A handful of not so fun facts for Yamba residents

 

Matters that state government, local government and regional planning panels should consider (but more often barely notice in passing) before granting consent for large scale residential developments along the NSW coastal zone.

Take Yamba for instance, bounded by the Clarence River estuary and Pacific Ocean...

Probable Maximum Flood (PMF). The largest flood that could conceivably be expected to occur at a particular location, usually estimated from probable maximum precipitation. The PMF defines the maximum extent of flood prone land, that is, the floodplain.

[NEW SOUTH WALES STATE FLOOD PLAN GLOSSARY , February 2018]

“Evacuation

1. Reliable access for pedestrians or vehicles required during a 100 year flood to a publicly accessible location above the PMF”

[RESIDENTIAL ZONES DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PLAN, effective from 23 Dec 2011 , FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CONTROLS, LOWER CLARENCE RIVER FLOODPLAIN, YAMBA FLOODPLAIN & OTHER FLOODPLAINS]

Evacuation Centre: Yamba Bowling And Recreation Club [SES, CLARENCE VALLEY LOCAL FLOOD PLAN ANNEX J]

Click on image to enlarge

Approach to Yamba Bowling Club for most of Yamba population will be blocked by 1-in-100yr Flood at 2.09-2.2m & Extreme Flood at 3.56-3.68m.

In both flood types Yamba will be isolated from the wider Clarence Valley by floodwaters for a matter of days or weeks.

Since 1990 the Lower Clarence River has flooded on average once every three years.  

Northern Rivers Conservatorium in Lismore begins to make music again

ABC North Coast, 28 August 2022:

https://youtu.be/b2tUP2WoVvU

For some, the only sound they associate with Lismore on February 28, 2022, is the relentless artillery of rain on roofs.

It's the gurgle of brown, muddy water as it swallows homes and the crash of appliances in the Wilsons River washing machine.

It's the calls for help from roof cavities and the sputtering of tinnies coming to the rescue.

For Lismore composer and multi-instrumentalist Tilly Jones, the sound of the flood is something expressed best through an orchestra.

Ms Jones has written a musical piece named Resounding, inspired by the destruction she witnessed on that late summer day and the desecration of Lismore's Northern Rivers Conservatorium.

She was encouraged by her uncle Christopher Latham who directs a project called the Flowers of Peace, which measures the cultural cost of war through music and painting.

"I don't think I'll fully ever be able to process it," she says.

Flood victims still waiting

Some Northern Rivers families are living in limbo, crammed into makeshift accommodation or in caravans on the street, waiting for answers.

"But it did in a way help me to process a bit of the loss of the community, particularly with the conservatorium.

"I was helping there on the first day after the flood when we threw out hundreds and hundreds of instruments including some of my own."

Ms Jones says the first half of the piece tells of the flood, the second half is a tribute to everyone involved in cleaning up the aftermath.

"I think it's a really big challenge to translate something of that magnitude into music," she says.

"[But I wanted] to write a piece to give to my community."

Ms Jones says Resounding is a way of dealing with the trauma of the flood.(ABC North Coast: Leah White)

Ms Jones says the end goal is bringing the region's musicians together — with their newly donated instruments — to perform the piece in the renovated conservatorium building.

Hundreds of instruments lost to flood

Anita Bellman stands in the gutted first floor of the Northern Rivers Conservatorium in the Lismore CBD.

She explains that the night before the record-breaking flood, conservatorium staff and members moved everything to the first floor, where it had been out of harm's way during the 2017 flood.

Their efforts, they soon realised — like those of so many others — were ultimately in vain as they watched Wilsons River rise beyond all predicted heights to 14.4 metres on February 28.

The historic and freshly renovated building was destroyed along with hundreds of instruments.

"It looked like a giant had picked the building up and just given it a bit of a shake," Ms Bellman says.

"We probably lost, in total, well over 150 instruments.

"Any instrument you can think of, we lost."

More than 150 instruments were damaged during the disaster.(Supplied: Northern Rivers Conservatorium)

Resounding gives the gift of music

When Rachel Hocking arrived at the conservatorium in Lismore, she was driving a van filled with hundreds of donated instruments.

