Wednesday, 11 December 2024

Near chlamydia-free, genetically diverse & unique Koala community found in Fernbrook area of northern New South Wales

 

Yahoo! News, 9 December 2024:


Australian wildlife researchers have made an incredibly rare discovery in the bush that they've branded "such an exciting result" for koala conservation.


Thanks to assistance from a "poo-sniffing English springer spaniel" named Max, a new community of koalas at Fernbrook, inland of Coffs Harbour, has been found that appear to be both chlamydia free and genetically different — an "increasingly rare" feat in NSW......


"More surveys need to be done, but it appears these koalas at Fernbrook are very special. They can still breed and produce future generations with higher climate resilience."






.....

Why is it so significant to find both chlamydia-free and genetically diverse koalas in NSW?


Surveys by Max and the team from Canines for Wildlife showed that the broader koala population in Coffs Harbour and Bellingen has low levels of chlamydia and high genetic diversity overall.


Genetic diversity enhances a population's ability to resist diseases and in koalas, a lack of it makes them more susceptible to infections.


Urban development, agriculture, and deforestation have broken up koala habitats into smaller, scattered patches, limiting their ability to travel and find unrelated mates. Koalas often remain in isolated areas, leading to a reduced genetic pool and increased inbreeding over generations. The Fernbrook results "have conservationists celebrating" and calling for a "halt to logging in state forests" that contain vital koala food and habitat trees. While the group of 10 koalas in Fernbrook are on private properties and are not threatened by logging — the wider population around Coffs Harbour is.


Canines for Wildlife were recruited to survey for koalas across 115 sites in the Coffs Harbour and Bellingen areas, ranging from coastal regions to the Dorrigo Plateau nearly 1,000 metres above sea level.


"We learned this population is healthy, has high genetic diversity and relatively low levels of chlamydia. So this is a really important population. If we’re going to save koalas we need to wrap healthy populations like this in cotton wool and protect them," Blanch said.


"It beggars belief that the tree homes of koalas continue to be knocked down and destroyed. Logging should stop right now in the area being assessed for the Great Koala National Park and in plantations where koalas live."


What's next?


A total of 109 poo samples were collected in 2022-2023 and sent for genetic testing at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Lynn Baker from Canines for Wildlife said this new colony must be protected.


"For a koala researcher this is such an exciting result," she said. "We knew the koalas at Fernbrook looked different. They are a lot furrier and darker in colour than their compatriots on the coast. They look like cold weather koalas.


"But if this is a genetically different and a chlamydia-free group then it’s important that they are protected. There are not many areas left in NSW that have distinct groups of [healthy] koalas.


"The burning question is are these koalas isolated to the habitat on these properties or are they connected to other chlamydia-free koalas that we haven’t sampled yet?"


Canines for Wildlife is hoping to do further surveys in the areas surrounding Fernbrook to help answer the question.


Since 2001, koala numbers in the state have decreased by 33 per cent to 61 per cent, driven by habitat destruction, climate change, disease, and urbanisation. The devastating 2019–2020 bushfires alone killed at least 6,400 koalas.


Read the full article at https://au.news.yahoo.com/incredibly-rare-discovery-in-aussie-bush-by-sniffer-dog-like-striking-gold-040624856.html


Tuesday, 10 December 2024

In 2024 homelessness in Australia "is no longer confined to the most vulnerable, with the housing crisis forcing working families into homelessness"

 

"AIHW’s published monthly SHS statistics suggest generally growing, rather than declining, agency caseloads at the national level over recent years. From Figure 5.10, however, it can be seen that rates of change have varied substantially across Australia. In the four years to 2023-24, the average monthly caseload increased most markedly in Queensland (46%) and Western Australia (30%). Even in Victoria, at the lower end of this ranking, average monthly caseloads were 2% higher in 2023-24 than in 2019-20."

[UNSW City Futures Research Centre & Homelessness Australia, Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024, p.91]





 

Medianet. media release, 9 December 2024:


Rough sleeping surges as homelessness crisis worsens: New report


UNSW City Futures Research Centre

9 December 2024


Rough sleeping has surged in Australia according to a landmark report into homelessness launched today.


Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 has revealed a 22% increase in people experiencing rough sleeping in the three years to 2023-24, nationwide. In New South Wales, rough sleeping has surged by 51% since 2020, largely driven by an increase in regional communities.


The deepening housing crisis is the major driver of worsening homelessness, with the number of people citing housing affordability stress as the main reason they need homelessness services having increased by 36% in the three years to 2023-24.


The threat of homelessness now looms for a broader swathe of the population, including more employed Australians, the report found, with the proportion of employed persons among those receiving homelessness services having increased from 10.9% to 15.3% over the five years to 2022-23.


Services offering emergency support are struggling, with most homelessness agencies reporting “significantly increased” numbers of people seeking assistance in the past year and a 12% rise in monthly caseloads since 2019-20. Demand for help that exceeds capacity to respond is forcing agencies to cut back on help in preventing - as opposed to relieving - homelessness.


Intensifying rental market pressure that makes it harder to find people new homes has also caused the average duration of agency support for clients to balloon, rising 44% in the five years to 2022-23. More than three-quarters of homelessness services (77%) found it significantly harder to secure housing for clients in mid-2024 compared to the previous year.

People are undergoing harsher experiences of homelessness before gaining support. The number of new clients who were already homeless before seeking support increased 9% over three years 2023-24, and now exceeds 10,000 per month.


Rental affordability stress has deepened to such a degree that more people are being forced into situations of severe instability and rough sleeping,” Professor of Housing Research at UNSW Sydney and lead report author, Professor Hal Pawson said. “Median rents have increased 51% since the Covid-19 pandemic and there has been only a marginal expansion of social housing.”


Many support agencies are at a breaking point. Staff are operating in a completely clogged system. People exit support services into the same homelessness they were trying to escape.”


While welcoming Rent Assistance increases and commitments to social housing investment by both federal and state governments, Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin said much more must be done to address what has become a homelessness emergency.


Homelessness is no longer confined to the most vulnerable. With the housing crisis forcing working families into homelessness, this should be a wake-up call for action,” Colvin said.


Funding for homelessness services has failed to rise to meet demand and the whole system is buckling under the pressure. Governments need to take immediate action and deliver an emergency homelessness investment so that when people reach out for homelessness support there is someone there to help them.


We particularly need investment in homelessness prevention so we can stop people becoming homeless in the first place, as well as investment in world renowned Housing First programs to stop people cycling in and out of homelessness.”


Key findings:


  • Homelessness providers report a 12% rise in monthly caseloads since 2019-20


  • Rough sleeping increased by 22% nationally over the three years to 2023-24, as measured according to the flow of new clients logged by support agencies


  • More than three-quarters of homelessness services (77%) found it significantly harder to secure housing for clients in mid-2024 compared to the previous year


  • Increased demand for services has resulted in longer support periods, with the median duration of service support rising by 44% in the five years to 2023


  • Housing affordability stress as the main driver of homelessness increased by 36% in the three years to 2023-24


  • The proportion of employed people accessing homelessness services rose from 10.9% to 15.3% in the five years to 2022-23


  • The fastest-growing cohorts within the population affected by homelessness over the past six years have been older people persons aged 55-64 (up by 15%); persons aged 65+ (up by 31%)


Notes on study methods

The underlying research involved a novel analysis of specialist homelessness services data to dissect the flow of newly homeless people being assisted by agencies each month. By comparison with established approaches, this arguably provides a better indication of the incidence of the problem in terms of changes over time.

The research also included:

· In-depth interviews with 18 key stakeholders (government and NGOs) across all eight Australian jurisdictions

· In-depth interviews with council staff and other local stakeholders in three case study LGAs

· Online surveys of 173 specialist homelessness services agencies and 167 councils, nationally

· A policy document and website review on recent homelessness and social housing policy developments


2024 NSW Street Count showing the 2023 distribution of rough sleepers on a single night.

 


Saturday, 7 December 2024

Notice to Readers, Saturday 7 December 2024

 

North Coast Voices will not be posting for the next two days due to illness.  

Hope to be back by Tuesday, 10 December 2024.

Apologies to our readers.


Friday, 6 December 2024

22 arrests and counting in forest defenders fight to stop logging in Bulga State Forest since 1 October 2024

 

Forestry Corporation of NSW resumed logging in the Bulga State Forest, west of Comboyne in the Mid-North Coast region of New South Wales', in early October 2024.


