Cartoons of the Week

 

Cathy Wilcox

David Pope

 

Mercury, 30 June 2021

Quote of the Week

“Climate change continues to influence Australian and global climate. Australia's climate has warmed by 1.44 ± 0.24 °C over 1910–2019, while southern Australia has seen a reduction of 10–20% in cool season (April–October) rainfall in recent decades.” [Australian Bureau of Meteorology, “Climate Driver Update” , Issued 22 June 2021]

Prime Minister Scott Morrison caught out in yet another lie about Australia's closed national border

“Australia's borders were slammed shut in March last year as the coronavirus spread across the world, with the federal government trying to take advantage of the nation's island geography to safeguard it from the worst of the deadly virus. In an interview with News Corp, Mr Morrison said he did not believe Australians had an "appetite" for opening borders if it meant having to deal with more coronavirus outbreaks, lockdowns and social restrictions. "We have to be careful not to exchange that way of life for what everyone else has," he said. In a later post on Facebook, he warned borders would only be opened "when it is safe to do so". [ABC News, 9 May 2021]

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has revealed more than 36,000 Australians remain stranded overseas with 4,860 considered vulnerable.…...In September, Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised to get as many people as possible on the list home by Christmas.” [AAP General News Wire, 24 March 2021]

If one reads the aforementioned quotes it would seem that Australia has had an all but impenetrable border since the COVID-19 global pandemic began and, that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made it his priority to repatriate his fellow citizens stranded overseas by travel restrictions.

Then as the country braces for what is feared will be a widespread outbreak of a highly infectious SARS-Cov-2 variant*, this appears in the media - revealing that after being thwarted by the National Cabinet in his desire to open the national border at the earliest opportunity Morrison then found an underhand way of doing so. 

Note: * the Delta variant of SARS-Cov-2 which causes a highly infectious form of COVID-19 came into this country via an infected overseas traveller.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 2021, excerpt:

The data obtained by the Herald and The Age is collated from incoming passenger cards and is designed to capture the main reason for the journey for both visitors arriving and residents returning to Australia. The government publishes the data online.

During April, 2226 cards listed the passengers’ reason for arriving as “business, conferences or exhibitions”.

In the same month, 8067 cards listed “visiting family or friends” and “taking a holiday” as the reason for travel. The number was down from its peak last December when there were 10,536 arrivals for those reasons in the lead up to the Christmas holidays.

Employment was given as the reason for 5200 passenger movements while 817 of the April arrivals were for education.

Seventy two people were “attending a conference” in April – marking 533 total trips for conferences made since July last year.

The Herald excluded travellers from New Zealand from the statistics, which accounted for many of the 53,872 arrivals recorded in April…..

It was revealed by the Queensland government that its latest outbreak spawned from an unvaccinated traveller allowed to “come and go repeatedly” between Australia and Indonesia, doing multiple stints in hotel quarantine.

Meanwhile, in South Australia, the ABC reported authorities allowed a family to fly in from Indonesia on a privately funded medevac flight after testing positive for the highly infectious Delta strain.

The data shows 2400 arrivals were citizens of the UK, 1900 were citizens of China, 1400 were citizens of India and 1100 were US citizens.

“Thousands of people are being allowed to travel here who are not stranded Aussies,” Mr Miles said.

“In addition to the non-Australians returning, every month about 40,000 Australian citizens and about 6000 permanent visa holders are allowed to leave the country.

“Many of them seek to return. Rejoining the queue, going back through hotel quarantine, putting our community at risk.”

However, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews accused the Queensland government of misrepresenting the data.

“The data from the Australian Border Force sets out very clearly that, on average, 80 per cent of returning travellers to Australia are either Australian citizens, permanent residents, or immediate family members,” she said.

She said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was “arguing against her own travel to Tokyo” to attend the Olympics.

In response to questions about the infected traveller from Indonesia, Ms Andrews said the government was “going through a process of looking at” exemptions allowing people to make multiple trips despite the border closures.

However, she did not believe it was necessary to lower caps on overseas arrivals.

“It’s one of the issues that we have to deal with now, which is dealing with specific needs of our economy while at the same time making sure that we are able to bring in as many vulnerable people and return as many Australians as we possibly can,” she said.

