Cartoons of the Week

Peter Broelman

David Rowe

Cathy Wilcox

 

Quotes of the Week

“The prime minister has attempted to turn the tables this week, insisting that all governments need to stick to the four-phase national plan signed off in July. While some of the state leaders have pointed out correctly that the Doherty Institute modelling informing the national plan is significantly more nuanced than Morrison’s routine public messaging suggests,...”

[Political Editor Katharine Murphy, The Guardian, 24 August 2021]

 “The government is pursuing 11,000 people through Centrelink debt notices based on their having received JobKeeper in the work they were doing, affecting their eligibility for the pension—people like Jan Raabe, who I spoke about in the House in the last sitting period—yet it won't allow the Australian people to know how JobKeeper was spent. Labor will fight for transparency against this cowardly government that, rather than support a transparency amendment in the Senate, has taken the bill off the Notice Paper and is running for the hills.”

[Parliament of Australia, House of Representative, Hansard, 26 August 2021, Dr Andrew LEIGH , ALP MP for Fenner]

NSW Nationals MLA for Clarence Chris Gulaptis intends to fight against community and Clarence Valley Council opposition to mining in the Clarence River catchment

 

Original Image: The Daily Telegraph

The employment history of NSW Nationals MLA for Clarence & Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry Chris Gulaptis (left) shows that from 2006-2007 he was involved with Land Partners Limited (formerly Aspect North & KFM Partnership) – a company which participated in the planning, design and construction phases of the Eastern Gas Pipeline in 1999-2000.

It also shows commencing around 2009 and presumably finishing when he won NSW Nationals pre-selection for the Clarence by-election in 2011, he was a senior operations manager for Brazier Motti Pty Ltd engineering and mining surveyors in Mackay, Queensland – a position he used to enthusiastically support the mining industry.

In 2007, 2012 and 2013 Gulaptis supported coal seam gas exploration on the NSW North Coast - including in the Clarence Valley.

The Berejiklian Government of which Gulaptis is a member is subsidisng mining exploration. Currently it has granted Perth-based Corazon Mining Limited a reimbursement of 50 per cent of per-metre drilling costs, up to a maximum of $200,000 with regard to its cobalt-copper-gold exploration lease near Mt. Gilmore (approximately 25km northwest of Grafton) in the Clarence River catchment area as part of the state's New Frontiers Cooperative Drilling program. 

So this comes as no surprise......

Clarence Valley Independent, 18 August 2021:

VOICES FOR THE EARTH

Political Inconsistency

The Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA) has campaigned strongly for the past three years, educating the community on the potential threats posed by mining to our Clarence Valley environment, particularly water quality.

During that campaign, CCA volunteers diligently collected over 10,000 signatures on a petition calling for a ban on mining in the Clarence River catchment. That petition has been tabled in State Parliament and is scheduled for debate.

The Clarence Valley Council’s motion calling on the State Government to impose a moratorium on mining within the LGA, would have been partially prompted by that campaign, and the community support it generated.

The CCA took their concerns, via Zoom, to local State Member, Mr Gulaptis, on 23rd April, where he vigorously argued that mining should be allowed, with any risks effectively managed by the stringent conditions that would be imposed. He also indicated he would be speaking to the Parliamentary debate, arguing against a ban on mining in his electorate.

So, when reading the ‘Northern Star’ the following day, specifically its article on the Dunoon Dam debate, the CCA team could be excused for being more than a little perplexed. The reason being, that on the very same day that Mr Gulaptis belittled the CCA’s campaign, and dismissed its 10,000-signature petition as NIMBYism, he is quoted as stating:

“… it is vital our communities have a clean and reliable water source.”, and then finished with: “It is often said that local government is the government closest to the people. Clearly that is not the case of the five elected councillors (that voted against the Dunoon Dam proposal) in this instance, who are ignoring the will of more than 10,000 constituents”.

Mr Gulaptis had previously been strongly critical of Clarence Valley Council, when it took notice of the more than 10,000 people who signed the CCA’s petition, and called on the State Government to impose a moratorium on mining.

It seems that some politicians only feel a need to consider the will of their constituents if it happens to agree with their own philosophy.

- John Edwards

Queensland wisely remains wary of effectiveness of current NSW public health response to Delta Variant Outbreak - border will remain closed for at least another 10 weeks

 

In which the NSW Berejiklian Government is unhappy to discover that the Qld Palaszczuk Government is on a drive to vaccinate its population against both the highly infectious Delta Variant of SARS-CoV-2 and Berejiklian's failed public health response which allowed COVID-19 infections to run wild in New South Wales......

ABC News, 24 August 2021:

Essential workers need to have had at least one jab to enter Queensland.
(ABC News: Cathy Border)

Queensland has confirmed that the hard border with New South Wales is likely to remain in place until at least the end of October, confirming the worst fears of businesses in the state's south.

Key points:

• Southern Gold Coast businesses are being warned they will have to take drastic measures to stay afloat over the next 10 weeks

• The NSW Cross Border Commissioner says Queensland's vaccination target and its relationship to the border closure hasn't been discussed with him

• The end of the lockdown in regional NSW will not mean Queensland's restrictions are lifted

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young hopes the restrictions will be in place for "no longer than 10 weeks", according to the health department……

NSW Cross-border Commissioner James McTavish said despite daily meetings with government officials, NSW had not been given any indication on when Queensland's border restrictions would end.

"We've not been advised of a 10-week timeframe for these border restrictions, or a 70 per cent vaccination requirement," he said.

"This is based on the timeframe in which we hope to have 70 per cent of Queenslanders fully vaccinated against COVID-19," a spokesperson said.