Since then 22 forest defenders, including Knitting Nannas, have been attested in the state forests.


Here are just three of these defenders......



ECHO, 4 December 2024:






Knitting Nannas Dominique Jacobs (60) and Helen Kvelde (73) yesterday became the 21st and 22nd people arrested protesting the logging of Bulga State Forest, west of Port Macquarie. They had attached themselves to the giant tree killing machine known as a harvester.


Both Nannas are active in protesting the lack of action on climate change and are deeply dismayed that the most effective carbon capture and storage technology on the planet, mature forests, are being destroyed at taxpayer expense.


Dom Jacobs said, ‘I’m a grandmother and a wildlife carer. I’m terrified about the future my grandkids face and what is happening to the wild creatures and wild places. We are losing so much that is perfect and wonderful on this planet and I’m really worried about what will be left for those who come after us.


As a wildlife carer I get to know those little creatures intimately, they have personalities, they are very susceptible to stress. The thought of them in their beautiful forest homes with trees crashing around them and all the noise of the machines, I can’t imagine their terror.


We humans, we take everything. We need to leave something. We need to leave some places be,’ she said.


I want to do everything I can. I want to do something that has real impact. Stopping the chopping of glider and koala homes is a good way to spend a day.’


Increasingly fed up


Helen Kvelde said, ‘I feel like I’ve been fighting this war for 50 years and I’m getting more and more fed up. The powers that be aren’t listening, not to the people or the scientists. Climate chaos is here now, it’s happening all over the globe and governments, logging and fossil fuel companies are still acting as if there is no tomorrow.


I’m bewildered at the lack of action. I’ve been to so many rallies and marches, signed petitions, written letters but it feels like we are just going through the motions. As Greta Thunberg said all we get back is bla bla bla.


Our governments are full of hot air and empty promises. They say they see climate change as a serious threat and that there is a biodiversity crisis, but their actions suggest they think it’s a joke or it’s not real,’ she said.


It’s like I’m watching the Lorax play out in real life. It was a story where in order to get rich, all the trees were cut down, and the land was left a dirty stinking wreck.


I’m hoping that our action today gives kids hope and encourages others to do the same. I’m a bit frightened but I also feel that desperate times require desperate measures,’ said Ms Kvelde.


Both women agreed that forests like Bulga are vital for threatened wildlife, saying that we need to respect and care for all those big trees, not just for their intrinsic right to exist and live in peace, but because they defend us from the most dangerous threat of all: climate chaos.



Save Bulga Forest, media release, 15 October 2024:


John Seed OAM, attached to logging machinery
in Bulga State Forest, 15th October 2024



John Seed, founder of the Rainforest Information Centre and the Deep Ecology Network was arrested today for attaching himself to logging machinery in Bulga forest.

John, now in his 79th year, says he had a transformative experience in the rainforests of north east NSW during the Terania Creek protests in 1979.


The forest spoke to me. Working to keep the trees standing was the best use of my short time on this amazing jewel of a planet, so far the only one of its kind that we know of in this galaxy.


It’s 45 years since I was FIRST arrested for the forests (and for which I subsequently received an OAM after the Wran government turned the forest where I was arrested into the Nightcap National Park – now on the World Heritage list along with the Grand Canyon and the Serengeti).


I believe the Bulga Forest will also find its way into National Park and World Heritage status once this government wakes up. Then tourism will earn orders of magnitude more than the vandalism that we’re currently trying to stop.


There’s been no proper assessment of the damage done by the 2019/20 fires. We don’t know how many trees and animals died, how many hollow habitat trees were lost. The most basic element of the precautionary principle is that if you don’t know, stop making things worse.


Climate chaos is barrelling towards us. We need to stop making the damage worse and focus on earth repair and building resilience. How can we have hope for a future for our kids and grandkids if our governments insist on destroying the planet’s protection mechanisms,” he said.


In 1995 John was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his services to conservation and the environment. Through his work over the decades, the Rainforest Information Centre has supported communities in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Ecuador, India to defend their forests, through direct action, establishment of protected forest areas, reafforestation programs or funds for litigation.


