CEC Message: Local Bush Regenerator Ian Walker (whose latest book ‘Bringing Back the Big Scrub’ is for sale at the CEC shop) is asking local landholders, residents and businesses in Murwillumbah and surrounding regions to participate in a funding opportunity aimed at improving fish habitat in the Tweed River system. The Caldera Environment Centre supports…
Sustainable Commercial Farming Specialist Talk and Organic Farm Visit in Tyalgum
Bob Shaffer is broadly experienced in development and management of cover crop systems for farms, orchards and vineyards. Bob looks at cover crops from a whole-farm perspective including soil biology, soil physics and how the cover crop interrelates with food production and quality. See Bob Shaffer Event PDF = = = = =…
Tweed Shire- unbottled water best
Echonetdaily reports on Tweed Shire initiative to discourage consumption of bottled water Council water-unit officer Elizabeth Seidl said in the article that ‘Australia’s annual consumption of bottled water exceeds 600 million litres, even though Australians are able to drink some of the best tap water in the world. Ms Seidl said the safety of the…
CEC Submission to TSC Economic Development Strategy- 05 July 2013
The Tweed Shire Council is developing an Economic Strategy document that is designed to help guide the future economic development of the Tweed Shire. The Caldera Environment Centre has been involved in planning sessions hosted by the council and has responded to the draft strategy (a copy of the draft discussion paper is available…
World Environment Day Festival 2013- EchoNetDaily Video Report
Rural Land Strategy- CEC Submission to Tweed Shire Council 31-May-2013
Submitted 31 May 2013 The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) would like to make the following submission to the Tweed Shire Council Rural Land Strategy. Introduction As discussed below, The CEC promotes a sustainable ecological ethic of housing development. We disagree with the concept of small rural subdivisions, and would promote an alternative paradigm…
NCEC- Draft Bill a Blueprint for Planning Dictatorship 19-April-2013
From Ian Smith 19 April 2013 I’ve skimmed the whole ‘draft exposure’ bill, and read a lot of it in some detail, just once so far. Forget White-Paper-full-document.pdf on the gub website, it’s a puff piece. Read the whole bill. Even without considering what it doesn’t as yet ‘expose’, it’s not hard not to see…
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO EPBC AMENDMENT BILL 2013
Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications (Submitted online) 4 April 2013 Dear madam or sir SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AMENDMENT BILL 2013 Thank you for the opportunity to submit the views of the Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) in relation to the Environment Protection and…
NCEC- Glenugie CSG Retrospective 01 April 2013
TREE Magazine Vol.11 Issue-1 Autumn 2013
EDITORIAL Our organisation suffered a huge loss last September when our founder and beloved leader, Hop.e Hopkins, left this mortal coil. We would not exist without him, and his ethical, calm, determined commitment to our cause ensured we stayed largely free from sabotage and foolishness. As a kind of gift to us as he left,…
Caldera joins Better Planning Network
Caldera Environment Centre During last year CEC became an affiliate of the Better Planning Network (BPN) (flyer attached), as part of a widespread community response to the Review. BPN is circulating a petition (attached) which requests the NSW Parliament to: establish a multi-party Committee to fairly assess the proposals to amend the planning system and to ensure…
CEC Submission to TSC- Planning Reforms – Draft LEP 2012
The General Manager Tweed Shire Council PO Box 816 Murwillumbah NSW 2482 18 January 2013 Planning Reforms – Draft LEP 2012 Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) is extremely disappointed that Tweed Shire Council has rushed the draft LEP to exhibition due to pressure from the Minister for Planning. The Minister’s media release appears to be the…
Glenugie Update- Police move in on protesters