According to the Australian Border Force, between March 2020 and the end of May this year, 156,507 Australian citizens and permanent residents were granted exemptions to depart Australia, while 84,031 requests were denied.

Over the same period 49,017 foreign nationals were granted an exemption to travel into Australia and 104,507 had their request denied.

“More than half of these approvals were for those proving a critical skill to Australia,” a Border Force spokesperson said.

A request may cover more than one person and individual travellers may have made multiple requests.

ABC News, 1 July 2021:

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has expressed his anger at the "large group of people" leaving Australia during the pandemic to travel overseas, some of whom he said had been enjoying foreign holidays.

Mr McGowan said 82 people had been on four overseas trips, while eight people had left five times and two people six times.

"In other words, there's a large group of people who have been overseas on multiple occasions. And every time they go overseas, they increase the risk," he said.

The Premier said many of those trips were unnecessary, and allowing people to go overseas was "the biggest [COVID] threat vector" Australia faced.

"People book a conference in Europe, and then have a holiday while they're over there, and then come back and join the queue," Mr McGowan said.

"It's just not right. We need to crack down on this."

He said it was time to limit the number of people allowed to travel internationally.

"I actually think there is a strong argument that before anyone can go overseas, they should be vaccinated, and then we should actually crack down hugely on the number of people allowed to go overseas." 

This is nuts!!! I must find a conference, I guess. ::sigh::#auspol #COVID19Aus #Quarantine
Figures from just WA. McGowan reported today. pic.twitter.com/NZ019AU4XD

— 🍩🍩CreatetheWorldYouWant🍩🍩 (@JL_Whitaker) July 1, 2021

 

NSW Indigenous Leaders launch the Indigenous Political Party in June 2021 ahead of AEC registration approval

Indigenous Political Party, media release, 29 June 2021:

Indigenous Leaders Launch Australia’s First Indigenous Political Party

Uncle Owen Whyman, a Paakindji man from Wilcannia, has brought together a group of nine Indigenous people from across NSW to start the first political party in Australia that centres the concerns and rights of Indigenous people: the Indigenous Party of Australia.

The Indigenous Party of Australia has already recruited over 750 members, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. The 9 members on the executive are Indigenous people from Dareton, Broken hill, Wilcannia, Mutwinji, Newcastle and Central Coast of NSW.

Mr Whyman has run for parliament twice before as an independent and is now formalising his vision of an Indigenous party run by Indigenous people to tackle crucial community and environmental issues at the federal level.

The party’s strong environmental focus begins with their campaign Barka-Darling River. Emblematic of the ecological issues facing Australia, the drought impacted and now climate and farming impacted river has no flow of water; the river is stagnant and algae is growing, damaging the local community who depend on it for their lives.

Mr. Whyman says it’s time for Indigenous issues to take the centre stage.

"As a national Party, the Indigenous Party of Australia, has to cover a lot of ground and that takes funds. We must get the word out, from Fremantle to Darwin to Port Adelaide to Melbourne and Sydney, that Indigenous incarceration, the highest in the world, must end. Our rivers, like the Baak are ready to break as the natural waters are plundered and sacred sites destroyed. We need free homework centres, everywhere, that run every afternoon for Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids so they can have help with homework, improving reading, getting some fresh fruit. There is a lot of work to be done but we can make it with your help and support. "

Federally, a core element of the party’s platform will be re-designing the approach to education within Indigenous communities, emphasising that equal opportunities must be given to all young Australians, and matching the needs of students to a curriculum and structure that meets them where they are. 

Some public health order rules to follow in regional NSW if you don't want to become a COVIDIOT like Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Plus those who chose to be COVIDIOTS and were stopped by NSW Police

 

NSW Police Public Site., Latest News, 28-29 June 2021, excerpts:

Commencing 6pm Saturday (26 June 2021), social distancing and mandatory mask wearing while in non-residential indoor settings became mandatory for regional communities in NSW.

Northern Region police are now urging the public to take responsibility to ensure the safety of others, as residents and visitors travel the region during the school holiday period.

Northern Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna APM, said the public must not be complacent during this time and should comply with current NSW Health guidelines.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those around us, and to do that we have been advised to comply with the guidelines delivered by NSW Health,” Assistant Commissioner McKenna said.

