TSC launches Tweed Platypus Project

Message From: Matthew Bloor [mailto:MBloor@tweed.nsw.gov.au] Sent: Wednesday, 23 October 2013 4:38 PM

Dear Caldera Environment Centre,

Tweed Shire Council is undertaking a brand new Platypus Project with the aim of protecting platypus habitat and reducing threats to Tweed platypus populations. The project aims to use community education to harness community support and involvement.

The project will work with the community to

  •         Raise awareness and understanding of the platypus
  •         Report platypus sightings
  •         Start a Platypus Watch Group
  •         Protect and conserve Tweed waterways

Council is engaging a community artist, Kris Martin, to weave a 3m long platypus from cats claw creeper vine, starting on Saturday 2nd November at Uki Hall Park. Kris will be based at Uki for the week (to Friday 8th) and several school groups are visiting to help out. Interested members of the public are welcome to pay Kris a visit and Thursday the 7th is open for people to help weave the platypus and learn how it is done. See the website site for an example of Kris’s work artisean.com.au read more

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Planning Bill introduced- Your Rights bulldozed

Message from Kate Smolski-   

Nature Conservation Council of NSW   [mailto:ncc@nccnsw.org.au]

This week, after two years of preparation, Planning Minister Brad Hazzard introduced the Planning Bill 2013 to the NSW Parliament.

Government has made a number of concessions in response to widespread community concern about the draft planning laws.

But the revised legislation still falls far short—it remains unbalanced and unfair, placing the interests of developers and industry ahead of the local communities and the environment.

With parliamentary debate on the laws due to kick off early next week, it’s critical that elected representatives hear from people like you who support a system that puts the environment and local communities at the centre of planning decisions. read more

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Red Alert for Pilliga forests [NCEC]

North Coast Environment Council

Email From: Susie Russell
Sent: Sunday, 20 October 2013 11:27 AM

Message from Naomi (Wilderness Society Newcastle)

LATEST MESSAGE FROM NAOMI – re the Pilliga Red Alert:
“Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for the amazing level of support that has been shared
today from far and wide. It is very heartening to know so many people are
excited and willing to come together and defend the Pilliga forest from coal
seam gas industrialisation.

The north east area of the Pilliga is currently buzzing with Santos
activity; trucks, utes, rigs, pipes and bulldozers. In response to this high
level of activity and looming drilling plans, a camp has been proposed.

In the week ahead the traditional owners, the Gomaroi people (also Gomilaroi
or Kamilaroi) will meet up with local farmers and community members to
discuss plans and ensure camp is set up the right way, following protocols
and creating a safe space. read more

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Funding Opportunity for improving Fish Habitat in the Tweed River

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 this initiative and urges people who are interested in learning more about this grant to contact Ian Walker. Please read the following information.

A Project for Murwillumbah

Attn: Murwillumbah

Dear Business and/or Individual,

The Federal Government through the Department of Planning and Infrastructure has available FISH ACTION GRANTS of up to $40,000.00 for any project which it deems will help preserve or improve HABITAT FOR FISH. read more

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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 Tweed’s tap water ‘is equal to the best bottled water and better than most’.

She also said bottled water caused major environmental problems with discarded bottles creating ‘massive amounts of landfill and litter on our streets and beaches’.

‘Significant resources are also needed to bottle, transport and refrigerate water, especially if that water is imported from overseas,’ she said.

‘The manufacture of plastic water bottles squanders a non-renewable resource, oil, and the road and air miles generated by transporting bottled water are a significant generator of greenhouse gases. read more

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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 via the link below) with the following submission.

