Day of Action to Save our Koalas
On a Day of Action to Save our Koalas, August 16th, individuals and community groups across NSW organised small ‘pop-up protests’ and virtual actions to attempt to cause nsw.gov to act now to implement the recomendations of the NSW Govt. Inquiry Report: ‘Koala Populations and Habitat in New South Wales’.
Tweed representatives took the day of action to the office of Geoff Provest, MP, member for Tweed. Hear what they have to say >
Local National Parks Have Been Directed To Implement Tourism
National Parks, directed by nsw.gov, for economic reasons, are to increase national park use tourism, especially here in the Caldera.
Eg is a 4 day 45km walking trail starting at Mt Jerusalem to Minyon Falls. Marketed to the early adopters.
The DA for the day 1 part of the track (‘Unicorn Falls’) closed for comments with 50 submissions.
To what degree will areas be protected from tourism?
Will the DA assessments ignore the impact on existing amenity and on ecological protection concerns?
NEFA Correspondence
Draft State Strategic Plan for Crown Land
Government has prioritised the commercialisation of Crown Lands and misses both The Ecological Importance of Crown Lands and the need to move towards First Nations stewardship and co-management.
Crown Land is our land, it belongs to the people of NSW and should be managed in the way we believe is appropriate.
Download the document here: State Strategic Plan – A Vision for Crown LandDownloadWe have highlighted the interesting bits for clarity and speed of reading.
Note within the Draft Plan, the noble sounding ‘Work with Aboriginal comunities to realise the potential of their land rights” is code language for gaining contracted economic access to newly Aboriginal Titled Crown Lands. In this regard the Plan For Crown Lands is a tool for further aboriginal dispossession, just when they got some of their land back again.
850 NEW COAL SEAM GAS WELLS AT NARRABRI – OR NOT.
Again, NO Byrrill Creek Dam
Dear Friends of the Environment.
The NSW Natural Resources Commission (NRC) is undertaking a Review, including submissions from the public, of the existing Tweed Water Sharing Plan (WSP) which expires next year. Currently there is a Clause 48 (1) that prohibits the building of a dam at Byrrill Creek.
10 years ago Save Byrrill Creek fought a long campaign to have this prohibition upheld, especially when councillors chose Byrrill Creek Dam as their primary Water Augmentation. Luckily, with a new more environmentally aware Council elected, in Oct 2011 this was rescinded, and in May 2012 the Council placed a 20-year Moratorium on any dam proposal at Byrrill Creek. Some Councillors to this day still want to dam Byrrill Creek.
There are also other important environmental issues in the Water Sharing Plan that could be covered.
It is vital to keep the prohibition within the New Tweed Water Sharing Plan, so we need lots of people to write a submission to the NRC (by 5 July) and also to Council. Council are also making a submission and are holding an extraordinary meeting on the 2nd July to discuss this.
TREE Magazine, the Tweed River Environmental Echo, New Issue Soon!
TSC Towards Zero Waste Strategy Proposed, TSC Asks Your Feedback
Council has prepared a draft Towards Zero Waste policy and is seeking feedback on or before Tuesday 21 July 2020.
The CEC would like to encourage public endorsement and adoption by Council.
The towards zero waste concept means designing and managing products to reduce the volume of waste and materials, to conserve and recover all materials where possible, and to send waste to landfill as a last resort.
The draft policy has been developed to guide Council on future strategies, actions and targets towards zero waste practices.
THE NOBBYS CREEK WATER EXTRACTION D.A. HAS BEEN FORMALLY REJECTED BY COUNCIL – HURRAH
From Nimbin EC: “There’s a bit of reading here, but it is well worth it ………………………………………
You will recall that Council had deemed the Nobbys Creek water extraction expansion application would be refused, so Appleby lodged an appeal in the Land and Environment Court. As part of the court process, Council was required to formally assess the application. Thanks to you, wonderful supporters, 297 objections were received and formed part of the assessment. (One submission was in support.)
The reasons have been extracted here:
The application has not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not have an adverse impact on natural water systems or the potential agricultural use of the land, the environment, or other groundwater or surface users,
and that it has
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not have an adverse impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users, or that it maintains the rural landscape character of the land,
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling will not have an adverse impact on natural water systems or the potential agricultural use of the land in regard to the sustainable use of this resource.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users, and that the rural character and amenity of the area will not be adversely affected.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users, and that the rural character and amenity of the area will not be adversely affected or that the rural road is suitable for the use.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users, and that the rural character and amenity of the area will not be adversely affected or that the rural road is suitable for the use.
