Fighting for Ballina's Koalas

Letter to the editor in The Northern Star on 12 June 2014:

Koalas at risk

Yesterday on the ABC, Mr Bob Higgins, Pacific Highway upgrade manager for the RMS, said about the proposed Broadwater to Ballina deviation: "The route that was selected is on mostly cleared land."

His statement is not correct. The reality is that the proposed route will clear and sever intact corridors of forest and wetland that connect the Wardell heathland (part of the National Reserve system called the Ngunya-Jargoon Indigenous Protected Area) with the nationally significant forests (and koala habitats) of the Blackwall Range. Indeed, these areas are recognised as some of the most important wildlife corridors in Ballina Shire.

What Mr Higgins has repeatedly failed to address is that the proposed route is several kilometres longer than the existing highway.

It will require clearing large tracts of nationally important koala habitat and result in the isolation and permanent degradation of hundreds of hectares of adjacent koala habitat. It will clear and fragment the largest and most significant tracts of native vegetation in Ballina Shire.

The RMS policy about biodiversity states:

"When managing biodiversity, RMS aims to: 1. Avoid and minimise impacts first. 2. Mitigate impacts where avoidance is not possible. 3. Offset where residual impacts cannot be avoided".

There are numerous options available for building a highway between Broadwater and Ballina that won't have any impacts on biodiversity (including koalas).

Mr Higgins has been informed (in person and in writing) since 2005 that building a highway along the proposed route will cause local extinctions of nationally protected species, such as the koala and long-nosed potoroo. He knows there is no native vegetation, protected areas or culturally significant features along the existing highway between Broadwater and Ballina. He also knows that avoiding any impacts on biodiversity is readily achievable.

Mr Higgins, you have no excuse for killing Ballina's koalas.

Mark Graham

Coffs Harbour (formerly Meerschaum Vale)

Memo to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott from an ordinary voter

Dear Mr. Abbott,

You have recently been quoted in the mainstream media urging people not to stereotype you and saying that voters should not pigeonhole you as a defender of the status quo.

Let me assure you, sir, that I would never accuse you of defending the status quo.

Since first entering the Australian Parliament in 1994 you have made it abundantly clear that you would like to see this country revert to the cultural mores and social conditions of 1920s Britain and, latterly made it obvious that you believe the nation would be better served by emulating the dominant politics of 1930s Germany rather than the democratic rules sent down in our own Constitution.

As you say you are here to rescue us and want to be seen as a reforming prime minister, I will do my best to spread this message and let other voters know in what direction your rescue and reforms will lead us all.

I hope this assists you.

Clarencegirl

This was the Australian Minister For Women on 8 July 2014

We admired the skill and the sense of honour that they brought to their task [Australian Prime Minister and Minister for Women Tony Abbott on the subject of Japanese servicemen during World War Two, 8 July 2014]

Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal on the subject of the estimated 20,000 Chinese women and girls raped by Japanese soldiers in Nanking between 13 December 1937 and 10 January 1938:

Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal

Click on images to enlarge

Australian War Memorial Second World War Nurses:

A month later, as Japanese soldiers advanced towards Singapore, the Australian nurses in the region were ordered to evacuate. Seventy-two nurses embarked with hundreds of patients and civilians aboard the Empire Star and the Wah Sui. They finally made it back to Australia, having suffered heavy bombardment on the way.

Not so fortunate were the 65 nurses, evacuated, along with many civilian women and children, on the SS Vyner Brooke. Twelve lost their lives when the ship was sunk, and 21 of the survivors were executed on Banka Island; the remaining 32 became prisoners of war. The captured nurses hoped their non-combatant status, symbolised by their now tattered uniforms, would protect them. It did not. For the next three and a half years, they were kept as prisoners under appalling conditions. Eight died in captivity.

2014 Indigenous Marathon Project and the Gold Coast Half-Marathon

Koori Mail:

12 IMP runners started, 12 finished Gold Coast Half-Marathon

In a ground-breaking first, all 12 members of the 2014 Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) squad crossed the finish line of the Gold Coast Half-Marathon last Sunday. Team members exceeded their own expectations by not only finishing, but crossing the line well ahead of their goal times. Cairns representative Brendan Peeters completed the run in an astonishing 84 minutes, placing him 30th in his age category. In his first ever fun run, Dubbo representative and Western Region light-middleweight champion Nathan Riley finished in 89 minutes. Toni Daisy, who juggles training with work commitments and being a single parent, crossed in 1:51:43. Members of the squad have returned home to their communities to continue training ahead of the third camp in Sydney for the City to Surf in August.

The ASICS Half- Marathon had a total of 9,658 entrants and 8,527 finishers. The two IMP entrants from NSW were Raymond Ingram (Sydney) and Nathan Riley (Dubbo).

Raymond Ingram crossed the finish line at 1,340 position and was also the 43rd runner of the 158 male entrants in the 21-24 years age group to cross the line.

I’m sure that their communities are proud of both these young men and, hopefully in the next few years we will see young indigenous runners from the NSW North Coast competing in Gold Coast Airport Marathon events.

Council complaints on the NSW North Coast in 2012-13

The NSW Division of Local Government Council Complaints 2012-13 have been published and, on the NSW North Coast Tweed Shire Council had the dubious honour of having 70 complaints against its name while Lismore City Council had the lowest score of only 5 complaints.

Clarence Valley Council:

Click on image to enlarge

Links to other council statistics:

Tweed Shire Council 

Byron Shire Council

Ballina Shire Council 

Kyogle Council  

Lismore City Council 

Richmond Valley Council  

Coffs Harbour City Council  

Bellingen Shire Council 

An open letter to NSW Nationals MP for Lismore, Thomas George

Letter to the editor in The Northern Star on 11 July 2014:

Represent us, please

Open letter to Lismore MP Thomas George:

For over two years now the Knitting Nannas Against Gas have been protesting outside your office every Thursday afternoon.

Initially, members of the nannas wrote to you and had meetings with you. We asked you to take our message to the NSW Parliament - that we had done our research and believed coal seam gas (and later, other forms of unconventional gas mining) were not suitable to our area. On these occasions we found you to be dismissive, and even rude. Even after the local government poll returned an 87% vote against CSG in our region, you refused to represent our concerns to Parliament.

You were elected by the voters of the seat of Lismore to represent us. Your wages are paid by our taxes. You are our employee, and frankly, you have not fulfilled the position's requirements.

Now that your government has suspended Metgasco's licence, will you take the opportunity to rethink your position? A brave person is one who can change their mind when circumstances change, and own it. Will you tell Parliament that your electorate will not countenance unconventional gasfields under any circumstances?

Will you ask them to extend the favours given to the viticulture and racing industries (drinking and gambling - great revenue raisers) to the beef, cattle and fresh food farmers of the Northern Rivers?

Have you informed Parliament that your son has been employed by Metgasco continuously for several years now, and checked whether that may be a conflict of interest?

Unless you change your position, your legacy will be one of shame. Your good works will be forgotten.

Knitting Nannas Against Gas