A regional NSW weekend of #COVIDIOTS in the pub & in the bush

 

NSW Police, News, 16 & 17 October 2021:

Statement from Commissioner Mick Fuller regarding Singleton business closure

Saturday, 16 October 2021 05:14:23 PM

Officers from Hunter Valley Police District have served a licensed premises on George Street, Singleton, with an order to close today (Saturday 16 October 2021), due to alleged repeated breaches of the public health orders.

The closure order follows a number of previous interactions with the licensee – a 57-year-old man – due to repeated and continued breaches of the Public Health Order by allegedly allowing – and not taking steps to prevent – unvaccinated people being at the premises. [my yellow highlighting]

Police have attended the venue numerous times in the past week and issued the licensee three PINs and staff members three PINs for breaching the public health orders.

The venue will remain closed until midnight on Tuesday (19 October 2021).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charges laid after unauthorised events - Tweed/Byron

Sunday, 17 October 2021 04:43:51 PM

Eleven people have been charged following unauthorised gatherings held at national parks on the state’s north coast overnight. [my yellow highlighting]

Just after 9.15pm (Saturday 16 October 2021), police were alerted to an unauthorised gathering being held within bushland at Tyagarah Nature Reserve.

Officers from Tweed/Byron Police District attended, and the crowd dispersed into bushland.

About 1am (Sunday 17 October 2021), police were alerted to a separate event at Billinudgel Nature Reserve and shut down the event, dispersing the crowd.

The organiser, a 25-year-old man, was spoken to with sound and lighting equipment and prohibited drugs seized from the site.

The Byron Bay man was issued a cannabis caution after being found in possession of cannabis as well as a $1,000 PIN for breaching the Public Health Order and an infringement for the consumption of alcohol in a National Park.

Police established a stationary breath testing site at the intersection of Jones and Wooyung Roods.

During the operation 10 drivers were charged, five with low-range PCA and five with Mid-Range PCA. They will all face court at a later date. An additional four drivers were issued infringements for traffic offences.

Of note, a Toyota Hiace was stopped by officers on Wooyong Road, after failing to stop at the site. [my yellow highlighting]

The driver fled into nearby bushland and following a foot pursuit, the 21-year-old man, was found injured, with a suspected fractured ankle.

He was treated by paramedics and taken to Tweed Hospital, under police guard, for treatment.

The man was later transferred to Tweed Heads Police Station and charged with drive motor vehicle during disqualification period. An outstanding warrant was also executed.

He is due to appear at Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday 6 December 2021.

Inquiries continue to identify attendees and further breaches.

Tweed/Byron Police District Commander, Superintendent David Roptell said unauthorised gatherings of this type will not be tolerated and we appeal to the community to report suspected breaches which may impact on the health and safety of the community.

Not only are events like these illegal, but they also pose a serious safety risk to attendees and responding police due to the location and terrain, Supt Roptell said.

“The local community and environment are also being impacted by the noise and the rubbish left behind.

“Police will work closely with National Parks and Wildlife Services to target these events and prosecute offenders accordingly,” Supt Roptell said.

Anyone with information about is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

Due to the speed at which NSW COVID-19 Public Health Orders & Restrictions are amended - here are links to updates

 

NSW Public Health Orders & Restrictions - UPDATES can be found at:

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/public-health-orders.aspx#affected

BACKGROUND

Public health orders

Exemptions to public health orders can be found here.

 

In force

• General
  

  (Commenced 11 October 2021; amendments commenced 15 October 2021 at 6:22pm and will commence 18 October 2021)

• Aged care
  

  (now see Care services below)

• Air transportation quarantine

  (commenced 1 September 2021)

• Care services
  

  (commenced 17 September 2021 at 9am; amendments commenced 11 October 2021 at 9am and 14 October 2021 at 3:50pm)

• Delta outbreak restrictions

  (no longer in force (now see General above))

• Interstate travellers

  (commenced 31 July 2021)

• Maritime quarantine

  (commenced 1 September 2021)

• Safety

  (no longer in force (now see General above))