– not adequately established that the commercial extraction of groundwater for water bottling is a sustainable use of this resource, or that it will not impact on the environment, agricultural uses, or other groundwater or surface users, and that the rural character and amenity of the area will not be adversely affected or that the rural road is suitable for the use.
– in terms of public interest, the application has not obtained appropriate owners consent for the use of the unlawful structures within the road reserve, and that
– the application will not result in any public benefit or additional employment and so is not in the public interest to provide use of public road reserve.
Thank you to all those that lodged submissions. Cheers!
====================
Last night, Development Application DA19/0888 for alterations and additions to an existing water bottling facility at No. 24 Bryens Road Nobbys Creek, was REFUSED by a majority vote of Council.
VOTE FOR – Cr Katie Milne (Mayor), Cr Chris Cherry (Deputy Mayor), Cr Reece Byrnes, C Ron Cooper, Cr James Owen
VOTE AGAINST – Cr Pryce Allsop, Cr Warren Polglase.
NCC, AFCA to ARENA Bioenergy Roadmap: “Exclude forest derived biomass … FDB is not a credible or desirable energy source or route out of fossil fuel dependence.”
The Nature Conservation Council and the Australian Forest and Climate Alliance have made the following joint submission to the ARENA Bioenergy Roadmap:
“Exclude forest derived biomass.”
FDB is not a credible or desirable energy source or route out of fossil fuel dependence.
We call on ARENA to contribute to responsible action on the climate crisis by ruling out forest derived bioenergy (FDB) or biomass.
FDB is:
- more emissive than coal at the point of combustion
- not carbon neutral, (within time frames identified by the IPCC to reduce atmospheric carbon, if ever)
- not clean
- harmful to people and biodiversity
The best way to deploy native forests to tackle climate change is to protect and restore them to slow emissions and increase the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
TSC: Dear Community Member, …
I write to advise you that the Tweed Local Environmental Plan 2014 Amendment No. 28 – to remove the enabling ‘Clause 7.15 Water Bottling Facilities’ – has been legally made, effective Friday 29 May 2020.
The outcome of this amendment is that water bottling facilities are now a prohibited land use in the RU2 Rural Landscape Zone in the Tweed. Existing approved water bottling facilities are allowed to continue to operate legally, but no new operations on new parcels of land are allowed.
TSC 18.6.20 Meeting Agenda
CSG Alert: Reject gas giant Santos’s 850-well coal seam gas field in the Pilliga forests wilderness
The NSW Government has recommended approval of an 850-well coal seam gas field in the Pilliga forest wilderness and farmland near Narrabri.
The Pilliga is the largest temperate forest we have left in the state. Turning it into an industrial gas field will poison groundwater, carve up the forest with roads and pipelines, endanger koalas and other threatened species, and increase the risk of wildfires.
Before this project gets the green light, it must be approved by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
Art Auction – “Artists for Climate Online”
Zoom in, to raise funds for the Climate Council! It’s an online auction of art items contributed by fabulous artists from Tweed and Byron Shires. All proceeds will go to The Climate Council. Barry Firth is raising funds for the Climate Council, after joining “Tassie Trek 2020”, a week-long trip through the Tarkine Wilderness, that is now going to happen in year 2021.
Register now for the online auction on June 26 @ 6pm: barry.firth@sov.net.au
Look at this wonderful art!
To: Department of Planning Industry & Environment. Re: Koala Habitat Protection SEPP
The new koala protection guidelines rely heavily on the “Koala Development Application Map”. However, land clearing for “logging operations” on private lands” are exempt from these guidelines, as these operations do not normally require DA approval.
For logging on private lands Koala protection is supposed to be based on local “Comprehensive Koala Plans of Management” (KPoM).
HOWEVER – since 1995 only 6 Council KPoMs have been approved and only 3 of them contained Core Koala Habitat.
This is clearly a giant hole in the proposed koala protection policy.
What measures are in place to fast-track Council KPoMs to align with the introduction of these new “Koala Protection Laws”?
