What will happen to the more than 40,000 year-old fishing rights if the NSW Clarence River Estuary is industrialised?

Dredging activities impact on the marine environment by smothering benthic biota and habitats and degrading water quality through elevated turbidites and bioavailability of pollutants. In addition, alterations in seabed morphology and bathymetry, and consequently to wave energy and water circulation, result in modified patterns of littoral drift (NSW Fisheries 1999, Watchorn 2000). The effects of this can include progressive accretion of sediments on some parts of the coast, and erosion in other areas (Winstanley 1995). Biota are obliterated during dredge removal and may take months or years to recover (Coleman et al. 1999). Species directly affected include invertebrates, fish and seagrass, although mangrove and saltmarsh communities are indirectly affected through altered water flows within estuaries (Edgar 2001). Dredging has been implicated in the disappearance of some invertebrates from port environments, such as a number of hydroid species that have not been recorded in Hobsons Bay, Victoria, since the advent of dredging programs (J.E. Watson, pers. comm., cited in Poore and Kudenov 1978b). Studies elsewhere have shown that the long-term influences of dredging on benthic infauna occur through permanent modification of the sedimentary environment (Jones and Candy 1981). [Commonwealth Dept. of Environment, National Oceans Office, Impact from the ocean/land interface, 2006]

Many North Coast Voices readers will be familiar with reports that deep and/or sustained dredging of tidal rivers and ocean harbours negatively impacts marine biodiversity resulting in species richness and abundance declining over time.

Environmental problems in the Port of Gladstone around 794kms to the north of the Port of Yamba have been in the news for years.

The Clarence River estuary is the largest combined river-ocean fishery in New South Wales and home to the biggest commercial fishing fleet in this state.

It is also a river which for a significant part of its length is held under Native Title by the Yaegl people (Yaegl People #1 & Yaegl People #2) of the Clarence Valley - from the waters approximately half-way between Ulmarra and Brushgrove right down to the eastern extremities of the northern and southern breakwater walls at the mouth of the river.

Here are the official maps outlining in green Native Title officially held to date:

On 2 June 2016 the CEO of Australian Infrastructure Developments was careful to note that this speculative company - lobbying for heavy industrialisation of the Clarence River estuary via a mega port covering 36 sq. kms or 27.2% of the entire estuary area - was yet to approach the Yaegl community or the trust created by traditional owners to manage these native titles.

Surely, with indigenous fishing rights recognised at law as existing on the Clarence River since time immemorial, any responsible company with a plan to extensively alter the riverine and marine environment should have asked the Yaegl people first before approaching the NSW Government with this:

Based on preliminary mapping published by Australian Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd, yellow block overlays indicate bulk, liquid & container cargo terminals and shipping berths with grey overlays indicating proposed industrial areas

But then, Des Euen and his small band of backers have not yet publicly approached any of the Lower Clarence communities most affected by this prime example of environmental vandalism.

This is what Australia Infrastructure Developments and Des Euen want the people of the Clarence River Estuary to be complicit in establishing **WARNING: Distressing Images**

On 2 June 20016 CEO of Australia Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd talked of the fact that his proposal for an industrial mega port in the Clarence River Estuary through the Port of Yamba would be capable of exporting live cattle for the Asian meat market.

Snapshot of part of power point presentation on 2 June 2016

Local media reported on the prospect on 4 June 2016:

NORTHERN Rivers cattle producers have welcomed preliminary negotiations for a live trade industry to Indonesia which could see the Port of Yamba revived as an export hub.

Exploratory trade inquiries, initiated by Australia-Indonesia Business Council executive member Welly Salim, has strong support from Richmond River Cattle Producers Association members, who sizzled rendang curry and satay sticks at their Casino Beef Week exhibit on Saturday in honour of the potential Indonesian market.

Mr Salim owns Oceanic Cattle Stations, a 15,800-head Tennant Creek station. He also has close business ties with Toowoomba transport tycoons, the Wagner family.

This week he was on a fact-finding mission, collecting data from brahman producers from Coffs Harbour to Tweed Heads.

It was hoped the Northern Rivers market could dovetail with the established Northern Territory live export trade industry, which shuts down over the wet season.

These are some of the live trade cruelties that would ruin the reputations of family-friendly, clean, green towns like Yamba and Iluka.

On the ship transporting cattle......

The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 2016:

ABC's 7.30 program on Wednesday night aired shocking footage and photographs taken by the experienced vet, Dr Lynn Simpson, who monitored the health and welfare of cattle on export ships.