“For the minority of the public who choose to disregard this advice within the Northern Region, police will be there to hold you accountable; be it on the road, at public venues or events…..

The following restrictions now apply to regional areas and will remain in place until midnight on Friday 9 July 2021, unless extended or repealed earlier.

• Visitors to households will be limited to five guests – including children;

• Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events;

• Drinking while standing at indoor venues will not be allowed;

• Singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship will not be allowed;

• Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs;

• Dancing will be allowed at weddings, but only for the wedding party (no more than 20 people);

• Dance and gym classes limited to 20 per class (masks must be worn);

• The one person per four square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals;

• Outdoor seated events will be limited to 50% seated capacity.

Anyone with information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of COVID-19-related ministerial directions is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A travel company has been issued a $5000 PIN for breaching a public health order after taking three busloads of tourists to a zoo in the state’s west yesterday.

About 9.30am (Monday 28 June 2021), three buses arrived at the zoo on Obley Road, Dubbo.

On board were 128 staff and guests – at least 76 of whom were not permitted to travel outside Greater Sydney under the current public health order.

Staff at the zoo refused to allow the travellers off the buses and police were called.

Officers from Orana Mid-Western Police District attended and spoke to tour operators, establishing the group had left Sydney last Friday (25 June 2021) and had continued to travel throughout regional NSW after the Public Health Orders were updated on Saturday.

The guests were directed to return home immediately and the tour company has been issued a $5000 PIN.

State Emergency Operations Controller, Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys, said the company owner told police he was aware of the public health orders but decided to continue the tour as planned anyway.

“But the staff at the zoo did exactly the right thing – they isolated the risk and alerted police. They did a great job to protect the local community,” Deputy Commissioner Worboys said.

Investigations into further possible breaches are continuing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other incidents, a man and woman have been charged with offences including assault after they allegedly refused to check in with a QR code when entering a restaurant at Forster.

About 7.15pm yesterday (Monday 28 June 2021), the couple attended the Wharf Street restaurant and were asked by staff to sign in using the QR code.

They refused and were informed they would have to leave if they did not comply. It is alleged the man again refused and picked up a bottle of water and threw it against a wall, smashing it.

The man was escorted from the restaurant and it is further alleged the man punched the owner, a 39-year-old man.

The woman allegedly bit a 44-year-old man who was attempting to intervene, causing bleeding and bruising to his bicep.

The owner sustained facial injuries and a suspected broken nose and was taken to Manning Base Hospital.

The man and woman left the restaurant; however, officers from Manning/Great Lakes Police District arrested both a short time later, and took them to Forster Police Station.

The 34-year-old man was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, affray, intimidation and malicious damage.

The 27-year-old woman was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They were granted conditional bail and are expected to appear in Forster Local Court on Wednesday 28 July 2021.

They were each issued $1000 PINs for fail to comply with noticed direction re section 7/8/9 – COVID-19.

In total, 34 PINs were issued yesterday and of those 16 were $200 infringements for failing to wear a fitted face covering.

Police continue to appeal to the community to report suspected breaches of any ministerial direction or behaviour which may impact on the health and safety of the community.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two men are among 44 people issued with PINs for breaching a public health order yesterday, after they had to be rescued from the Royal National Park at Otford.

About 6pm (Sunday 27 June 2021), the men called for assistance after becoming lost in bushland during a visit to a remote beach.

Police Rescue assisted by the State Emergency Service, NSW Ambulance and Polair responded to the area, locating a 30-year-old man naked and carrying a backpack on the walking track near Lady Wakehurst Drive.

After a further search, a 49-year-old man, partially clothed, was also located. The men told police they were on a nearby beach when they ran into bushland after being startled by a deer.

They were taken to St George Police Station and issued $1000 PINs for breaching the current public health order prohibiting those from Greater Sydney travelling outside the region.

In other incidents, a café operator has been charged and is subject to strict bail conditions after being found allegedly breaching the public health order at Shellharbour.

About 9.40am, officers from Lake Illawarra Police District attended a café in Addison Street responding to reports staff were failing to comply with the current public health orders.

When officers arrived, they saw neither the staff or the operator were wearing face masks; the operator was reminded of her obligations under the current health orders but allegedly refused to comply.