CEC Submission PDF:  Submission-to-Draft-Economic-Strategy_Final_2013-07-25

The major issue that the CEC has with economic analyses such as these is their inherent selfishness and lack of consideration of social and ecological considerations. Recent trends (as demonstrated by the prominence economic discussion receives in the media) seem to be emphasising the importance of economic success above other aspects of life and personal well-being. The CEC submission highlights the failures of economic “science” in not being a proper scientific discipline, but rather a pseudo-science, and outlines alternative economic views that have their roots in ancient thinkers such as Aristotle. read more

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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 of rural settlement based on the ideas of Multiple Occupancies (MOs). This would enable the ‘best of both worlds’ where land parcels are kept intact from renegade industrialists, local communities are fostered and population growth can be maintained. There are lessons to be learned from past experiences with MOs, particularly in terms of land management and self-sufficiency. However, that should not be a reason to limit them in favour of cloning city-suburbs (like what is being proposed for Mooball or at Mebbin Springs) in the middle of nowhere. It is important with this ruralising development that wildlife corridors are an integral part of the planning proposals. Effort needs to be made so that there is no further fragmentation or degradation of ecosystems and that the riparian zone is protected. If well managed, these corridors may be expanded with agroforestry and could provide the timber required to eventually replace the housing in the clusters by selective logging. read more

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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 it is a blueprint for dictatorship by this government, the minister and his appointed minions at a level not seen in Australia for generations.

Local government?  Dealt with, if need be by the minister declaring a ‘sub-regional’ panel of his choosing.  One example: no CSG? No council.

The BPN press release, like O’Farrell’s media release, does not mention the environment AT ALL. Fair enough in one way; it primarily reflects urban and suburban concerns, and from that perspective I can’t disagree with any of the points raised, but the notion of assumed representation by this new organisation makes me very nervous, were anyone to assume it reflects the views of all of these ‘more than 350 community groups’. read more

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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 Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013

The Caldera Environment Centre is located in Murwillumbah on the Far North Coast of NSW, and its membership extends across the Northern Rivers region. The CEC has consistently opposed coal seam gas (CSG) exploration in the Northern Rivers for reasons outlined below.

Environmental

Scientific investigation of the potential impacts of CSG and other unconventional gas mining activities is inadequate; there simply have not been sufficient independent scientific studies to form a view on the risks these activities pose for the natural environment. Further, while they are currently unquantified, the scale of the environmental damage that could arise from a serious accident – including very serious air and water pollution and (as recent research conducted by the Southern Cross University demonstrates), significant contributions to the phenomena of climate change – are so appalling that they should, at very least, warrant a very cautious approach; very unlike the cavalier approach that has been taken to-date. read more

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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, his passing has resulted in a rejuvenation for us. Old precious people have returned to help, and new, young ones have stepped up. We are stronger now than we have been for a long time, at least in terms of those who do the work. Our financial situation remains tenuous, and we are keenly looking for sponsors to ensure we keep going for another 24 years. Anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated. read more

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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 that the community’s rights of participation, consultation and appeal are not reduced; and,
  • ensure that the consultation period on the Government’s final proposals (the White Paper) is at least six months long.

Although this is very short notice as many signatures as possible are needed. Please print out the petition and at least sign it yourself (if you haven’t already). It is perfectly acceptable to have just one signature on the form – it does not need to be filled in its entirety. The NSW government will accept petitions in hard copy only.

Hard copy petition is also available in the CEC shop.

Please post the form to: Better Planning Network, PO Box 6116, North Ryde, 2113 by 18 February 2013. read more

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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 justification for placing the Standard Instrument LEP on exhibition without giving full consideration to the protection of environmentally significant areas by zoning these areas E2 and E3. The media release in September 2012 stated the Minister “will not endorse the use of the E2 and E3 environmental zones on land that is clearly rural in council LEPs on the Far North Coast”.

TSC should have placed the protection of environmentally significant areas within the shire above the intent of the state government. The inclusion of E2 and E3 zones proposed in the draft LEP 2010 would not impact on “clearly rural land” as the areas are generally bushland. The Minister for Planning’s media release is not grounds to proceed with the draft LEP 2012 without full consideration of issues detailed in this submission. read more

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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 was reportedly broken this afternoon, whereupon police escorted a drilling rig on to the property.     (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-07/glenugie-csg-blockade/4455468)     At least 12 people have been arrested for asserting their democratic right to peaceful protest, and for resisting the push by unconventional gas miners (with the support of the NSW State Government) to turn the beautiful Northern Rivers into another gas field. read more

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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.