The images depicted animals lying dead on floors centimetres-thick with excrement, which had also contaminated food troughs.

Other cattle lay injured, suffocating or bleeding and barely alive.

"It's just business as usual on these ships. I expect to see leg injuries, I expect to see pneumonia, I expect to see animals drenched in faecal matter," Dr Simpson told the ABC.

At some of the abattoirs which receive the exported Australian cattle.....

https://youtu.be/OiIeHMIkdeA

https://youtu.be/EwtFMq2tvHg

  https://youtu.be/le8Xh_38qKQ

Des Euen warned off Yamba by an online supporter

Not that Des Euen needed any hint that many Yamba and Iluka residents would be against the industrialisation of the Clarence River estuary…..

Facebook, 23 June 2016

Mr. Euen is rather sensitive about the few comments on the Australian Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd Facebook page.

He recently removed comments from two Clarence Valley residents (at least one of whom attended the “summit” he organised at Casino on 2 June 2016) but left his accusations of selfishness against individuals living in the region which would be most affected by this highhanded attempt to make his fortune at the expense of so many ordinary people.

Fish n Chips not Mega Ships!

"All the major economic sectors in the lower Clarence Valley are dependent to a considerable extent on understanding and protecting the estuary’s and floodplain’s natural processes and values." [DLWC, Umwelt (Australia Pty Ltd, 2003, Clarence Estuary Management Plan: The Clarence Estuary - A Valued Asset]

The economic value of tourism is worth an est. $239.4 million per annum to the Clarence Valley with recreational fishing forming a significant part of the region's income and, in 2010 the commercial fishing industry was worth an est. $92 million annually to the valley.

The economies of the three main towns in the Clarence River estuary are heavily based on commercial and recreational fishing and water-based tourism, with Yamba and Iluka being principal holiday destinations.

Boating is a major recreational activity, with 90% of recreational boating related to fishing and 61% involving retired people. [Clarence Valley Council, 2003]

Fresh seafood caught locally forms part of the staple diet for many Lower Clarence households.

These are the faces of some of the people who threw a line in the last two months:

Bluff Beach, 10 June 2016

Catch at Moriaty’s Wall, 8 June 2016

26 May 2016

31 May 2016

Iluka Beach, 18 May 2016

Off the break wall, 8 June 2016

Brown's Rock, 16 June 2016

[Images from Iluka Bait & Tackle]

However, Australia Infrastructure Developments Pty Ltd and Deakin Capital Pty Ltd - along with Messrs. Des Euen, Thomas Chui, Lee and Nigel Purves - want to destroy this great year-round and holiday lifestyle by lobbying government to allow the 
construction of a large industrial port covering over 27 per cent of the Clarence River estuary.

Thereby severely compromising lower river commercial and recreational fishing grounds with the constant movement in and out of the river of mega ships such as these:

[North Coast Voices, February 2016]

With their bow wave and propeller wash sucking at known seagrass beds as well as riverbanks along the main estuary channels as they pass. 

Many of us who live on the river are firmly of the belief that we would rather have

“Fish n Chips not Mega Ships!”

Brief Background

Long before the arrival of Europeans in the area, local Bundjalung people were fishing the waters of the 'big river' for oysters and fish, as evidenced by the large middens found along the river banks and coastline. The first settlers to the area found a bountiful river surrounded by dense subtropical forests and swamps flowing out to the coastline. Fish were easy to come by and made up an important food source for the early settlers who set about developing forestry and farming in the area. Grafton was established in the 1850’s with the river being a principal source of transport. The introduction of sheep grazing to the area occurred in the late 1850’s and sugar cane farming was carried out as early as 1868 (Anon, 1980a). A small commercial fishery had its beginnings in 1862 when fish were caught to supply workers and their families employed in the construction of the river entrance works. This major project was designed to provide safe navigation for the coastal steamers that traded upriver. Commercial fishermen were supplying fish to the local market by the 1870’s, particularly seasonal fishing for mullet, which was an important local industry supplying the Grafton market (Anon, 1880). The fishing industry began in earnest in 1884 when shipments of fish were sent to Sydney twice a week, weather permitting. The fish, mainly whiting, bream, flat tailed mullet and flathead were packed in ice in large insulated boxes. The boxes were then reused to bring ice on the return trip (Anon, 1994). [Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, A socio—economic evaluation of the commercial fishing industry in the Ballina, Clarence and Coffs Harbour regions, 2009]

o   The commercial industry in Northern NSW provides about one-third of the product (fish) landed in the whole of NSW.

