Clarence Catchment Alliance thanks its supporters in the fight to stop mineral mining on land within the Clarence River catchment area

 

Some of those supporting the Clarence Catchment Alliance on 17 March 2023. IMAGE: supplied

The Clarence Catchment Alliance was thrilled with the support received during their ‘ban on mining in the Clarence Catchment pledge signing’ event in Yamba last Friday. At the same time, they and the community were disappointed by the absence of two key candidates’ signatures.

The event provided a public platform for candidates from all over the Clarence catchment, state and federal MPs, Elders, and community leaders, to sign the pledge presented by the CCA, committing them to the common goal of banning mineral mining in the Clarence catchment.

The event was a wonderfully positive morning of solidarity, with the public witnessing those individuals and parties that are fully dedicated to saving our rivers, protecting our water, and caring for our catchment. Neighbouring candidates from Coffs, Lismore, and the Northern Tablelands, as well as Traditional Owners from Yaegl and Sue Higginson, Greens member in the Legislative Council, joined 6 Clarence candidates and signed the pledge.

The following individuals publicly signed the commitment:

• Sue Higginson - NSW Greens Member of Legislative Council

• Greg Clancy - Greens Party

• Brett Duroux - Indigenous Australia Party

• Nicki Levi - Independent

• Debra Novak - Independent

• Mark Rayner - Legalize Cannabis Party

• William Walker - CEO Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

• Dianne Chapman - Manager Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

• Tihema Elliston - Coffs Harbour - Legalise Cannabis Party

• Tim Nott - Coffs Harbour - Greens Party

• Vanessa Rosayro – Lismore - Animal Justice Party

• Alison Waters - Lismore - Animal Justice Party

Leon Ankersmit, Labor candidate for Clarence was in attendance but did not sign the pledge. He is on record verbally, as supportive of the CCA’s call to ban mining here, but party politics stopped him from committing in writing which was disappointing.

Richie Williamson, Nationals, did not attend the event and did not take up the CCA’s offer to sign the pledge digitally. Although on record verbally as ‘anti-mining in the Clarence,’ Richie’s decision to not sign may be due to his party's support of, and promotion of investment in, mineral mining in regional NSW.

In written correspondence received by the CCA on 16.3.23, the NSW Government, on behalf of the

Hon. Anthony Roberts Nationals MP and Minister for Planning, and the Hon. James Griffin Liberal

MP and Minister for Environment and Heritage stated:

“The NSW Government is aligned with the NSW Minerals Strategy and is therefore not proposing a prohibition of mining activities in the Clarence Valley at this time.”

Individuals that were unable to attend, but signed the pledge digitally are as follows:

• David Shoebridge - Senator for NSW Greens

• Kevin Hogan - Federal Member for Page Nationals

• Cate Faehrmann - NSW Greens member

• Janelle Saffin - Member for Lismore Labor

• Tamara Smith - Member for Ballina Greens

• Troy Cassar Daley - Country Music legend

• Aunty Lenore Parker - Yaegl Matriarch

• Uncle Ron Herron - Yaegl Elder

• Frances Belle Parker - Artist

• Surfers for Climate

• Surfrider Australia

• Revive the Northern Rivers

• Clarence Valley - Koala Working Group

• Elizabeth O'Hara - Northern Tablelands Candidate Greens

• Susie Herder - Tweed Candidate Animal Justice Party

The CCA wishes to thank each of the signatories, and those members of the public that attended last Friday and hope that constituents of this beautiful region use their vote to protect local water and the rivers the community so heavily relies on.

The alliance will be following up again with the NSW government once the election is over and ministerial roles are settled and launching their second petition in the coming months.

If you would like to volunteer with the Clarence Catchment Alliance please email

stopcangaimine@gmail.com.

Signing the CCA Pledge on 17 March 2023
IMAGE: supplied

On Saturday 25 March 2023 are you voting for the Clarence River system and the towns, villages and businesses which depend on its waters? Here are some of the community groups & candidates who think you should

 

Nymboida River, one of the twenty-four tributaries of the Clarence River and the principal source of drinking water for most residents in Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour City local government areas. IMAGE: Arden E, YouTube 2015

The Clarence Valley’s rich biodiverse landscapes have nurtured and supported generations beyond count and down the years communities — as well as the grass roots organisations they support — across the Clarence River Catchment have worked hard to protect that which gives them life and livelihoods.

Because in places such as the Clarence Valley with its variable river systems; the aesthetic, environmental, social, cultural and economic values of its communities are intertwined. Healthy rivers, clear running creeks, intact temperate & subtropical close & open forests along with ancient remnants of the Gondwanaland forests, arable soils found in smaller valleys and the larger floodplain, as well as a long coastal zone providing tourism opportunities, all combine to provide a population of est. 54,180 men, women and children living in the catchment area with a solid local economy which keeps the local government area vibrant and its over 4,000 businesses productive. Businesses whose products and services make up est. 17 per cent of the wider Northern Rivers regional economy. [Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021, idcommunity 2021]

Make no mistake. The Clarence Valley relies on the fact that its air is fresh, free-flowing waters clean, main primary industries sustainable and its landscapes pleasing to the eye of tourists. For without those four things the Clarence Valley regional economy would not be worth anything like the over $2 billion it is consistently valued at despite the ongoing pressures of war in Ukraine and global pandemic [National Institute of Economic and Industry Research 2021].