The two staff members were warned and complied, putting masks on; however, a 38-year-old woman was arrested. She was taken to Port Kembla Police Station where she was charged with fail to comply with notice direction (not wear fitted face covering in retail/business premises), and operator not ensure hospitality workers wear fitted face coverings.

She was given bail conditions to strictly comply with the public health orders and not to incite or encourage others to defy them. She is due to appear in Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday 21 July 2021.

In a third incident, police stopped a car on the Hume Highway at Goulburn and spoke with the driver, a 33-year-old man from Ermington. He was issued with a $1000 PIN and was directed to immediately return to Sydney.

Police have received hundreds of calls from the public over the weekend reporting potential public health order breaches, and would like to thank the vast majority of the community for their cooperation with the new rules.

In total, 44 $1000 PINs were issued yesterday and of those four $200 infringements were issued for failing to wear a fitted face covering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Guardian, 29 June 2021:

[Australian Deputy Prime Minister & Liberal MP For New England] Barnaby Joyce has been fined $200 for not wearing a mask while paying for petrol at a service station in Armidale after he was dobbed in by a member of the public.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A word from the Australian Cartoonists Association.....

The Washington Post, 17 June 2021:

The five-person jury for the category picked the finalists but the larger Pulitzer Prize Board, which selects the winners for all the prizes in journalism and the arts, did not do so for cartooning because no consensus pick emerged. That happens every so often in various categories, but this was the first time in nearly a half-century that it had happened to political artists.

The Australian Cartoonists Association was not amused.....

 

To the Pulitzer Board.

I write as President, and on behalf, of the Australian Cartoonists Association, to express solidarity with our American editorial cartoonist colleagues, and to express our disappointment in the decision by the Pulitzer Prize Board not to award a prize for cartooning this year.

I note that the last year has been epic in the colliding of catastrophes, upheavals and conflicts both natural and man-made, and cartoonists, in spite of their precarious employment and challenging circumstances, have risen mightily to capture the moment(s).

In an era when the sharp line and elucidating perspective of cartoonists is more vital than ever to counter forces of obscurity and suppression of truth, we can ill afford to placate the powers for whom our silence and invisibility would be convenient. Cartoonists are necessary for a healthy democracy. Dictators hate us!

We could understand, having seen the work of contenders, that it may have been difficult for you to choose one over another. Could they have shared the prize? However, to not award a cartoonist this year suggests not an embarrassment of riches, but that no cartoonist was good enough.

And we think that is far from the truth.

Yours sincerely,

Cathy Wilcox 

President Australian Cartoonists Association president@cartoonists.org.au

27 June, 2021

Well said, Ms. Wilcox!

The world is losing patience with the Australian Liberal-Nationals Coalition Government - Part 2

THEN

The face that the Morrison Government was showing the world....

Australian Government, Dept. of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australia's World Heritage, excerpt:

Australia is a member of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, securing a seat from 2017 to 2021. The Committee consists of 21 members, elected every two years from the 193 countries that are a party to the World Heritage Convention.

The Committee makes decisions on World Heritage property nominations and state of conservation matters worldwide. It plays a vital role in the protection and celebration of natural and cultural sites around the world that hold Outstanding Universal Value. Some sites on the World Heritage List include the Great Wall of China, the Lascaux Caves of France, Machu Pichu, the Galapagos Islands, the Pyramids of Giza and the Tropical Rainforests of Borneo.

Australia has 19 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, including ico nic sites such as Sydney Opera House, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Kakadu, the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, our mammal fossil sites at Riversleigh and Naracoorte, and the Great Barrier Reef – places that are vital to the cultural, social and economic fabric of our nation. Australia has more natural World Heritage sites than any other country. [my yellow highlighting]

Australia was a founding member of the World Heritage Convention and was last on the World Heritage Committee from 2007-2011. During this Committee term Australia led the development of the Convention’s Strategic Action Plan.

Our membership of the Committee allows us to share our extensive experience in managing our natural and cultural heritage, including by assisting other countries to prepare World Heritage nominations and build their capacity to manage sites.

During our 2017 – 2021 term, Australia will work to strengthen the operation of the Committee, placing emphasis on the effective management of existing properties, and encouraging greater geographic balance in the list and more focus on listing natural places of Outstanding Universal Value.......

The face the Berejiklian Government was showing the world.... 

