Wednesday 30 November 2011

Senate Coal Seam Gas Report Calls For Approvals Moratorium Until Scientific Studies Completed and Reviewed


Media Release
SENATOR THE HON. BILL HEFFERNAN
Liberal Senator for New South Wales
For further information please contact Office of Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan (02) 62773610

Senate Report into Coal Seam Gas

Senator Bill Heffernan, the Chairman of the Senate Standing References Committee on Rural Affairs & Transport today released the Committee's report on the Impact of Coal Seam Gas Extraction on the Murray-Darling Basin. The report considers the potential impact of the industry on Basin groundwater resources, agricultural land and regional communities.

The Committee, as part of that general inquiry has been examining the economic, social and environmental impacts of mining coal seam gas on:
·         the sustainability of water aquifers and future water licensing arrangements;
·         the property rights and values of landholders;
·         the sustainability of prime agricultural land and Australia’s food task;
·         the social and economic benefits or otherwise for regional towns and the effective management of relationships between mining and other interests; and other related matters including health impacts.

This report concentrates on CSG developments within the Murray-Darling Basin which are the focus of the industry and of public concern, in particular, the security of the gas wells. The main regions of concern to this Committee, where the industry is expanding very rapidly, are in south-west Queensland and north-west New South Wales.

Some of the recommendations include Commonwealth and State governments conducting a thorough review of the appropriateness of 'adaptive management in the context of regulating the industry. A consistent, national regulatory framework for all aspects of the coal seam gas industry should be promoted.

Groundwater is a vital resource for agricultural, domestic and urban use across much of the Murray-Darling Basin and nor can it be considered in isolation from surface water. The major risks associated with the coal seam gas industry are whether it has the potential to significantly deplete the groundwater on which agriculture and regional communities depend, to contaminate higher quality water, to alter the hydrology of the affected regions, or to do irreparable damage to the aquifers containing that water.

The Committee recommends that further approvals of CSG production should not be considered until studies of the Basin water resources being conducted by the CSIRO & Geoscience Australia, the Queensland Government and the Namoi Catchment Study are completed and their findings reviewed. The Committee also recommends that the Water Act be amended to include the Great Artesian Basin in the definition of the Murray-Darling Basin water resources. Similarly it recommends that the sustainable use of the Great Artesian Basin be recognised as a matter of national environmental significance under the Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The Committee recommends that it be a requirement of all exploration or production approvals that the fluids extracted from wells after fraccing are kept isolated in secure separate storages and prior to disposal are treated to the highest standards.

The Committee is deeply concerned with brine and salt residues – more than 700,000 tonnes of salt will be produced every year . It recommends that salt and brine be removed from agricultural regions and water catchments. If salt and brine residues cannot be disposed within the short term, then it should be removed from agricultural areas and water catchments and no controlled landfills for the disposal of salt should be permitted in the Murray-Darling Basin.

The Commonwealth and the States should establish an independently managed trust funded by the gas companies to make financial provision for long-term rectification of problems such as leaks in sealed wells or subsidence and erosion caused by collapsing pipelines.

The gas industry has the potential to have a severe impact on agricultural productivity in the Basin. The Committee recommends that gas production be excluded from highly productive agricultural land and, where the industry and agriculture do coexist, that the maintenance of agricultural productivity take priority over the needs of the gas industry in any dispute between landholders and the industry.

"The challenge for the global food task is to produce more food with less water, less fertiliser and less agricultural land against the background of the science which says by 2050, the world's population will be 9 billion, 50% of the world's population will be poor for water, one billion people will be unable to feed themselves, 30% of the productive land of Asia will have gone out of production due to urbanisation and climate change, two-thirds of the world's population will live in Asia, the food task would have doubled and more importantly 1.6 billion people could be displaced on this planet." said Senator Heffernan.

The Committee recommends that draft access agreements between landholders and gas companies include a requirement that company employees must have a landholder's approval whenever they wish to enter a property and that companies must maintain logs of staff entering private property.