Council promotes the draft LEP as a rollover of the current Tweed LEP 2000. This current LEP includes environmental protection zones in the west of the shire. The LEP 2000 was revised in 2010 when a draft LEP 2010 was put on public exhibition. This draft LEP provoked a public response with over 400 submissions with the majority being concerned about the loss of environmental protection zones in the west of the shire. Tweed Council did not proceed with the draft LEP. Amendment 21 which was adopted by council and supported by the Department of Planning in 2010 provided environmental protection zoning to the majority of areas of native vegetation remaining east of the Pacific Motorway. read more

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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 Kings Forest development.

The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) acknowledges some improvements on previous proposals. In particular, the CEC welcomes commitments to ensure that littoral rainforest will remain intact, to install water tanks at residences, to design road crossings that facilitate safe fish passage, to prohibit the keeping of cats, and to utilise appropriate native plant species in landscaping projects. The CEC also acknowledges some nominal improvements to the Threatened Species Management Plan. read more

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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 in the process of incorporating the MCGs, which  will enable the organisation to apply for grant funding from a range of sources.
Membership to the MCGs will soon be invited, and a public  meeting will be held in early 2013, at which current MCGs committee members will impart their vision for the community garden, and gauge community interest in the project.  If you are interested in attending the meeting, getting involved, or would like further information about the MCGs, please keep an eye on the website  (http://murwillumbahcommunitygarden.wordpress.com/) read more

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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 Tweed catchment, our priority is in maintaining healthy water ways, and pursuing sustainable solutions to water management. We consider the proposed dam at Byrrill Creek not an option due to the environmental destruction to the highest priority riparian conservation area in the Tweed. As coordinator of the Landcare group, and as a member of the CWG committee who examined Tweeds Water Augmentation options, below are comments on points that you have highlighted in your background paper. read more

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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 produce considerable savings for all Australians. “

BIOREGIONALISM

by Paul Hopkins

It has become clear that economic rationalism, the privatisation of government enterprises, and the deregulation of trade, the money market and banking, has not resulted in any significant improvement in the current financial status of Australia. Any short term advantages gained from influxes of speculative investment capital are likely to be lost when profits are sent back home and when the political and financial power of the multinational corporations becomes manifest. read more

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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 a secret war being waged in the shadows while you go about your everyday life.

In the end, this conflict may matter more than those in Iraq and Afghanistan ever did. And yet it’s taking place far from newspaper front pages and with hardly a notice on the nightly news. Nor is it being fought in Yemen or Pakistan or Somalia, but in small hamlets in upstate New York. There, a loose network of activists is waging a guerrilla campaign not with improvised explosive devices or rocket-propelled grenades, but with zoning ordinances and petitions. […] read more

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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 Coast Nature, the campaign aims to unite environment groups, Local Government, tourism and the community to demand our region keep the same environmental protections available to the rest of the state.  It follows the State’s decision to strip powers from local government and local communities by removing environmental zones and overlays from Local Environment Plans, in a move that threatens to leave 45,000 hectares of the region’s environmental assets vulnerable to inappropriate development. read more

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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 in response to the NSW Minister for Planning’s decision of 20 September (requested by Don Page and Thomas George) to over-ride the Council’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) processes by excising environmental zones and overlays in “rural” areas.

CEA spokesperson, Dr Robert Kooyman, said that the State Government’s decision to excise environmental zones and overlays from far north coast Local Environment Plans has effectively removed the environment from local planning. read more

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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 restrictive constraints imposed by the new E zones are deliberately misleading and are a hyped-up scare campaign designed to provide an excuse for state intervention. The state government made the “promise” upon election to return control of planning decisions back to councils;  this move to abolish E zones is state government interference and overruling of local planning decisions. read more

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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 as a vital Green-Belt between Kingscliff and the eye-sore of Casuarina, the state has ignored the existence of threatened species and placed the economy before ecology. There will always be more money; but our nation can never buy back species that we have pushed into extinction. Are the coastal flora and fauna of northern NSW to become stuffed and preserved museum pieces like the Tasmanian Tiger? Science is disregarded in order to make a quick buck, and, despite assurance to the contrary, the money is never seen by the community and goes into the pockets of the already wealthy developers. The jobs created are menial, and there is no guarantee that locals will be employed. read more

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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 other threatening processes that undermine the ecological integrity of these protected areas.