It is also not just Clarence Valley residents that rely on good stewardship being applied to land and waters within the Clarence catchment area. An est. 78,738 people and 6,174 businesses in Coffs Harbour City local government area rely on the urban water infrastructure within Clarence Valley local government area to supply them with town water.

However, constantly growing population pressure and the commercial interests of often large-scale and/or state-sponsored industries (particularly construction, mining & forestry) has seen Clarence catchment landscapes being altered in ways that are becoming destructive.

Forestry now covers 20 per cent of Clarence River Catchment land and by 2022 there were a total of 18 existing mineral and gold mining leases, along with more than 41 mining exploration leases, in the catchment area. [NSW Government, Industry NSW, 2022] It should be noted that mining leases are on the traditional lands of three First Nations peoples.

Under threat are the streams, creeks and rivers which feed the longest coastal river on the Australian east coast, the Clarence River. Also under threat are the remaining tracts of native forest, as well as the tree cover on the Clarence Catchment’s steep hills which help anchor rock and soil to the hillsides and prevent it sliding down and choking the waterways that weave their way among them.

Since the 1990s there have been a number of government contracted reports concerning the Clarence Basin and its waterways. All have highlighted concerns still held today and largely unaddressed – the risks that mining activity, large scale forestry, soil erosion and water turbidity pose to the environment and waterways of the Clarence Basin.

Right now in March 2023 Clarence electorate residents have the opportunity to make their voices heard when they cast their votes this coming Saturday at the NSW State Election.

On Friday morning 17 March 2023 the Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA) — a non-partisan, not-for-profit, community volunteer group established in 2018 as a response to increased mining exploration activity — held a press conference close to Whiting Beach, Yamba.

Clarence Catchment Alliance had invited members of the media, sitting MPs, candidates standing at next week’s state election, representatives from other community & business groups, as well as members of the public as observers, to this event.

The purpose of the press conference was to draw attention to the growing alarm about mineral extraction projects within the Clarence River catchment and any expansion of this activity across its 24 sub-catchments.

The event began with a Welcome to Country by Yaegl emerging elder Diane Randall, the press conference taking place on traditional Yaegl lands.

It was followed by an introduction from Shae Fleming one of the CCA organisers and then went onto comments by various speakers from other groups including the Clarence Environment Centre and the Yamba District Chamber of Commerce. Brief presentations were made by candidates standing in the Clarence electorate as well as candidates standing in Coffs Harbour and Lismore electorates. There was a general consensus that the waters of the Clarence River catchment area needed to be protected.

Unfortunately the Nationals candidate for Clarence, Richie Williamson, did not attend. However, given the strong pro-mining, pro-barely regulated land clearing, pro-native timber harvesting and pro-state and private forestry policies and practices of the Nationals as partner in successive NSW Coalition governments, that is hardly surprising.

What was surprising was the rider added by the Labor candidate for Clarence to his general support of protecting the Clarence catchment area. Leon Ankersmit stated that the Labor Party would not allow him to sign the CCA pledge of support as the party was in favour of mining in Northern New South Wales.

The following is a brief summary of concerns articulated by some of those that spoke at the press conference, in no particular order.

JOHN EDWARDS (Clarence Environment Centre): It’s not coal or iron that worries me – it’s heavy metal mining. Ore get trucked from mine sites but processing minerals begins at the mine. The evaporation ponds produce a toxic sludge which permanently contaminates the soil and remediation is merely covering that soil with more soil. Leaving a time bomb behind when the mining company leaves. (Signed the CCA pledge)

SUE HIGGINSON (Greens MLA): The community here worked hard to shut down the Timbarra Gold Mine after it leaked cyanide into the Clarence River. However mining leases are still being granted in river catchments. Local seafood, dairy, sugar cane, livestock, crops, and tourism, and the industries that serve them, need clean water. (Signed the CCA pledge)

SHAE FLEMING (Clarence Coastal Alliance): We already have healthy water based industries here. They need protecting. (Signed the CCA pledge)

JAMES ALLAN (current President, Yamba Chamber of Commerce): Degradation of our waterways leads to degradation of our businesses. I support No Mines in the Clarence catchment. There are few jobs in mining. Re-opening the Drake mine would only create fifty jobs. (Signed the CCA pledge)

BRETT DUROUX (Indigenous Australia Party candidate for Clarence): I grew up in Cangai, raised in the old ways. The bush is a place of beauty and healing for so many people. Miners needs are not as important as our needs. My response to proposals to mine in the Clarence Valley is “NEVER!” (Signed the CCA pledge)

NICKI LEVI (Independent candidate for Clarence): Water is sacred, water is precious, water is life. Our priorities should be to protect the air in the Richmond Valley and water in the Clarence Valley. (Signed the CCA pledge)

