Some lessons never get learnt by NSW local government and this is but one recent example

 

IMAGE: Google Earth 2008

In what seems an appropriate response to a proposed retrospective development consent the NSW Office of Local Government and NSW Ombudsman have commenced a preliminary investigation into building works undertaken at 19 Gumnut Road, Yamba, a waterside residential property of approx. 651.70 sq metres, which according to Clarence Valley flood mapping is at risk of a degree of inundation even in a 1 in 5 year flood event and in a 1 in 100 year event water likely reach the top floor of the house.

A development application DA 2019/0439 was lodged on 14 August 2019, however subsequent construction did not follow the structural plans to which Clarence Valley Council had granted consent on 2 December 2019 apparently by delegated authority.

After a site inspection in February 2021 when build inconsistencies could not be ignored by council officers, the owners of 19 Gumnut Road were obliged to lodge DA2021/0153 and MOD2021/0016.

These documents show:

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW CARPORT AND AWNING ATTACHED TO EXISTING DWELLING

2 CONSTRUCTION OF [detached] RUMPUS ROOM AT REAR OF LOT

3 CONSTRUCTION OF DECK AT REAR OF LOT

4 NEW FENCE ALONG WESTERN BOUNDARY

* NOTE: POOL AND SURROUND TO BE APPROVED AS SEPARATE D.A

Additionally the documents described a retractable privacy screen and awning, rainwater tank and floating pontoon. The rainwater tank and retractable awning were constructed without Council approval and do not meet the development standards for exempt development (i.e. development that does not require Council approval) listed in State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. The retractable privacy screen has not been constructed or installed and the floating pontoon has been removed from the application. Accordingly, this application only seeks approval for: 

• Proposed retractable privacy screen 

• Existing retractable awning (as-built) 

• Existing rainwater tank (as-built)

The 40 year-old house and additional structures now appear intended to cover around 85-90 per cent of the lot.

Apparently eager to oblige these particular local business owners, council staff formally recommended to Council in the Chamber that retrospective consent be given as well as consent for certain proposed construction and, predictably the 'all-development-is- good-but-over-development-is-better' brigade holding a majority on Clarence Valley Council also agreed to oblige the owners on 25 May 2021. 

Quite frankly, the article below does not do full justice to the level of non-compliance shown in photographs taken in 2020 and supplied to Clarence Valley Council by local residents. Nor is the mention it contains of the rumpus room/studio adequate to describe the aesthetically bereft, freestanding structure that was actually built.

Clarence Valley Independent, 2 June 2021:

Councillors were split four to three at the May 25 Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting, when they approved a raft of existing building works at a Gumnut Road property in Yamba, however, three councillors lodged a rescission motion after the meeting.

Nearby residents lodged objections (a total of nine submissions and a petition signed by 40 people) to the “as-built inconsistencies with the approved” development applications (DA) and other unapproved works, which council’s planning staff described as “minor” or “very minor”.

Some of the modifications and works approved were non-compliant with CVC’s development control plan (DCP).

Objectors have raised issues with Ombudsman NSW, regarding how CVC has managed processing the DAs and CVC’s alleged indifference to unapproved building works.

Ombudsman NSW is currently making “preliminary enquiries” into the matter.

Councillors Debrah Novak, Karen Toms and Greg Clancy lodged the rescission motion, which outlined six reasons:

Council did not undertake progress inspections during construction works for both DA 2019/0439 (now MOD 2021/0016) and DA 2021/0153);

Council has varied the residential DCP floodplain management controls in relation to the required floor level of 2.9m Australian height datum (AHD) for the studio, consequently, CVC’s DCP would need to be updated as this has set a precedent;

The applicant has not provided a survey completed by a registered surveyor as required … when the DA was lodged or prior to commencement of construction;

The applicant has not provided a valid structural engineer certification for the whole build of the studio … occupation is prohibited without a valid structural engineer’s certification;

No valid structural engineer’s certification has been submitted for the existing retaining wall, which is now the foundation for the large extended deck; and,

The applicant has enclosed a deck without obtaining prior approval from council. [my yellow highlighting]

Acting general manager Laura Black said the rescission motion would be tabled at the June 2021 CVC meeting; however, she said the rescission motion “bears no relation to the ombudsman’s enquiry, at the moment”.

“As we [CVC] understand it, the ombudsman has received a complaint from a ratepayer … and the [ombudsman has] made an enquiry [regarding] our communication with that ratepayer,” Ms Black said.

“We are unaware of the nature of the complaint and we’ve provided a response to the ombudsmen, including all of our correspondence with that particular ratepayer.

