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97% of Crown Land leases go to those in the know, says Auditor General
Media release 8 September 2016
The Baird Government is grossly mismanaging the Crown Land estate and the community is being frozen out of decision-making, according to a report from the NSW Auditor General into the Sale and lease of Crown land.
This report confirms what the Greens and members of the public have been saying for years, that public parks, reserves and foreshores lands are being sold and leased at alarming rates with no transparency and minimal oversight. Urgent reform is needed to protect our precious public land estate.
Greens MP and Crown Land Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“This report confirms what the public has known for years, closed door negotiations with selected applicants are normal when it comes to signing away the rights over public land. This has to end.
Home Expo – Living for the Future 2016
Saturday 3 September 2016 from 9am – 2pm, Seagulls Club, Gollan Drive, Tweed Heads West. A one-stop-shop of local suppliers and inspirers with ideas and solutions for more sustainable living in the Tweed.
The Expo aims to help people:
- save costs
- be energy and water efficient
- reuse resources and reduce waste
- enhance the local environment
- cut greenhouse gas emissions
- move towards food and energy self-sufficiency
- improve your health and wellbeing
- support local suppliers
Cultivating Murder – global warming, land clearing and cold blooded murder.
Cultivating Murder is both a personal story of those affected by the murder of NSW environmental officer, Glen Turner in 2014 and an exploration of the wider political implications of the murder, in the context of proposed changes to Australia’s environmental protection laws.
You may wish to pledge a contribution to help get the film finished and released.
Focus on tiny homes in sustainable house design competition
Imagine a sustainable house that can bring the ability to live debt-free, with utility bills as low as $10 a month.
It’s not just a dream – the tiny house movement is a reality more Australians are adopting as a means of achieving freedom from debt, minimal environmental impact, and the opportunity to live simply.
For that reason, the focus for the Northern Rivers Sustainable House Day Design Competition this year is Tiny Homes. The competition is now open to residents, architects, designers and young people in the Northern Rivers.
More than $5,000 in cash and prizes is up for grabs over three design categories: Tiny Homes – A Pocket Neighbourhood, A Tiny Home and A Teeny Tiny Home. To find out more and enter go to www.sustainablehousedaynr.org
Update from Enova Energy
Save our Tweed – No Runway Extension
The approval of the ILS has also secured an increase in the operational length of runway 14 unlawfully.
MDP Table 2.1: ILS components – A localiser antenna located 300m from runway 14 end (pg.15), currently 2,342m (Master Plan 2011, pg.85).
However, the antenna is located 300m from just inside the airport southern boundary giving runway 14 a length of 2500m (a longer take off length to the south).
Under the Airports Act a MDP is required for altering a runway (s.89 (ba). The approved ILS MDP made no reference to increasing the runway 14 length.
This will also require the construction of the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) on the NSW Crown Reserve not referenced in the ILS MDP.
Along with this GCA are proposing to relocate the runway 32 landing threshold approx. 310m to the south.
This enables larger long-haul aircraft to utilise the runway, thus putting aircraft lower over the Tweed and increasing noise and emission impacts and impacting on property values.
Seeking sustainable homes to open for Sustainable House Day
CEC submission to Upper House inquiry into Crown Land
Read CEC submission here.
CEC submission to NSW Biodiversity Law Reforms
Read CEC submission here.
Parliamentary Inquiry into Crown Land
Public lands should be held on trust for the people of NSW; managed by the Government with management directed at identifying and protecting the diverse values of public lands. The NSW Government is proposing significant changes to the way Crown land is managed in NSW.
The NSW Upper House is currently conducting an inquiry into Crown Lands in NSW. The inquiry will look at:
a) the extent of Crown land and the benefits of active use and management of that land to New South Wales,
b) the adequacy of community input and consultation regarding the commercial use and disposal of Crown land,
c) the most appropriate and effective measures for protecting Crown land so that it is preserved and enhanced for future generations, and
NCC’s joint submission to Biodiversity Legislation Review
Read the joint submission here
EDO submissions on NSW Biodiversity Law Reforms
Read the submissions on EDO NSW site.
EDO on NSW Biodiversity Reform
Stand Up For Nature
Visit http://www.standupfornature/resources to read the submission guide and more information about the proposed changes to our conservation and biodiversity laws.
Submissions will be accepted until 5pm on Tuesday 28 June 2016.
Festival Cancelled
Hi All
It is unfortunate that we are cancelling Sunday’s Festival due to predicted heavy rain and possible floods for the Tweed Valley, yet again.
On analysis of many weather predictions it is evident that the deluge will peak on Sunday with possible falls of up to 100mm. We are sorry for the inconvenience to you. It would be pointless to attempt the festival, as much as we would like to. We were prepared for moderate rain but not for rain as severe, as is predicted. We delayed postponing, to the last minute last time, as the accurate predictions were for a sunny Sunday which it was. The floods beat us then. This time it looks like Sunday Floody Sunday.
We plan to organize another environment festival in a drier time. Hope you can all make it.
NSW biodiversity reforms: 6 things you need to know
EDO NSW has identified six key issues with the NSW Government proposed legislative and policy package.
http://www.edonsw.org.au/the_2016_nsw_biodiversity_reforms_6_things_you_need_to_know
World Environment Day 2016 poster
World Environment Day Festival Program
Late additions to the program:
Midday: Lui Weber is a Senior Botanist with Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd, specialising in flora identification and management. Lui has worked in a wide range of bioregions and ecosystems across Australia, from rainforests to dry forests, grasslands and wetlands. Lui will talk about plant identification, evolution and ecology.
