Councillor Nola Firth has submitted to Council the following Notice of Motion: In Tweed shire we are currently collectively dumping 320 tons of soft plastic into landfill per year. There is considerable community concern on this issue. Single use soft plastic is recognised as a serious waste of our precious finite resources and as a…
In 1823 John Oxley was the first European to see the Tweed Valley, and he wrote of it: “A deep rich valley clothed with magnificent trees, the beautiful uniformity of which was only interrupted by the turns and windings of the river, which here and there appeared like small lakes. The background was Mt. Warning.…
There has been some hope that the Federal changes to the EP(BC) Act (the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act) may result in improvements for native forests, such as by adopting and applying strong environmental standards that over-ride RFAs, though an assessment of the new laws by EJA maintains that we will be worse off…
Below is a concise summary of legislation changes over the past 30 years that have removed existing legal protections and increased the destructiveness of logging of native forests. . 1. Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 (NSW) – [Later replaced by the [even worse] Native Vegetation Act 2003: The 1997 Act claimed to regulate land clearing…
The Wollumbin / Mount Warning shield volcano and its erosion caldera is a unique volcanic landform which has functioned as a refugium, over the 20 million years since it’s formation, for a core area of Gondwana rainforest flora. The Caldera is located in a major climatic transition zone, between temperate and tropical floral and faunal…
This is the most significant reduction in development controls in 50 years, and it’s being done with zero public consultation. If passed, these reforms will be a giant step backward for environmental protections in NSW and significantly undermine the progress we are aiming to achieve. If passed this Bill will:
At the next Tweed Council Monthly public access meeting is a plastics issue, namely mowing it smaller vs picking it up first. Plastic does not decompose, it may degrade into smaller pieces when exposed to sunlight or temperature change but it will always remain. We either pick it up or live with it as forever…
The intention behind the changes is to facilitate development by removing environmental protections within the Act. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act is New South Wales’ primary legislation for land use planning and development assessment. It governs environmental planning instruments like State Environmental Planning Policies (SEPPs) and Local Environmental Plans (LEPs). Key purposes of the Act…
BBF: “Connect personally with our campaign team — and to hear from us about our campaign to end native forest logging and ask any questions. “We’re in Byron Bay with our Forest Roadshow. “From Adelaide to Brisbane, our Forest Roadshow will keep building our movement as we connect, upskill, and build unstoppable momentum for forest protection. …
NCC: “The NSW Government’s proposed changes to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act opens the way for reckless developments of all kinds. “This is a code red for environmental protection in NSW. If passed as is, the reforms on the table would have devastating consequences.” “These extreme changes to our environmental protection laws would strip away…
The revised Development Control Plan(DCP), when it soon goes on exhibition for Public comment, will be an opportunity to support stronger protection of both native and non-native trees. Greens Councillor Nola Firth comments: “Tweed Shire Council compared to other NSW Councils has had scant protection for non-native urban trees. “Non-natives here in the Tweed were only protected if they had a diameter of more than 80cm at…
“The many benefits of trees in urban areas are recognised through Council’s Cool Towns: Tweed Shire Urban Forest Program which aims to increase the average total canopy cover in urban areas from 26.8% to 35% by 2030 and then to 40% by 2040 [!]. “We’re [TSC] asking everyone to help restore our urban forest when trees…
From The Nimbin Good Times, by Mark Pestell. In 1972, a group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the top five Universities in the USA, published a groundbreaking report that would shape the global environmental debate for decades to come. Entitled ‘The Limits to Growth’, commissioned by the Club of…
ON 7 SEPTEMBER THE NSW GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED THEY ARE GOING TO CREATE THE FULL GREAT KOALA NATIONAL PARK, AN HISTORIC CONSERVATION WIN AFTER A 10 YEAR CONCERTED COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN. NEFA: “This park will protect 12,000 Koalas and enable their populations to recover as their feed trees regrow. This is the sort of action we need…
CEC Co-ordinator Rhonda James (pictured left) presented at the NSW Weeds Conference. Rhonda spoke on the keys to the successful 30 year bitou bush management program in The Tweed and Byron Shires. Rhonda is notably also the Convenor of the Caldera Environment Centre. “Weeds are one of the top three causes of species extinction (along…
Petition from Invasive Species Council for Action on the sale of weeds from nurseries. Australians know that weeds like lantana are choking our streams and bushland. An astounding three-quarters of all listed weeds in Australia are escaped garden plants, sold legally to unsuspecting shoppers in nurseries or online. These weedy plants have already contributed to…
1. We object to the proposal on ecological grounds. Ecological systems are collapsing around the planet. We are living in the age of The Ecological Crisis, the collapse of the ecology, the collapse of the systems of interrelated and interdependent lifeforms on this planet. In that context we must rescue and protect ecologies, in this…
CEC: “Claims by government agencies that Native Forest Biomass Fuel, fuel for furnaces in the generation of electricity, is ‘Ecological Sustainable’ comes to mind as ‘greenwashing’. The Parliamentary Inquiry however is unlikely to look at the governments own inflated and misleading greenwashing claims, claims which are enabling and subsidising their policies of destruction of native…
