"I despair when I see that the new campaign to push the Dunoon Dam shows no interest in values that we all claim to hold dear...."

 

Channon Gorge again under threat by the Dunoon Dam proposal?
IMAGE: David Lowe in Echo NetDaily, 17 December 2020

Echo NetDaily, Letter to the Editor, 5 May 2021.

Nan Nicholson, The Channon

I have been an environmental activist for over 50 years (I started when I was a 15 y/o schoolgirl in Melbourne). Some would call me ‘driven’.

Starting with Terania Creek, I have been involved in many campaigns to defend our rainforests, our old growth forests, and our beautiful rural landscapes from gas mining. Now I am fighting for the life of a rainforest that would be destroyed by a dam.

In all these cases I have been propelled by a powerful love of place, and of natural beauty. I think most Australians are familiar with this feeling, wherever they live. The first Australians certainly knew about it, with depths of connection that the rest of us can probably never understand. When the land is your religion, your history, your food source, your home, your responsibility, your future and your reason for being alive – then its preciousness can’t be described.

These two issues of heritage, natural and human, are central to the Dunoon dam debate. Heritage is something that is given to pass on intact, not to destroy in wilful ignorance.

So much of our heritage has been damaged in our region. Most of our original landscape has been transformed, and only a few original, or semi-original, remnants are left to tell us of what we have lost. Our Aboriginal heritage, now the heritage of all Australians, has been whittled away, over and over, while the traditional custodians are repeatedly ‘consulted’ then comprehensively ignored. How insulting is the Welcome to Country ritual when there is not a shred of willingness to act on their stated wishes?

I despair when I see that the new campaign to push the Dunoon Dam shows no interest in values that we all claim to hold dear – our love for our remarkable natural landscapes, forests, ecosystems and species that are found nowhere else on Earth, and our supposed respect for our First Nations peoples.

The natural places of our region have been maintained and preserved for thousands of years by people whose desire to protect them is now swept aside by uninformed claims that ‘the studies are incomplete’.

Detailed ecological and heritage assessments have already established why the Dunoon Dam site is extremely important, both to scientists and to our first people. Surely we can, just once, let the natural environment, and the people who have loved it the longest, prevail.

We know that extremes of drought are coming. Knowledge about droughts from the past can no longer be relied on. One big flood can fill the dam quickly, for sure, but five years of drought and low runoff would give us 253 ha of bare dirt with not a trace of the natural beauty and the millennia of human history that it destroyed with so little need.

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is expected to remain in neutral phase at least until October 2021

Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Climate Driver Update, 11 May 2021:

Southern Annular Mode positive; El Niño–Southern Oscillation neutral

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) continues at neutral levels. Climate model outlooks currently indicate this neutral phase will last at least until October.

Oceanic indicators of ENSO persist at neutral levels, with Pacific sea surface temperatures close to the long-term average across most of the equatorial region. Beneath the surface, temperatures are near-average, with slightly warmer than average waters across much of the sub-surface. Atmospheric indicators such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and cloud patterns are also close to average. Trade winds have been stronger than average in the far west, but near average elsewhere.

The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is over the Indian Ocean region. It is forecast to move eastwards across Australian longitudes over the coming fortnight. When the MJO is active over the eastern Indian Ocean and Australian longitudes at this time of year, above average rainfall is more likely over the Maritime Continent to Australia's north. Additionally, it typically acts to strengthen easterly winds on Queensland’s tropical east coast and increase temperatures across tropical Australia.

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) has been positive for the past week. It is expected to remain positive for the coming fortnight. SAM typically has little influence on Australian rainfall during autumn, but may have a drying influence for parts of south-west and south-east Australia over the coming fortnight.

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently neutral. Climate model outlooks suggest the IOD is most likely to remain neutral during the first half of winter. Three of the five models indicate negative IOD thresholds may be reached during winter or spring. The accuracy of IOD forecasts made during autumn is generally lower than at other times of the year, but improves in winter. A negative IOD increases the chances of above average winter-spring rainfall for much of southern Australia.

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. [my yellow highlighting]

Climate Model Summary for June to October 2021 at:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/model-summary/#region=NINO34&tabs=Pacific-Ocean

Next update expected on 25 May 2021

It appears that temperatures, winds, convection (rising air), and rainfall across the tropical Pacific may remain near their long-term averages, but temperatures in Australia's north may be warmer than usual and rainfall across much of southern Australia may increase from June to October.

Company behind a rejected development application on Palmers Island trying an end run around NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s decision?