The Southern Gold Coast Chamber of Commerce has written to its members warning them that stop-gap measures will not be enough to see them through.

"The only way that businesses are going to be able to salvage that is to make arrangements to go into quarantine … or to arrange for their staff to go into quarantine," president Hilary Jacobs said.

At the moment the border pass only allows a limited category of essential workers to cross into Queensland and they must have proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccination.

Mr McTavish said Queensland's response to the border situation was "heavy handed" and called for the bubble to be brought back.

"We've represented very strongly to the Queensland government that we'd like to see a reinstated arrangement for border communities — not just for Tweed, but also further afield as well," he said…...

Clarence Valley Country Muster due to be held 25-31 October 2021 has been cancelled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 pandemic

Clarence Valley Independent, 23 August 2021:

It is with a heavy heart we have to cancel this years Clarence Valley Country Muster due to Covid-19, the second year running, but for the safety and the health of all that attend it is the only choice we can make.

Next year (2022) we will be back stronger and bigger…this event we are not giving up on.

Wendy Gordon 

All 2021 deposits/site bookings have been transferred to 2022 event dates. Those wishing to cancel can contact the organisers here.

Clarence Valley Council seeks allies in it fight to keep the Clarence River and its tributaries healthy and able to sustainably supply water to est. 129,378* people

"The Clarence River has the largest catchment and is the longest river on the NSW east coast, and our big river or Briemba/Breembia, is our greatest national asset."  [Issuu, from Clarence Valley Council - Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement, April 2020]

The Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2021:

Coffs Harbour City Council is being asked to form a united front with its northern neighbours over concerns mining in the Clarence River catchment could put our water supply at risk.

Mayor Denise Knight has put forward a motion before this Thursday’s council meeting to support Clarence Valley Council in opposition to mining in the Clarence River catchment, despite sounding far from resolute on the matter.

A vast majority of the more than 125,000 people in both council areas rely on water from the Clarence River catchment for drinking via the Shannon Creek dam.

Ms Knight would not confirm where she stood on the issue and said she was putting the motion forward as had been requested by Clarence Valley Council Mayor Jim Simmons. “I am just doing them a solid,” she said.

“It is important to listen to the debate and hear what councillors think and feel.” In his letter to Ms Knight, Mr Simmons outlined his council’s position, which is to seek a moratorium on mining and mining exploration.

Clarence Valley Council are also asking the state government to deem the catchment a “no-go zone” for minerals mining due its “unique natural and cultural values”.

“(This is being done) on behalf of the community who are concerned that mining will not only have detrimental environmental effects but also puts at risk our drinking water for the Clarence and Coffs Harbour Council area,” Mr Simmons said.

With the price of precious metals running hot in recent years, exploration licenses have been sought across the region which was once known for its mining.

In September 2020, Christopher Wilson Investments lodged a series of applications with the state government for exploration across 391sq km of land which included parts of Coffs Harbour and Grafton council areas.

The licence in Coffs Harbour covers an area of 198sq km and cuts across the Orara River in between Coramba and Nana Glen.

The increase in licence applications, along with a series of more advanced projects, also prompted local conservation groups to step up efforts to prevent mining in the Clarence catchment.

Clarence Valley Independent, 30 July 2021:

At last week’s Coffs Harbour City Council (CHCC) meeting, the executive summary regarding the reaching of an agreement between Essential Energy, Clarence Valley Council and CHCC – on ownership of water supply infrastructure – concluded, “The final step is to gain the formal consent of Clarence Valley Council and the Essential Energy Board to conclude the transaction to transfer the assets to Clarence Valley Council ownership.”

In an effort to inform the Independent’s readers about the issue, given all of CVC’s discussions have been confidential, here’s a full transcript of CHCC’s executive summary of the matter….

Read the full article here.

NOTE:

* the figure of 129,378  people is based on the combined Clarence Valley & Coffs Harbour City 2020 LGA population projections published by Idcommunity demograpic resources.

Truck driver's 30 minute pitstop on Bruxner Highway gives Ballina another COVID-19 contact tracing alert

 

On 20 August 2021 a truck driver pulled into the BP Travel Centre (left) on the Bruxner Highway at West Ballina for his only stop in the area. Sometime between 20 and 22 August 2021 he tested positive for COVID-19. The travel centre is now a listed contact tracing venue.

Northern NSW Local Health District, media release, 22 August 2021:

Northern NSW Local Health District has been notified that a confirmed case of COVID- 19 visited the BP Travel Centre at West Ballina on Friday, 20 August, 2021.

Anyone who attended the BP Travel Centre at 41 Bruxner Highway, West Ballina on Friday, 20 August from 8am to 8.30am is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.

As the current situation evolves, we strongly encourage people to present for testing at the first sign of a respiratory or cold-like illness, such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever or headache.

Testing clinics …….in the Ballina area include:

• Ballina 4Cyte Pathology Ballina Drive-through Clinic, 319 River Street, Ballina

• Ballina Respiratory Clinic, 92 Tamar Street, Shop 12, Tamar Shopping Village, Ballina

• Alstonville Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, 106 Main Street, Shop 2, Alstonville

• Southern Cross University Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology Drive-through Clinic Military Road, Southern Cross University, East Lismore

• Lismore Base Hospital, Uralba Street, Lismore

• Lismore Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, 62 Wyrallah Road, Shop 12, Wyrallah Road Shopping Centre

Once you have been tested, go straight home and self-isolate until you receive a negative result.

There are more than 450 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week.

To find your nearest clinic visit https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/how-to-protect- yourself-and-others/clinics