NEWS FLASH: Glenugie Update 7th January 2012 From: Chris Aitchison, Secretary Caldera Environment Centre For over 50 days, a contingent of brave, caring, and representative people from across the Northern Rivers region successfully hindered Metgasco’s attempts to access a Glenugie property, where it plans to undertake exploratory drilling for coal seam gas (CSG). The blockade…
Draft Tweed Shire LEP 2012- CEC Comment
Draft Tweed Shire LEP 2012 – Coastal Koala habitat loses over 1200ha of protection The Tweed Shire draft LEP 2012 is currently on exhibition for public comment. During the exhibition period there have been four public workshops to explain the draft LEP, with a fifth workshop to be held at Tweed Heads in early January.…
Kings Forest- Letter to LEDA 14-Dec-2012
Mr Reg van Rij Regional Manager – Residential LEDA Developments Pty Ltd PO Box 1914 Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 14 December 2012 Dear Mr van Rij Thank you for your letter of 6 November 2012, and for the invitation to engage with your company in relation to the Preferred Project Report (PPR) for the proposed…
Murwillumbah Community Gardens finally has land
News from: Steve James, MCGs Coordinator It has been a long time in the making, but Murwillumbah Community Gardens (MCGs) finally has land! MCGs committee members recently entered a lease for a parcel of land on West Street, Murwillumbah. The site has much potential, but does not yet have any amenities or infrastructure. The committee is…
IWCM Review- Byrrill Creek Landcare Group- Dec 2012
Robyn Campbell Hydrosphere Consulting robyn.campbell@hydrosphere.com.au SUBMISSION: Tweed Integrated Water Cycle Management Review (IWCM) Paper Byrrill Creek Landcare Group thanks you for the opportunity to be involved in the process of helping to formulate the future IWCM Strategy. As a landcare group, who have been revegetating riparian areas in the upper…
BIOREGIONALISM- State System under Question
[Reprinted from the CEC’s TREE Magazine August 1993. Some minor editing has been done to correct some typo’s after article was scanned. Ed.] “ If local government areas were amalgamated, we could have areas like Swiss Cantons, English Counties, or German Lands, and dispense with States, which are a colonial anachronism. Removing one level of government should…
Fracking America- Butler County, Pennsylvania
In case we missed it.. Residents in Butler County, Pennsylvania share their fracking experience. Film shared courtesy of Nature Abounds’ friend Rich Waters, a local photographer and videographer who is documenting how fracking is changing the lives of his neighbors in Southwest Pennsylvania. Link to Video: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31880.htm Photo is from Tara gas…
Community Resistance to CSG in New York State
New York State communities use local zoning laws to fight against CSG Frack Fight. A Secret War of Activists. With the World in the Balance. By Ellen Cantarow (19 Nov. 2012 Information Clearing House) “There’s a war going on that you know nothing about between a coalition of great powers and a small insurgent movement. It’s…
SAVE NORTH COAST NATURE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
*MEDIA RELEASE* Sunday 4 November 2012 *SAVE NORTH COAST NATURE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED* An alliance of environmental professionals and conservation groups are today (Monday) launching a campaign to prevent the NSW Government’s plans to remove essential environmental protection from nearly 60% of the Far North Coast’s forests, wetlands and wildlife habitats. Called Save North…
Conservation Ecologists request deferral of LEP’s
*CONSERVATION ECOLOGISTS ASSOCIATION** **Science — Conservation — Community** **MEDIA RELEASE 28 October 2012* The Conservation Ecologists Association (CEA) is requesting that finalisation of far north coast Local Environment Plans be deferred until the State Government completes its review of environmental zones. The request to the Mayors of Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, and Kyogle Councils is…
Hazzard abolishes E Zones
Minister Hazzard abolishes E Zones and sentences Koalas to E-xtinction The Caldera Environment Centre is appalled by the recent announcement by the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and local representatives Don Page and Thomas George to remove environmental protection zones (E2 and E3) from draft LEPs on the north coast. Claims by the farming lobby about…