Clarence Valley Independent, 5 May 2021:

A proposal to construct a boat-building facility on Palmers Island was eventually rejected by the Minister, however, a motion from Cr Karen Toms, to clarify Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) “position”, resulted in a split 5-4 decision at its April 27 CVC meeting.

Councillor Toms’ motion centred on writing to the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces to correct the record, advising that CVC is now aware that one of the alleged grounds for non-approval – “lack of any evidence that there was any support for the proposal from Councillors” – was “incorrect”.

Cr Toms also urged councillors to advise the Minister that CVC “has and does support the rezoning of [the land] to facilitate the development of a marine based industry” and that “the remediation action plan has been acted on and the contamination removed” from fill dumped at the site.

Environment, Planning and Community director Des Schroder wrote in the business paper that “none” of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s reasons for rejecting the proposal “indicates that the lack of support or evidence, thereof from the council, formed the basis for the government’s decision”.

“Council had provided support for the proposal on a number of occasions, however, that support was not given the final time council considered the matter,” he wrote – councillors unanimously took a neutral position based on legal advice.

However, Cr Toms wrote in her NOM: “Councillors were not aware that remaining neutral at that time would cause the Minister to believe there was no evidence of support for the rezoning application.”

At the CVC meeting, Mr Schroder said he would have to take a question on notice when asked if the fill had in fact been remediated.

“I cannot advise that was finalised,” he said, “and there was no need to in the end”, because the proposal was rejected – that point was subsequently removed from the final decision.

Debate focussed on the accuracy of Cr Toms’ claim that the Minister had included councillors’ “lack of … support” as one of the reasons for rejecting the proposal.

Councillors wanted proof that “Monique Gibson (Executive Director, Local and Regional Planning) [had verbally] advised the applicant’s nominated [planning] officer”, who subsequently verbally advised Cr Toms that the Minister has made a decision partly based on no support from councillors.

Councillors adopted the motion, pending receiving written evidence of the “advice provided to Cr Toms”.

Cr Greg Clancy said he was “very disappointed that this issue has been exhumed”.

Cr Peter Ellem said the NOM was a “back doorway of getting into the ear of the minister”.

Cr Richie Williams said the proposal was not being “exhumed or anything like that” and that there are “five pretty strong points [for non-approval] that will remain no matter what”.

For: Toms, Lysaught, Baker, Williamson and Simmons; against Novak, Ellem, Kingsley and Clancy.

 

Post February-March 2021 flooding repair bill estimates for Clarence Valley road infrastructure

 

Removing logs from Tallawudjah Creek Bridge https://t.co/WPHuecEyck

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) May 9, 2021

Video showing log removal from bridge in February 2021 flooding

 The Daily Telegraph, 7 May 2021:

Although the recent floods weren’t the worst in history, it has left authorities with a large amount of damage to clean up.

Clarence Valley Council general manager Ashley Lindsay said the total cost of the repair bill may be up to $7-8m, of which much would be paid for by Essential Public Asset Restoration Works funding.

The flood, which reached major levels on the Clarence and Orara, caused damage to 103 roads in the Clarence Valley.

There were three major storm water systems that needed replacing at Wooli Road (pictured), Kangaroo Creek Road and Shipmans Road, costing an average of $320,000 each.

Mr Lindsay said the most significant damage was at the Tallawydja Creek bridge approach where the creek’s water course had dramatically altered.

Among the many issues, an inspection with Transport for NSW engineers determined that if left unchecked, a 15-20m section of road formation would be lost in the next flood event, closing the road and possibly damaging the bridge.

The cost of a long-term solution would be well over $1m pending review of proposed concept options for the restoration.

Mr Lindsay said that EPAR funding would also be sought for Six Mile Lane, Patemans Road, Sandy Swamp Road and Gorge Road causeways, which were heavily impacted after each flood event and improvements were required to provide resilience for local assets and the community. Other repairs included in the costs were drainage clean-up, waste pick-up and unsealed road repairs.

 

No matter how hard Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tries to sanitise Australian history from 1770 onwards and force his self-serving lies on the rest of the country , the truth has a way of bleeding through

Plaque on Platform 1, Central Railway Station, Sydney NSW - accepting passenger and mail trains since 5 August 1906.

Quote of the Week

 

“After decades of governments urging migrants to take out Australian citizenship for their own good, the Morrison government in the early hours of Saturday morning effectively told them it was worthless….These past few days have forced me to question my choice decades ago to become an Australian citizen” [Opinion Columnist Niki Savva writing in The Australian, 6 May 2021]

Cartoons of the Week

 

Jon Kudelka

 

Cathy Wilcox