A pianist and music teacher, Dr Hocking also founded the Resound program which distributes donated instruments to victims of natural disasters.

The initiative started after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires…..

Read the full article here.

Albanese Labor Government announces independent inquiry into Morrison's multiple ministerial appointments led by former High Court justice

 

Australian Government, Attorney General’s Department, Inquiry into Multiple Ministerial Appointments, 26 August 2022:

Inquiry into the appointment of the Hon Scott Morrison MP to administer various portfolios and related matters

On 26 August 2022, the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP and the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP, announced the appointment of the Hon Virginia Bell AC to lead an Inquiry into the appointment of the former Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP to multiple ministries.

A website will be established for the review.

Terms of Reference

The Hon Virginia Bell AC has been appointed to conduct an inquiry into the appointment of former Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison MP to administer departments other than the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and related matters. The inquiry will:

a. examine and report on the facts and circumstances surrounding the appointment of Mr Morrison to administer the Department of Health, the Department of Finance, the Department of Industry, Science and Energy and Resources, the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of the Treasury, in addition to the Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet

b. examine and report on the implications arising from the appointments, including on:

i. the functioning of departments of state, Government Business Enterprises and statutory bodies;

ii. the structure of the Ministry

iii. the accountability of the executive to the Parliament; and

iv. public confidence in government

c. examine and report on the practices and processes which apply to:

I. the appointment of ministers to administer departments of state under section 64 of the Constitution; and

ii. directions that ministers hold certain offices under section 65 of the Constitution;

including the disclosure of those appointments and directions; and

d. recommend any procedural or legislative changes which would provide greater transparency and accountability.

The inquiry shall have regard to the Solicitor-General’s Opinion in the matter of the validity of the appointment of Mr Morrison to administer the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (SG No.12 of 2022).

Ms Bell will report to the Prime Minister by Friday, 25 November 2022.

ABC News, 26 August 2022:

…Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the inquiry was necessary for democracy.

"This inquiry is one which absolutely was made necessary by the solicitor-general's advice, which expressed in the clearest possible terms that what occurred here with Mr Morrison having himself appointed to five ministries was contrary to, inconsistent with, the conventions and practices of responsible government," Mr Dreyfus said.

"This is sinister stuff. This is secret government. This is one of the most appalling things I've ever heard in our federal government."

Mr Albanese said the government chose not to launch a royal commission, which would compel Mr Morrison to appear to give evidence, saying it would be "extraordinary" for the former prime minister to refuse a former justice.

"If it was the case that Virginia Bell felt like she was not getting the cooperation that was required, then I'm certain that other measures could be considered," he said.

More to come.

[my yellow highlighting]

Albanese Government announces $75 million flood mitigation grant for NSW - drawn from the $3.9 billion national Emergency Response Fund

 

The National Tribune, 26 August 2022:

The Albanese Government has today announced a $75 million investment in flood mitigation and infrastructure resilience programs for New South Wales.

The support will be delivered across the 62 local government areas (LGAs) which were disaster-declared after the February-March flood event.

The program is wholly funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Emergency Response Fund, but will be delivered by New South Wales Government agencies, including Resilience NSW, the Department of Regional NSW and the Department of Planning and Environment.

The program includes:

• $40 million for flood infrastructure: grants for councils and government agencies for flood mitigation projects, including funding for home raising projects.

• $15 million for flood warning gauges: support for councils and government agencies to install, upgrade and operate flood warning gauges, systems and associated advice to make the community aware of the warning system.

• $14 million for a levee assessment and improvement program: flood impact assessments of flood mitigation infrastructure damaged by the February-March flood event. These assessments will be used as the basis for flood mitigation repairs and improvements.

• $5 million for valley level flood assessments: to provide improved information for flood risk management and emergency management decisions, and support improved State-wide understanding of flood risk.

• $1 million for a flood infrastructure impact assessment and report: to outline flood infrastructure impacts, available information on the relative rarity of the flood at key locations and identify known priority flood risk management measures.

In no small measure Northern Rivers communities have helped bring this about by their own passionate advocacy in the media and, before both government & parliamentary inquiries, ably assisted by state MLA for Lismore Janelle Saffin and federal MP for Richmond Justine Elliot.

