NSW Local Government Elections Postponed Yet Again Due To COVID-19 Pandemic - this time until Saturday 4 December 2021

 

NSW Office of Local Government, media release, 25 July 2021:

Local government elections postponed

Shelley Hancock – Minister for Local Government

The NSW Government today announced a new date for the Local Government elections has been set for Saturday 4 December 2021.

Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said the decision, after extensive consultation with and advice from the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW Health, has been made in response to the COVID-19 situation.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and current Public Health Orders impacting Greater Sydney, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Local Government elections until later this year,” Mrs Hancock said.

“We have taken this step to postpone the election to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities, voters, polling staff and candidates.”

The NSW Government has worked with the Electoral Commission and NSW Health to implement a comprehensive plan to allow voters to cast their ballot safely in person, by post or online.

iVote (electronic voting) will also be available for the first time in the local council elections and the NSW Government has implemented changes to pre-poll to ensure that voters have 13 days to cast their ballot, reducing congestion on polling day.

The NSW Government has made available a total of $57 million for the elections in 2021, including $37 million to deliver them in a COVID safe way.

In this election, 5.2 million voters will cast their ballots as around 5,000 candidates vie for 1,200 councillor positions across 125 local councils.

Nominations will open on Monday 25 October 2021 and close on Wednesday 3 November 2021.

Prospective candidates can find more information at the Office of Local Government website at www.olg.nsw.gov.au

A Virgin flight from Sydney to Ballina on 14 July 2021 has now been added to the NSW exposure list after a passenger tested positive to COVID-19

ABC News, 25 July 2021:

A Virgin flight from Sydney to Ballina has been added to the NSW exposure list after a passenger tested positive to COVID-19.

Anyone who travelled or worked on Virgin Flight VA 1139 on July 14 must get tested and isolate for 14 days from the date of exposure, regardless of the result of the test.[Virgin Flight VA 1139 on 14 July 2021 – Sydney to Ballina, arriving 11.45am]

NSW Health has also asked that anyone who has spent time at the Campsie shopping centre (14-28 Amy Street, Campsie) and any businesses on Haldon Street in Lakemba in the last 14 days be particularly vigilant for symptoms given the number of exposure venues in these locations.

For the complete list of exposure venues, visit the NSW Health website.

On 20 July 2021 Covid-19 fragments were found at Byron Bay sewage treatment plant which serves about 19,000 people in Byron Bay, Wategos, Suffolk Park, Sunrise, and Broken Head.

Country Womens Association at Tabulam providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster

 

From the Office of NSW Labor MLA for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, media release, 22 July 2021:

How a shower makes a huge difference to a community

BETTER FACILITIES: CWA Tabulam President Vicki Stebbins briefs Janelle Saffin MP and Ben Franklin MLC on the new amenities at their rooms.

STATE Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin has praised CWA Tabulam for their efforts in providing better facilities to serve the local community in times of disaster.

Last Saturday (17 July), Ms Saffin and Ben Franklin MLC inspected the new CWA shower facilities in Tabulam funded under the NSW Government’s 2019 Community Building Partnership Program.

Ms Saffin said the shower will make a big difference.

“The CWA told me that during the 2019 bushfires in Tabulam people would turn up to their rooms covered in ash, wanting somewhere to get cleaned up, but the CWA did not have shower facilities,” Ms Saffin said.

“That crisis prompted the CWA to apply for this grant.

“It is so good to be able to inspect these new facilities that have been built under the Community Building Partnership Program.

“I acknowledge the support of Premier Gladys Berejiklian in ensuring the entire cost of the facilities was covered by the funding.

“The small CWA Tabulam branch plays a big role in the community, including providing an evacuation centre during disasters such as fires and floods,” Ms Saffin said.

“I commend their work and also their initiative in applying for the NSW Government grant that will make a real difference to the support they can offer.”

Nationals Member of the Legislative Council Ben Franklin said it was wonderful to join Ms Saffin and the CWA to celebrate their new shower.

“The Black Summer Bushfires were absolutely shattering and I commend the CWA for their outstanding support to the community in their time of need,” Mr Franklin said.

“The new shower is a game-changer should we be faced with another disaster like in 2019 and it cannot be underestimated the level of comfort and support this new facility will provide when people need it most.

“The NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership is designed to provide funding for positive infrastructure projects and there can be no doubt that CWA Tabulam is an incredibly deserving recipient.”

The world can see evidence of Australia's methane pollution from space

 

Bloomberg Green, 22 July 2021:

Potent methane plumes have been detected in a key coal mining district in Australia, one of the world’s biggest exporters of the commodity, underscoring the fossil fuel’s role in exacerbating climate change.

Clouds of the invisible greenhouse gas, which is over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth in its first couple decades in the atmosphere, were spotted near multiple mines last month, an analysis of European Space Agency satellite data by geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS showed.

Methane detected over the Bowen Basin on June 21. Source: Kayrros SAS

Two large clouds of methane were spotted over the Bowen Basin on June 21, and were visible across more than 30 kilometers each. While Kayrros attributes the clouds to the coal sector, the plumes were diffused and could have come from multiple sources.

The leaking of methane into the atmosphere has come under increasing scrutiny as awareness grows over their harmful global warming effects. Scientists view reducing emissions from the fossil fuel industry as one of the cheapest and easiest ways to hold down temperatures in the near term, especially as improving technology makes it easier to identify polluters.

Efforts to curtail coal use have largely focused on the large amount of CO₂ generated when it’s burned, but mining the fuel is also problematic because producers can release methane trapped in underground operations to lower the risk of explosion. The coal sector is forecast to account for about 10% of man-made emissions of the gas by the end of the decade, according to the Global Methane Initiative.

The Bowen Basin is a key producing region for Australia, the world’s top exporter of metallurgical coal used in steel-making. For every ton of coal produced in the region, an average 7.5 kilograms of methane is released, according to Kayrros. That’s 47% higher than the global average in 2018, the geoanalytics company said, citing International Energy Agency data.

When contacted about the larger of the two plumes, Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science said it didn’t receive notice of methane releases in the two days through June 21. Coal mining companies have reporting obligations under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme that is regulated by the federal government, the department said.

Quote of the Week

 

“Scott Morrison is the Billy Joel of Australian politics – a hollow master of pastiche” [The Guardian headline to a Peter Lewis article on 6 July 2021]

AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL POLLING: Compare The Pair

 

Oh what a difference a year and one global pandemic make......

19 July 2020

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison leaving COVID-19 press conference, IMAGE: Brisbane Times,13 July 2021