Australian Prime Minster Morrison & Foreign Minster Payne not as sanguine about trading partners' pledges of zero green house gas emission targets as they pretend?

This was Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison after the world left this country even further behind with regard to climate change policy and emissions reduction targets…..

The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 2020:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he will not be dictated to by other governments' climate change goals, declaring he is not worried about the future of Australia's exports despite four of the country's top trading partners adopting net-zero emissions targets.

China, Japan, Britain and South Korea, which account for more than $310 billion in Australian annual trade between them, have all now adopted the emissions target by 2050 or 2060, ramping up pressure on Australia's fossil fuel industry. Coal and natural gas alone are worth more than 25 per cent of Australia's exports, or $110 billion each year….

Major Australian export companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP, major agriculture groups and multinational food companies are pursuing carbon neutrality, which experts say is a move to avoid being stung with trade tariffs or charges by countries that have set net-zero targets….

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister and Liberal Senator Marise Payne was just as stubborn as her own prime minister.

However, it was made obvious by at least one other media article published the next day that Morrison was perhaps uncomfortable with the situation and how it might read to the general public.

The Guardian, 29 October 2019:

The Morrison government has quietly appointed an expert panel to come up with new ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and given it less than a month to come up with recommendations.

In what is being seen by observers as an acknowledgment that its main climate change policy, the $2.55bn emissions reduction fund, is failing to cut national pollution, the government has appointed a panel of four business leaders and policy experts to suggest options to expand it.

The panel is headed by Grant King, the outgoing president of the Business Council of Australia and a former chief executive of Origin Energy. It was appointed by the minister for emissions reduction, Angus Taylor, in mid-October but has not been made public…..

The panel has been established despite Morrison and Taylor maintaining they have set out “to the last tonne” of carbon dioxide how Australia will meet the 2030 emissions target announced before the Paris climate conference . In reality, national emissions have risen each year since 2015  and most analyses  suggest the government will not reach the goal, a 26%-28% cut below 2005 levels, under current policies…..

Expert Panel examining oppo... by The Guardian

https://www.scribd.com/document/432470725/Expert-Panel-examining-opportunities-for-further-abatement

BACKGROUND

The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 October 2019:

Australia's carbon emissions appear to have edged higher in the final quarter of the 2018-19 financial year, delaying the downward trajectory the nation needs in order to hit the country's Paris climate goals.

National emissions are projected to have reached 134.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) in April-June 2019, according to Ndevr Environmental Consultants, an environmental auditing company with a track record of accurately estimating the nation's emissions.

That total would come in about 900,000 tonnes of CO2-e more than for the previous three months, Ndevr said in a report based on public data and sector estimates. The tally would be less - by a similar amount - than the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

For the whole year, emissions were modestly higher than for previous 12 months, marking three consecutive years of increases. Excluding land-use changes - such as deforestation or tree planting - annual emissions have risen for the five years since the Abbott government scrapped the carbon price in 2014…..

Forests and Koalas: why the NSW Nationals are so willing to betray communities in the Northern Rivers region

Before the disastrous 2019-2020 bushfire season the NSW North Coast region comprised 9.7 million hectares of land, with 65 per cent of it forested. Over half (3.4 million hectares) of the region’s forests were in private ownership, spread across thousands of individual holdings, according to NSW Dept. of Primary Industries (DPI).

The north coast had a diverse array of forest types and most of the tree cover was estimated to be between >20 to <30 metres and >30 to <40 metres in height across an est. 20,706 square kilometres.

This is how the Berejiklian Government saw those forests within the Northern Rivers region before the mega bushfires came through:

Extent of forest cover in north-east New South Wales

Extent of harvestable timber on private land and operating timber mills

Again, according to the DPI in March 2019; Properties with native forests that generated ‘very high’ stumpage values (based on their yield association) were mainly located between Coffs Harbour and Casino. Properties with native forests with ‘high’ stumpage values were far more widespread extending in a broad band (50-100 kilometres wide) along the full length of the north coast.

Properties in early 2019 which had a ‘Very High’ suitability for timber production were located between 50km and 100km from the coast between Grafton and the Queensland Border, with ‘High’ suitability properties occupying a broader band that extended from Coffs Harbour to the Queensland border. At its widest point, west of Casino, this band is said to extend 130 kilometres inland.

