Of those people who made claims of child sexual abuse received by religious orders with only religious brother members, 97% were male.

28. The average age of people who made claims of child sexual abuse, at the time of the alleged abuse, was 10.5 for girls and 11.6 for boys. The average time between the alleged abuse and the date a claim was made was 33 years.

29. The claims survey sought information about alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse. A total of 1,880 alleged perpetrators were identified in claims of child sexual abuse. Over 500 unknown people were identified as alleged perpetrators. It cannot be determined whether any of those people whose identities are unknown were identified by another claimant in a separate claim.

30. Of the 1,880 identified alleged perpetrators:

a. 597 or 32% were religious brothers

b. 572 or 30% were priests

c. 543 or 29% were lay people

d. 96 or 5% were religious sisters.

31. Of all alleged perpetrators, 90% were male and 10% were female.

32. The Royal Commission surveyed 75 Catholic Church authorities with priest members, including archdioceses, dioceses and religious orders about the number of their members who ministered in Australia between 1 January 1950 and 31 December 2010. Ten Catholic religious orders with religious brother or sister members provided the same information about their members.

33. This information, when analysed in conjunction with the claims data, enabled calculation of the proportion of priests and religious brother and sister members of these Catholic Church authorities who ministered in this period and who were alleged perpetrators.

34. Of priests from the 75 Catholic Church authorities with priest members surveyed, who ministered in Australia between 1950 and 2010, 7.9% of diocesan priests were alleged perpetrators and 5.7% of religious priests were alleged perpetrators. Overall, 7% of priests were alleged perpetrators.

35. The Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Dominican Friars had the lowest overall proportion of priests who ministered in the period 1950 to 2010 and were alleged perpetrators, at 2.4% and 2.1% respectively.

36. The following five archdioceses or dioceses with priest members which had the highest overall proportion of priests who ministered in the period 1950 to 2010 and who were alleged perpetrators:

a. 11.7% of priests from the Diocese of Wollongong were alleged perpetrators

b. 13.9% of priests from the Diocese of Lismore were alleged perpetrators

c. 14.1% of priests from the Diocese of Port Pirie were alleged perpetrators

d. 14.7% of priests from the Diocese of Sandhurst were alleged perpetrators

e. 15.1% of priests from the Diocese of Sale were alleged perpetrators.

37. The following five religious orders with priest members had the highest overall proportion of priests who ministered in the period 1950 to 2010 and who were alleged perpetrators:

a. 8.0% of priests from the Vincentians – The Congregation of the Mission were alleged perpetrators

b. 13.7% of priests from the Pallottines – Society of the Catholic Apostolate were alleged perpetrators

d. 17.2% of priests from the Salesians of Don Bosco were alleged perpetrators

e. 21.5% of priests from the Benedictine Community of New Norcia were alleged perpetrators.

38. In relation to religious orders with religious brother and sister members, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the Sisters of Mercy (Brisbane) had the lowest overall proportions of members who were alleged perpetrators, at 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.

39. The following five religious orders with only religious brother members had the highest overall proportion of religious brothers who ministered in the period 1950 to 2010 and who were alleged perpetrators:

a. 13.8% of De La Salle Brothers were alleged perpetrators

b. 20.4% of Marist Brothers were alleged perpetrators

c. 21.9% of Salesians of Don Bosco brothers were alleged perpetrators

d. 22.0% of Christian Brothers were alleged perpetrators

e. 40.4% of St John of God Brothers were alleged perpetrators.

c. 13.9% of priests from the Marist Fathers – Society of Mary were alleged perpetrators, as distinct from the Marist Brothers.

NOTE:

The St. John of God Brothers were established in Australia in the 1940s by eight men, six of whom were believed to be paedophiles. Brothers Kilian Herbert and Laurence Hartley arrived in Sydney from Ireland on 11 August 1947 to head this small group.

Previous North Coast Voices posts on child sexual abuse can be found here.

News.com.au, 6 February 2017:

A brief of evidence concerning historical claims of sexual abuse at the hands of Cardinal George Pell has been delivered to prosecutors for consideration.

Victoria Police confirmed with AAP on Monday night that investigators had delivered the brief to the Office of Public Prosecutions.

