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North North Voices

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             HAPPY  HOLIDAY  SEASON 

The blog will return from its annual break on 1 January 2023

 

Tweet of the Year

 

Morning, Twitterati, Proles and Comrades ... and Santa.😉
One of my contributions for the year. pic.twitter.com/qj7wG9W9VA

— clancy tucker (@ClancyTucker) December 23, 2022

 

Quotes of the Week

 

“On Monday, at the final public hearing of the House Jan. 6 committee, Representative Bennie Thompson said that any attempt to overturn the legitimate results of an American election, impede the peaceful transfer of power or foment an insurrection must never be allowed to happen again. To that end, Representative Jamie Raskin firmly announced that the committee was making four criminal referrals whose center, in each, was Donald Trump, the man who hatched a scheme that would, if successful, defraud Americans of their sacred right to have their vote count.

These unprecedented referrals suggest that Mr. Trump, who as president took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not only violated that oath, but also committed a series of specifically indictable crimes. One of these referrals — for the crime of inciting an insurrection — is the most stunning, the most unpredictable and the most crucial, for its implications and its remedy include barring the former president from holding political office.”

[Author & essayist Brenda Wineapple writing in The New York Times, 23 December 2022]

'Scott Morrison has apparently always held himself in some regard, reportedly describing himself in the following ways in 2006: “Under the heading of personal attributes he listed: Positive, direct, determined, decisive, pragmatic, articulate, passionate, outcome focused, innovative, discrete (sic), personable, motivated, committed, reasoned, analytic, responds to challenges, loyal, works well under pressure”. And humility?

As the former Howard government minister Fran Bailey observed: “It was all out there for everyone to see. I think he is missing that part of his brain that controls empathy. Everything had to be his way, he would not accept advice, he would not collaborate unless it was with the cheer squad that he surrounded himself with.” Nothing much seems to have changed.” '

[Former Labor senator Steven Loosely, writing in The Weekend Australian, 24 December 2022]

Cartoons of the Week

 

Mark David

Peter Broelman

David Rowe

David Pope

Is Clarence Valley Council finally beginning to grapple with the need to limit development on the Clarence River floodplain?

 

Clarence Valley Mayor Ian Tiley         Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy

      IMAGES: Clarence Valley Independent

Clarence Valley Independent, 20 December 2022:

Clarence Valley Council (CVC) will seek legal opinion to see if compensation will be liable if vacant land that doesn’t have development application approval at West Yamba is rezoned by the NSW Planning Minister – a move that would limit further development.

Deputy Mayor Greg Clancy put forward the motion at the December 13 CVC meeting concerning land in the West Yamba Urban Release Area WYURA, which is predicted to increase the population of Yamba by 2000 people when development is complete.

Cr Clancy said planning approvals in Wyura requiring large amount of fill would appear to be exacerbating localised flooding around the Carrs Drive roundabout and the area surrounding it.

Following the impact of the 2022 floods, which saw Yamba cut off for several days, there is also concern that the large amount of fill is affecting, and will increasingly affect the drainage of the area, adversely affecting low lying residences and the environment.

Cr Karen Toms asked Cr Clancy whether he knew that the General Manager had already sought legal advice before he put the motion forward.

“I was aware that the Mayor had asked the General Manager to seek legal advice, I wasn’t aware that it had actually been done,” he said.

Cr Clancy said with all the issues going on in the Yamba area, council was now in a position to understand what we can do or can’t do in terms of development on the floodplain.

“We’ve had the Prime Minister and we’ve had the Premier both stating that there should be no more development on the floodplain, he said.

“However, to date we haven’t received any official notice that there’s legislation being prepared, or passed, or whatever, to do that.

“In the interim we need to determine councils’ position in relation to development on the floodplain and West Yamba is our largest area where we have potential development on the floodplain.

“All this motion is doing is seeing whether council or the ratepayers would be liable if we go down the path of applying for a rezoning of land which has been zoned under the Wyura as residential, back to rural, and or a mixture maybe of rural and conservation, because there’s some important conservation areas in that area.

“Once we get the legal opinion, council would be in a much better position to consider what action we want to take.

“If we put a rezoning application in, we would need to know if the council and the ratepayers would be liable to any compensation.”