Licence to Kill for Lot 490
CEC PRESS RELEASE 29/08/2012 Developers have a Licence to Kill James Bond had the iconic “Licence to Kill”, and now it seems that the NSW state government is granting a Licence to Kill for the developers of Lot 490. Despite the existence of threatened species at the site and the fact that the area acts…
Couchy Creek Nature Reserve Submission
Submission to the Office of Environment and Heritage Couchy Creek Nature Reserve – Draft Plan of Management The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) welcomes the OEH initiative to develop a plan of Management for the Couchy Creek Nature Reserve. Our organisation strongly supports the efforts of National Parks and Wildlife Service to manage problem weeds and…
June 2012 Water Workshops
Caldera Environment Centre media statement June 2012 Water Workshops The CEC was proud to have been a co-sponsor of these water workshops and it was refreshing to have such informative presentations on sustainable development in our community. Dr Litowski from the Sydney Olympic Park Authority has demonstrated that ecologically sustainable development is possible; the technology…
Fukushima: the worst is still to come
Posted by grh. 20-Aug-2012 News from Fukushima has been consistently bad since the severe earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.. However, the worst of the disaster may be yet to come. There is also the symbiosis between the nuclear energy and the continued production of nuclear weapons. This from Prof. Anthony Hall writing for GlobalResearch.Ca…
Fukushima radiation spawned mutant butterflies
From the ABC website.. 13/8/2012. Researchers in Japan say radioactive fallout from the Fukushima meltdowns have created abnormalities among the nation’s butterfly species. The researchers collected hundreds of butterflies in the weeks and months after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. They found abnormalities in more than 10 per cent, including unusually small wings. The rate of…
Tweed Heritage Submission- March 2012
TREE Magazine Autumn 2012
IWCM- Review by Save Byrrill Creek Group February 2102
To the General Manager, Mr Mike Rayner Tweed Water Staff Tweed Shire Council tsc@tweed.nsw.gov.au The Save Byrrill Creek group welcomes the opportunity for an Independent Review of the IWCM For this to be a truly independent Review we request that both Hunter Water and MWH are not contracted to do the Review. We support an…
Development Tweed Coast- Submission
The Director General NSW Government Crown Lands Division GPO Box 15 Sydney NSW 2001 Tweed Coast Holiday Parks Reserve Trust (TCHPRT) and Land and Property Management Authority (LPMA Bogangar, Cabarita South Precinct Plan Introduction/Summary The Tweed Coast has been under constant threat of wave and wind erosion for millennia, but the rate of sea level…
Invitation to join Biosphere Project
From Hop E. The Caldera Environment Centre Inc (CEC) invites local community groups and individuals to form an affiliated coalition to lobby Australian governments (at all three levels) to nominate the Border Ranges bio region as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserves were promoted as a conservation/sustainability tool and a major part of the ‘Man…
TREE Magazine Spring 2011
Press Release- Biosphere Reserve
PRESS RELEASE – Caldera Environment Centre 30/8/2011 From Mr. Paul (Hop.e) Hopkins Plans to create a biosphere reserve for the Mt Warning caldera are gaining momentum, after receiving support from Tweed Shire Council. The project, headed by the Caldera Environment Centre (CEC), received unanimous support from the Tweed’s councillors this month. This month’s Council meeting…
Biosphere push finds support
Written by Kate McIntosh and Luis Feliu From the Tweed ECHO Thursday, 30 June 2011 – A push to have the Tweed caldera region recognised as an internationally significant ecological site appears to be gathering momentum. At its meeting last week Tweed Shire Council unanimously voted in favour of a motion to bring forward…
TREE Magazine Winter 2011