We wish to make the following specific comments about the plan:

  • There is no specific budget allocated for the work. Is the proposed work to be undertaken within the annual budget of NPWS?
  • There is no mention of whether the annual budget is to be increased to take account of this new responsibility
  • There are no specific dates of commencement for the work detailed in the plan of management.
  • Table 3: Actions. 17 of the 19 management responses are listed as a “high priority” which is defined as “must be undertaken in the near future”. The phrase is somewhat ambiguous and the CEC would like to know, when is that to be?
  • Management responses 5.1.1, 5.1.3, 5.5.2, 5.7.3 and 5.7.4 require ongoing financial and physical resources. What capacity does OEH or NPWS have to employ new staff or sub-contractors to undertake this work?
  • Myrtle Rust is mentioned as a specific threat to species in the familyMyrtaceae; is this disease already a problem in Couchy Creek NR; and other than good hygiene on the part of OEH staff and contracted workers, are there any plans to actively control this disease in the park?

General Comments:

Bush Regeneration is mentioned repeatedly through the document as a means of weed control, but no details are provided about the types of regeneration activities to be undertaken or what chemical herbicides are allowed to be used. There is some debate within the community about the use of herbicides and whether this is appropriate in a natural resource management context. While we acknowledge the limitations of financial constraints prevent organic techniques being employed and understand that productivity of weed control increases when herbicides are used, the explicit adoption of the methodology as outlined by the Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare Group (2005) Subtropical Rainforest Restoration Manual would ensure that contractors have clear guidelines and prevent ‘cavalier’ herbicide use. This would also help alleviate public uncertainty about work practices within NPWS boundaries. read more

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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 is here in Australia and has been in place for nearly20 years. “Most importantly for the nay-sayers to realise is that these technologies won’t bankrupt you and they can actually improve the marketing potential of the finished development”, said Mr Sam Dawson, CEC secretary.

Mr Thompson of Geolink, has reviewed council supplied data and has confirmed that the public needs to be sceptical of council and its claims that the shire “needs” a dam. “A dam is completely unnecessary” said Mr Dawson who also stated in his introductory talk at the Saturday workshop, dams are a modern form of pyramid building; they are a 20th century solution for a 21st century problem, and are terribly destructive. read more

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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 on 13 June 2012:

The Fukushima Debacle is Only in Its Infantcy

The growing realization that the worst of the Fukushima debacle lies in the future rather than in the past puts in sharp relief the pertinence of Einstein’s observation. Indeed, the prophetic nature of Einstein’s warning is starkly reflected in the failure of so many in government, in the media, in the academy, and especially in the richly-funded inner sanctums of the nuclear industry to respond appropriately to the terrifying implications of what is going so terribly wrong at Japan’s spewing Fukushima #1 power plant. read more

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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 abnormalities then rose to more than one-third with the second generation, with some butterflies dying before reaching adulthood.

In an article published in the British journal Nature, the scientists concluded that nuclear fallout caused the mutations.

They have called for further research to be conducted on other animal species. read more

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Tweed Heritage Submission- March 2012

Submission from the Caldera Environment Centre to the Tweed Shire Council in regards to the recent Heritage study.

The Tweed has several remarkable characteristics which make certain buildings in the region of special or heritage significance.

Link to Submission:

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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 independent body such as the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of NSW who could review this whole process with fresh eyes.