“This rescission motion, though, is purely a rescission motion from three councillors, in accordance with the code of meeting practice, and it puts on the table that … the motion that we’ve resolved in relation to the DA modification [could] be rescinded….

“At this stage, the ombudsman is just undertaking preliminary enquires; we don’t know the nature of the complaint, but the ombudsman’s office actually doesn’t have any power to stop council from making a decision.

“We have been advised [Ombudsman NSW] has no intention of interfering in council’s decision making – so the rescission motion itself is not related to the ombudsman.”

Councillors Richie Williamson and Karen Toms were absent.

Have you seen this clown? If so contact Grafton Police

 

Not the first time this Hudsons Circus clown has gone missing.
It anonymously turned up at The Junktion, Bathuurst  in 2020.
IMAGE: Western Advocate, 2 March 2020

The Daily Telegraph, 2 June 2021:

Grafton has once again earned itself a spot in the coveted S--t Towns of Australia Power Rankings after someone stole a clown.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Last week visiting attraction Hudsons Circus raised the alarm that one of their promotional materials had been stolen.

“One of our 5m tall inflatable promo clowns and air blower has gone missing from Summerland Way, Grafton, overnight. The power lead going to the air blower has been cut off,” they wrote on their Facebook page.

“A police report has been made. If you have any information regarding this, please call Grafton police station or contact Policelink and send us a message.” News of the stolen clown soon reached the creators of Facebook page Sh*t Towns of Australia, who placed Grafton in the 10th spot in the latest top 10 Power Rankings list, and described the incident as “Gronks steal 5m inflatable clown from circus”.

Other towns to share the honour include Tennant Creek, NT, for a bloke getting his “head stuck under a security gate while trying to break into a bottle-o” and Mildura, Victoria, for a “woman charged with stealing 26 BBQ chickens”. The page, which has more than 50,000 followers, is well known for its savage, yet tongue-in-cheek articles describing various towns across Australia. In 2019 Grafton was pitted against Lismore, but ultimately lost the vote.

NSW Minister for Education & Nationals MLC Sarah Mitchell accused of selling out Murwillumbah's children

 

Echo NetDaily, 31 May 2021:

The NSW Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell’s social media last week was full of posts about an upgrade for one school and officially opening another new school and ‘A fabulous day opening NSW’s newest school’, and even an ‘Absolute pleasure to spend some time this morning with a group of principals from South Western Sydney. A really informative discussion with a group of incredibly passionate and talented educators’.

Yet there is no mention of a meeting, which wasn’t an ‘absolute pleasure’ that took place with a group of incredibly passionate parents and talented educators, that will impact not one but four schools in the Murwillumbah area.

Last Wednesday the Department of Education sent out a handful of emails to members of the school communities in Murwillumbah, inviting them to a meeting, with no explanation of what that meeting was about, to be held last Friday.

They were advised again by the Department late Thursday evening that the Minister for Education would be in attendance.

The media were not invited to attend.

State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said that from the day Minister Mitchell made the announcement, Murwillumbah’s school communities had called for her to come and meet them to explain the educational rationale behind her decision.

‘The Minister needed to explain why a mega school campus will be in the best interests of local children,’ said Ms Saffin. ‘On their behalf, I requested her to visit in person and she did, meeting P&C presidents, principals and Departmental representatives, beyond infrastructure officials.

‘Last Friday’s meeting was low key to allow P&C reps to directly outline their concerns.’

Wollumbin High School P&C President Soenke Biermann. ‘the Murwillumbah community treasures its small and beautiful country schools. Don’t close them, minister! Bigger is not better!’

A closed-door meeting

Wollumbin High School P&C President Soenke Biermann said that while they were glad that the minister finally found the time to come up to the area after first being invited six months ago, it was still only to tell a handful of people in a closed-door meeting that the forced school closures and amalgamation into a radical mega-school will go ahead as planned. ‘So much for consultation!’

Mr Biermann said it’s hugely frustrating and disillusioning for parents to have both their valid concerns and alternative suggestions and proposals ignored in this manner. ‘We have been asking for genuine input, dialogue and a seat at the decision-making table since the moment this project was dropped on us like a bombshell without any community consultation whatsoever in November last year.

‘It’s very personal for us – it’s our children’s future that is at stake here and, like parents everywhere, many of us have poured countless volunteer hours into P&C meetings, fundraisers and community participation because we value and support quality public education.’

A dismissive and paternalistic government

‘To then be treated in such a dismissive and paternalistic, government-knows-best fashion is simply infuriating. Imagine not even talking to the community before making such a radical decision and now saying we are being consulted because we might get to pick the colour of the carpet in the new building – this was an actual example the minister used today,’ Mr Biermann said.