o   An assessment of fish stocks in NSW indicated most fisheries are probably sustainable but that there should be no expansion of catches.

o  The economic modelling results demonstrated that the industry provides quantifiable economic benefits to the Northern NSW region in the form of output, income, employment and value added (gross regional product).

o  The combined harvesting and processing sectors of the industry in Northern NSW provided total flow-on effects of $216 million derived from output, $36.1 million in income, 933 employment positions and $75.5 million in value added.

o   Two-thirds of the money generated by the operation of the industry is spent in the local and regional economies.

o   Commercial fishing activity in the Clarence River occurs in the Estuary General and Estuary Trawl Fisheries.

o   The ocean fleet has home port facilities in both Yamba and Iluka.

o   The Clarence River Fishermen's Co-op operates two depots with Maclean primarily processing catch from the river fishery and Iluka processing catch from the offshore fishery.

o   Ocean Hauling was one of the earliest fisheries to be utilised on the beaches in the Clarence district and continues to be an important fishery in the area.

[Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, 2009 & Clarence Valley Council, 2016]

o   In 2010 Clarence Valley Council estimates that the commercial fishing industry is now worth over $92 million and generates over 430 jobs, while the recreational fishing industry which forms a large part of the $280 million tourism industry in the Valley generates much of the economic base of Yamba, Iluka and Maclean.

o   Due to tourism Yamba and Iluka regularly double their population during major holiday periods and many retired and family holiday makers are thought to be drawn to the area by fishing and other recreational opportunities on the river.

o   Commercial ocean fish and crustacean species both breed and feed in the Clarence River estuary system.

[J.M. Melville, Submission to the Inquiry into the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on Regional Australia, No. 177, December 2010]

All the major economic sectors in the lower Clarence Valley are dependent to a considerable extent on understanding and protecting the estuary’s and floodplain’s natural processes and values…..

The outstanding threat nominated by the Maclean group was population growth and urban development, particularly where this is located close to the estuary. This is an interesting result, given that the Clarence overall is not an urbanised waterway. It may reflect the rapid changes that are occurring in Yamba, and the view in the community that further growth in this area will require major sustainability issues to be addressed. The appropriate growth rate and style of development in Yamba has been a major source of discussion for residents in the lower Clarence, especially in response to Council’s interpretation of the results of its community survey on the future of Yamba. Several other frequently nominated threats were examples of the types of threats that are associated with poorly managed urban growth that exceeds the capability of the natural system. Declining health of the estuary (from any cause) was perceived as a major threat by the lower Clarence community, acknowledging the high economic dependence on estuary health in this area.

[DLWC, Umwelt (Australia Pty Ltd, 2003, Clarence Estuary Management Plan: The Clarence Estuary - A Valued Asset]

The Clarence Valley Local Government Area’s Gross Regional Product in 2015 was estimated at $1.73 billion, which represents 0.4% of the state's GSP (Gross State Product)

Euen's 'Eastgate Port' exposed

The call went out to protect the Clarence River and its communities.....

The Daily Examiner, 14 June 2016:

LETTER: 'Eastgate Port' very real in eyes of investors

SIGN OF THE FUTURE? Coal ships loaded with their cargo at Port Waratah, Newcastle.

There are currently ongoing discussions to expand the Port of Yamba on the Clarence River estuary into a super-port.

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

THERE has been mention in the media recently of the so-called unsolicited proposal to expand the Port of Yamba into a 'super port'.

The latest version of this proposal has increased the size of port infrastructure so that is covers an estimated 36 sq km of the Clarence River estuary.

That's over 27 per cent of the entire estuary covered with container, liquid and bulk terminals and at least 14 associated shipping berths - operating 24 hours a day for up to 365 days a year.

Individuals associated with this proposal have indicated that the river will have to be deeply dredged to a depth of 18 metres from the mouth to beyond Goodwood Island, the entrance break walls will have to be removed and the reef Dirrangun destroyed, in order to accommodate container and bulk vessels with drafts of up to 16 metres.

A cluster of three small river islands (Turkey, Gourd and Palm) will be removed to create the container terminal and berths on the plan being shown at meetings outside the Clarence Valley and, the company has admitted there will be some foreshore loss in the estuary, although it hasn't said where or how much.

Communities living along the lower Clarence would be well aware of the potential for foreshore erosion and loss of river beaches this proposed port would bring with it, along with air, water, light and noise pollution in the vicinity of the new infrastructure. Even if the company is careful not to specifically mention these issues in public.