Mayor Ian Tiley said he and General Manager, Laura Black had discussed the matter a number of times and council was awaiting legal advice on rezoning.

Cr Steve Pickering said he would be supporting the motion as the community wanted to see action not just in Yamba, but on the floodplain generally.

“This is a question that has been asked many times of me and I think it’s prudent for us as a council to actually seek legal advice,” he said.

Cr Karen Toms said she would not be supporting the motion as it was ‘a what if question’.

“To me it’s a speculation in itself because we’re asking a lawyer to say well if the government decides to come in and change the zoning of privately owned land will we need to pay compensation,” she said.

“I would rather see this put on hold until we actually get the information back.”

Cr Bill Day said he believed the motion endorsed the actions of the Mayor and the General Manager to seek legal advice on rezoning land at West Yamba.

In the motion put forward by Cr Greg Clancy and seconded by Cr Jeff Smith council resolved to seek a legal opinion as to:

1. Whether compensation becomes liable when and if the NSW Planning Minister was to rezone vacant lands that have not had DA approval for development on the Yamba floodplain (WYURA ) from R1 General Residential to RU2 Rural landscape and C2 Environmental Conservation zonings at Council’s request, and

2. Whether compensation becomes liable if land previously approved for the importation of fill was to be similarly rezoned;

3. Whether there are any other legal implications of such an action.

The motion was carried 7-2 and supported by all councillors except Cr Karen Toms and Cr Allison Whaites.

Native title over certain land & waters in the Northern Rivers region granted to Widjabul-Wia-bal People on 19 December 2022

 

On 19 December 2022 the Federal Court of Australia recognised Native Title in relation to Application NC2013/005 - Widjabul Wia-bal People.

The Widjabul Wia-bal now hold native title over approximately 11,700 hectares of their traditional lands and waters within Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Lismore City, Richmond Valley and Tweed local government areas. As set out in Widjabul Wia-Bal v Attorney-General of New South Wales (Section 87 Agreement) [2022] FCA 1521.

IMAGE: FCA 1521
Click on image to enlarge

According to the NSW Government the settlement also includes an agreement to disregard historical extinguishment of native title in national parks within the claim area, paving the way for the future recognition of native title over an additional 2,600 hectares of national parks.

From the beginning the NSW O’Farrell-Baird-Berejiklian-Perrottet Coalition Government resisted this native title claim in the Federal Court and, in this writer’s opinion, did not always act in good faith.

Perhaps this determination may give the Rothwell Family, Winten Property Group, Winten (No 12) Pty Limited, Glorbill Pty Ltd, Folsom Pty. Ltd, William Anthony Sexton, Lismore City Council and Mayor Steve Krieg, pause for reflection on their own business decisions and/or political ambitions.

La Niña continues into the Australian Summer

 

Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Climate Driver Update, 20 Dec 2022:

• La Niña continues in the tropical Pacific, but some indicators show signs of declining strength. La Niña typically increases the chance of above average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during summer. Models suggest that ocean temperatures may reach ENSO-neutral levels during January or February 2023, and remain at neutral levels until at least April. Model accuracy for lead times greater than four months is generally lower at this time of year than at other times, so outlooks beyond April should be viewed with caution.

• The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is neutral and has little influence on Australian climate while the monsoon trough is in the southern hemisphere (typically December to April).

• The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is in a positive phase and is likely to be neutral to positive through January and February. During summer, a positive SAM increases the chance of above average rainfall for parts of eastern Australia and below average rainfall for western Tasmania.

• The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is expected to move across the Maritime Continent and Western Pacific regions over the coming fortnight, which may lead to increased westerly flow and rainfall across parts of northern Australia. The influence of the MJO may lead to the onset of the Australian monsoon during this time, while also increasing the risk of tropical low and cyclone formation across the region.

• Sea surface temperatures remain warmer than average in the western Pacific, much of the Maritime Continent, and around northern Australia, particularly in the Coral Sea. Warmer Australian waters, especially in the tropics, can result in greater evaporation, humidity, cloudiness, and rainfall.

• Climate change continues to influence Australian and global climates. Australia's climate has warmed by around 1.47 °C in the period 1910–2021. There has also been a trend towards a greater proportion of rainfall from high intensity short duration rainfall events, especially across northern Australia.

Next update expected by 3 January 2022