The Committee, recognising that many of the issues relating to this industry are the constitutional responsibility of the States recommends that the Commonwealth, in forums such as the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)and the Standing Council for Energy and Resources take the initiative in working towards a coordinated national approach to the regulation of this industry.

The Committee will continue to monitor developments in the CSG industry in 2012. For more information about the report, please visit the following website:

30 November 2011

Seems the electorate of Clarence has a phantom Local Member


Despite being declared the winner of the 19 November by-election a week ago and being sworn in as the Member for Clarence last Friday a happy snap of Chris Gulaptis is yet to appear on the NSW Parliament's website.

A couple of mates at the local watering hole reckon the no-show by Gulaptis on the parliament's website is easily explained.
One mate reckons the photographer couldn't manage to get the new MP's head in the photo shoot - a panorama shot was required.
Another mate reckons that because the new local MP wears the label "Steve Gulaptis" the delay in getting an image on the site is due to a problem in getting a composite shot of Steve and Chris.
The first mate also reckons teams of carpenters have had to be urgently employed at parliament house and the local MP's electorate office. The reason >>>>>>>> tops of doorways have had to be widened to enable Gulaptis to get his swollen head through them.

Hadley and Flannery with pistols drawn


2GB Radio The Ray Hadley Show
 Thursday, 28 July 2011
David calls in to Ray Hadley to confirm Professor Tim Flannery does own a waterfront home at Coba Point.

Professor Flannery in Crikey, 22 November 2011:

Flannery did his own investigation. He found an address for “David” and made a house call. Flannery writes:
“His stammering voice was so unlike the smart-alec tone I’d heard on the radio that at first I thought I had the wrong person. But he soon admitted that he knew Ray Hadley. In fact, he worked for him.
“David then stated emphatically that he had not called Ray Hadley at all. Instead Hadley had asked him to appear on the show, and had called him. David said that Hadley had sought him out after learning that I lived nearby. The story, and all of the supposed ‘facts’ that David was to raise during the interview, had, according to David, been assembled beforehand by Hadley and his team … David stated: ‘You’re on the other side of the fence [regarding climate change] … they hate you … they’re out to get you.’”

2GB Radio The Ray Hadley Show Wednesday,  23 Nov 2011
Ray responds to Tim Flannery's claims
Calls Flannery you low bastard as he concludes a denial of ever knowing "David"

As Hadley made a number of errors in his reply, uttered contradictory statements about legal action and "David" remains an unverifiable source, I suspect that Flannery wins this round without much effort.

Especially as Crikey published this memo on 25 November 2011:
21.viii.11 Sunday afternoon
Tim pulls up at pontoon — v crowded with debris — revs motor to reverse.
Man appears on verandah, shirtless, comes down pulling on sweater.
T calls out: Are you David? I’d like a word.
Man walks down, diffidently but expecting us (?) Tells barking dog to be quiet.
Man & T meet mid-jetty.
T: Are you David?
Man: Yes.
T: You’re the caller David who called Ray Hadley?
D: That’s me.
T explains visit. D is barely coherent [does he have a speech impediment?] T asks re call to 2GB?
D, matter of factly: They called me … They had it all arranged. I just called in.
D: … You’re on the other side of the fence [re climate change], they [2GB] hate you, they’re out to get you. I didn’t call them, they called me.
Alex (surprised): Why would they call you?
D (flatly): I work for them.
A (politely): What is your work?
D (softly): Card [incoherent]
A (gently): Sorry?
D (clearly): Car detailing. I do car detailing for them at 2GB. I know them all.
T (firmly, fairly): Well, we’d like the podcast permanently removed rom the public domain. Could you ask Ray Hadley to do that.
D (hesitating, uncertain): Well, I won’t see him for another fortnight, another two weeks.
A (quietly): You’re a newcomer here. We don’t do this sort of thing to each other. We’re a small community & just respect each other’s privacy.
T (gently): It’s OK, leave this to me. (firmly, fairly): OK David, the decent thing to do is to get the podcast removed. It’s untrue & it’s dangerous. That’s all.
We leave.
Ray Hadley has since fired back in this TheTelegraph online article.