Now our elected representatives at local, state and federal government level have been telling people that this unsolicited proposal is pie in the sky and will never happen.

However, a company was created to specifically drive this bid to acquire the right to reconfigure the port and obtain a lease to run the new port as a civil corporation and, this company also created a subsidiary registered in Hong Kong.

Presumably this subsidiary will hold the income expected from the 35 per cent shareholding the company believes it will have in the second corporation eventually created to lease the port from the NSW Government.

According to Australian Securities & Investment Commission records the company has issued 494 million shares and over 461 million of these are classed as "not beneficially held". That is they are held on behalf of unnamed individuals, trusts and/or companies.

Representatives and supporters of this company have approached numerous councils, including Clarence Valley Council, to discuss its plan to build an extensive new rail system to ship everything from bauxite, rutile and petro-chemicals through to grain and live cattle from this new industrial port.

It has contacted companies in mainland China to inform them of its plans and its CEO has stated that if the Australian Government gives approval for this port expansion then Chinese money will help fund the project. The sum of $56 billion from Chinese investors was mentioned by one company director with regard to the port and rail system.

The Clarence River, along with its estuary and floodplain, comprise the largest coastal river system in New South Wales and it is home to the commercial fishing fleet working the biggest river and ocean fishery in the state.

The people who live within this system know how special the river is and in the past have spoken out to protect The Mighty Clarence.

This 'super port' plan may not be feasible or advisable given the existing environmental, cultural, social, aesthetic and economic values it will either diminish or destroy, but it continues to be put forward at every opportunity (sometimes promoted by NSW National Party members) and it is perhaps time for concerned Clarence Valley residents and communities to ask their elected representatives to do more than wave away any suggestion that this super port will be considered by government.

It's time to ask them to approach their own parties and get a firm commitment to protect the Clarence River estuary from this form of destructive overdevelopment.

If you want to see what this merry band of white shoe developers have planned for their own personal enrichment go to http://www.aid-australia.com.au/ and read about their proposed $12 billion takeover of the Port of Yamba aka Eastgate Port.

Judith M. Melville, Yamba

Mega-port plan threatens islands

LETTER: Let’s hope Mr Euen’s plans get flushed down the toilet

Stinging attack on Williamson over Port meetings

And China is hearing about it........

http://guanxiglobal.cn/ (use Google Translate button in browser for English text)

Head Office

1 Suite
5 Percy Street, London
England W1T 1DG
United Kingdom

https://twitter.com/GuanxiGlobal

What Desmond Euen tells the world about himself & his expertise and what the NSW North Coast says about him

Desmond John Thomas Euen asks communities on the NSW North Coast, as well as local and state governments, to accept his stated credentials and expertise in relation to an unsolicited proposal for a Yamba super port and new freight rail network between inland New South Wales and the coast.

So what has Mr. Euen told the world about his business history?

This is Des Euen on Linked in, as accessed on 8 June 2016:

https://au.linkedin.com/in/deseuen

There are a number of claims in this summary written by Mr. Euen:

1. “National Representative for and on behalf Australia's Independent Owner Drivers a position I held until 1991”

It would appear that Des Euen may have been president of an unrecognised union which made the news briefly over twenty years ago.

The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales · Page 3https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/122594753/

Mar 15, 1990 - Queensland president of the teamsters, Mr Des Euen....

The Teamsters Federation claims to have more than 3,000 members throughout the country. However it is not a recognised union….

A confrontation on the NSW-Queensland border crossings was expected last night as the Transport Workers Union warned that its truck drivers were likely to ignore picket lines set up by the rebel Teamsters Federation.

 2. “During this period I assisted in….the reinstatement of Section 92 (Free Trade between States)”

Oh dear, s92 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act was never removed and in need of reinstatement - it remains as it was on 9 July 1900:

92. Trade within the Commonwealth to be free

On the imposition of uniform duties of customs, trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whether by means of internal carriage or ocean navigation, shall be absolutely free.

But notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, goods imported before the imposition of uniform duties of customs into any State, or into any Colony which, whilst the goods remain therein, becomes a State, shall, on thence passing into another State within two years after the imposition of such duties, be liable to any duty chargeable on the importation of such goods into the Commonwealth, less any duty paid in respect of the goods on their importation.

There is no evidence that Euen was involved in any of the four matters before the Australian High Court between 1988 and 1991 which specifically addressed Section 92.