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Greater Blue Mountains Area, 3 September 2019:

The Greater Blue Mountains Area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000 in recognition of its significant natural values. It possesses unique plants and animals that relate an extraordinary story of the evolution of Australia's distinctive eucalypt vegetation and its associated communities.....

The Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Advisory Committee advises on matters relating to the protection, conservation, presentation and management of the Greater Blue Mountains Area, helping to fulfil Australia’s obligations under the World Heritage Convention.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service manages the 8 reserves that make up the Greater Blue Mountains Area" 

What UNESCO and the media were telling the world......

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), World Heritage Council, Greater Blue Mountains Area, Description, excerpts:

Greater Blue Mountains Area

The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 1.03 million ha of sandstone plateaux, escarpments and gorges dominated by temperate eucalypt forest. The site, comprised of eight protected areas, is noted for its representation of the evolutionary adaptation and diversification of the eucalypts in post-Gondwana isolation on the Australian continent. Ninety-one eucalypt taxa occur within the Greater Blue Mountains Area which is also outstanding for its exceptional expression of the structural and ecological diversity of the eucalypts associated with its wide range of habitats. The site provides significant representation of Australia's biodiversity with ten percent of the vascular flora as well as significant numbers of rare or threatened species, including endemic and evolutionary relict species, such as the Wollemi pine, which have persisted in highly-restricted microsites….

Protection and Management Requirements

The GBMA is protected and managed under legislation of both the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of New South Wales. All World Heritage properties in Australia are ‘matters of national environmental significance’ protected and managed under national legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This Act is the statutory instrument for implementing Australia’s obligations under a number of multilateral environmental agreements including the World Heritage Convention. By law, any action that has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact on the World Heritage values of a World Heritage property must be referred to the responsible Minister for consideration. Substantial penalties apply for taking such an action without approval. Once a heritage place is listed, the Act provides for the preparation of management plans which set out the significant heritage aspects of the place and how the values of the site will be managed. [my yellow highlighting]

Importantly, this Act also aims to protect matters of national environmental significance, such as World Heritage properties, from impacts even if they originate outside the property or if the values of the property are mobile (as in fauna). It thus forms an additional layer of protection designed to protect values of World Heritage properties from external impacts. In 2007, the GBMA was added to the National Heritage List, in recognition of its national heritage significance under the Act.

A single State government agency, the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, manages the area. All the reserves that comprise the GBMA are subject to the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and the Wilderness Act 1987. Other relevant legislation includes the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, the Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998 and the Heritage Act 1977.

At the time of nomination statutory management plans for the constituent reserves of the GBMA were in place or in preparation, and these are reviewed every 7-10 years. Currently all management plans have been gazetted, and those for three component reserves (Wollemi, Blue Mountains, and Kanangra-Boyd National Parks, which constitute 80% of the property) are under revision for greater emphasis on the protection of identified values. An over-arching Strategic Plan for the property provides a framework for its integrated management, protection, interpretation and monitoring. ....

The Guardian, 8 March 2019:

The New South Wales government has been accused of not following due process when it passed legislation to allow flooding in the heritage-listed Blue Mountains.

The Greater Blue Mountains area is already recognised globally for its environmental significance but now some sections are being assessed by the federal government for inclusion on the national heritage list for Aboriginal cultural values.

A Unesco advisory body has warned NSW legislation passed in 2018, as part of the Coalition’s plan to raise Warragamba Dam wall by 14m, could endanger the area’s cultural values.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites wrote to the Unesco world heritage centre in February 2019 arguing the legislation shouldn’t have been proposed before the commonwealth’s cultural values assessment was finalised.

“It is inappropriate ... for the NSW parliament to be enabling legislation that would impact upon established world or national heritage values or potential national heritage values,” the letter, seen by AAP, states.

The ICOMOS Australia president, Ian Travers, said it would be unacceptable for the Blue Mountains to be flooded before the presumed cultural values of the area were fully known.

“If the areas being assessed are inundated in the interim, it’s not acceptable,” he said.

“The correct process hasn’t been followed. They’re enabling legislation, which is directly contrary to what should be happening.”

Thousands of cultural sites were flooded when Warragamba Dam was built in the 1960s, and Aboriginal elders are concerned the plan to raise the wall will destroy those that are left.