Thursday, 5 December 2024

Academic study finds most Australian adults "do not have the ability to assess information sources and verify information online across websites and social media" & all age groups are affected.

 

ONLINE MISINFORMATION IN AUSTRALIA: ADULTS’ EXPERIENCES, ABILITIES, AND RESPONSES

3 December 2024


Authors

Sora Park, Tanya Notley, T. J. Thomson, Aimee Hourigan, Michael Dezuanni


Publisher

News and Media Research Centre, University of Western Sydney


Executive Summary [excerpt]


The flourishing of Australian society relies on well-informed citizens who benefit from ready access to reliable sources of information to support their decision making. Democratic processes and social participation that are underpinned by high-quality and trustworthy news and information lead to better outcomes for Australian society. Likewise, accessing reliable and trustworthy information enables citizens to make informed decisions about everything from voting, to making purchases, to staying safe online, to accessing health advice and services.


The rapid uptake of social media, which Australians now use more than any other type of media, presents many opportunities for accessing information, but also brings into focus the significant challenge of misinformation. The sheer volume of information online and the speed at which new information travels can be overwhelming and very difficult to navigate. As a result, bad actors seek to undermine democratic processes and target individuals by spreading false and misleading information. This has been widely recognised as a global problem.


The World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risks report1 finds that mis- and disinformation2 pose the greatest immediate risk societies face and may “radically disrupt electoral processes over the next two years”.In 2021, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution affirming that “media and information literacy” can help ensure “that the fight against disinformation and misinformation promotes and does not infringe on individuals’ freedom of expression and access to information.” To achieve this, the resolution called on Member States to “develop and implement policies, action plans and strategies related to the promotion of media and information literacy” while also calling on social media platforms to “promote media and information literacy, as a way to empower all people and facilitate digital inclusion and global connectivity, and to assist in the fight against disinformation and misinformation.”4


However, unlike many advanced democracies,Australia does not have a national media literacy policy or strategy to ensure citizens are provided with support to help them to verify information online and to ensure they are supported to create and share trustworthy information.


In our 2024 national survey,6 only 42% of adult Australians said they are confident that they can check if information online is true and only 39% are confident they can check if a website can be trusted. While these attitudes are useful to capture, self-reporting about technology abilities can be inaccurate.7 Prior to this research very little was known about adult Australians’ actual ability or their everyday encounters with and responses to misinformation online. To address these knowledge gaps, we conducted four studies.


1. We surveyed 3,852 adults to

understand their media practices,

attitudes and confidence in their

abilities.


2. We tested the ability of 2,115

of these adults to assess the

credibility of information on

websites and social media

platforms.


3. We supported 55 of these

adults to collect data about their

experiences with (un)trustworthy

online news and information over

one week as part of a mobile

diary study.


4. We interviewed 20 of these

participants to explore how

sociocultural dynamics influence

people’s information seeking and

decision-making behaviours.


Our analysis of these four interlinked datasets finds that the vast majority of adult Australians want to be able to identify misinformation and are trying to do so. However, most adults do not have the ability to assess information sources and verify information online across websites and social media.


1 See https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2024/

2 In this report we use ‘misinformation’ as an overarching term that includes both dis- and misinformation.

3 See https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Global_Risks_Report_2024.pdf

4 161 GA Res 75/267, UN Doc A/RES/75/267 (29 March 2021)

5 Examples include Finland’s National Media Education Strategy (2013, 2019); the UK’s OfCom Online media literacy strategy (2021, 2024); and Netherland’s Netwerk

Mediawijksheid Multi-Year Plan (2019–2023).

6 Notley, T., Chambers, S., Park, S. & Dezuanni, M. (2024). Adult Media Literacy in 2024: Australian Attitudes, Experiences and Needs. Western Sydney University, Queensland University of Technology and University of Canberra. https://apo.org.au/node/327239

7 Siddiq et al. 2016, Taking a future perspective by learning from the past, Educational Research Review, 19(1).


SNAPSHOT FROM INFOGRAPHIC, p.10





Full report can be read & downloaded at

https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2024-12/apo-nid328959.pdf


* my yellow highlighting used in this excerpt


Wednesday, 4 December 2024

The 2024 Australian parliamentary year ended on a rather busy note.....

