Office of Environment and Heritage v Clarence Valley Council (2018)

Clarence Valley Local Government Area covers approximately 10,441 square kilometres with nine heritage conservation precincts and official heritage listings as long as your arm.

It processes up to $100.5 million worth of development applications in a financial year.

With so much environmentally sensitive land, so many nature reserves, large swathes of native title, state forests and national parks, ancient cultural sites, unlisted historical burials, heritage buildings/bridges/cemetaries, quarries and a good many planning decisions to make, there is also a possibility that something will go awry.

This entry in the NSW Online Registry - Court Lists indicates that all is not well:

Land and Environment Court, Sydney

Justice T Moore

Office of Environment and Heritage v Clarence Valley Council
Case Number: 2018/00119684

Jurisdiction: Criminal

Class 5 Directions Hearing on 25 May 2018.

According the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage website; Proceedings in Class 5 involve summary criminal enforcement proceedings, usually by government authorities prosecuting offences against planning or environmental laws and Class 5 prosecutions are heard by a judge without a jury.

This matter probably began its journey through the court in mid-April 2018 (or perhaps earlier) but it is unlikely council will tell the Clarence Valley electorate what event led to this court case anytime soon, as even a minimum degree of transparency concerning litigation is often missing in action.

Fair Funding Now campaign kicked off in the Page electorate on 23 May 2018

When Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan stated that "our local community was a winner from this year’s budget with money put back into family budgets, the creation of more jobs and a guarantee of the essential services that we depend on as the Government continues to heavily invest in regional infrastructure" and "Our schools will also receive an extra $23.5 billion over the next decade. This means funding per student is increasing by around 50 percent over the decade making sure our children get the education they deserve" he appears to have misjudged the mood of the electorate.

Echo NetDaily, 23 May 2018:

Principals, parents and teachers in the Page electorate will join with community members at the local launches of the Fair Funding Now campaign at Grafton and Sandy Beach today and tomorrow.

The campaign aims to secure fairer funding for public schools and a reversal of the Turnbull Government cuts which will cost local schools over $23 million in 2018 and 2019 alone.

Speakers at the campaign Grafton launch today (Wednesday) will include NSW Teachers Federation president Maurie Mulheron, South Grafton PS principal, Peter South and P&C President Kelly Vickers while principal Dianne Blevin will address the Sandy Beach PS event tomorrow.

Mr Mulheron said: ‘We are running the Fair Funding Now campaign because a fair go for all children is needed now.

‘All children in the Page electorate should have the opportunity to get the highest quality public education.

‘Polling by the union shows the overwhelming majority of voters in 18 key marginal electorates, including Page, believe federal funding for public school is too low and that funding should be increased straight away.

More important than tax cuts

‘Results show school funding will be a key federal election vote decider, with 83 per cent of respondents stating that public school funding is very important or fairly important to how they will vote. 

‘School funding is more important to voters than cutting company tax rates, with 79 per cent of respondents stating that increasing public school funding to the national schooling resource standard is better for Australia’s future than cutting company tax rates.

 ‘If our leaders can’t commit to ensuring every school is at 100 per cent of the resourcing standard, then they should look at every parent and teacher in the eye and explain to them why their children aren’t a priority.

‘We will be active across Australia, through social media, outdoor advertising, and targeted action in 18 marginal Federal seats including door knocking and phone banks.

Essential Research 22 May 2018 polling results suggests that this campaign will gain grass roots favour.

Click on images to enlarge

Perhaps Mr. Hogan should remember the last Nationals Deputy Speaker who held the seat of Page and who also voted blindly followed the  Coalition party line no matter what policy madness was on the table.

His end was less than glorious - facing a mutinous electorate and lacking credibility, he retired ahead of the 2007 federal election, before the could be sacked by voters. 

Another asylum seeker death on Manus Island

There have been three deaths of asylum seekers held in Australian off shore detention in the last nine months - one on Nauru and two on Manus Island - according to Border Crossing Observatory.

This recent death brings the count to four.

UNHCR: The United Nations Refugee Agency, media release, 22 May 2018:

UNHCR Statement

By UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra  22 May 2018

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is profoundly saddened by the death of a Rohingya refugee on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, today. The tragic loss of yet another vulnerable person under Australian ‘offshore processing’ again underscores the need for proper care and immediate solutions.

“With the passage of too many years and the withdrawal or reduction of essential services, the already critical situation for refugees most in need continues to deteriorate,” said Nai Jit Lam, UNHCR’s Deputy Regional Representative in Canberra. “Australia’s responsibility for those who have sought its protection remains unchanged. Our thoughts and condolences are with the man’s family today.”