• Self-isolation

  (commenced 6 September 2021 at 6:10pm; amendments commenced 22 September 2021 at 10am; 24 September 2021 at 4:41pm; 28 September 2021 at 2:38pm and 8 October 2021 at 12:52pm)

• Spitting and coughing

  (no longer in force (now see General above))

• Vaccination of education and care workers

  (commenced 23 September 2021 at 3:02pm)

• Vaccination of health care workers

  (commenced 26 August 2021 at 9:54am; amendments commenced 29 September 2021 at 2:44pm)

 

No longer in force

• Border control

  (no longer in force)

•  Border control (South Australia)

  (no longer in force)

• Gathering and movement

  (no longer in force)

• Greater Sydney

  (no longer in force)

• Interstate hotspots

  (no longer in force)

•  Lord Howe Island

  (no longer in force)

• Mandatory face coverings

  (no longer in force (now see General above))

•  New Year’s Eve arrangements

  (no longer in force)

• Northern Beaches

  (no longer in force)

• Northern Rivers

  (no longer in force)

•  Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras arrangements

  (no longer in force)

• Temporary movement and gathering restrictions (see Delta outbreak restrictions)

• Western Australia

  (no longer in force)

Tomorrow, 18 October 2021 at 10am Operation Keppel public hearings begin into the conduct of former Premier & not yet retired Member for Willoughby, Gladys Berejiklian

Gladys Berejiklian
IMAGE: news.com.au

 

NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), media release, 1 October 2021:

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold a further public inquiry in Operation Keppel from 10:00 am on Monday 18 October 2021.

The Commission is investigating whether, between 2012 and 2018, the Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP engaged in conduct that:

• constituted or involved a breach of public trust by exercising public functions in circumstances where she was in a position of conflict between her public duties and her private interest as a person who was in a personal relationship with the then NSW Member of Parliament, Mr Daryl Maguire, in connection with: grant funding promised and/or awarded to the Australian Clay Target Association Inc in 2016/2017; and grant funding promised and/or awarded to the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in Wagga Wagga in 2018; and/or

• constituted or involved the partial exercise of any of her official functions, in connection with: grant funding promised and/or awarded to the Australian Clay Target Association Inc in 2016/2017; grant funding promised and/or awarded to the Riverina Conservatorium of Music in Wagga Wagga in 2018; and/or

• constituted or involved the dishonest or partial exercise of any of her official functions and/or a breach of public trust by refusing to exercise her duty pursuant to section 11 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 to report any matter that she suspected on reasonable grounds concerned or may concern corrupt conduct in relation to the conduct of Mr Daryl Maguire; and/or

• was liable to allow or encourage the occurrence of corrupt conduct by Mr Maguire.

The Commission is also investigating whether, between 2012 and August 2018, Mr Maguire engaged in conduct that involved a breach of public trust by using his public office, involving his duties as a member of the NSW Parliament, and the use of parliamentary resources, to improperly gain a benefit for himself, G8wayInternational/G8wayInternational Pty Ltd and associated persons.

The general scope and purpose of the public inquiry is to gather evidence relevant to the matters being investigated for the purpose of determining the matters referred to in section 13(2) of the ICAC Act.

The Commission has decided that public inquiries will be conducted, as far as practicable, remotely via audio visual link (AVL) until there is a change in the current COVID-19 public health orders. Only those whose presence on Commission premises is deemed essential for the effective conduct of the public inquiry will be permitted on-site. Members of the public and the media will therefore not be permitted to attend the premises for the course of the Operation Keppel public inquiry. There is further information in the public inquiry protocol on the Commission’s website.

MS Teams is the AVL technology that the Commission will use to conduct the public inquiry remotely. The Commission will live stream the MS Teams proceedings via its website, www.icac.nsw.gov.au. The Commission will also upload exhibits (provided they are not subject to non-publication orders), transcripts and witness lists to the website. Updates will be provided throughout the course of the inquiry via the ICAC Twitter account (@nswicac).

Assistant Commissioner the Hon Ruth McColl AO SC will preside at the public inquiry. Counsel Assisting the Commission will be Mr Scott Robertson and Mr Alex Brown.

