Calls for Metgasco's Stuart George to stand down from local government roles fall on deaf ears

Metgasco land administration officer Stuart George, son of Lismore MP Thomas George and failed Nationals' preselection candidate in Clarence, has ignored calls for him to stand down from Richmond Valley Council and Rous Water.

Today's Northern Star reports:

Stuart George will not be standing down from his roles on the Richmond Valley Council (RVC) or Rous Water, despite calls for him to do so.

Mr George, son of Lismore MP Thomas George, commenced work at Metgasco this month as a land administration officer, a role which sees him liaise with landowners for the purpose of gaining access to their land for CSG mining.

Groups opposed to CSG mining have called for Cr George to stand down from his civic responsibilities because of a perceived conflict of interest.

Founder of the Casino Group Against Gas, Dean Draper said Cr George should go because his role at Metgasco put him in conflict with his constituents who were increasingly concerned about the industry.

Other Northern Rivers groups against CSG mining have backed Mr Draper's call.

However, in a statement released to The Northern Star yesterday Cr George said he would not be standing down.

"I will not be resigning from my positions as Richmond Valley councillor as I was elected by the Richmond Valley Council community and I will be carrying out my duties for the full term," the statement read.

Mr George said if there was a matter which came before the council in relation to Metgasco he would declare a conflict of interest and deal with the matter as he was required to do so.

He said he would respond in the same way on Rous Water.

Rous Water is the regional water supply authority. Its chairman Phillip Silver said just because Mr George worked for an organisation some people were opposed to it did not disqualify him from holding a position on the council.

Mr Silver said there were processes in place to deal with situations where councillors held a conflict of interest.

The current Model Code of Conduct for NSW Local Councils prescribes standards of conduct in relation to conflicts of interest.

Under the Local Government Act there are two types of private interests: pecuniary and non-pecuniary.

The Act defines a pecuniary interest as one in which there is a reasonable likelihood or expectation of appreciable financial gain or loss to the person.

Non-pecuniary interests are personal interests where there is no financial gain.

RVC mayor Col Sullivan backed Cr George's stand saying there would be no problem with his new role providing he declared an interest when required to do so.

Cr Sullivan also said issues relating to Metgasco rarely came before the council as they operated under the State's jurisdiction.

Councillors themselves are responsible for identifying a conflict of interest.

If members of the public are concerned a councillor may have breached the code of conduct they can write to the general manager requesting the matter be investigated.

Source: The Northern Star, 22/11/11

Commonwealth moves to ensure coal seam gas projects are subject to scientific evidence - but will the states comply?

The Australian Government has moved on the issue of coal seam gas mining by creating an independent panel to provide Commonwealth and state approval agencies with scientific advice on mining licence applications for large-scale coal seam gas mining projects.

Because this federal government does not have the outright constitutional power to ban coal seam gas mining or significantly limit its expansion and its current plan is dependent on state co-operation, now is the time to pressure National Party MPs on the NSW North Coast to support this panel.

Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities:

Federal environment minister, the Hon Tony Burke MP, has approved the appointment of an expert panel to advise him on coal seam gas water management, for Queensland coal seam gas projects approved and conditioned under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.Those projects include the Queensland Curtis LNG project, the Santos Gladstone LNG project, and the Australia Pacific LNG project. The expert panel will provide advice on the adequacy of water management plans which the companies must submit under the conditions of approval.
The members of the expert panel are:

• Professor Paul Greenfield AO, Vice Chancellor, University of Queensland
• Professor Chris Moran, Director, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland
• Dr Richard Cresswell, Sinclair Knight Merz
• Ms Jane Coram, Geoscience Australia
• Associate Professor Heather Chapman, Griffith University.

Several major gas/petroleum companies are pursuing projects to extract CSG from the Bowen and Surat Basins in Queensland, and other CSG producing areas in NSW. The Queensland projects would feed export-oriented LNG plants in the Gladstone area, the majority on Curtis Island off the coast opposite Gladstone. The projects involve significant capital expenditure and would operate over a long period……There are uncertainties of groundwater and surface water impacts from the extraction of significant amounts of CSG water including the risk of impacts to aquifers and groundwater quality which may lead to impacts on matters of national environmental significance protected under the EPBC Act.