1pm: Sapoty Brook is an electrical engineer orientated towards finding and providing transport solutions for an over-heating world. He has been marketing recycled motor scooters and developing a revolutionary kind of propulsion system. Sapoty wants more people to discover the benefits and joys of light electric vehicles.
Public Meeting – Gold Coast Airport PFC Land and Water Contamination
7 June 6pm – Come along and hear about possible contamination of groundwater, Tweed and Gold Coast waterways, fish and Bilinga bore water.
Following the disturbing findings of Fiskville and Williamtown where towns have been put under a code red from PFC contamination and warned not to drink or use the water or eat produce from the contaminated area, the Gold Coast airport has been exposed as having similar contamination – yet no-one has been warned.
Come and find out the facts from the experts and hear about the recent senate inquiry into the Gold Coast Airport PFC contamination.
Speakers include:
Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith,Senior Advisor to the National Toxics Network and IPEN, an international public interest NGO. Member of the UN Expert Group on Climate Change and Chemicals.
NCC Submission Guide – Draft North Coast Regional Plan
Time is running out to have your say on future planning for the North Coast.
From its stunning beaches to the scenic hinterland, and productive valleys to coastal shores, the North Coast is a vibrant landscape of thriving ecosystems and a unique place to live.
Right now the NSW Government is developing a new plan to set the future direction for the region and so far it fails to protect the environment and the incredible natural values of the North Coast.
We’ve created a submission guide to help you prepare a submission by June 2nd. Don’t miss this chance to have you say on the future of your community.
The draft Plan covers local government areas in the North, Mid, and Lower North Coast including Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Kyogle, Clarence, Coffs Harbour, Nambucca Valley, Bellingen, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Kempsey and Greater Taree.
EDO NSW top 10 concerns with draft Biodiversity Conservation Bill 2016 and Local Land Services Amendment Bill
EDO Workshop: Draft Biodiversity Conservation Bill
Biodiversity Legislation Review – EDO NSW
The NSW Government has released its new draft Biodiversity Conservation Bill, a Local Land Services Amendment Bill, and information about proposed land clearing codes.
The proposed law and policy package is a serious retrograde step as it involves removing many of NSW long-held environmental protections.
The legislative package is designed to replace the Native Vegetation Act, Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Nature Conservation Trust Act and parts of the National Parks & Wildlife Act.
The package will be on public exhibition for the next eight weeks, and submissions close on Tuesday 28 June 2016.
We’ll be running a series of workshops throughout NSW in June to assist communities to engage in the reforms. We will also be releasing a briefing note in the coming weeks which will provide a more detailed analysis of what is proposed.
Tree planting at Cudgen Nature Reserve Sunday 15th May
WetlandCare Australia would like to invite the wider community to join them for a community tree planting day at Clothiers Creek Road near Cabarita Beach on the 15th of May to improve habitat for the Tweed coastal Koala population.
WetlandCare Australia is collaborating with project partners Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Tweed Shire Council and Friends of the Koala to repair over 1 ha of Koala habitat in the reserve. These crucial habitat restoration works will help to safeguard the threatened population of Koalas on the Tweed coast and reduce the decline of this iconic species within our region.
Over the next two years WetlandCare Australia will work with partners and the community to plant 3000 native trees to create important Koala habitat in Cudgen Nature Reserve. Laura White Senior Project Officer at WetlandCare Australia said ‘We are very excited to welcome the community to our first planting day for this project. It will be great to get our hands dirty and work together for practical, tangible benefits for Tweed coast Koalas.’
EDO Update on Protest Laws
This Fact Sheet describes changes made to protest laws in March 2016. It covers new aggravated trespass offences, expanded offences for interfering with a mine, and new police powers. The laws have not yet commenced.
Inquiry into water augmentation in rural and regional New South Wales
The NSW Legislative Council’s General Purpose Standing Committee No.5 is currently conducting an inquiry into water augmentation in rural and regional New South Wales.
The closing date for submissions is14 August 2016.
The inquiry will take place over 18 months, and the committee intends to hold public hearings across rural and regional New South Wales, following the closing date for submissions.
Renewables in agriculture workshop
Find out how your farm business can benefit from clean energy technologies to move water. Learn from industry experts and solar providers about selecting the right solar powered pump for your agricultural needs.
Speakers will explain what government incentives are available, top tips on energy efficient pumps and how to plan for future climate variability. Talk to local suppliers and hear about case studies from our region.
Friday 13 May 2016, 10am til 1pm, Tropical Fruit World, Duranbah. Bookings essential on 6670 2400 by 10 May.
CEC Fun Raiser Dinner
Do you want an inflatable aquatic ‘fun park’ in Jack Evans Boat Harbour?
This idea was proposed in late 2013 by Councillor Polglase and subsequently rejected by Councillors, 4 votes to 2.
Aquasplash fun park operators have now approached Tweed Shire Council about such a facility in Jack Evans Boat Harbour.
Aquasplash operates a business at Broadwater Parklands at Southport on the Gold Coast.
CEC has been contacted by members and wider community who are strongly opposed to such a facility in the Boat Harbour. Concerns raised include impacts on aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora (including threatened species), noise, pollution, traffic and lack of parking, loss of public area for free activities such as swimming, proximity to residential buildings and loss of scenic amenity.