It is expected that the inquiry will continue for approximately 10 days. A witness list for the first week of the public inquiry will be published closer to the commencement date of the proceedings, along with further information about how to access the live stream. The Commission will also advise if there are changes to the public health orders that may affect the conduct of the inquiry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPERATION KEPPEL PUBLIC INQUIRY COMMENCING 18 OCTOBER 2021: WITNESS LIST as of 14 October 2021:

Monday 18 October

Michael Toohey (Current Director, Office of Sport, Greater Sydney Area, NSW)

Tuesday 19 October

Paul Doorn (Current CEO NSW Rugby Union & NSW Waratahs)

Wednesday 20 October

Nigel Blunden (Current Head of Government Affairs – HammondCare & Scott Morrison’s ‘captain's pick' in July 21 to help promote the national vaccination program rollout]

Mike Baird (Current CEO HammondCare & former NSW Liberal Premier from 17 Apr 2014 to 23 Jan 2017)

Thursday 21 October

Chris Hanger (Deputy Secretary, Public Works Advisory and Regional Development Group in the Department of Regional NSW)

Friday 22 October

Stuart Ayres (Current Liberal Member for Penrith, Deputy Leader of the NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney & Minister for Industry and Trade - previously NSW Minister for Sport 2017-2019 & Minister for Police & Emergency Services 2017-2019). Member of the NSW Government COVID-19 crisis committee)

Gary Barnes (Secretary for the Department of Regional NSW)

Records of ICAC Operation Keppel proceeding commenced in 2020

Former NSW MP for Wagga Wagga – allegations concerning breach of public trust to improperly gain a benefit (Operation Keppel) at https://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/investigations/current-investigations/2020/former-nsw-mp-for-wagga-wagga-operation-keppel/former-nsw-mp-for-wagga-wagga-allegations-concerning-breach-of-public-trust-to-improperly-gain-a-benefit-operation-keppel

Cartoons of the Week

 

Alan Moir

Cathy Wilcox

David Rowe

Headline of the Week

 

“The frenetic fan dance of the fools tells us the Coalition has reached crunch time on climate” [The Guardian, 9 October 2021]

Morrison Government seeks to reopen Love v Commonwealth of Australia in High Court seeking reversal of a February 2020 judgment which found Aboriginal Australians, even when born outside Commonwealth borders, are not aliens under the Constitution and cannot be deported

 

The Guardian, 14 October 2021: 

The federal government is seeking to overturn a landmark high court decision that deemed Aboriginal Australians cannot be aliens and cannot be deported. 

The Love and Thoms ruling in February 2020 ranks as the high court’s most significant constitutional decision in recent years, with the narrow four-to-three judgment prompting Coalition conservatives to publicly lobby for black-letter judges to be appointed. 

 Just a year and a half later, the commonwealth has revealed it wants the precedent to be overturned after a New Zealand man tried to fight deportation using the Love and Thoms precedent..... 

 In June 2020 Amanda Stoker, now the assistant attorney general, noted in a research paper that given the two retirements “there is a significant possibility that a reconstituted bench would reconsider the decision in the event of challenge”. In its submissions, the commonwealth revealed that the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, and home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, will seek leave “to the extent necessary, to argue that Love was wrongly decided”..... 

 [High Court Justice] Keane said it would be difficult for the high court to hear the case in 2021, given the number of cases already delayed by Covid. Keane agreed to remove the constitutional aspects of the case to the high court, giving interveners until 22 November to join the case, likely to be heard in the new year.

Read the full article here.

A southern low pressure system and a La Niña ALERT are not warmly welcomed news for the NSW North Coast, as it's possible some heavy rain events could occur between now and January 2022

 

Ch 9 News on 13 October 2021 reported; Meteorologists warn a "beast from the south" will produce a dangerous mix of heavy rain, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and snow over Australia's south-east as a week of spring wet weather continues.