Terms of Reference for the Expert Panel (PDF - 79 KB)

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan on November 21, 2011:

The Government has listened to community concerns, and will:

·   *    Provide $150 million to establish a new Independent Expert Scientific Committee that will provide scientific advice to governments about relevant coal seam gas and large coal mining approvals where they have significant impacts on water; oversee research on impacts on water resources from coal seam gas and large coal mining projects; and commission and fund water resource assessments for priority regions.

·    *   Establish a new National Partnership Agreement with the states through COAG, agreeing that the Commonwealth and states have to take into account the advice of the Committee in their assessment and approval decisions.

·    *    Provide $50 million in incentive payments to the states to deliver this outcome.

·    *   Mandate that the Independent Expert Scientific Committee publicly disclose its advice to ensure local communities have all the best information available to them.

NSW North Coast MP Janelle Saffin in a media release on the same day: 

Page MP Janelle Saffin today welcomed the Federal Government’s move to ensure that all future decisions about coal seam gas projects are based on the most rigorous scientific evidence available.

“I’ve made many representations to Federal ministers and the Prime Minister on CSG, about what can be done at the Federal level to address community concerns.  It is not an easy area, as so much is under the power of the states. 

“I had asked the Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, to explore the nature and extent of his power vis-à-vis the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) and the Federal Water Act.

“I’m pleased that the Government has listened to the representations and the concerns of the community, particularly in regard to the impact of CSG on our water. 

‘The Government recognises that the community can only have confidence if all environmental approvals and licensing decisions are made on the basis of transparent, objective scientific evidence.

Did Steve Cansdell really resign or did he just decide to operate though a glove puppet?

If the fact that disgraced former Nats MP for Clarence Steve Cansdell was such a big part of the Chris Gulaptis campaign in the Clarence by-election gave more than a few people on the NSW North Coast pause for thought, then some statements and media reports since could be viewed as alarming.

This is Gulaptis after claiming victory:

“Mr Gulaptis said he will follow in the footsteps of his hard-working predecessor…. Mr Gulaptis said he would be talking to Mr Cansdell about these and other issues, as he had a lot of respect for what he achieved and knowledge he gained after more than eight years as member for Clarence.”

Gulaptis’ elevation to Clarence MP is so ambiguous that on the 18th November this year the Murdoch media itself was confused enough to think that the new member of the O’Farrell Government is none other than that right-wing chimera “Steve Gulaptis”:

Snapshot taken 10.30am 21^st November 2011

Tragedy at Sandon

Sandon.

A majestic coastline

With a sandy beach

Gently caressed

By waves of white and blue.

Sandon.

A precious home

For shorebirds.

A coastal feeding,

Nestling, roosting treasure.

Sandon.

A lifeline,

A chance to avoid extinction

For an endangered fellow creature,

The pied oyster catcher.

But,

Sandon, October 7.

Its sandy beach

Becomes a "highway"

An intruding 4WD.

Its driver

Indifferent and cruel

Sees an oyster catcher

And deliberately swerves

To hit it.

The 4WD continues on,

No thought of stopping

While the oyster catcher

Lies injued, in agony,

A wing badly broken.

To the stricken bird

NPWS carers come.

They strive to save it,

They do their utmost

But all in vain - the oyster catcher dies.

Our Earth community,

Its future is in the balance.

All life is important -

A supreme message - 

But, for some people ignored.

Stan Mussared

Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition

Sourced from CVCC's Voices from the Earth,
published in The Daily Examiner, 21/11/11

Spot the errors in Teh Daily Terror

One has to wonder why The Daily Telegraph journalist, Barclay Crawford, didn’t bother to check a couple of basic facts on Saturday night – Peter Ellem has not worked as an editor/journalist since 2008, Colin Clague stood as the endorsed Labor candidate in March 2011 and at the time these newspaper articles were being composed the swing to Labor on a two candidate preferred basis was +16.3 (+17.9 on first preference votes) by Antony Green’s final calculations on election night.
Perhaps Mr. Crawford was foolishly relying on the veracity of information supplied by the NSW North Coast Nationals? Never a good idea not to double check those media releases or helpful emails from vested interests.
Here in the regions we prefer our news to be accurate.