Joint EPA-Dept. of Industry Forest Science Unit predictive mapping of remaining NSW koala habitat based on sighting records, vegetation, soils and climate

"Modelling koala habitat",  NSW EPA. July 2019

It is easy to see that most of the remaining Northern Rivers koala habitat falls within those areas with operating timber mills and land on which the NSW Forestry Corporation has cast its rapacious eye.

According to the NSW Forestry Corporation around 60 per cent of the net harvest area available for timber production in the Northern Rivers region was impacted by fires during the 2019-2020 bushfire season, but this corporation appears to view a coastal strip around 100kms wide and 216kms long - containing thousands of parcels of private  land - as able post-fires to supply it with commercial timber for years to come.

The forestry industry is actively lobbying government for access to more native timber citing increased employment as one benefit. 

Despite the fact that Australia-wide the forestry industry appears to only employ around 10,700 people in a potential 2020 workforce of est. 13.5 million (ABS September 2020) and, according to industry reports; The Forestry and Logging industry has performed poorly over the past five years. Industry output is projected to decline at an annualised 1.3% over the period, with downstream demand also weakening…..

Furthermore, lower demand from log sawmilling, and declines in residential building construction have contributed to several years of revenue declines. Industry revenue is expected to decline at an annualised 1.4% over the five years through 2020-21, to $4.7 billion.

What this all means is that stressed koala communities already competing with urban expansion, increased traffic, historical and recent habitat loss, are now being threatened by the business strategy of one of the largest forestry corporations in Australia, the financial self-interest of around 32 operating timber mills within the Northern Rivers region, as well as the political self-interest of 12 National Party members who sit in the NSW Legislative Assembly and 6 National Party members sitting in the Legislative Council.

This shared self-interest in encapsulated in the bill passed by the Assembly earlier this month and still to be voted on by the Council, the Local Land Services Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, which extinguishes state koala habitat protection policy on most NSW land and seeks to (i) allow the commercial logging of native trees to continue unimpeded on private land by circumventing a government review of the private forestry system and (ii) to allow future clearing of native timber on farmland without the need for authorisation under other state legislation, including the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. 

If any North Coast Voices readers have concerns about the fate of forests and koalas on the NSW North Coast I suggest that they phone or email members of the NSW Legislative Council before Tuesday, 10 November 2020, using the link below which takes you straight to the parliamentary web page which lists the contact details for all 42 members:

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/pages/all-members.aspx?&house=lc&tab=browse

BACKGROUND

SATURDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2019

Are koalas on NSW North Coast now facing local extinction?

THURSDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2020

Want to know if your local state MP voted to drive the koala to extinction in New South Wales? Names and electorates are noted here

TUESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2020

NSW Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis boasts of his betrayal of his electorate

WEDNESDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2020

Will this be one of the last attempts available to communities seeking to legally curb rapacious loggers from destroying New South Wales koala habitat?

TUESDAY, 10 MARCH 2020

Losses in the 2019-20 NSW bushfires may exceed 70 per cent of the state's entire koala population

Cartoon of the Week

Cathy Wilcox
on the day after the funeral of veteran broadcaster Paul Murphy

 

Tweets of the Week

 

Anthony Albanese has a Bachelor of Economics from University of Sydney and Scott Morrison has egg on his face 😂 https://t.co/5tx0SER8UO

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) October 24, 2020

Baby Girl has arrived to taxi the kid home pic.twitter.com/EXzEn76jYu

— Mark Duckett (@MarkRDuckett) October 23, 2020

We've now documented 274 community records of koalas within 10kms of Brandy Hill Quarry in the past 6 years (99 in 2020 alone).

Koalas like this one, snapped near the quarry earlier this year, will lose their homes if @sussanley doesn't #stopbrandyhill.#saveportstephenskoalas pic.twitter.com/7ewC2yKGvZ

— Save Port Stephens Koalas (@savePSkoalas) October 17, 2020

Just what one would expect from a Lib-Nats government - a decision with minimum community consultation to herd at least 1,500 regional kindergarten to high school students in the one campus with likely teacher losses

Doesn’t this sound grand? A $100 million mega campus for all of the Murwillumbah area, merging students from kindergarten to high school……

Echo NetDaily, 28 October 2020:

Murwillumbah’s four public schools will be amalgamated into a single Kindergarten to Year 12 campus at Murwillumbah High, the state government has annouced.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Education Minister Sarah Mitchell announced today that Murwillumbah Public School, Murwillumbah East Public School, Murwillumbah High School and Wollumbin High School will be combined to form a single $100 million Murwillumbah Education Campus.