UNHCR renews its call for the Government of Australia to take immediate action to provide assistance and solutions, and to avert further harm and tragedy. Comprehensive, intensive support for refugees and asylum-seekers remains desperately needed in both Papua New Guinea and Nauru. The national authorities of both countries lack the means and infrastructure to address growing needs.

UNHCR is continuing to seek further information from the Governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea respectively.

UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra
UNHCR’s Regional Representation is based in Canberra, and is responsible for the promotion and protection of refugee rights in Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The Guardian, 22 May 2018:

A Rohingya refugee has died in a violent motor vehicle incident on Manus Island.

The man was witnessed “coming out of a moving vehicle”, according to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, and suffered “very serious head injuries”.

He died at the scene, the organisation said. “It is not know who else was in the vehicle.”

The man, whose identity is not being released until his family is notified, had a long history of physical and mental illness and had been on Manus for more than five years.

A few years ago he was sent to Australia for medical treatment but was returned, according to the journalist and refugee Behrouz Boochani.

Boochani said the other refugees had been aware of his illness. They were “deeply saddened and horrified at the news of another friend’s death”.

Quotes of the Week

“The Trump administration did not rise, prima facie, like Venus on a half shell from the sea. Donald Trump is the result of a long process of political, cultural and social decay. He is a product of our failed democracy. The longer we perpetuate the fiction that we live in a functioning democracy, that Trump and the political mutations around him are somehow an aberrant deviation that can be vanquished in the next election, the more we will hurtle toward tyranny.” [Journalist Chris Hedges, writing in truthdig, 20 May 2018]

“…it is notable that in the past few weeks I've received close to 1,000 representations from local Greenway residents by email, phone and in person regarding the latest reports of systemic abuse in the live animal trade for sheep.”  [Labor MP for Greenway Michelle Rowland, Hansard,  21 May 2018]

“If you were even peripherally aware of history, you’d know that people subjected to lifelong exploitation, forced into a precarious existence or buried under annually compounding debts will, eventually, wheel guillotines into the town square and start taking names.” [Journalist and former Australian senator Scott Ludlam writing in The Guardian, 25 May 2018]

Tweets of the Week

Note: Cr Keith Williams is deputy mayor of Ballina Shire Council on the NSW Far North Coast.

An employer took money from DHS to pay an employee’s maternity leave, didn’t pay her the money, and then forged her signature on records to hide his actions from FWO.

FWO brought a civil case.

It’s time to make wage theft a crime. pic.twitter.com/KH5AnVPFzk

— _robcorr (@_robcorr) May 22, 2018

Patagonia Australia held a "Never Town" conservation activism event at Yamba in May 2018

On Friday 18 May 2018 Patagonia Australia held a “Never Town” film showing and information night on environmental and conservation issues affecting the Clarence Coast.

Part surf film, part conservation film, Never Town takes a journey along some wild coastlines and talks with the people fighting to keep them wild. Filmed along the Southern Ocean coasts of Australia, it’s an exploration of what these places mean to surfers… and what surfers are willing to do to save them. Featuring Dave Rastovich, Wayne Lynch, Dan Ross, Belinda Baggs and Heath Joske.

NEVER TOWN TRAILER from Patagonia Australia on Vimeo.

The evening started with live music and a slide show against the sides of the water tower on Pilot Hill overlooking the Clarence River mouth and ocean at Yamba.

The good-sized crowd that gathered reflected the make-up of the Lower Clarence - retirees, young adults, families with children, along with local business owners and surfing enthusiasts. At least one Clarence Valley councillor was there.

Welcome to country was given by “Fox” Laurie accompanied by DJ Eamens on the didgeridoo.

Judith Melville spoke on some of the issues surrounding the state government’s proposal to designate Port of Yamba-Clarence River an official cruise ship destination and possibly build an international cruise ship terminal.

Dianne Chapman from the Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation spoke of the Yaegl community’s connection to country and commitment to protect Clarence Valley land and waters.

After the film ended a Valley Watch Inc. petition was sent round the audience with this wording:

“We, the undersigned, respectfully call on the Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, Minister Melinda Pavey (Roads, Maritime and Freight) and Minister Andrew Constance (Transport and Infrastructure) to reject any proposals to allow cruise ships to enter the Port of Yamba or Clarence River estuary.

The Clarence River estuary is an integral part of a valuable Clarence Valley tourism sector which contributes over $300 million to the Clarence Valley’s annual income and employs more than 2000 people. To put that at risk for the dubious benefit to be derived from a brief morning visit is unacceptable, given the threats that a 4,000 tonne, 90 metre long cruise ship pose to the estuary, the fishing industry and Yamba/Iluka’s reputation as a clean, green holiday destination, and to the Dirrangun Reef, which is protected under the Native Title Act (1993).”

Anyone wishing to sign this petition can call in at the Valley Watch booth at Yamba River Markets held on the fourth Sunday of every month at Ford Park next to the ferry jetty. 