3. “In 1991, I founded Interlink Shipping Consultancy Pty Ltd”

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has no online record of a company of that name registered in 1991 or of a similar registered business name. 

There is a record of ISC Pty Limited, registered in February 1993, based in Sydney and deregistered in March 2004. There is also an ISC Pty Ltd registered in November 2006 and currently based in Caboolture and Lutwyche QLD. However historical records show that Des Euen has never been a director, secretary of shareholder in either of these companies.

4. “In 1994, ISC Pty Ltd was merged with Australian Coastal Shipping Ltd”

Australian Coastal Shipping Limited was registered on 10 May 1994 and, by 21 & 22 August 1997 there was a Notification Of Appointment Of Liquidator By The Court (505G) and a Court Order To Wind Up A Company And Appoint A Liquidator (560) recorded by ASIC. The company was finally deregistered on 4 November 2001.

The historical record for this company does not ever list Mr. Euen as either a director, secretary or shareholder.

What Des Euen fails to mention entirely:

Coast-Trans Pty Ltd, formerly Coast Cat Queensland Pty Ltd, registered on 30 April 2002,  Notification Of Appointment Of Liquidator By The Court (505G) recorded by ASIC on 8 November 2004 with this company finally deregistered on 18 December 2004.

Desmond Euen became the sole director, secretary and single shareholder in this $1 company on 30 April 2002 and, except for a two month period in 2002 when an additional director is recorded, remained in these roles until the company was deregistered.

The Courier-Mail,  28 November 2003, page 7:

…..Coast-Trans owner Des Euen said he had decided to name the 360- passenger catamaran Koopa II to "maintain tradition and history".

The Koopa II will arrive early next month from Indonesia and is expected to enter service on December 8, running from Brisbane to Redcliffe, Bribie Island and Mooloolaba.

The Brisbane-Mooloolaba return fare will be $50.

Mr Euen said the vessel would travel at 26 knots, reaching the Sunshine Coast terminus in 3 1/2 hours.

Next year his company would take delivery of a second vessel capable of carrying 450 people at 40 knots. It would be named Doomba II after another bay cruise vessel and also operate to the Sunshine Coast.

The vessels would cost more than $7 million.

Mr Euen said his company hoped to carry some of the 4500 people who commuted daily to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast.

The Courier-Mail,  26 Dec 2003, page 19:

A NEW high-speed ferry service running between Brisbane, Redcliffe and Bribie Island faces an uncertain future after a rocky maiden voyage.

Refuelling problems meant about 20 passengers were left waiting at the Bongaree jetty at Bribie Island for more than two hours yesterday.

As well, Coast-Trans ferry operator Des Euen is locked in a row with Queensland Transport over access to the jetty.

An angry Mr Euen said the department withdrew permission for Coast-Trans to use the facility at the eleventh hour.

"I have been in discussions with Queensland Transport for more than a year, and no one said, until now, there was a problem," he said.

"I am absolutely astounded."

But a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer said Mr Euen was never granted approval to use the jetty.

"The first time he requested use of Bongaree jetty was 11.30am on Christmas Eve," she said.

"Bongaree jetty is managed by Caboolture Shire Council, who say it is not sure whether it is suitable for a commercial venture."

The spokeswoman said proper public consultation would need to be carried out before the facility could be used.

Mr Euen said he had no choice but to berth at the jetty yesterday, defying the department's orders.

"What else could I do, I had to pick up passengers," he said…..

Coast-Trans operations were due to start a fortnight ago, but hold-ups in importing a 40m, $7 million catamaran from Indonesia meant the first voyage was postponed until a chartered catamaran could be brought north from Sydney.

Mr Euen said the 19.58m vessel, which holds up to 220 people, would run daily from South Bank at Brisbane to Bribie Island, via Redcliffe.

An earlier plan to run from Brisbane to Mooloolaba has been shelved.

What the NSW North Coast says about Des Euen and his grand plan.........

The Daily Examiner, 6 June 2016:

The Clarence River is the setting for the towns of Iluka (left) and Yamba (right) contributed

RE: "No plans to expand local port" (Daily Examiner, May 31).

When I started to read this article I had to glance at the top of the page and check the date, just to make sure that it wasn't April 1.

What is it that supplies people like Mr Euen with the abundance of arrogance that is required to feel that they can push through a whacko idea such as that described for Yamba?

Do they - the Des Euens, Clive Palmers and CEOs of coal-seam gas companies - feel that they have some divine right to inflict their nightmare on the populace of locations which are virtually unspoilt, just because they have the financial capability to do so?