It's a significant development in the case since three police travelled to Rome in October to speak with the former Ballarat priest and Melbourne archbishop.

Cardinal Pell now resides full-time at the Vatican. He cited ill-health as a reason he could not travel back to Australia to give evidence in last year's royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, appearing instead via video link.

Allegations emerged in 2015 from two men who said they were groped as children by Cardinal Pell when he was a priest in Ballarat during the 1970s.

Another man claimed he saw the priest expose himself to young boys in the late 1980s.

Cardinal Pell previously released a statement rejecting "all and every allegation of sexual abuse" and would continue co-operating with Victoria Police until the investigation was finalised.

The Northern Star, 7 February 2017:

WEDNESDAY 4.30pm: NEARLY 14% of Lismore's most experienced Catholic priests were accused of sexually abusing children by 2010 but the diocese's spokesman, the Most Reverend Geoffrey Jarrett, has reserved comment.

Between 52 and 64 priests have served in the Diocese of Lismore in each decade since 1950, with 129 priests having served in the area by 2010, detailed data presented to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has shown.

Some 18 of those priests, or 13.9%, have been accused of sexually abusing children throughout their careers, marking Lismore as one of the nation's top five worst dioceses for child sex accusations against the Church.

Too soon to comment: Diocese of Lismore

But Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese Bishop Jarrett, standing in while Bishop-elect Father Gregory Homeming prepares for his ordination, said it was too early to comment publicly on findings.

"My response is that we are in the early days of the Royal Commission's present three week hearing, and until it completes its investigation, it would be premature to comment on the first release of statistics," Bishop Jarrett said via email to The Northern Star.

"We would expect to have a fuller picture and a wider range of issues as time goes on and I will be available for comment at the end of the hearing."

Make no mistake - Trump is placing all national economies in jeopardy once more

In the midst of The Great Depression (a decade long severe global economic downturn triggered by the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash) the U.S. Government enacted the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act which tightened banking and financial sector regulations.

At the urging of the same financial and banking sector in 1999 a bipartisan agreement saw the introduction of the Financial Services Modernization Act which repealed large parts of the Glass-Stegall Act and the Bank Holding Company Act.

In the wake of another crisis generated by the American sub-prime mortgage melt-down, aptly titled The Global Financial Crisis, the U.S. Government in July 2010 enacted the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to reimpose stricter regulations.

Now we hear that Donald Trump is moving to roll back the Dodd-Frank reforms. In particular the Volker Rule against banks using depositor funds for speculative bets on their own account and from acquiring or retaining ownership interests in, sponsoring, or having certain relationships with a hedge fund or private equity fund - practices thought to have exacerbated The Global Financial Crisis.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 2017:

US President Donald Trump moved to chisel away at the Obama administration's legacy on financial reform, announcing a series of steps to revisit the rules enacted after the 2008 financial crisis and setting the stage for a showdown with Democrats over the future of Wall Street regulation.

After a White House meeting with the executives, Mr Trump signed a directive calling for his administration to identify potential changes to provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, crafted by the Obama administration and passed by Congress in response to the 2008 meltdown….

Trump states we expect to be cutting a lot from Dodd-Frank because I have so many people, friends of mine, that have nice businesses, and they can't borrow money. They can't get money from the banks — they just can't get any money because the banks won't let them borrow because of rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank despite evidence that the banking sector is making a considerable number of commercial and industrial loans.

Most Australian families have memories of The Great Depression which hit this country hard and all will be able to recall the ripple effects from The Global Financial Crisis, so it is not unreasonable to fear that what this erratic and ignorant American president does in relation to U.S. banking and financial sector legislation has the potential to send the world spinning into yet another American-generated global economic crisis.

Forewarned is forearmed and this time around everyone would be wise to closely follow reputable newspapers and economic commentators to see which way the wind blows as the United States once more enters dangerous waters.

Fitch Ratings Inc: The Trump Administration Poses Risks to Global Sovereigns

According to the Australian Dept. Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) the United States ranks as Number 1 in the Top 20 countries with direct investment in Australia [ABS catalogue 5352.0, May 2016 & UNCTADstat database, October 2016].