Our reasons for the exclusion of Hunter Water and MWH are:

MWH have a long history linked to Tweed Council. They are the authors of the Tweed DMS and were involved in the selection process for Tweeds Water Augmentation Options. MWH also authored a lot of the documentation, that was found to be inaccurate, on the Traveston Dam SE QLD which was banned by the Federal Government. Hunter Water are the authors of the IWCMS 2006 and were also proponents for the failed Tillegra Dam, Newcastle. read more

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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 rise and extreme storm events seem to have increased exponentially in recent times, due to increased atmospheric pollution.  The current erosion situation at Kingscliff should give the Council pause to reflect on the wisdom of building on coastal foreshore dunes.

The Tweed Coast has also been under constant attack/exploitation from the 1950’s to the naughties and today.  Drainage of wetlands, clearing, poisoning, mowing and frequent burning of heaths and bushland, the removal of littoral rainforests for beach sand mining, unrelenting urbanisation, the dumping of rubbish etc., the list goes on. There comes a time when ENOUGH IS ENOUGH; a time to conserve the few remaining stands of natural vegetation. read more

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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 and the Biosphere’ (MAB) program arising from the Earth Conference in Rio de Janeiro (1992).

The educational, scientific and cultural arguments and resources for this project are contained in the following documents and DVD’s:

•	The UNESCO ‘Biosphere Conference’ (1968).

•	The Report from the ‘Club of Rome’, ‘Limits to Growth’ published 1972. read more

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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 (Tuesday 16th August 2011) resolved to endorse the centre’s nomination to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to designate the caldera as Australia’s 16th biosphere reserve.

CEC founder Paul ‘HopE’ Hopkins said the Border Ranges Biosphere Reserve would reconcile the conservation of biological and cultural diversity with economic and social development, by fostering sustainable development. read more

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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 a report on whether council should back moves to have the Border Ranges region declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC), which is leading the campaign, is seeking council support for its nomination.
UNESCO’s initiative, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this week, is designed to balance the protection of high-end conservation areas with sustainable development.
Biosphere reserves typically incorporate one or more protected areas and surrounding lands that are managed to combine both conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
If the bid is successful, Mt Warning and its surrounding areas would join the ranks of iconic natural wonders including Uluru, the Zambezi and the Rocky Mountains.
‘I think it would enhance the environmental credentials that we already have in this shire,’ Cr Barry Longland said.
Greens councillor Katie Milne also praised the initiative, saying it was a potential tourism drawcard for the region.
‘It would be fantastic if we could realise something like that,’ she said. ‘The Tweed and in particular our caldera: it’s unbelievable what a significant duty we have to protect that.’
However, the CEC’s proposal would still need the federal government’s endorsement before it could be considered by UNESCO.
The Border Ranges National Park straddles the NSW-Queensland border and is home to a high number of rare and threatened species. read more

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TREE Magazine Winter 2011

         TREE Magazine Winter-2011

 The Vampire – The Mur’bah Rally – Tara Report –
– Coal Seam Facts and Fracking Action –
– Biosphere Reserve – Climate Action –
–  The Inimitable Captain Sage –

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TREE Magazine Autumn 2011

          TREE-Magazine_Autumn2011

* Water Wise
* They’re Fracking where?
* How the Rally came and went..
* Byrrill Creek Update   * A Biosphere Reserve   *Stirring the Calderan
* How the Tweed will cope with Climate Change       *Working with Nature * Climate Denial Tweed Style * Captain Sage

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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 Doctors Find Another Frog to Save-   tosh served up in the promotion of the Repco Australia Rally;   Community is security-  a Transition Initiative is a community working together  to face the coming crisis;    Bay Street-   where is the transparency recommended by the Bulford and Daly Inquiries?;  Hands Off Country-  help the Kimberley;  Submission by the CEC to the NSW DoP-  objecting to the ‘Developer’ Proposals for Cobaki Lakes and Kings Forest, we don’t think golf courses are appropriate ecological buffers;  Stirring the Calderan- renewable futures. read more

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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 Power: Symbolism Vs Real Action
** Population Limits
** Exploring the Myth
** CRAG Update

