Skewed Australian response to climate change - fight coastal erosion not carbon pollution

YESTERDAY:

URGENT action to cope with the impact of rising sea levels needs to start now, including improving evacuation routes for coastal communities during extreme storms and flooding.

As well, a sweeping federal parliamentary report calls for an overhaul of the building code to make homes more resilient and for the legal liability for future property losses to be sorted out.

Warning that ''the time to act is now'', the bipartisan report brought down last night states that thousands of kilometres of coastline have been identified as at risk from the threat of rising sea levels and extreme weather events caused by climate change.

The committee, led by Labor's Jennie George and with the Liberal Mal Washer as co-chairman, wants the Government to take a far greater role in preparing coastal towns and cities to adapt to the impact of sea level rise.

Their report recommends a new intergovernmental agreement on the coastal zone to be worked out between Canberra, the states and councils to set out actions and guidelines on the enormous coastal challenges from climate change. [The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 October 2009]

Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coasts report released with prediction of 1.1 metre sea level rise for New South Wales in ‘worst case’ scenario. [C’wealth Dept of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency on 14 November 2009]

The Labor government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) was defeated for the second time in the Senate. Under the new coalition rule of Tony Abbott, only two liberal senators crossed the floor and voted with their opposition for the ETS legislation - they were Senators Sue Boyce and Judith Troeth. At 33 votes for to 41 against, their votes were not enough to pass the bill. [Sustainability Matters on 3 December 2009]

TODAY:

WOOLI residents have met to discuss their fightback against a proposal to let rising sea levels inundate threatened areas of their village.

More than 90 residents took part in a meeting in the Wooli Hall on Saturday afternoon to plan submissions to Clarence Valley Council protesting against a council draft proposal to allow the sea to flood around 45 houses on a section of land between the Wooli beach and river. [The Daily Examiner 19 October 2010]

The Federal Government has committed to a national strategy to help communities affected by coastal erosion.

The Independent member for Lyne Rob Oakeshott says it is a landmark initiative for the North Coast.

Mr Oakeshott says the government has responded to 47 recommendations from the bipartisan 'Jennie George' report on the impact of climate change on coastal communities.

He says the government recognises the need for national leadership and coordination to manage coastal erosion issues.

Mr Oakeshott says key government commitments include establishing an Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone.

A proposal will also be developed with the states and territories to investigate insurance-related issues for affected stakeholders.

The government has also agreed in-principle to an inquiry regarding legal issues, including liability concerns for property owners, councils and governments. [ABC News on 24 November 2010]

TOMORROW:

Yamba on NSW North Coast at 1 metre and Sydney NSW at 2 metre sea-level rise

Threatened species, wildlife crimes and marine protection

The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) came into effect on 23 November 2010 after the Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Secretary-General of ICPO-INTERPOL, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the President of the World Bank and the Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) have signed a Letter of Understanding which includes this:

HEREBY agree, within the context of their respective responsibilities, capabilities, and priorities to:

• highlight within their institutions the importance of the fight against wildlife crimes and other related violations and promote ICCWC among governments of States, through inter alia, relevant international fora;
• assist countries in reviewing their current responses to wildlife crimes and related violations, facilitate national multi-agency interaction and cooperation, and encourage effective responses throughout the justice system;
• develop a joint work program that will include joint activities in the fields of capacity building, operational support and coordination of transnational interdiction efforts;
• disseminate existing, and jointly develop new, capacity building materials and tools to enhance the knowledge and skills of national agencies in combating wildlife crime and related violations;
• undertake research into the causes, nature, scale and value of wildlife crime and related violations and propose innovative ways to prevent and discourage such crime and related violations, for example, through the provision of socio-economic incentives which encourage local communities to use natural resources in a lawful and sustainable manner and to participate in related monitoring and control efforts;
• assist in promoting best practice in the fields of natural resource conservation and management; and where appropriate, seek donor support to enable the provision of such services in the form of joint projects and programmes.

We further agree that our agencies, when collaborating together, will work under the title, the ‘International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime’.

Meanwhile this month, the Gillard Labor Government’s Fisheries Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2010 finished wending its way through both Houses of the Australian Federal Parliament.

According to the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry this bill will:

provide strengthened arrangements to combat illegal fishing both in our remote sub-Antarctic territories and closer to home. The first set of amendments will address a technical issue that currently permits foreign fishers to traverse the Australian fishing zone to fish illegally in state and Northern Territory coastal waters. The second set of amendments will implement an international agreement with France, allowing cooperative fisheries law enforcement activities in our respective Southern Ocean maritime zones. Both amendments are to the Fisheries Management Act 1991 and will strengthen Australia’s fishing and maritime security.

