Morrison said he “didn’t think about his legacy”
— Julia Banks (@juliahbanks) May 24, 2022
Well he made Liberal history 👇 pic.twitter.com/rdBQnHeuZc
Saturday 28 May 2022
Tweet of the Week
Friday 27 May 2022
Clarence Valley Council is now publishing its Schedule of Works each week to better inform residents and ratepayers about general maintenance and flood damage repairs to bridges, roads and pedestrian thoroughfares
The Northern Rivers' floods of February-March 2022 left behind a mountain of debris, damaged bridges, roads and water & mud ravaged homes.
The Clarence Valley was not immune and, like the rest of the Northern Rivers, it has been experiencing intermittent flooding ever since.
To keep residents and ratepayers abreast of the lengthy Schedule of Works produced by the continuing adverse weather, Clarence Valley Council is posting the coming week's schedule every Friday via its Noticeboard E-News.
To receive these weekly updates on bridge construction & maintenance, grading underway or finished and capital roadworks, quick and easy registration can be completed at:
https://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/Connect-with-us.
The Schedule of Works will also be published each week in the Clarence Valley Independent newspaper which is available in print and online.
Thursday 26 May 2022
Communities in the seven local government areas of the NSW Northern Rivers region know where they have been in 2022 and now they know where they are heading - into more rain
ENSO OutlookAn alert system for the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, 24 May 2022
Australian Bureau of Meteorology:
Issued at 10:30am, Wednesday 25 May 2022
The Bureau of Meteorology has released a formal record of the extreme rainfall and flooding that occurred in south-east Queensland and eastern New South Wales in February and March this year.
Special Climate Statement 76 outlines that several rainfall records were broken between 22 February and 9 March 2022, with more than 50 sites recording more than one metre of rainfall in one week.
In the last week of February, parts of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales had rainfall 2.5 times their monthly average with some regions recording more than five times their monthly average.
After two years of La Niña conditions, the rain fell on saturated catchments leading to flash and riverine flooding extending from Maryborough in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales.
For many areas, this was the wettest week since at least 1900. Some areas of south-eastern Queensland had their highest flood peaks since 1893, though the lower Brisbane and Bremer rivers and Lockyer Creek peaked below the levels of both January 1974 and January 2011 floods.
In parts of northern New South Wales, flood levels broke previous records. Wilsons River in Lismore peaked at a record high level, estimated to be 14.4 m on 28 February. The previous record was 12.27 m in February 1954.
The rainfall was the result of a combination of weather systems over eastern Australia and the Tasman Sea, where a large volume of humid tropical air moving onshore over eastern Australia was lifted in the atmosphere to produce heavy rain and thunderstorms.
In recent decades, there has been a trend towards a greater proportion of high-intensity, short-duration rainfall events, especially across northern Australia.
The Bureau's special climate statements provide detailed summaries of significant weather and climate events that impact Australians. This Special Climate Statement has been added to an archive of Special Climate Statements dating back more than 15 years, providing easy access to data and information.
Special Climate Statement 76 can be found here: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements
The Guardian, 25 May 2022:
The breakdown of the La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific has stalled while a key Indian Ocean climate driver is tilting towards its wetter phase, making it more likely that eastern Australia will face more heavy rain and floods.
Just as the Bureau of Meteorology released a special climate report on the extreme rainfall and flooding that hit parts of south-eastern Queensland, northern New South Wales and the region around Sydney in February and March, its fortnightly report on climate influences pointed to the big wet extending for months to come.
The La Niña event, already in its second year, could yet persist into a third. The expected dissipation of the pattern has not progressed in the past two weeks, and two of the seven models used by the bureau project that the La Niña will last through winter.
Out west, the Indian Ocean dipole is forecast by all climate models to enter its negative phase in coming months.
That phase of the dipole – which gauges the relative differences of sea-surface temperatures across the ocean – increases the chances of above-average winter-spring rainfall for much of Australia. It also lifts the odds of warmer days and nights for northern Australia, according to the bureau.
