Beating up on bats has become the favourite pastime of the environmentally ignorant

"The stink is so bad it wakes us at night and we can't open the windows of a day.”

“…I'm always cleaning bat poo off the patio..”
"rodents"

“…. they have to be eradicated,"

"In the summertime, kids swim in there. Quite frankly, their health is at risk,"

These are selected quotes given by the pair pictured above (and a handful of unidentified neighbours) when interviewed in The Mainbrace, Yamba by The Daily Examiner on 19 September 2011.

Sounds like a terrible state of affairs having what is probably a seasonal flying fox camp in a very large reserve on the opposite side of the road, doesn’t it?

The reality is somewhat different. No street thick with guano, no terrible smell, flying foxes roosting to the middle of the wide reserve and not in the trees and shrubs adjoining the footpath and, even at high tide no area suitable for swimming as the reserve is predominately mudflats and marsh with a heavily silted up creek running through its centre.

The clean street

The flying foxes (zoom lens)

Some of the trees at the reserve edge with no flying foxes

A section of marsh

Faark, she's back!

La Niña conditions have returned and will continue into 2012 according to NOAA. Will there be widespread flooding for Christmas this year? Has anyone warned Santa that he might need a flood boat for Northern NSW and Queensland deliveries?

NOAA La Nina Advisory

Breaking news

It's official! According to The Northern Star's website yesterday beer drinking (along with horse racing and surfing) is a sport.

Warning: All sports activities, including beer consumption, should be undertaken in moderation. If in doubt, consult your friendly medical practitioner. Perhaps a second opinion should also be sought

Cansdellgate: one-handed applause for Scandell

Applause

I applaud Steve Cansdell for resigning due to his indiscretion with the statutory declaration.

I look forward to applauding him further when he pays for the by-election he has caused with some of the cash he will receive from his parliamentary super and his lifetime pension.

John Williams, Clarenza. 

Source: Letters, The Daily Examiner, 24/9/11

Commentary on the Nats' derby in Clarence

This comment piece appears in today's Daily Examiner.

Walk-up start to a seat

There is a distinct appearance of opportunism in the clamour of candidates seeking National Party pre-selection for the seat of the Clarence.
Things can change between now and when the election is held but, as it stands, it is almost inevitable that whoever gets the nod for the Nationals will be elected to fill the position vacated through Steve Cansdell's forced resignation.
Unless the government steps right out of line, it is difficult to see voter choosing a Labor candidate into opposition or an independent, so National Party endorsement would appear to be a walk-up start to a seat in parliament.
Not that the Nationals are saying that. Predictably, they are saying it will be a hard-fought contest where every vote will count. They don't want people thinking their candidate will be a shoo-in as that can encourage a protest vote.
As of yesterday there were six prospective candidates for the Nationals. We included Richie Williamson in that number despite his equivocation yesterday, because the Nationals listed him as a starter.
Of those, it would be hard to see them go past Mr Williamson, former Maclean mayor Chris Gulaptis or Casino's Stuart George. Although Mr Williamson has the higher profile, Mr George, the son of popular Lismore Nationals MP Thomas George, has the better credentials with the Nationals. Mr Gulaptis is a former candidate, and that will count highly.
But the three other contenders cannot be discounted entirely. Karen Toms is developing a reputation as a hard worker through her position on the Clarence Valley Council, Fiona Leviny has some powerful backers and impresses with her passion and Paul O'Connor, with his legal background, has some influential friends and will be able to argue his case well. It is a healthy position for the Nationals to be in.
We have heard little from prospective Labor candidates to date but it is unlikely they will have the same field from which to choose.