Coastal catchments with much of their historical and ongoing development situated on floodplains are particularly vulnerable when a climate driver triggers prolonged or frequent heavy rainfall events, as widespread or flash flooding can result. Property damage, stock & crop losses may occur and, sometimes the deaths of people caught in flood waters. 

Similarly low pressure systems can batter coastal catchments.

WeatherZone tweeted this.....

Here is the forecast accumulated rain over the next four days. 🌧

Flood watches have been issued in TAS and VIC, where some places could see more than 100mm by Sunday. Localised flooding is also likely in NSW and QLD from severe storms, especially on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/sVfxdgoCNU

— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) October 13, 2021

This was the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), on 12 October 2021:

The Bureau's ENSO Outlook has been raised to La Niña ALERT. This is due to continued cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean and an increase in the number of climate models showing sustained La Niña conditions over summer. Historically, when La Niña ALERT criteria have been met, La Niña has subsequently developed around 70% of the time. A 70% chance of an event is approximately triple the normal likelihood. La Niña events increase the chances of above-average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during spring and summer.

Most oceanic and atmospheric indicators of ENSO are currently within the ENSO-neutral range, but some have shifted towards a La Niña-like state. Sea surface temperatures in the central tropical Pacific Ocean are neutral, but have cooled over the past three months and are supported by cooler than average waters beneath the surface. Some atmospheric indicators, such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and cloudiness near the Date Line, are approaching La Niña levels. Six of the seven international climate models surveyed by the Bureau meet La Niña criteria from November.

A weak negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event continues. Most models suggest the negative IOD event will ease to neutral levels in late spring. A negative IOD increases the chances of above-average spring rainfall for much of southern and eastern Australia, while a neutral IOD has little influence on Australian climate.

The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) has been active over the Maritime Continent since late September. The MJO is forecast to progress eastwards over the coming week and weaken as it approaches the western Pacific. While the MJO is over the Maritime Continent region, it encourages enhanced rainfall over the tropics to the north of Australia.

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index has been neutral for the past week after 5 to 6 weeks at positive levels. While it is forecast to remain neutral for the coming week, it is expected to return to generally positive levels from October to December. A positive SAM during spring typically brings wetter weather to eastern parts of Australia, but drier than average conditions for western Tasmania.

Climate change continues to influence Australian and global climate. Australia's climate has warmed by around 1.44 °C for the 1910–2019 period. Rainfall across northern Australia during its wet season (October–April) has increased since the late 1990s. In recent decades there has been a trend towards a greater proportion of rainfall from high intensity short duration rainfall events, especially across northern Australia.......

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently neutral.

However, all of the seven international climate models surveyed by the Bureau anticipate further cooling of tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures. All models surveyed indicate La Niña thresholds may be met during November. Six of the seven models indicate this cooling will be sustained at La Niña levels until at least January 2022—long enough to meet minimum La Niña event criteria (i.e. at least three months). Four models continue the event into February, but by March only two models continue to meet the threshold.

La Niña typically enhances spring rainfall in northern and eastern Australia.

BACKGROUND

“Major floods frequently isolate towns, and can cause death, major disruptions to road and rail links, the evacuation of many houses and business premises, and the widespread flooding of farmland…..

As we are specifically concerned with major flooding near the coast, we consider a flood to be major if (i) it causes inundation of a river within approximately 50 km of the coast or (ii) if there is non-riverine flooding overland near the coast, from the active part of a weather system, that extends at least 20 km along the coast. In (i) extreme rainfall extends well into the hinterland and the upper reaches of the river catchments, causing a flood that drains down the river systems to coastal areas. In (ii) extreme rainfall is confined to the coast and floods form directly over the coastal area rather than propagating down the river systems. At major coastal centres there are official river height records that determine whether a flood meets the major level or not, and we have used this data available.” [ResearhGate, Callaghan J & Scott, S in Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal 64(3):183-21 DOI:10.22499/2.6403.002]

On Australia’s eastern shores East Coast Lows are also often a trigger for heavy rainfall and widespread flooding. Sea surface temperature gradients associated with the warm eddies of the East Australian Current are an important contributor to the development of the lows.