‘This is not good enough – we need a genuine say with all options on the table!’……

Selling out our children

Local MP Justine Elliot strongly condemned the NSW Liberal-National Government for their forced closure of the four schools in Murwillumbah. ‘These school closures are a shameful act by the Liberal-National Government. They are selling out our children and selling out our community.

‘Nationals Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, along with North Coast Nationals MPs Geoff Provest and Ben Franklin were caught out having an invitation-only, closed-door meeting in Murwillumbah about the school closures, but they continue to refuse to meet with the wider community, parents and students.’

Ms Elliot said that North Coast MPs Geoff Provest and Ben Franklin have imposed cruel and unfair school closures on the Murwillumbah community. ‘They have no shame.’

‘These closures will result in severe job losses and worse educational outcomes for local children. This shows yet again that in regional and rural areas – the Nationals just can’t be trusted,’ she said.

‘In total contrast to the North Coast Nationals – whose school closures show that they treat country areas with absolute contempt – I stand with the community in opposing these school closures,’ said Ms Eliot.

Kylie Rose with Anthony Albanese, Justine Elliot and Janelle Saffin when the amalgamation was announced last year. Photo supplied.

Less than 24 hours notice

Ms Mitchell clearly knew well in advance that she would be in the area as at least one other local school was prepared for her visit. She chose not to let the Murwillumbah community know.

President of the Murwillumbah East P&C Kylie Rose says that she only knew the minister would be at the meeting less that 24 hours before it happened. ‘I was advised at around 7.30pm on Thursday evening that the meeting on Friday morning would be with the minister.’

Ms Rose says she and her P&C have been calling on the minister to meet with the community for more than six months. ‘There is a very strong feeling out there that parents, teachers, students and community members should have been consulted before a decision of this magnitude was forced upon us.

‘That lack of consultation makes it very hard to move forward.’

Ms Rose says that while she was appreciative of the opportunity to put the views of the Murwillumbah East P&C directly to the minister, it quickly became apparent that Ms Mitchell had no intention of consulting on her original decision.

‘Personally, I remain unconvinced that closing four public schools and cramming all the students together in one mega school could be good for our children, our community or for public education more broadly,’ said Ms Rose……

Soenke Biermann said the Murwillumbah community treasures its small and beautiful country schools. ‘Don’t close them, minister! Bigger is not better!’

Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook continues his war on the poor and vulnerable in a markedly callous manner

 

Scott Morrison's war on the poor and vulnerable appears to have been extended to include the elderly in residential care..... 

News.com.au, 31 May 2021:

The Federal Government quietly overturned a rule in November that private residential aged care staff were not to work at multiple sites, it has been revealed. 

News broke on Monday that a staff member at the Arcare Maidstone aged care facility had become infected with Covid-19 after working at Blue Cross aged care in Sunshine.

Three new locally acquired cases were today linked to private aged care, including the son of a worker who previously tested positive from Arcare Maidstone, the staff member who worked at the two facilities and a resident in her 90s from Arcare Maidstone.

Public aged care facilities in Victoria, managed by the Victorian Government, have rules in place banning staff from working at multiple sites.

But private aged care facilities in Victoria, managed by the Morrison Government, have allowed staff to work at more than one site.

[my yellow highlighting]

With Australian PM & Liberal MP Scott Morrison and the tail wagging the NSW Government dog, Deputy Premier & Nationals MLA John Barilaro, both backing the proposed Mole River dam it appears that yet another poorly conceived and badly placed dam will be built

 

Dam valley: The Mole River looking upstream from Ringtree and Braeside' to Alister, where more than 800 ha of productive land and native vegetation is proposed to be flooded by the dam.
Photo: Bruce Norris in Tenterfield Star

On 12 August 2020 the NSW Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No. 7 – Planning And Environment self-referred the Inquiry into the rationale for, and impacts of, new dams and other water infrastructure in NSW.

This inquiry looked into the rationale for, and impacts of, new dam and mass water storage projects proposed by Water NSW including Wyangala, Mole River and Dungowan Dam projects, the Macquarie River reregulating storage project, the Menindee Lakes Water Savings Project and the Western Weirs project.

Water NSW undertook a feasibility study of the Mole River in 2017 which stated that none of the dam proposals for this river were financially viable at the time.

In 2019 the Morrison Government gave its support for a 100,000 megalitre Mole River dam which it saw as not just supplying Tenterfireld Shire with water but also sending water to south-east Queensland.

This begs the question of where the bulk of the water would be coming from given the Mole River catchment annual rainfall was less than 600mm in 13 of the last 18 years (2019) and, as Professor Quentin Grafton, water economist, ANU and UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance tells us, at 600mm or less annual precipitation a dam will not fill.