In 2015 Australia direct investment in the U.S. was led by manufacturing, and the finance/insurance sectors and U.S. direct investment in Australia is led by the nonbank holding, mining, finance/ insurance companies, and manufacturing sectors. [Office of the United States Trade Representative: Executive Office of the President, 2017]

So international credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings Inc’s media release of 10 February 2017 may raise some concerns:

Fitch Ratings-London-10 February 2017: The Trump Administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and global sovereign credit fundamentals, Fitch Ratings says. US policy predictability has diminished, with established international communication channels and relationship norms being set aside and raising the prospect of sudden, unanticipated changes in US policies with potential global implications.

The primary risks to sovereign credits include the possibility of disruptive changes to trade relations, diminished international capital flows, limits on migration that affect remittances and confrontational exchanges between policymakers that contribute to heightened or prolonged currency and other financial market volatility. The materialisation of these risks would provide an unfavourable backdrop for economic growth, putting pressure on public finances that may have rating implications for some sovereigns. Increases in the cost or reductions in the availability of external financing, particularly if accompanied by currency depreciation, could also affect ratings.

In assessing the global sovereign credit implications of policies enacted by the new US Administration, Fitch will focus on changes in growth trajectories, public finance positions and balance of payments performances, with particular emphasis on medium-term export prospects and possible pressures on external liquidity and sustainable funding. US positions on some countries may change quickly, at least initially, but any potential rating adjustments will depend on consequent changes to sovereign credit fundamentals, which will almost certainly be slower to materialise.

Elements of President Trump's economic agenda would be positive for growth, including the long-overdue boost to US infrastructure investment, the focus on reducing the regulatory burden and the possibility of tax cuts and reforms, assuming cuts don't lead to proportionate increases in the government deficit and debt. One interpretation of current events is that, after an early flurry of disruptive change to establish a fundamental reorientation of policy direction and intent, the Administration will settle in, embracing a consistent business- and trade-friendly framework that leverages these aspects of its economic programme, with favourable international spill-overs.

In Fitch's view, the present balance of risks points toward a less benign global outcome. The Administration has abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, confirmed a pending renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, rebuked US companies that invest abroad, while threatening financial penalties for companies that do so, and accused a number of countries of manipulating exchange rates to the US's disadvantage. The full impact of these initiatives will not be known for some time, and will depend on iterative exchanges among multiple parties and unforeseen additional developments. In short, a lot can change, but the aggressive tone of some Administration rhetoric does not portend an easy period of negotiation ahead, nor does it suggest there is much scope for compromise.

Sovereigns most at risk from adverse changes to their credit fundamentals are those with close economic and financial ties with the US that come under scrutiny due to either existing financial imbalances or perceptions of unfair frameworks or practices that govern their bilateral relations. Canada, China, Germany, Japan and Mexico have been identified explicitly by the Administration as having trade arrangements or exchange rate policies that warrant attention, but the list is unlikely to end there. Our revision of the Outlook on Mexico's 'BBB+' sovereign rating to Negative in December partly reflected increased economic uncertainty and asset price volatility following the US election.

The integrative aspects of global supply chains, particularly in manufactured goods, means actions taken by the US that limit trade flows with one country will have cascading effects on others. Regional value chains are especially well developed in East Asia, focused on China, and Central Europe, focused on Germany.

Tighter immigration controls and possible deportations could have meaningful effects on remittance flows, as the US has the world's largest immigrant population. World Bank data confirm that the US and Mexico share the world's top migration corridor and have the largest bilateral remittance flows. Relative to GDP, remittances are even larger for Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, all of which receive most inflows from the US.

Countries hosting US direct investment, at least part of which has financed export industries focused back on the US, are at risk of being singled out for punitive trade measures. The list of these countries is potentially long, since US-based entities account for nearly one-quarter of the stock of global foreign direct investment. Countries with the highest stock of US investment in manufacturing are Canada, the UK, Netherlands, Mexico, Germany, China and Brazil.

The Noongar People of West Australia may just have saved the southern section of The Great Barrier Reef from degradation by the foreign-owned Adani Group

In the beginning…

February 2016 statement:

We are a group of Noongar people from the South West region of Western Australia seeking funding to support our legal costs to oppose the 6 Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) settlements with the South West Land & Sea Council (SWALSC) and the State Government.

