Desmond John Thomas Euen wants a sea port - Part Two

In the words of Darryl Kerrigan (in The Castle), 'tell 'em they're dreaming' - it's not going to happen

[Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson, 5 March 2012]

plans are a pie-in-the-sky idea

[NSW Nationals MP Clarence Chris Gulaptis, 27 May 2014]

Sixty-four year-old Queenslander Des Euen’s current goal in life is to turn the small working port at Yamba, on which local fishing and tourism industries also heavily rely, into a generic freight hub at the end of a phantom west-east rail line and, in the process destroy a significant Yaegl cultural and spiritual site, Dirrangun reef.

He has created a website Y.P.R. Australia and registered a second company in March this year Y.P.R. (AUST) PTY LTD.

Like his first company, this second incorporated entity has Mr. Euan as sole director and secretary. All its shares are owned by him through his first $1-1 share company AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD.

When talking up his plans Mr. Euen apparently alternates between generic freight hub and port to ship bulk petrochemicals/mineral ores, depending on his audience.

He appears to be more phantasist than self-educated businessman and, like all good teasers he always promises to reveal more later.

However, the holes in his grand plan have now drawn the mainstream media’s attention.

This was The Armidale Express on 1 October 2014:

The company YPR, owned by managing director Des Euen, wants council endorsements of the project from Armidale, Glen Innes, Inverell, Uralla and Guyra. 

But after an investigation The Armidale Express has revealed several organisations YPR has listed on its website as endorsing the project have not given approval. 

One such organisation is engineering consultants Aurecon. YPR’s website names managing director Andrew Keith as giving his support. 

But when The Express contacted Mr Keith, who is actually leader of mine services, he said while he spoke with Mr Euen neither he nor Aurecon had given anything resembling an endorsement. 

Another apparent endorser is David Liddiard, a prominent indigenous businessman who is a well-known advocate for indigenous issues. But again Mr Liddiard said he had talked with Mr Euen but hadn’t endorsed the project.

Mr Liddiard was very concerned when he discovered there were fears the project could damage a culturally significant reef at the mouth of the Clarence River. 

“If it’s going to interfere with indigenous sacred sites then I’m pretty against that,” he said. 

Clarence Valley Council, which includes Yamba, told The Express YPR’s website used to feature a logo which implied it supported the project. 

A spokesman from that Council said Mr Euen had not provided them with enough information to make an endorsement. 

That logo has since been taken down. Another apparent endorsment is from Moree Plains Shire Council. 

But while that council supported the project through committee resolution, but its executive projects officer John Carleton said this was different from an endorsement.

Rather surprisingly Mr. Euen appears somewhat camera shy, so this is the only image of him I have been able to find to date:

http://au.linkedin.com/pub/des-euen/7b/305/272

Perhaps Des Euen would like to explain how he expects a flood-prone Clarence River estuary port limited by a channel depth of 4.0m to the Goodwood Island common user berth, with a typical high tide maximum draft of only 5.0m (and a river mouth bar on which commercial shipping in the past was sometimes stuck until the next high tide) - will be able to accommodate his aspirations.

The NSW Baird Government's limited response to widespread community concerns regarding coal seam gas exploration and mining

With regard to coal seam/unconventional gas industry exploration licence issues, the NSW Baird Coalition Government has:

* put a hold on CSG exploration and extraction in the Sydney Water Catchment

Special Areas

* put a 6 month freeze on new petroleum exploration licence applications, which was extended by a further 12 months to September 2015

* undertaken to audit existing petroleum exploration licences

* designated the Santos Narrabri Gas Project and AGL’s Gloucester Gas Project as

Strategic Energy Projects

* signed an MOU with Santos to streamline the assessment process for the Narrabri

Gas Project

* renewed AGL’s Gloucester petroleum exploration licence and granted an activity

approval to fracture stimulate four wells. [NSW Chief Scientist, September 2014]

In addition it has suspended approval to drill on one exploration license PEL 13 on the NSW North Coast.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's truly bizarre advisers - Example One

Maurice is one of a range of voices that the Government takes very seriously

The Sydney Morning Herald 1 October 2014:

Tony Abbott's top business adviser says the Bureau of Meteorology is caught up in global warming politics and nothing short of an independent review will dispel suspicions of bias.

Maurice Newman, who chairs the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Council, is highly critical of the BoM's process of homogenising climate records.

Mr Newman questioned the way the bureau adjusts historical data, which he equates to manipulation of Australia's temperature records…..

Employing more than 1700 people and costing taxpayers $300 million a year to run, the bureau must "dispel suspicions of a warming bias", Mr Newman says.

"Trust in our national climate records is critical.

"Nothing short of a thorough government-funded review and audit, conducted by independent professionals, will do."

So who is the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council?

Three days late, but finally the media reports Clarence Valley's disillusionment with NSW Labor

On 30 September 2014 NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson announced state Labor’s ‘CSG Free’ Northern Rivers policy which would impose a permanent total ban on coal seam gas exploration and mining within the Northern Rivers – while at the same time he carefully excised the southern-most parts of the Northern Rivers from that ban.

It took another two days before the media deigned to notice that the Clarence Valley was not amused by Robertson’s bypassing of the July 2014 NSW Labor State Conference resolution which sought to also protect the Clarence Valley.

However, on 2 October 2014 journalist Kate Matthews finally gave this valley a voice in response in The Daily Examiner article Clarence left out in the coal:

A PLEDGE to ban coal seam gas mining in key seats across the North Coast has been criticised by an anti-CSG group concerned that the Clarence Valley remains at risk.

State Opposition leader John Robertson earlier this week announced CSG exploration and extraction would be banned permanently across the Northern Rivers if the ALP won the state election in March.

The policy does not extend to the Clarence Valley and Gasfield Free Northern Rivers (GFNR) spokeswoman Lynette Eggins said she couldn't understand why.

"Obviously we're all upset and disillusioned. To be left out is insidious," she said.

"Everyone knows the Clarence is part of the Northern Rivers.

"We should be looking at banning CSG across the whole of NSW, not just the Northern Rivers."

Ms Eggins said Clarence Valley residents were among the first to condemn the CSG mining process.

The 2012 Glenugie blockade, south of Grafton, was the first in a series of protests targeting the process.

"GFNR spokesman Dean Draper said the Northern Rivers community overwhelmingly opposed CSG mining and politicians needed to heed the message.

Greens mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said the Opposition should include the rest of the state in its ban.

"While the Greens welcome the Labor announcement banning unconventional gas in specific North Coast council areas, it is disappointing that Labor are making their coal seam gas policy based on cynical electoral politics rather than basic principles of protecting land, water and communities everywhere in NSW," Mr Buckingham said. "Labor were the party that unleashed coal seam gas across a third of NSW by issuing 39 exploration licences when they were last in office." Earlier this week the NSW Coalition Government extended its ban on new CSG exploration licence applications for another year.

The Daily Examiner contacted the office of Mr Robertson for comment but did not receive a response.

A protest march is planned for November 1 in Lismore, calling on the government to cancel all gas licences covering the Northern Rivers.