Do they wake up in the morning and think: 'Wow! I've got a brilliant idea of how to turn a beautiful part of the country into a steaming pile of industrial crap'?

I didn't move from a major city (two years ago) to paradise (Yamba) in the hope that, maybe within my lifetime I would see the harbour become a major port.

And I am quite sure that there wouldn't be one person living in this area, whether for the past two, 22 or 122 years, who wants to see this happen.

As an aside, it is interesting to see that Mr Euen compares the scale of his nightmare to that of the Snowy River Scheme.

Prior to my retirement I was engaged in work which put me in regular contact with senior personnel from Snowy Hydro and in conversations about the history and engineering of the scheme it became abundantly clear that such a project, if planned today, would never, ever get the required approvals to proceed.

It would be dead in the water before it even started.

Let's hope that Mr Euen's plans also get flushed down the toilet.

Bruce Kennewell, Yamba

Orarariverfella – Braunstone 6 June 2016:

So Mr Kennewell having moved to the area a whole two years ago you think that your personal little fantasy retirement ideal town frozen in time should over-ride the admittedly far fetched but perfectly feasible idea that many before have seriously looked into. Once again it seems self interest and small mindedness will allow the noisy few to stifle any logical and rigorous investigation of any proposal that has merit to drive economic development (oh the horror of that notion) of the Clarence region.
We are in a position today to demand of any large scale proposal that it meet and indeed exceed any environmental restraints and controls that a development on this scale should rightfully, morally and socially have to comply. It just needs a combined will to at the least think about something that's bigger than the few but can succeed and to some degree stem the flow of the young leaving the area giving those that grew up here a viable reason to actually live out their lives and prosper here.

yambaman, 6 June 2016:

What is even more interesting is the lunatic's given address, 5 Shellbach St, Ipswich - Google can't find it for me.
At least they can find his co-Director's address 23 Apple Gum Ct, Robins - pretty disappointing abode for an upwardly mobile businessman.
What a w@nker, while I wish him no personal ill-will, this equally aged but grey-haired NIMBY hopes he drops off the planet before some idiot in government actually takes him seriously!

On Clarence Forum:

John Hagger, 5 June 2016:

$50 buys a whole lot of Advertising in Casino.

Sometimes the pace of the needed changes seems painfully slow.

As a local resident doing their best to ensure Our Valley’s long-term survival, the glacial pace of change can be so incredibly frustrating that it is possible to overlook our achievements to date.

Sometimes support comes from the most unexpected of places.

Des Euen generously provided us with evidence of just how far we have already advanced at the Casino meeting with regard to Yamba Port.

As previously noted, the meeting was poorly attended and most of those present came out of concern or to voice their objections.

In the face of comments and questions from his detractors, Dinosaur Des replied with numerous unwanted and patronising references of ‘darling’ and ‘sweetheart’ aimed at local women.

So extreme was the archaic language and the mega claims of Yamba becoming the largest Port in Australia with matching infrastructure extending like a web across NSW and beyond that I was left wondering why.

Why would anyone so alienate their audience or so anger the People of the towns next door to the intended Port’s construction site?

My guess is that Des the truck driver is being used as a canary in the coalmine by whatever political and financing bodies are really in charge of this dog and pony show.

In exchange for the $50 required to book the 400-seat room at Casino’s RSM:
Des and his mates got to spread their message far and wide plus ticked the box marked Community Consultation.

Just in case any of the Puppet Masters ever get to read this:
Local People have made it clear.
We do Not want to be home to Australia’s largest Port.

Tom Porter, 3 June at 20:06: 

I think I will take a look into Dez Euen's past. I am getting a feeling he could be selling snake oil.

Leigh Barrington:

 Gawd, like days of our lives. Can't wait for the next episode  

Pamela Wickham, 2 June at 08:08:

 Des mentioned things should get a move on within or around 8 weeks eg He said he has invested a huge amount of money into this project and believes in creating jobs and if he does not succeed than he loses millions. 6 June 2016

Carly Woodstock Good. This tool can kiss his millions goodbye. How dare he....

Teresa Eggins Hopefully he loses im sure its not his money anyway

Mat Bell, 2 June at 13:20:

Why the f*uck was there a meeting about yambas future in casino????? [redacted word due to filters in use by some overseas readers]

Teresa Eggins:

 My thought exactly only reason I could think of is that a lot of yamba locals wouldnt know about it or wouldnt be able to attend