Nationals set to retain Clarence

Chris Gulaptis, a former mayor and federal candidate for the Nationals, was expected to enter state parliament with a convincing win in the Clarence by-election yesterday.

But the Labor Party was buoyed by a big swing in votes for its candidate, local newspaper editor Peter Ellem.

Mr Ellem campaigned hard on claims the O'Farrell government wanted to privatise electricity and the Grafton jail, and attacked the government over its decision to cut the death and disability scheme for police.

The Nationals, who retained the seat easily, said the swing to Labor was expected because the party did not contest the last state election, instead backing an independent candidate.

Nationals' leader and deputy premier Andrew Stoner was campaigning in Clarence yesterday, as was Opposition leader John Robertson.

The by-election was prompted by the resignation from parliament of Steve Cansdell, after he admitted he lied to avoid a speeding fine…….

Nationals win despite swing to Labor

CHRIS Gulaptis, a former mayor and federal candidate for the Nationals, will enter state parliament with a convincing win in the Clarence by-election yesterday, despite a solid swing of about 15 per cent for the Labor Party.

Paradise lost in Maclean

A letter to the editor in The Daily Examiner November 19, 2011:

Paradise lost
I'M visiting the Clarence area, having been away for some time.
I'm appalled at the lack of re-vegetation of the Maclean Rainforest Reserve, the amount of trimmings and vegetation removal in the high school area and the resulting movement of the flying fox camp to the gully/sub station area.
I was a member of the Maclean Rainforest Reserve Trust before the 1999 dispersals and I remember having a conversation with one of the residents of Harwood St, who stated from experience, that flying foxes had used the gully area in the past at times of dispersal/disturbance.
At the time, no one planning the dispersal would take any notice of this statement.
The "belief de jour" was that the disturbed flying foxes would move to Yaegl Nature Reserve - known then as Farlow's Swamp - despite the fact that there was no evidence that this was so.
The residents of the gully are certainly currently living daily with the results of this decision.
All evidence at the time stated that flying foxes are best managed in their original camp site.
I don't know what it takes to make those in authority take notice of evidence and consequences before they make decisions that others are going to have to live with.
They obviously use other criteria to make their decisions.
I wish I knew what they were.
It's interesting to note that Chris Gulaptis, who led the Maclean flying fox disturbance regime, is once again standing in the position of decision-maker for the people of this area.
I wonder if he ever reflects on the consequences of that earlier decision.
It certainly worked well for him, jump-starting his political career.
But the residents of the gully and a threatened species have not been so fortunate.

Carole West

Port Macquarie

Photograph from Google Images

NSW Police fight to keep mug shots of persons found not guilty by courts and succeed

NSW Police has given us more reason not to fall foul of the law – it intends to keep all those physical and digital copies of mug shots even after people are found not guilty by the courts.

The reason why police get to keep these records forever? Well the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal tells us it's because those lawmakers in Macquarie Street forgot to consider mug shots and surveillance photos when framing LEPRA.

The Tribunal also says; “NSW Police Force is not required to comply with the information protection principles when taking photographs of a person in lawful custody under s 133 of the LEPRA”

LEPRA allows for the destruction of finger and palm prints, but this legislative oversight leaves the way wide open for police to indulge in some petty revenge by keeping people in the database who have no criminal record.

Now I had a wee hunt back in time and discovered that LEPRA was enthusiastically embraced in 2006 by none other than the present NSW Police Minister who said in Parliament that “We want to re-empower police in relation to arrest and research with what is known as LEPRA—the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act.”

So the O’Farrell Government can’t just blame NSW Labor for the current stupidity.

Here’s one recent example of a person having prints destroyed but photos retained by police.

APN proofreaders asleep at the wheel

As if the matter covered by the item wasn't bad enough, APN's online report about the fire in a Sydney nursing home carried more pain for victims, their families and friends when APN stuffed up big time with the name of the alleged killer.

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