Models are becoming more confident that we'll get a negative Indian Ocean Dipole in coming months. That typically results in above-average rainfall for central and eastern Australia. @BOM_au pic.twitter.com/w9Xlp0HYUi
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) May 24, 2022
The prospect of wetter than normal conditions for the east coast in particular will prompt fears of further floods. Catchments remain damp and dams are full, so it won’t require significant bursts of rain to cause more flash flooding and damage.
Spot the difference: June-August (left) and July-September show the odds strongly favour above-average rainfall across most of the country in coming months. @BOM_au pic.twitter.com/lBCXkD1PP0
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) May 25, 2022
Read the full article here.
Wednesday 25 May 2022
The NSW Upper House Floods Committee is coming to the Northern Rivers on 30 May (Ballina), 31 May (Lismore) & 1 June 2022 (Murwillumbah). This Committee is looking into the NSW Government's response to the 2022 February-March floods and it wants to hear from local residents
23 May 2022
WALT SECORD MLC
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE NORTH COAST
CHAIR, SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE RESPONSE TO MAJOR FLOODING ACROSS NSW IN 2022
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON FLOOD RESPONSE
A NSW Upper House parliamentary committee is set to examine the Perrottet Government’s response to major flooding across the State, beginning with a multi-day tour of the North Coast from Sunday 29 May through Wednesday 1 June.
These visits will include regional hearings and public forums – and the public is urged to come and tell their story in person, if at all possible.
The Upper House Floods Committee is distinct from the government-initiated inquiry.
The Upper House Floods Committee will give all stakeholders, especially members of the public, the opportunity to communicate their questions and concerns about a number of issues including:
the government’s response to the flooding and its overall effectiveness;
how prepared and coordinated the government was in its response;
how well-resourced government agencies were during the response;
how the government and its agencies communicated with the public during and after the emergency;
how well-coordinated were the various stakeholders including the state and federal governments, local governments, private sector organisations, and the community; and
implementation of recommendations from inquiries into previous natural disasters.
Committee Chair and Shadow Minister for the North Coast Walt Secord said:
“Members of the community will be able to give in-person evidence directly to the committee.
“I urge members of the public to come to the nearest public forum – if they are unable to provide a formal submission as we recognise this is very difficult for many in the community.”
Mr Secord has urged individuals and organisations to continue making submissions if they wish to.
Written submissions do not need to be long, they can be as simple as writing your personal story or a few lines about what could be done to improve the government's response to the recent flooding. To make a written submission, email floods@parliament.nsw.gov.au.
The committee will also visit the following locations to conduct site visits, regional hearings and public forums:
- Ballina RSL – on the afternoon of Monday 30 May 2022
- Lismore Workers Sports Club – on the afternoon of Tuesday 31 May 2022
- Murwillumbah Services Club – on the afternoon of Wednesday 1 June 2022
- Windsor RSL Club (Western Sydney) – on the afternoon of Friday 3 June 2022.
To register to speak at one of these public forums, email floods@parliament.nsw.gov.au.
[my yellow highlighting]
Tuesday 24 May 2022
Australian Federal Election 2022: the House of Representatives provisional national seat count as at 8:57:46 PM AEST, Monday 23 May 2022
Australian Labor Party - 75 seats. A gain of 7 seats.
Liberal/National Coalition* - 59 seats. A loss of 18 seats.
*Coalition comprises the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal National Party of Queensland, Country Liberal Party (NT) and the National Party of Australia. It was the Liberal Party of Australia whose seat count was decimated with a predicted 17 seat loss.
Independents - 10 seats. An increase of 7 seats.
The Greens - 2 seats. An increase of 1 seat.
Centre Alliance - 1 seat. No change.
Katter's Australian Party - 1 seat. No change.
3 seats, Macnamara (Vic), Maranoa (Qld) & Richmond (NSW) not yet officially assigned predicted party representation.
TOTAL 151 seats Page
NOTE: Polling place counts had not been completed in est. 40 electorates/seats as at 8:57:46 PM AEST, Monday 23 May 2022.
Of the two Northern Rivers electorates, Page has been retained by the National Party and it appears likely Richmond has been retained by the Labor Party.