Ms Mitchell said the new mega school would cater to up to 1,500 students, and follow a four-year rebuilding project.

She pledged that no permanent teaching jobs would be lost, and spruiked the ‘community benefits’ of the plan, including the possible joint use of sporting, arts and health facilities.

‘The new Murwillumbah Education Campus will truly be at the heart of the community, and I look forward to seeing it take shape over the next few years,’ Ms Mitchell said…..

This announcement of a major school merger in the Northern Rivers took the local community by surprise and this appears to have been the plan all along according to the government's own time table which had the two primary school communities only informed by email on the day of the announcement. 

Possibly the lack of early warning was intended to mute the initial response of the teacher's union to the fact that this merger will inevitably see a reduction in teacher numbers once the school merger is completed. 

NSW Labor MP for Lismore Janelle Saffin, Shadow Minister for the North Coast Adam Searle and Shadow Minister for Education Pru Car are concerned with aspects of this merger, which probably consume more of the Berejiklian Government’s time than the creation of a new campus - the chance to sell off state property assets and the chance to reduce public education staffing levels.

Excerpt for a NSW Labor joint media release, 28 October 2020:

Without warning, the Liberals and Nationals will force Murwillumbah Public School, Murwillumbah East Public School and Wollumbin High School to close and move into a single campus at Murwillumbah High School.

Department of Education documents obtained through the Upper House reveals that the amalgamation of four schools in 2024 will change the staffing allocation and potentially displace teaching and support staff.

The Liberals and Nationals promised an upgrade of Murwillumbah East Public School before the last election. Instead, they will now abandon their promise and close the school completely.

“Closing schools is the last thing the Liberals and Nationals should be doing. This is a betrayal of the community. They are robbing future generations of quality public schools in their communities,” Ms Car said.

“This announcement will rob the North Coast of three public school campuses, with a mega-school increasing school travel times for residents and reducing green space.”

Shadow Minister for the North Coast Adam Searle MLC said: “Now we know why the Premier and the National Party have been stalling on replacing the library and classrooms lost at Murwillumbah East Public School in the floods.

“Despite all their hollow promises, it seems that yet more privatisation is their true agenda, not delivering for students and families in Murwillumbah.

“This decision has been made without consultation. It has all the signs of a dirty land deal, and is not about improving educational outcomes.”

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said: “I am seeking a guarantee from the NSW Government that all current teaching and support staff jobs will be retained.

“This cannot be a cruel cost-cutting exercise,” Ms Saffin said.

“I am also seeking a guarantee that public land stays in public hands and is not flogged off to private developers.”

Ms. Saffin also expanded on her views in another media release on the same day:

...it was a shame Mr Barilaro, as Leader of the NSW Nationals, did not take the opportunity while visiting Murwillumbah to make the following announcements for the town and our region:

A $45-million local business support fund for those impacted by the border closures, as he did for the NSW southern border businesses impacted by border closures.

The Nationals’ election promise to provide 280 more nurses, 32 doctors, 38 allied health staff and 50 more hospital workers with some for Murwillumbah Hospital.

The restoration of major contracts to our local businesses, who recently lost their contracts under Mr Barilaro’s big city-big company procurement policy, to remove waste from our Health, TAFE and caravan parks on Crown reserves.

The upgrade of the Voluntary Buyback House scheme to help with flood protection.

The upgrade to a 24/7 police presence in Murwillumbah.

The reopening of the Murwillumbah Women’s Refuge closed by the Nationals.

The restoration of the Murwillumbah Court services closed by the Nationals.

The announcement of our region’s share of the unspent $1.7 billion Restart NSW Fund, as promised by the Nationals.

Reversing the new practice of Essential Energy ‘gifting’ power poles to farmers and private landholders, which they must pay to maintain if deemed unsafe. 