In 2017 the EDO warned that new Native Vegetation Codes could allow rural land clearing of hundreds of hectares at a time without a DA and without reference to the Koala SEPP. They recommended that koala mapping be in place =&0=& the new land clearing system commenced. The EDO also recommended that the new Koala SEPP must also apply to rural land-clearing proposals that exceed the Code limits to ensure these land clearing proposals are assessed by the new “Native Vegetation Panel”. (EDO NSW Jan 2017)
However – a recent report has revealed a startling increase in levels of land-clearing in NSW since 2017. In 2018/19 37,000 ha of clearing was approved – =&1=& Between 2017/18 – 60% of clearing was ‘unexplained’.
Much of this clearing was in contravention of new land clearing regulations but the lack of a robust Koala SEPP (with the caveats suggested by the EDO) was clearly a missing layer of protection and may have prevented such devastating habitat loss.
When we add the damage this intense land clearing has done to the damage wrought by recent extreme fires in NSW we are looking at a catastrophic outcome for wildlife habitat and koala habitat.
This is the calamitous environment in which the new Koala Protection SEPP must work.
Its stated intent remains as:
The aim of the SEPP … will continue to be to protect koala habitat to ensure a permanent free-living population over the present range and reverse the current trend of koala population decline.
If there is =&2=&of achieving this in NSW it is absolutely imperative that:
The NSW Government fast track shire-wide Koala Plans of Management that comprehensively identify core Koala Habitat. They must assist with the mapping of this habitat and have a =&3=&for achieving this across all the relevant shires in NSW
Development Applications must be required for all logging and clearing of likely koala habitat identified in the “Koala Development Application Map”
This requirement must be put in place =&4=& It must remain in place until Councils Comprehensive Koala Plans of Management are in place.
The development approval process =&5=&important koala habitat to be offset or cleared in exchange for money as the BAM (Biodiversity Assessment Method) allows. The approval process must achieve the aims of protecting resident koala populations and
reversing population decline
Ancient trees cut down
The government’s own logging corporation has been caught red-handed cutting down giant trees that were earmarked for protection in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest near Coffs Harbour.
This outrageous destruction shows NSW Forestry Corporation can’t be trusted to obey already weak forest protection laws. It’s clear we need to end native forest logging.
This is not the first time Forestry Corporation has been busted breaking the rules but this time it is different. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA), which usually lets Forestry Corp off with a slap on the wrist, has issued the first stop-work order in 20 years. That means logging in Wild Cattle Creek has stopped, at least for the time being. And if the EPA decides to prosecute, Forestry Corp could be fined up to $5 million. It’s that serious.
Feeding Forests Into Furnaces To Boil Water To Turn A Turbine To Make Electricity To Use Momentarily And Then It Is Gone
Stop the pollution of the air, it is horrible, stop it.
And stop burning “biofuel” for goodness sake.
“Bio-Fuel”: Feeding Forests Into Furnaces To Make Electricity.
“Bio-Fuel” is burned in furnaces and the pollution released into the air.
They lie that biofuel is an ‘ecologically sustainable’ furnace fuel.
“Bio-Fuel” is a fraud, a lie, “Bio-Fuel” is a fraudulent, EU Regulations manipulating, money making op.
“Bio-Fuel” is killing, by ‘harvesting’, the last of the carbon capture and storage organisms, the trees.
Caldera Environment Centre submission to Tweed Shire Council on the Draft Climate Change Policy – Net Zero 2030
The Caldera Environment Centre (CEC) strongly supports the Draft Climate Change Policy – Net Zero 2030. This draft policy builds on the framework of the Tweed Shire Council Community Strategic Plan 2017-2027 – in particular regarding its goals of decreasing the carbon footprint of the Tweed Shire, progressing toward 100% self sufficiency in renewable energy and preparing for climate change through adaptation and mitigation.
In the face of the predicted dramatic impacts of climate change (see the 2018 report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/) Council clearly has responsibility to work both within its own structures and within the community to prepare to manage this unprecedented level of forthcoming change and to take a precautionary approach. Some of these changes are already observable. The changes predicted include hotter temperatures and for longer periods of time, increased frequency and intensity of bushfires, more storms and floods, decreased predictability and reliability of rainfall and increased drought, rise in sea levels and further loss of already fast decreasing biodiversity levels (current threat involves over a million species). These changes will definitely impact local community health, agriculture and other economic spheres (e.g. tourism), emergency response capability, and management of the increasing threat to the biodiversity and integrity of the natural environment.