 

Last week mainstream media began discussing the "incredible number" of Bills before the Australian Parliament that week and how many "laws changed overnight".


Yes, there were a high number of bills before Parliament, but no, laws do not change overnight. While the amendments and provisions set out in the Bills mentioned below will have received the Governor-General's assent on or about 29 November 2024, some do not come into effect until 2025. 


Here is a breakdown of legislative business covering the progress of bills before the Australian Parliament in 2024.


As at 29 November 2024 the 47th Australian Parliament - commenced at the start of the first term of the Albanese Labor Government - had considered 428 Bills to date.


A total of 162 of these were introduced during 2024 - including 7 received from the Senate. A total of 100 received consent and passed into law.


In the week beginning 25 November 2024, both the House of Representatives and the Senate were particularly busy, as the Albanese Government sought to enter the 2025 federal general election year with fewer policy and procedural matters outstanding.


During that last sitting week of 2024 the following Bills were agreed to:

  • Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Scheduling) Bill 2024 (Senate bill presented and agreed in the House this week)

  • Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024

  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) (Consequential Provisions and Other Matters) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week)

  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Tax (Imposition) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week)

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024 (amended in the House this week)

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 (amended in the House this week)

  • Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week)

  • Health Insurance (Pathology) (Fees) (Repeal) Bill 2024

  • Health Legislation Amendment (Modernising My Health Record—Sharing by Default) Bill 2024

  • Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Amendment Bill 2024

  • Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024

  • Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Bill 2024 (amended in the House this week)

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week)


The following Bills were returned by the Senate with amendments:

  • Aged Care Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Better and Fairer Schools (Information Management) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week; the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Help to Buy Bill 2023 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 (presented and agreed in the House this week; the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendment)

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) (Consequential) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 (the House agreed to Senate amendments)

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (the House agreed to Senate amendments).


On Thursday, 28 November 2024, the last sitting day of the year a total of 34 Bills were still before the House of Representatives.


Being read for the second time:

  • Transport Security Amendment (Security of Australia's Transport Sector) Bill 2024

  • Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Bill 2024

  • Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024


Being read for the third time:

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Future Made in Australia (Production Tax Credits and Other Measures) Bill 2024


The following 27 Bills were passed by the House of Representatives in the space of 39 minutes as the House extended its last sitting day to the early morning of the next day, Friday 29 November 2024:


  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Bill 2024

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024

  • Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024

  • Sydney Airport Demand Management Amendment Bill 2024

  • Aged Care (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024

  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) Tax (Imposition) Bill 2024

  • Commonwealth Entities (Payment Surcharges) (Consequential Provisions and Other Matters) Bill 2024

  • Capital Works (Build to Rent Misuse Tax) Bill 2024

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin) Bill 2024

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024

  • Future Made in Australia (Guarantee of Origin Charges) Bill 2024

  • Universities Accord (National Student Ombudsman) Bill 2024

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023

  • Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Continuity) Bill 2024

  • Crown References Amendment Bill 2023

  • Customs Amendment (ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Second Protocol

  • Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2024

  • Midwife Professional Indemnity (Commonwealth Contribution) Scheme Amendment Bill 2024

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (2024 Tax and Other Measures No. 1) Bill 2024

  • Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Bill 2024

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Bill 2024

  • Migration Amendment Bill 2024

  • Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024


Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Wyrallah Road Public School's recent exhibition of students artwork was an "was an astounding success"

 

ECHO, 29 November 2024:



Despite a rainy evening it seems there was no holding back the success of the Wyrallah Road Public School Art Show last week.


Celebrating art and their young artists the community, young and old, came and supported Wyrallah Road Public School (WRPS) at their fundraising art show and the streets were lined and the school hall buzzing.


Eight large collaborative class pieces were auctioned and sold, raffle tickets were flying out with a mountain of prizes from many of the small businesses that make Lismore vibrant and an art competition with prizes of first, second and third for each stage was judged by Mayor Krieg, former mayor Jenny Dowell, and art teacher Lisa Newman,’ said orgainser Vicky Fitzsimmons.


It was an astounding success.’......




 All in all WRPS students, families and the wider Lismore community came and celebrated being bolder and brighter, together,’ said Vicky.