The first set of amendments to the bill will address a technical legal issue in fisheries management legislation which currently allows foreign fishers to traverse the Australian fishing zone to illegally fish in coastal state and Northern Territory waters. It is important that this matter is rectified quickly lest foreign fishers take advantage of this situation and change their methods of operation to avoid prosecution. The second set of amendments will address illegal fishing in Australia’s remote southern maritime territories……

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a concern for the Australian government. Illegal fishing on the high seas is a highly organised, mobile and elusive activity undermining the efforts of responsible countries to sustainably manage their fish resources. International cooperation is vital to effectively enforce Australia’s national laws in our remote and expansive maritime territories.

Additionally this month Humane Society International (HSI) announced that is has been successful:

in having southern bluefin tuna (SBT) formally protected under Australia’s national environment laws as a threatened species.

HSI submitted a nomination for SBT to be protected under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in December 2006 and Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke has just announced that protection will be given.

Previous environment ministers rejected our earlier nominations on grounds HSI considered a cover for concerns over the economic and political fall out of protection for this highly lucrative species, even though the Minister’s own science advisers had previously determined the species to be ‘endangered’.

Even today, SBT has not been listed in the category it qualifies for – critically endangered – because that would put a stop to the commercial exploitation and export of SBT from Australia[i]. The SBT population has been reduced to 4.6% of its unfished biomass. IUCN lists the species as critically endangered.

Instead, Minister Burke has opted for the lesser ‘conservation dependent’ listing which is the lowest protection available for a threatened species and which allows for continued fishing and exports.

Also in November the ever hypocritical Government of Japan began its 2010 Antarctic whaling season and once its government-funded 'research' fleet reaches the Southern Ocean it is expected to kill for commercial sale at least 1,000 whales, including an endangered cetacean species and possibly for the first time since the 2007 agreement, humpback whales.

Saffin explains where it's at in the keeping Telstra jobs in Grafton campaign

Federal Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin's media release on 23 November 2010:

Page MP Janelle Saffin said she notes that Telstra has made some efforts to retain jobs in Grafton, following the local campaign against the closure of the call centre.

“I welcome the personal involvement of CEO David Thodey, following my representations and meetings with him on this issue.

“I understand that he visited Grafton and faced the workers last week, which I had requested he do, to see for himself the local situation and what might be done to support jobs in Grafton.

“When I met with Mr Thodey in my Parliamentary office last month, and had Clarence Valley Mayor on the phone as well, we made clear the strong local reaction to the planned closure of the Telstra call centre.

“Mr Thodey also said at that meeting that when some NBN services were available he would consider what more could be done.

“At this stage I understand there are 18 positions to be maintained in Grafton until at least the middle of next year. I am hopeful that they will become ongoing positions.

“I have kept in touch with the union to discuss the latest situation for the employees who have lost their positions and how many are still in the area looking for local jobs,” Ms Saffin said.

“I feel for the workers losing their jobs, and extend my thanks to those local employers who have hired Telstra workers, starting with The Daily Examiner which was the first cab off the rank.

“It is very disappointing that many jobs have been lost, but I have to be gracious and acknowledge Telstra’s latest developments, as our concerted community campaign did achieve some positive results.”

Swearing on National White Ribbon Day 2010

Today is National White Ribbon Day 2010 when all Aussie men are encouraged to think about the following:

In Australia, one in three women will be assaulted or abused in her lifetime. These women are our mothers, our girlfriends, our wives, our daughters, our colleagues and our friends. How have we allowed this to occur?

Not only is it unacceptable for this violence to take place, it is unacceptable that we allow certain behaviours and attitudes to go unchallenged.

Some of us experience violence first hand. Others hear stories of violence against women. Others observe it or look on from afar. The worst part? We remain silent.

If we are to move our society forward and prevent violence against women from occurring, we must speak out. We must take action to challenge attitudes and behaviours. We must not remain silent.

And make this commitment.......

I swear:
never to commit violence against women,
never to excuse violence against women, and
never to remain silent about violence against women.
This is my oath.
Swear now

Help spread the word

In the real world of gender inequality in Australia 2010

It would appear that in the real word of unequal wages based on gender in a country where women on average earn around 82-84 cents for every dollar earned by men (often when doing identical work) and its first female prime minister is ambivalent on the issue, it literally pays for women to collectively bargain in the workplace.

This week the Federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations released its report AGREEMENT MAKING IN AUSTRALIA UNDER THE WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT: 2007 TO 2009 which stated in part:

A total of 24 156 collective agreements were approved under the WR Act between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009. This was a 14.7 per cent increase from the 21 057 collective agreements approved in the previous three year reporting period.

Twenty-nine per cent of employees had their pay set by a federally registered collective agreement during the reporting period. This was a slight increase from the 28.5 per cent of employees who had their pay set by a collective agreement during the previous reporting period.

