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…
NCC: Email your MP, Template, Stop the NSW Government’s Plan to Weaken Planning Laws
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:
TSC October Monthly Meeting, agenda item: Roadside Plastic Litter Pick-Up Pre-Mowing: Admin Staff are Against [ !! ]
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…
TVW: Planning Reform Fears
They are gutting the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, removing significant environmental protections [!] .
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…
The Bob Brown Foundation Forest Roadshow will be in Byron Bay Tuesday 14th October at the Farm, 8-9am
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. …
“This is a code red for environmental protection in NSW.”
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…
TSC DCP Review, An Opportunity to Protect Non-Native Trees As Do Other Councils
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…
30 years of removing legal safeguards for native forests has destroyed native forest ecologies and is continuing to do so.
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…
Have Your Say, TSC’s New Compensatory Planting Policy
“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…
Looking Forward to the Kinship Festival
The Wollumbin Caldera – It’s Geological Formation and Flora
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…
Great Koala National Park
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 CoOrdinator Rhonda James presenting at the NSW Weeds Conference
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…
Richmond River Koala Parks proposal presentation by NEFA et al at Parliament House (!)
Submission In Objection. The Caldera Environment Centre OBJECT in the strongest possible terms to Redbank power station being permitted to burn vegetation from land clearing and from native forest ecologies:
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…
The Caldera Environment Centre Shop
Tweed Shire Council August Monthly Meeting. “A Trio of Environmental Concerns”
Chillingham Picnic for Nature
‘Greenwashing’, Parliamentary Inquiry, “Submissions Welcome”
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…
M-Arts Event: This Stuff Matters > ‘The Serious Role of Creative Arts in Times of Crisis’
YOU CAN STOP CLEARING AND BURNING FORESTS FOR ELECTRICITY, IT WILL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE
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: The North East Forest Alliance
NEFA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR RICHMOND RIVER KOALA PARKS
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 years-long review into rodent poison killing native animals is still…
World Environment Day Festival Success, with Expert Speakers, Live Music and Community Action, Well Done to all concerned!
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…
The Caldera Environment Centre “Still the best Environmental Bookshop in the Northern Rivers”, looking forward to the World Environment Day event.
Plastic Lined Take Away Cardboard Coffee Cups: 25,000 micron-sized and 12 million nano-sized microplastic particles are released from the lining into the cup of coffee.
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…
Cup Library at The Padock Coffee Shop
We Are All Ingesting Plastic
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: 1000 trees community tree planting for National Tree Day, Byangum, Sunday 27 July, and, Grants of up to $4,000 for Tweed farmers for sustainable land management.
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…
The Tweed Valley: “A deep rich valley clothed with magnificent trees, the beautiful uniformity of which was only interrupted by the turns and windings of the river, …” Oxley: 1823
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.…
NPWS: Border Ranges 360 degree experiences
“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…
Meeting with Premier and cabinet – July 30 Tweed Heads
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…
Great Koala National Park
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…
NSW Parks: Sounds of nature: Border Ranges Gondwana Rainforest
“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…
Plastic Reinforced Paper Tea Bags: We are ingesting millions of nano particles of plastic per cup of tea
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…
ReUse: $4 Refill Tablet for household cleaning spray containers, at the CEC.
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%…
The Draft Hastings Point Headland Management Plan
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
Caravan Park at Pottsville refused by NSW.gov, as per Community and TS Council Recommendation.
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 , this July’s Daring Dialogue at the Kambucha Cafe
“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…
The Mount Nullum Development Proposal and the Genesis of the Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) 1987-1990
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 Video – ‘Filling the Biodiversity Gaps connecting Tweed Coast to Border Ranges’
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.
Dear Tweed Shire Councillor, et al.
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…
Tweed Shire Council > Monthly Public Access Meetings > Agenda for the upcoming Thursday 19 June Meeting
[nefanews] Forestry Corps Losses
NEFA: “Following the NSW Forest Alliance putting out a media release that was run by the Guardian, cross-benchers have now piled on with a story in the Sydney Morning Herald (see below). SMH: “MPs call for state government to end its ‘fiscally irrational’ logging. “A powerful group of state government crossbenchers has again called on…
Tweed Regional Art Gallery: Spiders of Paradise
10 May – 3 August 2025, Maria Fernanda Cardoso: Spiders of Paradise presents the artist’s ongoing photographic series featuring the tiny Australian Maratus spider. It includes new works from this series as well as Cardoso’s acclaimed video work On the Origins of Art I–II (2016). Bringing together science, art and nature, this exhibition celebrates the…
Forestry continue to haemorrhage money
From the North East Forest Alliance, NEFA News: “Forestry Corps have declared a half year normalised earnings loss of $14.9 on their hardwood logging, in part blaming protests, protection of Koala hubs in the GKNP, the new Greater Glider protocols and having to assess the unique and special wildlife values in plantations. The claimed significance of…
Nature Conservation Council
Tweed Shire Council > Strategic Plan for Holiday Parks > Concerns about Plastics In The Environment.
Note that the Tweed Council 15th May Monthly Meeting Agenda Items includes: “Synthetic Grass in Tweed Holiday Parks”, submitted to the meeting by the Director of Sustainable Communities and Environment. The agenda item reads: “At the Ordinary Meeting held 18 July 2024, Council resolved to endorse the Tweed Holiday Parks 2023 -2034 Strategic Plan. Within…