The Million Jobs Plan
Beyond Zero Emissions
https://bze.org.au/the-million-jobs-plan/
The Million Jobs Plan is the framework to restore our economy. We’ve mapped out how we can rebuild our nation through practical projects that can restore our economy, modernise our industry, reskill our workforce and deliver a bright and secure economic future.
We’ve identified seven key sectors across our economy where strategic investment over the next five years would have the most impact and create the most jobs, including
- Energy
- Building
- Manufacturing
- Transport
- Recycling
- Land Use
- Training
Jobs will be distributed around Australia, including in cities and regions already under pressure from the closure of traditional heavy industry and manufacturing, historical droughts and fires, and high unemployment.
Review of Native vegetation clearing in NSW (Natural Resources Commission, NRC)
The level of clearing confirmed by expert report shows that rather than helping the environment our laws are now operating to put greater stress on native landscapes that are already suffering the impacts of climate change, drought and bushfires. Instead of building resilience and ensuring healthy and productive country, our laws are degrading the land.
It is extremely disappointing that the general public and NFP environmental groups like NEFA were not included in the review process. The review conducted by the NRC was due to broadscale land clearing exceeding acceptable rates, and in turn, triggering the legal requirement for a review according to the Vegetation Laws of 2016. However, the review’s existence and its results were not made public, it had to be sought and released by members of the media.
The data in this report is truly alarming.
It shows clearing rates have increased by almost 13 times.
Biodiversity in 9 of 11 regions is now at risk.
Unexplained clearing has risen to a point that the NRC concludes is “a major risk” and that “compliance rates are inadequate”
The relaxation of rules around “offset areas” to compensate for land clearing has resulted in a dismally inadequate result. The area that is required to be managed under conservation agreements falls far short of the minimum – by 33,743 hectares!
The EDO NSW had warned (in 2016) of fatal flaws in the new native vegetation laws, and tragically, their concerns are now apparent in what is a blatant failure of regulatory policy.
In 2017 the new native vegetation laws were established with a new approach to land clearing that replaced established guidelines with “self-assessment” and more flexible “biodiversity offsets”.
This approach relied heavily on regulatory mapping to determine the basis for clearing of native vegetation. It also required the establishment of a “native vegetation panel” of ecological experts to assess suitability of applications for vegetation clearing. Another layer of protection against unfettered clearing was the Biodiversity Conservation Act and its facility to declare protected areas of “Outstanding Biodiversity Value” AOBV.
After two years it is now apparent =&0=&There is no complete “regulatory map”, no evidence of a Native Vegetation Panel and no process for declaring an ABOV.
Current mapping has not yet classified the vast majority of lands in NSW into areas of classified regulation. Landholders are expected to “self-categorise” their landholdings without the necessary skills to identify ecological communities or sensitive biodiversity. Furthermore – it is not in their economic interest to assess their land is Category 1 (exempt from land clearing).
Under the new laws areas that have been mapped and regulated with a code are supposed to be monitored by a Native Vegetation Panel. This independent panel must consider the environmental, social and economic impacts of any proposed land clearing and refuse anything that has serious irreversible impacts on biodiversity values. However, the EDO has found that =&1=&applications have been made to the panel since the scheme began!
The EDO concludes that we are left with a situation where all the significant clearing now occurring in NSW is happening under a self-assessable Code or allowable activity.
Without the oversight of a Panel we cannot know whether land of high conservation value, threatened species or ecological communities is being cleared indiscriminately. The new LLS act contains mechanisms for assessment and approval but no such mechanisms appear to have been put in place!
The declaration of areas as ‘AOBV’ was intended to protect critical habitats containing irreplaceable biodiversity important to NSW, Australia or the world. In such areas code-based clearing would be prohibited and private land conservation agreements would be put in place. To date the EDO has not found=&2=&Previously protected communities like the Wollemi Pine and the Little Penguin remain without protection=&3=&under the new laws.
The picture that emerges for our native environment is a man-made disaster. This is in addition to the horror of recent fires and severe drought. In such circumstances the laws that protect our native environments are of extreme importance. It is appalling to see these laws stripped of their potency and operating with only a fraction of their essential mechanisms at a time when we need them most urgently!