Employees whose pay was set by a collective agreement earned, on average, more than those whose pay was set by an individual agreement.

The average hourly ordinary time earnings of non-managerial employees on federally registered collective agreements was $29.00 in August 2008, compared with $28.60 for employees whose pay was set by a federally registered individual agreement.

For female employees, the difference was slightly larger, with $27.10 under collective agreements compared with $26.00 under individual agreements.

At the same time the department also released TRENDS IN FEDERAL ENTERPRISE BARGAINING JUNE QUARTER, 2010.

• HISTORY – Equal pay for work of equal value and Equal Pay Day and Saffin MP November 2010 media release

Snapshot of GetUp! wage calculator

Of bats and B52s

Bats are still a favoured topic in letters to the editor found in the Old Egg Timer of Grafton on the NSW North Coast.

Clarence Plague

A NEW disease has been discovered in the Clarence Valley, which is believed to be associated with bats.

It is thought to be a virus, and rednecks, halfwits, and National Party politicians are especially vulnerable to the virus.

It is particularly virulent in the Cowper Electorate.

Symptoms include ranting, raving, frothing at the mouth, chest beating, and a type of flatulence that results in copious amounts of hot air issuing from the mouth.

Other symptoms include a morbid desire to seek media attention, and those afflicted will be seen standing near high schools, hospitals or roads trying to get their pictures taken.

Another manifestation of the condition is the writing of irrational letters to the local papers advocating all sorts of strange anti social behaviour, including discharge of fireworks in public places.

Those afflicted who are also gun nuts, become obsessed with the idea of putting on their camouflage fatigues and roaming around discharging firearms.

Medical authorities think that the condition is incurable and the most humane option would be to euthanase the sufferers.

Bio-ethicists are concerned that this might be construed as a form of eugenics which is against the Geneva Convention and The Hague Protocols.

Of more concern is the worry that if the local authorities don't get the outbreak under control soon, it will attract the attention of the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, and the Americans will fly a B52 over and drop a 10-megaton warhead on the Cowper Electorate, to stop the spread of the contagion.

The bats say however, that they are the victims of a vicious smear campaign and the virus got into Australia via racehorses from Abu Dhabi, or banana imports from Ecuador.

M. CASEY

Grafton

Some background here from our local political wonderkind in clogs - Hartsuyker’s strengthens Maclean bats Bill to end bureaucratic buck passing and remove Federal Minister from the process

North Coast fishermen and cane farmers oppose any Clarence River water diversion

Excerpt from The Land article Clarence River can’t ‘spare a drop’ on 19 November 2010:

While North Coast primary producers have a lot more sympathy for the plight of inland irrigators than they do for the Queenslanders in population overdrive, they say that despite the image most people have of the massive Clarence the reality is the river cannot spare a drop.

The fresh water flushes during floods are the lifeblood of the region’s fishing industry, the biggest supplier of seafood in NSW, sustaining 140 wild harvest commercial fishermen.

Professional Fishermen’s Association executive officer, John Harrison, Maclean, said the fresh water flows brought nutrients and the opportunity for fish growth and there was “no room for a single drop” to be taken from the system without a detrimental impact on the fishing industry and environment.

Beef producer, Elizabeth Fahey, who has double frontage to the Clarence on her Brahman breeding property at Copmanhurst, said there were times during dry spells when she could walk across parts of the river without getting her feet wet.

“The practicalities are that the expense of setting up the infrastructure required to allow inland producers to utilise water in times of high flow would not make the scheme viable, when the access to water would not be all the time,” she said.

While sugar producers in the Clarence don’t irrigate, NSW Canegrowers chairman, Vince Castle, said the region could not do without its fishing industry and the overwhelming feeling among cane growers was “utter opposition” to the concept.

True words tweeted in jest?

BernardKeane

Australian politics: the asinine versus the inept, reported by the facile. I swear to dog it's enough to make you move to NZ.

via TweetDeck

Free EarthScan webcast "Reconnecting Nature and Culture", Wednesday, November 24, 2010 4:00 am Sydney AEDT

A hatip to Margi Prideaux over at Wild Politics for alerting the blogosphere to this event:

Earthcasts are monthly free one-hour interactive web events from Earthscan

In November the subject is:

Reconnecting Nature and Culture

>> Understand the concept of biocultural diversity
>> Learn how to integrate cultural and spiritual values into conservation, tourism and heritage management practices
>> Discover how embracing the values of local people can dramatically increase the success of conservation and sustainability efforts, for the benefit of all

Tuesday 23rd November 2010
17:00 (UK time – GMT), 12:00 (EDT), 9:00 (PDT)

Click here to register