 View the pdf here:  TREE_vol_9_issue_11_Winter2008

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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 up in was a train wreck waiting to happen, and jumped off;   PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT CONTROL PLAN (DCP) FOR MURWILLUMBAH-  we believe there is a lack of local grass-roots democracy as a result of non residents awarding  consultancy contracts to foreign frms who then do not engage sufficiently with local residents;    TYALGUM DAM, THE OXLEY MORON;   Stirring the Calderan-   if we can remove the weasel-worded one we must be ahead;   Some Questions for Candidates-   for the Seat of Richmond;   Chemical Free Weed Control, Part 4-  WEED SUCCESSION AND REPLACEMENT AT CUMBEBIN;   ROLL OUT THE TANKS IN OZ-   “Clean Coal” and ”Clean and Green Nuclear” are oxymoronic and are a distant pipe dream, (or nightmare);   SUSTAINABLE  FARMS  and  CITIES-   a carnival against carbon. read more

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Tree Magazine Winter 2007

 * TYALGUM DAM
 * WOLLUMBIN (MT. WARNING) SHIELD VOLCANO BIOSPHERE RESERVE
 * Chemical Free Weed Control Part 3.
 * DAMNING THE TWEED
 * Stirring the Calderan
 * PEACE CONVERGENCE
 * WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY June 3rd 2007.

    View PDF:  TREE_vol_9_issue_07_Winter2007

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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 for Planning, we have no alternative but to assume that you have summarily withdrawn the undertakings you gave;   The NSW Government ‘In Caldera’ Development Plan- every issue from  water to land the electoral funding  system is The NSW Government Far North Coast Regional Planning Strategy has as its only theme:  the promotion of inland development;  The Ecological  crisis- …  the collapse of the ecology, the collapse of the systems of interdependent, interrelated life forms on this planet, is the ecological imperative for change, we must change;   Chemical Free Weed Control-  All weed species have a beauty as  well as a difficulty;   YOU ARE NOT YOUR GLYPHOSATE-  Glyphosate is a chemical, not a religion or a child or way of life;   Water Policy-  Tweed Shire Council spends half of its budget on water supply, sewerage and sewage effluent disposal;  Stirring the Calderon-  capitalist system can’t be good for a civil society since it’s all about profits for shareholders rather than justice and compassion and community. read more

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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 Sartor’s grubby finger marks all over it;  THICH NAT HAHN’S 14 PRECEPTS- precepts or guidelines for life have been used daily as a method for seeing one’s place in the order of things;   The Ecological Crisis- … the collapse of the ecology, the ecological imperative for change;   Council Status Report-  with two (of 3) appointed Administrators residing in Sydney, local knowledge and resident access was always going to be a problem;  GLYPHOSATE-  the current climate of hysterical fear of weeds combined with a shrugging acceptance of the poison allows for no rational discussion;   Chemical Free Weed Control-   weed species currently dominate because soils are under threat;   CHANGES TO THE PLANNING SYSTEM IN NSW-  recent changes to planning laws in NSW include, …;   ARTIFICIAL MASS EARTH MOVEMENT OF HILLSIDES-   the Council appears to be treating the problem of whole hillside regrading as an engineering exercise rather than heeding likely environmental effects and 21st Century best-practise town planning and urban design;   Stirring the Calderan-  if you’re concerned about the welfare of any farm animals in your ken, you can ring Animal Liberation on 1800 751770;   SEA SHEPHERD-  Sea Shepherd managed to keep whalers on the run for fifteen days during the killing earlier this year;   BEN OQUIST ON THE ELECTIONS-  one in six Tasmanians voted for the Greens – that’s 16% of the vote across the Apple Isle. read more

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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 SAVINGS AND WATER QUALITY
   6. PUBLIC MASS TRANSPORT compared with PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE
   7. Why not GREEN HARVESTING of SUGAR CANE and PLOUGH-IN?
   8. Why not support application for a BIOSPHERE RESERVE?
   9. FUNDING OF TEDC & TACTIC
10. ROADSIDE POISONING, MOWING AND FLAILING read more

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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

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