Tenterfield Shire Council has long made it clear that it sees a potential relationship between a Mole River dam and water from the Clarence River catchment - viewing interbasin water transfer from Upper Clarence River tributaries (in particular the Maryland River) to the proposed dam site as desirable additional water storage which would allow for water diversion into the border rivers system for the benefit of Murray Darling Basin irrigators and/or the establishment of a hydro electric scheme with the shire.

Northern Rivers readers might also recall that the Mole River has a long history of arsenic contamination.

ResearchGate, December 2001:

Mining and processing of arsenopyrite ore at the Mole River mine in the 1920–1930s resulted in abandoned mine workings, waste dumps and an arsenic oxide treatment plant. Weathering of waste material (2.6–26.6 wt% As) leads to the formation of water soluble, As-bearing mineral salts (pharmacolite, arsenolite, krautite) and sulfates which affect surface waters after rainfall events. Highly contaminated soils, covering about 12 ha at the mine, have extreme As (mean 0.93 wt%) and elevated Fe, Ag, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn values compared with background soils (mean 8 ppm As). Regionally contaminated soils have a mean As content of 55 ppm and the contaminated area is estimated to be 60 km2. The soils have acquired their metal enrichments by hydromorphic dispersion from the dissolution of As-rich particulates, erosion of As-rich particulates from the dumps, and atmospheric fall-out from processing plant emissions. Stream sediments within a radius of 2 km of the mine display metal enrichments (62 ppm to 27.5 wt% As) compared with the mean background of 23 ppm As. This enrichment has been caused by erosion and collapse of waste-dump material into local creeks, seepages and ephemeral surface runoff, and erosion and transportation of contaminated soil into the local drainage system. Water samples from a mine shaft and waste-dump seepages have the lowest pH (4.1) and highest As values (up to 13.9 mg/L), and contain algal blooms of Klebsormidium sp. The variable flow regime of the Mole River causes dilution of As-rich drainage waters to background values (mean 0.0086 mg/L As) within 2.5 km downstream. Bioaccumulation of As and phytotoxicity to lower plants has been observed in the mine area….

By the time the current Mole River Dam scoping report had been completed the Mole River Dam project had been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) under Division 5.2 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act).

As a CSSI the project may be carried out without obtaining development consent under Part 4 of the EP&A Act.

Emus of the Clarence Coast, NSW

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 26 May 2021:

The Lions Club of Clarence – Environmental [LCCE] is a rare breed of Lions club and, just like the threatened coastal emus it is campaigning to protect, its vital numbers are growing.

The nature-focussed group, the first of its kind in Australia, has gathered 1,318 signatures on its petition to reduce the speed limit on Brooms Head Road from 100kph to 80kph, particularly where emus regularly cross. In October last year, volunteers completed the group’s first major project, planting 250 trees and shrubs on a Shark Creek property that was devastated by bushfires in September and October of 2019. “The endangered coastal emu, phascogale, brolga, and an amazing amount of birdlife visit the [78 acres] property, which is about 80 percent wetland and dedicated to the Wildlife Land Trust,” LCCE spokesperson Barbara Linley said at the time.

Last week, around 100 people attended the launch of Clarence Distillery’s new Three Emu Vodka at the Yamba Surf Life Saving Club. “Earlier this year the distillery’s co-owner, Alison [Sloley] spoke to me about a new line and supporting the endangered coastal emu,” Ms. Linley said at the function. “Alison suggested that our group runs a silent auction to raise more funds for the emus and that for this night $5 per bottle goes to the emu campaign. “I also want to thank NSW Save Our Species, Clarence Valley Council, and Yaegl, the traditional owners…..

COVID-19 Pandemic 2020-21: Morrison Government still not listening to the experts

 

The New Daily, 30 May 2021:

The numbers used by the federal government to defend the effectiveness of hotel quarantine are wrong, one of Australia’s leading epidemiologists has said.

The criticism comes amid growing calls for every state and territory to have a purpose-built facility, as new analysis shows purpose-built quarantine costs a fraction of the economic cost of lockdowns.

Last month Prime Minister Scott Morrison sought to downplay concerns Australia would keep yoyo-ing in and out of lockdown until issues in hotel quarantine were fixed.

“A system that is achieving 99.99 per cent effectiveness is a very strong system and is serving Australia very well,” Mr Morrison said.

“If I was to tell you [last year] that would achieve a 99.99 per cent success rate, you wouldn’t have believed me. No one in this country would have believed me. I would have found that hard to believe.”

