Fire on contentious Iluka development application site

Iluka DA: Have your Say,1 March 2016:

This instance brings to mind certain Lower Clarence Valley fires (and other attempts at illegal land clearing over the last twenty years) which have sprung up on subdivision lands containing either koala habitat or tree/plant biodiversity considered worth protecting. Urban legend has it that these fires can be lit for the price of a carton of beer.

I would like to think the photographs above represent kids playing with matches and not arson by an adult. Hopefully I won't be proven wrong by a second attempt to set the bush alight on Lot 99, which is land found in the 162 lot development application SUB2015/0034 currently before the Northern Joint Regional Planning Panel for initial determination.

Say cheese!

Green tree frogs image by Michael Snedic, Australian wildlife and nature photographer, whose galleries can be found at  http://michaelsnedic.com/

Quotes of the Week

Ms Furness assisting the Royal Commission: And human beings talk among themselves about their colleagues, don't they, Cardinal?

Cardinal-Prefect George Pell: Human beings in different categories have very different approaches to these matters. We work within a framework of Christian moral teaching. {Loud burst of laughter from people in Rome interview room} Pardon?

Ms.Furness: And what does that mean –

Cardinal Pell: Would you like me to continue?

Ms.Furness: I would, indeed.

[Based on Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Day 160 transcript of hearing webcast, 1 March 2016]

I share the dismay and disgust of a great many people, Catholics and others, with the Cardinal’s display…..

It’s made plain to the world who he is and what he’s like…..

I’ve known Cardinal Pell for over 30 years and I really think he is one of the best developed narcissists I’ve met in my life…..

astonishing the way he can deploy his insensitivity, he seems impervious to human experience…..

a big man and a big bully…..

[Father Michael Kelly SJ, 702ABCSydney interview on the subject of Cardinal Prefect George Pell’s evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 3 March 2016]

National Indigenous Times to be revived

Australian Newspaper History Group, Newsletter, No 86, February 2016:

86.1.9 Revival of National Indigenous Times to be attempted

Aboriginal businessman Wayne Bergmann has taken control of the collapsed National Indigenous Times, with the aim of transforming it into a newspaper that celebrates indigenous achievement in business, politics and sport. A company majority-owned by Bergmann has bought the paper from liquidators and is expected to relaunch it within weeks. Veteran Perth journalist Tony Barrass will become the editor of the publication, which will be resurrected online before a decision is made whether to resume in print. The old Times had enraged some aboriginal leaders with its hardline approach to indigenous affairs. Kimberley Aboriginal leader Bergmann said on 20 January that he wanted the paper to focus heavily on indigenous business success stories. Barrass, who has a 49% stake in the company, promised the publication would be upmarket, entertaining and provocative. “It will reflect a range of indigenous views, not just one political leaning,” he said (Australian, 21 January 2016, p.6).