Meet the Clarence Valley's very own Koala Killer - Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis

Grafton NSW, October 2020
Image used in meme from Clarence Valley Independent community newspaper, 28.10.20

BACKGROUND

See "NSW Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis boasts of his betrayal of his electorate" at https://northcoastvoices.blogspot.com/2020/10/nsw-nationals-mp-chris-gulaptis-boasts.html

Want to know if your local state MP voted to drive the koala to extinction in New South Wales? Names and electorates are noted here

 

 Koala resting, Bangalow area NSW
IMAGE: Northern Rivers Community Foundation

In early September 2020 the NSW Nationals parliamentary party threatened to leave the Berejiklian Coalition Government and move to the Independent benches in the NSW Legislative Assembly, the Lower House of the NSW Parliament, if the NSW Liberal parliamentary party did not agree to effectively gut State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019.

Although there were only 12 members of the National Party sitting in the Legislative Assembly, Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian caved into this threatening political posturing within days.

On 21 October 2020 members of the NSW Berejiklian Government in the Lower House voted on the Local Land Services Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020.

All the National Party members of the NSW Legislative Assembly were present for the vote.

This is the Hansard record of that final third reading vote placed in alphabetical order with members’ electorates identified:

AYES

Anderson, K – Nationals (Tamworth electorate)

Barilaro, J – Nationals (Monaro electorate)

Bromhead, S – Nationals (Myall Lakes electorate)

Cooke, S (teller) – Nationals (Cootamundra electorate)

Gulaptis, C – Nationals (Clarence electorate)

Johnsen, M – Nationals (Upper Hunter electorate)

Marshall, A – Nationals (Northern Tablelands electorate)

Pavey, M – Nationals (Oxley electorate)

Provest, G -Nationals (Tweed electorate)

Saunders, D – Nationals (Dubbo electorate)

Singh, G – Nationals (Coffs Harbour electorate)

Toole, P – Nationals (Bathurst electorate)

Ayres, S – Liberal (Penrith electorate)

Berejiklian, G – Liberal (Willoughby electorate)

Clancy, J – Liberal (Albury electorate)

Conolly, K – Liberal (Riverstone electorate)

Constance, A – Liberal (Bega electorate)

Coure, M – Liberal (Oatley electorate)

Crouch, A (teller) – Liberal (Terrigal electorate)

Davies, T – Liberal ( electorate)

Dominello, V – Liberal (Ryde electorate)

Elliot, D – Liberal (Baulkham electorate)

Evans, L - Liberal (Heathcoast electorate)

Gibbons, M – Liberal (Holsworthy electorate)

Griffin, J – Liberal (Manly electorate)

Hancock, S – Liberal (South Coast electorate)

Hazzard, B – Liberal (Wakehurst electorate)

Henskens, A – Liberal (Kur-ring-gai electorate)

Kean, M – Liberal (Hornsby electorate)

Lee, G – Liberal (Parramatta electorate)

Lindsay, W – Liberal (East Hills electorate)

Perrottet, D – Liberal (Epping electorate)

Preston, R – Liberal (Hawkesbury electorate)

Petinos, E – Liberal (Miranda electorate)

Roberts, A – Liberal (Lane Cove electorate)

Sidgreaves, P – Liberal (Camden electorate)

Sidoti, J – Liberal (Drummoyne electorate)

Smith, N – Liberal (Wollondilly electorate)

Speakman, M – Liberal (Cronulla electorate)

Stokes, R – Liberal (Pittwater electorate)

Taylor, M – Liberal (Seven Hills electorate)

Tuckerman, W – Liberal (Goulburn electorate)

Upton, G – Liberal (Vaucluse electorate)

Ward, G – Liberal (Kiama electorate)

Williams, L – Liberal (Port Macquarie electorate)

Williams, R– Liberal (Castle Hill electorate)

McGirr, J – Independent (Wagga Wagga electorate)

Butler, R - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Barwon electorate)

Dalton, H - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Murray electorate)

Donato, P - Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (Orange electorate)

I invite readers to remember these names at the next NSW state election on Saturday, 25 March 2023.

Koala joey riding on its mother's back
IMAGE: Environmental Defender's Office