NEFA: Please object to the Restart of Redbank Power Station by burning 850,000 tonnes of native forests each year, obtained from landclearing. SUBMISSIONS NEEDED BY 5:00pm on Monday 18 August 2025. MAKE YOURS NOW. This month NSW’s Independent Planning Commission is deciding whether to approve a massive increase in landclearing in western NSW to burn…
NEFA have started a campaign for 56,200 hectares of public native forests in the southern Richmond River valley and on Richmond Range (south of the Bruxner Highway) to be created as the Richmond River Koala Reserves. This is largest stronghold of koalas in the Richmond catchment, a genetically different population from that found in the…
The festival on 13 July celebrated biodiversity and climate solutions in the Northern Rivers. The World Environment Day Festival returned to Murwillumbah on Sunday 13 July, bringing together the community for a day of environmental education, live music, and collective action from 10am to 3:30pm. Hosted by Tweed Landcare and the Caldera Environment Centre, this…
Cardboard take away coffee cups are coated inside with plastic, because, if not, the cardboard cup would soak and fall apart when filled with liquid. When the plastic lining of the take away cardboard coffee cup goes through the temperature change of being filled with the hot liquid, thousands of micro and millions of nano…
The CEC note the growing awareness of the public to the issue of plastic molecule emissions from plastics, especially from materials undergoing changes in temperature or in direct sunlight. We are all becoming more aware of our unwanted ingestion of these plastic molecules and the retention of these molecules in our bodies. Bioaccumulation of microplastics…
TSC Tweed Link: 1000 trees community tree planting for National Tree Day! Col Wiley Park, Byangum,Sunday 27 July, from 9 am to 12 noon to help improve water quality, protect wildlife and reduce river erosion. Also, grants of up to $4,000 for Tweed farmers for sustainable land management for projects that improve soil health, water…
“Discover some of the rare and remarkable animals, plants and habitats that make Border Ranges National Park special, with our [NPWS] interactive 360-degree images. The Border Ranges is a special place where primitive plants and animals have evolved and landscapes have barely changed in millions of years. As a refuge for many threatened species, some…
TSC residents can attend a special local meeting with Premier and Cabinet on July 30 Twin Town Club 12 noon -1:15 to talk about Tweed issues.. (People have to register.) It could be a chance to ask for koala protection across the whole state not just on the coast, permission for Council to have an environmental levy, or more…
Open letter to Premier Minns and the NSW Government January 10, 2025. IT IS PAST TIME FOR THE MINNS GOVERNMENT TO STOP LOGGING THE GREAT KOALA NATIONAL PARK. THEY MUST HONOUR THEIR COMMITMENT TO PROTECT IT. The Minns’ Government was elected on a promise to save Koalas and create the Great Koala National Park, but…
“Listen to our (NPWS) Gondwana Rainforests soundscape on the NSW National Parks, to be transported to this incredible part of Australia. Border Ranges National Park forms part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, which stretches past Newcastle to south-east Queensland. The Gondwana Rainforests are globally recognised as home to the most extensive areas…
We are all becoming more aware of unwanted ingestion of plastic molecules and the retention of these molecules in our bodies. The paper of many popular brand tea bags are strengthened with plastic because otherwise the paper tea bag would fall apart in the hot water. When a plastic strengthened tea bag goes through the…
Plastic production reduction – don’t buy a new plastic spray bottle of cleaner each time, instead use an empty plastic spray bottle or get a glass spray bottle from us, then add the refill tablet, and then add water. The refill tablets are available at the Caldera Environment Centre, $4 each. “The tablets are 100%…
Council sought feedback on a draft management plan for Hastings Point headland. The plan aims to improve the quality of this public open space while protecting the headland’s natural environment and cultural heritage values, both now and in the future. https://www.yoursaytweed.com.au/hastingspointheadland
Tweed Link #1400 4 June 2025: “The Northern Regional Planning Panel (NRPP) recently announced their decision to refuse the application (DA 25/0011) at Pottsville. The Development Application for 1183 Cudgera Creek Road, Cudgera Creek included the building of a caravan park containing 267 long term sites and 12 short term sites, clubhouse, outbuildings and associated…
“FoodAware Murwillumbah is a community project that has been set up to share with the community the knowledge needed to make informed food choices in the light of recent findings on the links between climate change, deforestation and animal farming, the leading driver of climate change, arguably of greenhouse gases as well, and to spell…
This document discusses the development proposals in Tweed Shire during the late 1980s, focusing on the controversial Mt. Nullum project and the impact of the ICAC inquiry on local politics and environmental activism. Development Proposals in Tweed Shire During the late 1980s, Tweed Shire faced numerous development proposals, including the controversial Ocean Blue project and…
Tweed Landcare’s highly successful signature project. Funded consecutively for the last 10 years by the NSW Environmental Trust Restoration and Rehabilitation grant program enabling Tweed Landcare to work with thirty-three landholders in key locations to bush regenerate over 250 hectares of degraded natural areas.
We reproduce below a recent CEC correspondence to the Tweed Shire Councillors regarding an upcoming agenda item to do with in our opinion not only issues of disposal, but also with our ingestion of micro and nano plastic molecules emitting from plastic in the environment. Dear Councillor <name>. Wednesday’s public access Council Meeting has an…