DEBRA NOVAK (Independent candidate for Clarence & current Clarence Valley councillor): If elected I pledge to lobby hard for a moratorium on mineral mining just as we successfully did with coal seam gas mining. Nothing is more important than protecting the water. (Signed the CCA pledge)

GREG CLANCY (Greens candidate for Clarence & current Clarence Valley Council Deputy-Mayor): I have been protesting against threats to the rivers for a long time. Mining in this wonderful environment is “not on”. Parts of the Mann River are already dead zones because of previous mining ventures. (Signed the CCA pledge)

LEON ANKERSMIT (Labor candidate for Clarence): I’m proud of the sustainable industries that rely on a healthy river like prawning and fishing. Our land is precious and its such an important job to protect our river. (Refused to sign CCA pledge)

MARK RAYNOR (Legalise Cannabis Party candidate for Clarence): We need to find new industries and new crops not start new mines. (Signed the CCA pledge)

TIM NOTT (Greens candidate for Coffs Harbour): Mining is being done the wrong way - mining near waterways produces industrial level pollution. (Signed the CCA pledge)

ALISON WATERS (Animal Justice Party candidate for NSW Upper House representing Northern NSW): They are our waterways and our catchments. We need to protect them. (Signed the CCA pledge)

VANESSA ROSAYRO (Animal Justice Party candidate for Lismore): Mining just doesn’t affect our lives. It affects marine and plant life and the lives of local animals. (Signed the CCA pledge)

Background

March 2023 is shaping up to be a record heat month for NSW

 

According to ABC News New South Wales is on track to hit hottest March on record after coolest summer in 11 years.

What's behind the March heatwaves?

The reason autumn is doing its best interpretation of summer is complex.

It is essentially a combination of factors playing out simultaneously, including:

• La Niña's demise combined with a break in the monsoon has allowed a lengthy stretch of sunny skies to generate a broad mass of hot air over northern and central Australia

• The westerly winds which circumnavigate Antarctica have expanded during the past few weeks, extending to our southern latitudes and dragging the hot interior air across NSW.

• Water temperatures in the Tasman Sea are at nearly 27C, theoretically warm enough to support a tropical cyclone. This means that, even when winds are onshore, it is still warmer than normal.

The most surprising aspect is the westerlies, which have spent the past few warm seasons banished to the Southern Ocean.

The recent absence of westerly winds was a critical factor in Sydney's record wet 2022, a year dominated by moist easterly winds and rain….

It is definitely unseasonably warm in Yamba – on land and in the ocean. The hottest day to date this month was Saturday 18^th March which was a day where minimum air temperature was 22.6°C and maximum air temp 34.4°C, with a relative humidity of 93% at 9am.

By comparison March 2022 saw highest minimum and maximum air temperatures at a milder 22.6°C and 29.6°C respectively, with a relative humidity of 97% at 9am.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology the average daytime air temperature in the month of March for the 146 years between 1877 to 2023 was minimum 19.3°C and maximum 26.1°C, with a relative humidity of 80% at 9am.

Death in police custody at Casino NSW

 

The following appears to be the fifth critical incident involving NSW Police and the second death in custody at a police station to date in 2023.

NSW Police, Latest News, 19 March 2023:

Critical incident investigation underway over death of man – Casino

Sunday, 19 March 2023 04:14:15 PM

A critical incident investigation is underway following the death of a man in the state’s north today.

Just after 11am today (Sunday 19 March 2023), officers from Richmond Police District were called to a showground on Summerland Way at Casino, following reports a man had been assaulted.

On arrival, a 48-year-old man allegedly assaulted a police officer before he was arrested and taken to Casino Police Station.

While in custody, the man became unconscious. Despite the efforts of responding police and NSW Ambulance paramedics, the man died in custody.

A critical incident team from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad will now investigate all circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

The investigation will be subject to an independent review and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Anyone with information about this incident 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.

UPDATE

Indynr.com, 20 March 2023:

Police tight-lipped on death in custody

Police called a media conference today to discuss the death in custody at Casino Police Station yesterday, Sunday, March 19.

Despite questions from several news outlets at the conference, Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna did not reveal any new information about the death of the 48 year old man while in custody at Casino Police Station.....

The family had been notified and they were understandably upset, Mr McKenna said.

A word about the forthcoming NSW State Election.....

Unfortunately the following newspaper clipping and video are less cynically humorous than they are chillingly close to the truth.

A NSW Upper House mock 'voting guide' to those political parties which might turn up on your 25 March 2023 NSW state election ballot papers:

The Echo, Handy voting guide for the pragmatic progressive

15 March 2023

Click on image to enlarge

 

The NSW Government has made a tourism ad ahead of the coming election, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative! #NSWVotes

👉 We're on Patreon https://t.co/e6YAu8LFeT pic.twitter.com/GzlUj82cfM

— theJuiceMedia (@thejuicemedia) March 16, 2023

Cartoons of the Week

Cathy Wilcox

 

Harry Bruce

Fiona Katauskas

Peter Broelman

David Rowe

Please remember this as you stand in line at the polling station on Saturday 25 March 2023

 

Gondwana Going...Going... Gone? The answer to that question is in our hands.

 

 

https://youtu.be/XSm_KxJ2U9Y