Our group was founded in December 2014 to oppose the 6 ILUA settlements and to campaign against the authorization meetings held from 31 January 2015 to 28 March 2015.

 With an estimated 35,000 Noongar people in the south west region. We believe that the ILUA settlements discriminate against our people. The Noongar people are required to surrender all land in return for small pockets of land set aside under the deal. We are required to surrender our traditional ownership and native title rights, to have the power and civil right to negotiate for any royalties forthcoming. Through this ILUA, we are also required to surrender ('relinquish') all rights to challenge against 'negligence' under 'duty of care' within civil law legal obligations, any hurt, suffering and pain from the enactment of the native title act and all other acts.

 The Noongar people and Non-Aboriginal people will have no say about land developments and the clearance of large areas of bushlands, thus preventing our say into any further destructions of 'natural resources' (food, fauna and habitat) for our native wildlife and surrounding environment within the South West lands. Additionally, to this we will have no say about corporate control via mining development entities and prevention of the devastating impact on the environment, they withhold. These are just a few of the 'unfair treatment' and blatant disregard of civil rights requirements of this ILUA settlement…..

See full text here.

High Court of Australia transcript McGlade v Registrar  Native Title Tribunal & Ors here.

The implications…..

Townsville Bulletin, 3 February 2017:

ADANI's $21 billion coal mine has been thrown into doubt by a shock Federal Court decision that threatens to void scores of native title deals across Australia.

Both the State and Federal governments were last night scrambling to secure legal advice on the implications of the decision, which has sent the nation's mining industry into meltdown.

The Bulletin has learned Attorney-General George Brandis has been poring over the judgment to determine whether urgent legislation was required to avert a crisis.

And Adani has sought assurances from the Palaszczuk Government that the decision, handed down in Perth on Thursday, will not derail its planned Galilee Basin mega mine.

In the McGlade v Registrar National Native Title Tribunal decision, the Full Federal Court ruled a native title agreement covering a vast area across the southwest of Western Australia invalid.

Industry insiders have warned the decision threatens the validity of scores of native title agreements worth billions of dollars struck between tribes and developers across Australia since 2010.

An Adani spokesman told the Bulletin the company had sought legal advice on the implications of the case on its project.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also requested urgent advice on what impact the decision will have on billions of dollars worth of development projects either completed, under way or planned.

Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Anthony Lynham said he would seek discussions on the issue with colleagues in the Commonwealth, states and territories.

And he conceded the Federal Court decision would potentially also impact non-mining projects.

"Yesterday's Federal Court decision could be very significant nationally, and not just for the resources sector," he said.

"The government is awaiting advice from Crown Law on the implications of this decision for Queensland, and other governments are likely to be doing the same across the country."…..

The Western Australia case concerned an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) struck between members of the Noongar tribe and the WA Government.

The deal, in which the Noongar people were to receive $1.3 billion in cash, land and benefits over 12 years, took five years to establish and was hailed as the largest native title agreement in Australian history.

But the Full Court upheld a challenge by members of the Noongar claim who said that they had not signed the final agreement and that it must therefore be declared invalid.

The decision went against the ruling in 2010 case QGC Pty Ltd v Bygrave and Others, which found an ILUA could be registered if at least one of the named applicants was party to it.

Legal experts and political insiders last night said the only way to avoid mass confusion surrounding the validity of ILUAs would be to amend the federal Native Title Act.

"The mining industry, it is fair to say, is in meltdown over this,'' said one senior industry source.

"This has devastating implications — not just for mining but for any development that was subject to an indigenous land use agreement.''

A spokeswoman for Senator Brandis said the Commonwealth was carefully studying the decision…..

The Commonwealth is considering what steps may need to be taken to deal with the issues raised by the Full Court and provide certainty for all parties in the native title system."

A High Court challenge to the decision would take a minimum of 12 months to process.

Adani has already indicated that any protracted delays at this point would force it to walk away from the giant Carmichael mine project.

The project has become a lightning rod for the green movement, which has mobilised nationally to delay and obstruct it.

Minister for Northern Australia Matt Canavan said the Federal Government was seeking further advice on implications for mining and other developments.

The American Resistance has many faces - this is one of them (2)

Image found at Twitter