“Traditional owners feel very strongly that their cultural heritage, that’s already been decimated, is about to eradicated,” Travers said.

Gundungurra elder Sharyn Halls urged the heritage centre to investigate the threat to thousands of cultural areas including burial sites, waterholes and artefacts.....

UNESCO, 43rd Session of World Heritage Committee, July 2019:

Decision: 43 COM 7B.2

Greater Blue Mountains Area (Australia) (N 917)

The World Heritage Committee,

 

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/7B.Add

2. Recalling Decision 28 COM 15B.15, adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),

3. Notes with concern that the State Party recognizes that the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall is expected to increase the frequency and extent of temporary inundation of the property upstream of the dam; 


4. Considers that the inundation of areas within the property resulting from the raising of the dam wall are likely to have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, recalls Decision 40 COM 7, in which it considered that the construction of dams with large reservoirs within the boundaries of World Heritage properties is incompatible with their World Heritage status, and urged States Parties to “ensure that the impacts from dams that could affect properties located upstream or downstream within the same river basin are rigorously assessed in order to avoid impacts on the OUV”, and requests the State Party to ensure, in line with its commitment, that the current process to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposal fully assesses all potential impacts on the OUV of the property and its other values, including Aboriginal cultural heritage, and to submit a copy of the EIS to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, prior to taking any final decisions regarding the project; 


5. Also notes with concern that several mining projects exist in the vicinity of or adjacent to the property, and that some mining activities have resulted in impacts on the property, as evidenced by the incident at the Clarence Colliery, and also requests the State Party to undertake an assessment of potential cumulative impacts of all existing and planned mining projects in the vicinity of the property through a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) or a similar mechanism; 

6. Reiterates its position that mineral exploration or exploitation is incompatible with World Heritage status, which is supported by the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) Position Statement to not undertake such activities within World Heritage properties; 


7. Notes the information provided by the State Party regarding the Western Sydney Airport proposal and further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre a copy of the EIS for the anticipated airspace and flight path operations, once available, for review by IUCN; 


8. Welcomes the development of a Strategic Management Framework for the property as a new integrated management instrument and requests furthermore the State Party to ensure that potential threats to the property from activities outside its boundaries, particularly mining, are fully considered in the development of this management framework and that the EIS required are carried out in conformity with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, with a specific section focusing on the potential impact of the project(s) on the property’s OUV; 


9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2020, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 45th session in 2021.

NOW

The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2021:

The Berejiklian government has been asked by UNESCO to submit the environmental impact study on its plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall for review before final approval out of concern about the damage the project will have on wildlife and Indigenous culture in the World Heritage area.

The request, made overnight by a committee of the UN body, fell short of matching a separate recommendation that another World Heritage-listed region in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, be assessed as “in danger” because of climate change.

The Berejiklian government’s plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall has been discussed at a UNESCO World Heritage meeting overnight. CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD

 

Still, the government has been put on notice that the $1 billion-plus plan to lift the height of the dam wall by at least 14 metres will be closely watched by the World Heritage Committee because of the expected damage caused by even temporary inundation of parts of the Greater Blue Mountains.

In its statement, the committee repeated its request that the “State Party” ensures the environmental impact study “assesses all potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Values of the property and its other values, including Aboriginal cultural heritage”.

The request also includes the government “thoroughly” assesses how raising the wall would exacerbate bushfire impacts and affect the longer-term recovery of “key species and habitats” burnt during the 2019-20 season…..

Read the full article here. 

It should be noted that the "State Party" is the Commonwealth of Australia and it is the Australian Government which receives and replies to all requests and correspondence from UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee.

It was the Australian Government which assured UNESCO & the World Heritage Committee in April 2019 that it "reaffirms Australia's commitment to protecting the Outstanding Universal Value of this globally significant area".

So it is somewhat puzzling that a Nine Entertainment Co (Chair - former Australian Treasurer & Liberal MP for Higgins Peter Costello) masthead The Sydney Morning Herald runs an article which redirects primary responsibility onto the New South Wales Government rather than noting it is the Morrison Government which is being held to account by UNESCO and it will be the Morrison Government responsible for any and all environmental, biodiversity and cultural losses in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area if section/s of this area is flooded.