Royal Commission into Robodebt and Terms of Reference announced by Albanese Government

 

Ministers for the Department of Social Services, media release, 25 August 2022:

Establishment of the Royal Commission into Robodebt

Joint with:

Anthony Albanese MP

Prime Minister of Australia

Amanda Rishworth MP

Minister for Social Services

Bill Shorten MP

Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Minister for Government Services

Mark Dreyfus QC MP

Attorney-General

The Governor-General His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) has issued Letters Patent establishing a Royal Commission into the former debt assessment and recovery scheme commonly known as Robodebt.

The inquiry will examine, among other things:

• The establishment, design and implementation of the scheme; who was responsible for it; why they considered Robodebt necessary; and, any concerns raised regarding the legality and fairness;

• The handling of concerns raised about the scheme, including adverse decisions made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal;

• The outcomes of the scheme, including the harm to vulnerable individuals and the total financial cost to government; and

• Measures needed to prevent similar failures in public administration.

The Royal Commission’s focus will be on decisions made by those in positions of seniority. The full scope of the inquiry is outlined in the Royal Commission’s Terms of Reference.

Commonwealth agencies will work to respond expeditiously to requests made by the Royal Commission.

The Royal Commissioner is Catherine Holmes AC SC. The Commissioner is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland and brings vast experience from a distinguished legal career.

The Commissioner led the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry following the 2010-11 floods and acted as counsel assisting the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions in 1998-99.

The Government has allocated $30 million for the Royal Commission and the final report will be delivered to the Governor-General by 18 April 2023.

The headquarters of the Royal Commission will be in Brisbane and information about hearing dates and how to participate will be provided in the coming weeks.

A legal financial assistance scheme will be available to people requested to formally engage with the Royal Commission, for example, to appear as a witness.

___________ENDS___________

The Monthly, 25 August 2022:

The government has announced the terms of reference for a royal commission into robodebt, fulfilling an election promise to get to the bottom of a calamity that we still know so little about. The inquiry will be led by former Queensland Supreme Court chief justice Catherine Holmes, with the final report to be handed down in April 2023. It will examine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today, “the establishment of the scheme, who was responsible for it, and why it was necessary, how concerns were handled, how the scheme affected individuals and the financial costs to government, and measures to prevent this ever happening again”. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten, who spent years raising concerns about the automated recovery scheme, labelled it “a shameful chapter in the history of public administration in this country”, adding that it had caused “untold harm”. The Opposition has already rubbished the commission, with leader Peter Dutton calling it a “witch-hunt” and a “get-square” with Scott Morrison, who was social services minister when the scheme was established. It’s little wonder the Coalition doesn’t want this looked into. But it is utterly shameless of it to continually insist that nothing in the past matters – that we don’t deserve answers to what went on in the years it spent using and abusing the office of government.

Following along with Dutton’s comments today, there was little differentiation between when he was talking about the robodebt royal commission and when he was talking about the inquiry into Morrison’s secret portfolios, which he has also begun labelling a “witch-hunt”. “[The prime minister] should be concentrating more on how he can help families and less on how we can get square with Scott Morrison,” Dutton told reporters this morning, ostensibly talking about robodebt….

BACKGROUND

Australian Parliament, Senate, Community Affairs References

Committee, Centrelink’s Compliance Program, Accountability and justice: Why we need a Royal Commission into Robodebt, May 2022.

"Stop The Fill" peaceful protest at Ford Park, Yamba at 11am on Sunday 28 August 2022. Gather at western side of Yamba Markets on the day

Lot 245 / 22 Carrs Drive, West Yamba, multiple lot subdivision. Just one section of the total landfill which will be required across est. 127ha of a natural flood storage area . IMAGE: The Daily Telegraph, 31 May 2021.

IMAGE: West Yamba Info
click on image to enlarge

Tweet of the Week

Former property developer, Northern NSW local government councillor & Qld mining consultant Nationals MLA for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has announced he's retiring at March 2023 state election. 🥳 Man who had to be dragged kicking & screaming towards few good decisions he ever made

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) August 24, 2022