Anthony Norman Albanese (Labor Party Leader) having secured guarantees of supply from crossbenchers Rebekha Sharkie, Helen Haines, Zali Steggall, Andrew Wilkie and Bob Katter in the event his party falls short of gaining a majority of 76 seats, was sworn in as the 31st Australian Prime Minister on Monday 23 May 2022, along with his interim ministry being:
Minister for Employment and Deputy Prime Minister - Richard Marles MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs - Senator Penny Wong
Treasurer - Dr Jim Chalmers MP
Minister for Finance, Minister for Women and Attorney-General - Senator Katy Gallagher
The interim ministry administers all departments until such time as a full ministry is sworn in.
NSW Liberal Premier Dominic Perrottet & Nationals Deputy Premier Paul Toole continue the Coalition's obsession with that fossil fuel without any form of social licence, Coal Seam Gas
Northern Daily Leader, 21 May 2022:
Gas companies will be permitted to explore for the mineral on 90,000 hectares of farmland surrounding the village of Bellata, after the state government resurrected the last "zombie" PEL in the North West on Friday.
Opponents of gas expansion accused the government of trying to bury a decision to bring back PEL 427 from the dead, in the hours before the federal election.
It is the last of 12 decades-old petroleum exploration licences (PELs), covering 55,000 square kilometres of farmland, which had long expired but, like zombies, could be reanimated at any time. All but three other PELS have been destroyed for good in recent weeks…..
The Bellata PEL has been shrunk down to just 90,000 hectares, covering an area near Moree. It includes land in the Northern Tablelands electorate of Adam Marshall and the Barwon electorate of Roy Butler, both of whom oppose gas development in their electorates.
A spokesperson for the Department of Regional NSW said that the PEL "has been renewed in line with the NSW Government's Future of Gas Statement, which was released last year, reducing the total area covered by the PELs in NSW by 77 per-cent."
"The PEL remained in place while it was under assessment by the Department. The renewed area is significantly smaller than it was previously," he said.
"All PELs that were under assessment have now been resolved, with parts of them reduced, others renewed, and several refused."
Lock the Gate Alliance National Coordinator Georgina Woods said the timing of the renewal showed disdain for farmers and a desperate attempt to avoid scrutiny.
"It's shocking to see the Perrottet Government continuing to permit coal seam gas exploration on some of the state's best farmland," she said.
"In less than a month, the Perrottet Government has put more than one million hectares of NSW land and the groundwater beneath it at the mercy of the polluting coal seam gas industry.
"Coal seam gas is incompatible with a thriving agriculture industry and resilient rural communities.
"The Perrottet Government has given gas companies the green light to pockmark farmland with gas wells and further fuel dangerous climate change, which is in turn making it harder for farmers to grow food and fibre.
"As recent community meetings have shown, locals will not passively accept the renewal of these licences. The Perrottet Government now has one hell of a fight on its hands."
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers member for Barwon Roy Butler said the government risked serious backlash from its strongest supporters, who had what he said was "white hot" anger about the issue.
"The strange thing for me is that you've got groups like NSW Farmers and CWA who strongly oppose this, they strongly oppose Narrabri, they oppose these zombie PELs. Those groups are bread and butter for the Nats," he said.
"Yet they just stick their middle finger up at them essentially and say we'll we're going to go do it anyway. You sort of sit there and think what the hell's going on? Why would you do that to your base?"
He said almost no landholder near Narrabri was in favour of a plan to turn the region into a coal-seam-gas development zone, and the industry continued to pose major risks to groundwater……
In April the government resurrected PELs near Narrabri, Boggabri, Quirindi and Gunnedah.
It approved the Santos-owned Narrabri Gas Project in 2020.
Bellarta NSW
IMAGE: Domain.com.au
According to Visit NSW website:
Bellata lies 48 kilometres North of Narrabri and 54 kilometres South of Moree on the Newell Highway in North West New South Wales. A rich agricultural region, it is also known for its minerals such as petrified and opalised wood and agate.
The Bellata area is responsible for the production of some of the best Australian Prime Hard wheat in Australia and has large grain storage complex and silos. The countryside has beautiful rich soils and undulating land.
Bellata has a primary school, a nine hole golf course with sand greens and free camping is also available at the Bellata Golf Club, 24 hour BP Roadhouse and the Bellata Memorial Hall.
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