The next three market days are Sunday 27 May, 24 June and 22 July 2018.

Now customers can't even trust their local bank tellers

It seems schoolchildren are considered fair game by the big banks......

Junkee, 19 May 2018:

Oh boy. This is a tough one. An investigate report by Fairfax Media has found that Commonwealth Bank employees set up thousands of fraudulent children’s savings accounts in order to meet internal targets and earn bonuses.

That’s right folks. Your mates the Dollarmites? They were in it up to their neck.

According to the report by Fairfax reporter Adele Ferguson, the scam involved employees illegitimately activating Youthsaver accounts that had been set up by parents via the Commonwealth Bank’s school banking program (better known at Dollarmites) but did not contain any actual money. Since the sign-up would not count towards internal sales targets unless a deposit was made in the first 30 days, employees would deposit a small amount of money into the account themselves to ensure that it was counted.

The matter first came to the attention of senior management at the bank in 2013. An internal investigation found that at 150 branches, as many as 5347 Youthsaver accounts contained less than $1 in deposits. According to the Fairfax report, “managers were asked to look into them to see if they had been fraudulently set up using illegitimate sources of funds”, but the bank chose not to broaden the investigation to include the almost 900 other branches that were in operation at the time.

Ultimately, no disciplinary action was taken against employees. In an email obtained by Fairfax, one senior manager said “the issue is widespread, it would seem unfair to name a handful when more are involved”.

The bank did not inform any of the customers or schools involved.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 May 2018:

The school banking and customer referral scandals came to light inside the bank shortly after CBA's now chief executive, Matt Comyn, was appointed to run the retail operation in 2012….

“While this practice did not financially harm any of our customers, it was a breach of their trust. For that I’m deeply sorry. As CBA’s new chief executive, my number one priority is to expedite changes that will prevent any behaviour that undermines our customers' trust in us – and to remove any CBA employee who knowingly acts against our customers’ interests.”

The country’s largest consumer group, CHOICE, seized on the scandal to renew its calls to ban school banking schemes.

“It's a pretty basic expectation that bank staff will handle money honestly. Whether it involves five cents or $5 million, any mishandling of funds goes to the heart of trust in the institution,” CHOICE chief executive Alan Kirkland said.

He said if senior staff knew it was happening on a mass scale and did nothing about it, they were complicit in that fraud.

 “This raises serious questions about the culture of the entire bank,” he said

While over at the Banking and Finance Royal Commission………

ABC News, 21 May 2018:

The banking royal commission has heard an elderly, seriously ill woman faced homelessness after her daughter's business failed.

Carolyn Flanagan cannot read or write due to blindness caused by glaucoma, she has trouble speaking due to the effects of cancer surgery, suffers memory loss and has osteoporosis, among other medical problems.

The pensioner sought help from Legal Aid NSW when Westpac tried to take her home, which was used to guarantee her daughter's loan. A complaint was taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which found in Westpac's favour.

It was only a last-ditch effort by Ms Flanagan's Legal Aid lawyers that managed to keep her in her home.

Solicitor Dana Beiglari told the hearing her manager at the time "contacted another consumer advocate to see if he had a senior contact at Westpac who we could escalate this matter to, given our client was facing homelessness in her old age".

Ms Beiglari sent a letter to Westpac outlining Ms Flanagan's medical circumstances and managed to secure a "life interest" in the property for her, which means she can remain in the home until she dies or decides to sell.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Michael Hodge QC asked Ms Beiglari about the Westpac employee's response to the case.

"What that employee of Westpac expressed to you was surprise with the thought that Westpac would be evicting and it wasn't in line with what Westpac would normally do?" he asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Ms Beiglari answered.

Ms Flanagan maintained a sense of humour under questioning. After Mr Hodge listed off her litany of health issues, including depression, she quipped "that'd depress anybody".

She gave her evidence through a video link as she was too unwell to travel. 

Westpac's lawyers questioned her recollection of events and the amount of the loan.

Westpac executive Alastair Welsh followed Ms Flanagan and Ms Beiglari in giving evidence. He said there was nothing "technically" wrong with Ms Flanagan being allowed to act as a guarantor.

"My review of the file shows we followed the process I would want the bank to follow," Mr Welsh said.

However, he admitted there were some problems with the bank's handling of the case once the loan failed.

The inquiry heard it was Westpac policy to "exercise extreme caution" with parental guarantees.

Mr Welsh admitted there were warning signs in Ms Flanagan's case that should have been observed by the banker.

"She suffers from quite debilitating health conditions. Would that be a relevant factor?" Mr Hodge asked.

Mr Welsh agreed and said there were no comments on Ms Flanagan's file noting her condition.

The bank manager involved is no longer employed by Westpac.