Which again returns readers to the question of the mysterious
"David" aka "Dave" allegedly of Coba Point, Berowra Creek NSW. Seen here in one of the many photograph's posted by his wife on her Facebook page between 2008-2011......

And this is probably Dave's 'new' waterfront home....

After two on-air interviews with Ray Hadley, one wonders if "Dave" is still enjoying his notoriety?

No Antimony Mine on the Dorrigo Plateau - get your bumper stickers now



The bumper stickers are available from Kombu Wholefoods in Bellingen, The Happy Frog in Coffs Harbour, The Clarence Environment Centre in South Grafton, Sawtell Paradise Fruit, The Sawtell Newsagency, Hickory Wholefoods in Dorrigo, Dorrigo Environment Watch Inc., Antimony Action and local NSW Greens groups.

Further information about the proposed reopening of the mine and about the dangers of antimony mining in high rainfall areas is available at
http://www.dorrigoenvironmentwatch.org.au/index.html

Now before you indulge in très grande panic with Dr. No - actually look at the 2011-12 MYEFO

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Laughing at Abbott all the way to 2013


A hat tip to Your Democracy for this item:

Abbott's positively negative

in the words of Mike Carlton …..

Dear Sir/Madam
Congratulations! The moment you've been waiting for is here. It's the once in a lifetime opportunity for your business, workplace or sports club to join Tony Abbott in his fight to say NO to the Brown-Gillard socialist government.
You've seen it on television. Every day, Tony is out there at shops, farms, mines, factories and athletic events around Australia, demonstrating his genuine understanding of real Aussies in every walk of life. It might be making sandwiches, laying bricks, driving a backhoe or even running a marathon: there's nothing he won't try. In Afghanistan recently he even donned an army bomb disposal suit for the cameras.
Now you can be part of this exciting TV campaign. Your place of work or leisure might be an ideal location for Tony to visit. See how many of these boxes you can tick:
Yes, we want to say NO to the Brown- Gillard socialist wreckers.
We would welcome a Tony Abbott TV appearance at our business or sporting event.
We have a hard hat and fluoro safety vest for Tony to wear (or other uniform/protective clothing).
Tony could appear in Speedos, cyclists' Lycra or other sports gear as appropriate.
We have a tractor/forklift/hammer/bicycle/surfboard (or other equipment) for Tony to pose with.
Anyone hostile to Tony can be kept away from the cameras.
We are not connected to any gay, lesbian, feminist, Islamic, refugee, trade union, environmental or other left-wing group.
If this is you, then seize the moment. Say YES to say NO. Contact Tony's office at Parliament House, Canberra, and we'll arrange a visit. And please note, too, that Tony is also available for private lunches or dinners with selected conservative media commentators.
Sincerely,
Brian Inane,
Federal Director (Photo Opportunities)
Liberal Party of Australia

O'Farrell apes K-K-Keneally according to Buckingham


MEDIA RELEASE 24 November 2011
The Greens NSW spokesperson on mining Jeremy Buckingham has condemned the O’Farrell Government’s move to cancel this week’s Private Members Business sitting day as a cynical manoeuvre to avoid a vote on the Coal Seam Gas Moratorium Bill.
The Coal Seam Gas Moratorium Bill was next in the order of business due to be debated on Friday morning, the last sitting day of the year.
“Last year Barry O’Farrell condemned Kristina Keneally for her decision to prorogue Parliament in an attempt to avoid scrutiny on the electricity privatisation, yet now he has canned the last sitting day of the year to avoid a vote on the Coal Seam Gas Moratorium Bill,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.
“With the ban on fracking expiring on December 31, it will be back to full speed for the coal seam gas industry over summer because the O’Farrell government was too gutless to debate the merits of a moratorium or vote on it.
“Regardless of the government’s procedural tricks, the coal seam gas industry has not earned a social licence to operate and the community will use direct action, such as the Spring Ridge blockade, if they try to roll out.
Contact: Max Phillips – 0419 444 916