But Mary-Louise McLaws, an infectious diseases expert at the University of New South Wales and member of the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 response team, said the PM’s figure was wrong.

“I have no idea where it’s been plucked out of,” Professor McLaws told The New Daily.

Around 70 per cent of total cases since Australia closed its borders on March 20 last year have directly and indirectly come from quarantine breaches and exemptions, she said.

Approximately 21,000 people have been infected due to those breaches and exemption.

Professor McLaws said the Australian government needed to “turn 180 degrees and rethink” the quarantine system, to save itself money and protect its citizens.

“Lockdown costs $1billion a week for NSW or Victoria,” she said.

Pointing to the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs quarantine facility, which has not leaked a single case into the community, she said states need their own purpose-built facilities, not hotels.

“Victoria has estimated they could make a purpose-built for $700 million. That’s less than the cost of a one-week lockdown,” Professor McLaws said.

“In WA, they could make a 1000-bed facility that would cost between $80 million and $200 million – that’s still a fraction.

“So when people say this is too expensive, I say try $1 billion a week.”…..

News.com.au, 29 May 2021:

A Melbourne doctor has delivered a spray at the PM on national television as frustration boils over about the Government’s biggest headache.

Frontline emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis took aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday morning after Victoria was thrust into its fourth lockdown since the pandemic began.

He told the ABC that Victorians are “getting tired of hearing excuses” about things that “should have happened earlier this year, at least”.

He was referring to delays in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout and the Commonwealth’s slow take-up of advice to build a fit-for-purpose quarantine facility that does not involve placing infected people in hotel rooms.

“It’s taking too long,” Dr Parnis said. “It should have happened earlier this year, at least. We need to do it right now. [New quarantine facilities] has the same urgency as vaccinating our nursing home populations.

“We know that this virus has airborne transmission. We know that the best protocols will still not be foolproof in hotels that are designed for tourists. Each state and territory will have plans for these things. But they are waiting for the checks to come from Canberra and those checks have been delayed,” Dr Parnis said.

“That is unacceptable, I think, to the medical profession, and it should be unacceptable to the wider population.”

It is a sentiment shared by Melbourne GP Dr Vyom Sharma. He told news.com.au there is nowhere near enough being done to stop leaks from HQ.

“There are no nationally consistent guidelines for infection prevention and control,” he said.

“Different states have different standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) — some will use simple surgical masks when near travellers, others will use N95 respirators.

“Some states have performed ventilation audits and upgrades. Others either have not, or have not reported this publicly. This inconsistency risks further instances of airborne transmission within quarantine.”

He said staff working in medi-hotels are not being protected.

“Any staff within line of sight of a returned traveller should be wearing an N95 mask. That is a no brainer, and an instant fix — source the materials, fit test all staff.

“Also, and I can only hope this is the case in all states, make vaccination mandatory for all staff, and do not allow them on site until two weeks after the second dose.”

Dr Sharma said the problem was no going to disappear and that only fit-for-purpose accommodation would prevent more outbreaks.

“More leaks are inevitable if things stay the same. Only a fool would bet otherwise.”

The problem with using hotel quarantine to house overseas arrivals from Covid-19 hotspots was raised with the Prime Minister on Thursday after Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino revealed the holdup in building an broadacre facility was at a federal level.

“We are waiting on the green light in terms of going ahead,” he said in relation to a proposal to build such a facility at Avalon or Mickleham partly funded by both state and federal governments.

Mr Morrison said he was “highly favourable” of the Victorian plan but did not make a firm commitment.

Melbourne surgeon Dr Eric Levi expressed his frustration at Victoria being forced into another lockdown because quarantine issues had not been sorted.

“Let’s learn from this. AGAIN,” he wrote on Twitter.

“One person was Covid negative on multiple swabs, spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in Adelaide. Caught Covid from the room next door. Flew back to Melbourne. Tested positive.

Now thousands of primary and secondary contacts. One person in ICU.

“More than 150 exposure locations. And a state in lockdown. Again. It’s 16 months into the pandemic. Should we not have learned this last year. Can we fix upstream quarantine problems before it causes downstream catastrophe?

“Covid is airborne. Majority of those with Covid have no symptoms. By the time they know they’re positive, they’ve shared the virus with others. We now have vaccines to reduce transmission. New variants are emerging.”

Mr Merlino said expressions of interest had been sent out on Friday for the building of a facility at either Avalon or Mickleham, 30km and 56km from the CBD respectively.

But nothing will happen without the Morrison Government’s approval. It will have the final say.

“Both sites could work and that will ultimately, because these are both Commonwealth pieces of land, be the decision of the Commonwealth,” Mr Merlino said.