TREE Magazine Autumn 2011
Tree Magazine April 2010
Tree Magazine Autumn 2009
TREE, Vol. 9, Issue 12 Editorial- Developer puppet councillors and/or council bureaucrats call the shots; Kings Forest and Cobaki Lakes – Concept Plan Applications, Councillor Katie Milne on the inadequacies of the development proposals; Repco Rally Australia- inappropriate to say the least; The Issue of Public Consultation- interpreting power relationships; Dear Council- … please explain; NSW Spin…
Tree Magazine Winter 2008
** History and Theme of World Environment Day 2008 ** TWEED LANDCARE ** THE NIMBIN ENVIRONMENT CENTRE ** TWEED GREENS ** TWEED CAN ** VEGANISM ** AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ** SEA SHEPHERD ** SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE ALLIANCE ** NORTH COAST CLIMATE ACTION GROUP ** NORTH COAST ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL ** CALDERA ENVIRONMENT CENTRE ** Earth Hour or Green…
Tree Magazine Spring 2007
Give Your Vote more teeth- vote multiple times below the line; editorial- when it comes to the federal election there is really only one option, let’s get rid of the Howard gang; Why vote in a world gone mad? at some time in the last thirty years, most of us decided that the suburban lifestyle we grew…
Tree Magazine Winter 2007
Tree Magazine Summer 2006
TREE, VOL. 9, ISSUE 6 No Nightcap Nightmare- 420 buildings in a new ‘village’ just outside the existing village of Uki; Editorial- Full Spectrum Dominance; Whose Fault? the conservatives are accountable; ‘THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING’- time limits on development consents; KINGS FOREST- a timeline of the development of the ‘Development’; RE Kings Forest- Letter to Frank Sartor, Minister…
Tree Magazine Autumn 2006
TREE, VOL. 9, ISSUE 5 Lest We Forget- the massive bombing of people and infrastructure (the sewage treatment plants, water supply plants, electrical generation plants, schools and universities) and the depleted uranium fallout from battlefield weapons, adds up to an horrendous social justice and environmental catastrophe; KINGS FOREST- the Chief Town Planner’s recommendation regarding the King’s Forest rezoning has Iemma’s and…
Tree Magazine December 2005
The Caldera Environment Centre Tree Vol 9 Issue 4 Dec. 2005. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION WITH TWEED SHIRE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATORS 1. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ZONES should be “NO GO” Areas 2. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 3. LIMITS TO POPULATION GROWTH 4. Need to promote TWEED VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN and native (locally indigenous) vegetation 5. Need to promote WATER…
Tree Magazine October 2005
TREE- Vol-9 issue 3- October 2005 — Wollumbin festival issue — Wollumbin Dreaming — AUSTRALIANS AND UNAUSTRALIANS — Stirring the Calderan- revolutionary change in Venezuela — DEBATE- Sustainable Agriculture and Chemical Use — Party Politics- TWEEDLE DEE / TWEEDLE DUM TEDIUM –Social Justice and Empowerment: View PDF: TREE_vol_9_03_October2005 =…
Tree Magazine August 2005
Tweed River Environmental Echo Issue 2.`August 2005 — Editorial- No more dams.. — WE HAVE LOST FIVE GOOD, HONEST COUNCILLORS … — BUSINESS WELFARE –- Stirring the Calderan- -– DEBATE- Weed control and Chemical Use — THE DREAMING — DO TREES TALK? — Water Policy- PART ONE View PDF: TREE_vol_9_issue_02_August2005 …
Tree Magazine March 2005
Tweed River Environmental Echo. Newsletter of The Caldera Environment Centre. Vol-9. Issue 1. March 2005. — Editorial- membership revival needed. — The Current Inquiry into the Tweed Council … — Wollumbin Scout Camp –- Stirring the Calderan- -– DEBATE- Weed control- Is Roundup the new DDT? — CEC STRATEGY PLAN : DRAFT FOR COMMENT…
TREE Magazine Winter 2001
IN THIS ISSUE GREEN POWER- GLOBAL GREENS CONFERENCE NOT-SO-GREEN POWER- SUGAR MILL CO-GENERATION KINGS FOREST AND SEASIDE CITY- COUNCIL’S COASTAL PLANNING UNDER INVESTIGATION HASTINGS POINT RAINFOREST FIRE- RURAL FIRE SERVICE REFUSES TO SAY SORRY WOLLUMBIN FOREST- UPDATE PLUS: * CONSUELA * LAND CLEARING IN QUEENSLAND * POWER COMPANY VANDALISM View PDF: TREE-Magazine-2001-07-Winter2001_BQ_SM_OCR = =…