It is equally appalling to read the governments response to this report which is perfunctory at best showing no grasp of the extent of this policy failure and the consequences we have already witnessed. The NSW governments’ published response merely “notes” the points concerning mapping and ABOVs. It agrees only “in principle” to consider reviewing aspects of the law that are clearly failing. It does not commit to independent scrutiny or public transparency but only to in-house reviews. There is no intent to “fix” or “reform” anything as a result.
The monumental failures outlined by the NRC and explained by the EDO require the wholesale rewriting of land clearing laws in NSW. In light of natural disasters and ongoing impacts of climate change it is more important than ever that these laws fulfil the purpose of conserving landscapes and building environmental resilience.
ACTIVE HOPE AND RESILIENCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
A community event held by Extinction Rebellion Tweed Valley.
We are living through difficult times that have only gotten harder the last six months as we face regular new waves of social and environmental crises. In this time we are witnessing immense growing social injustices and the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth. Many of us feel called to act, and while political engagement is crucial, many are also asking, how do we sustain ourselves on this journey? How do we live with the fear, heartbreak and anger? How do we create a regenerative culture from within as we move toward a life-sustaining culture and society? How can we recognise the extent of the solutions needed if we cannot fully feel the depth of our despair?
NSWG Plastic Plan
You may want to see the brochure for the NSWG Plastics Plan, we’ve highlighted the interesting bits to make it a quick read. We don’t think alot of it. Download
The NSWG Plastic Plan speaks of redesign laws and fairly lightweight ban promises, not very impressive given the situation we are now in regarding plastic.
Caldera pics
NCC: Stop logging the previously protected old-growth and high-conservation-value public forests.
>15,000 hectares of NSW previously protected old-growth and high-conservation-value public forests are to be logged.
More than 29,000 hectares of previously protected old-growth forests on private land have already been opened up to logging in recent years.
These rare and important forests have been protected for almost 20 years. They store huge amounts of carbon and provide irreplaceable habitat for many threatened species, including koalas, gliders, quolls, frogs and owls.
Add your voice to the call to ‘Save Our Old-Growth Forests‘.
GONDWANA BURNING – Frontline Films [David Bradbury] > 9 Minute Pre Film Preview
Everyday is World Environment Day. UN theme for this year is: ‘It’s Time for Nature.’
The UN has declared “It’s Time for Nature” as the theme for this year’s World Environment Day. To explain the theme the UN says, “The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature. Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message: To care for ourselves we must care for nature. It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices. It’s time to build back better for People and Planet.”
DEAR EU PARLIAMENT, REGARDING FOREST BIOMASS
“… the renewable energy directive … amend the present directive … avoid expansive harm to the world’s forests and the acceleration of climate change.
“The flaw in the directive lies in provisions that would let countries, power plants and factories claim credit toward renewable energy targets for deliberately cutting down trees to burn them for energy.
“… cutting down trees for bioenergy releases carbon that would otherwise stay locked up in forests.
“… using wood deliberately harvested for burning will increase carbon in the atmosphere and increase warming for decades to centuries.
Managing Native Vegetation
The NSW Govt Audit Office report found the clearing of native vegetation on rural land is not effectively regulated and managed. “The processes supporting the regulatory framework are weak and there is no evidence-based assurance that clearing of native vegetation is carried out in accordance with approvals.”
https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/managing-native-vegetation
Art Auction Artists For Climate Online
Land-Clearing Must Stop
The North East Forest Alliance is calling for an immediate halt to land-clearing in the light of the Natural Resources Commission’s damning review showing that land-clearing has skyrocketed, the promised off-setting is not being implemented, Areas of Outstanding Biodiversity Value are not being protected, the regulatory map has not been released, and that land-clearing represents a biodiversity risk across north-east NSW.
“This follows a damning report from the Auditor General last year finding the regulation of land-clearing was fraught with problems of weak processes, poor assessments, inadequate protection, limited monitoring and poor enforcement, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
“We are in a climate and extinction emergency, clearing more vegetation and releasing its carbon into the atmosphere is pouring more fuel onto the fire, it has to stop.
“Last year over half of north-east NSW’s remnant native vegetation was burnt with the likely death of over 350 million native mammals, birds, lizards and frogs, including thousands of Koalas.
“Many species of plants and animals have had their populations decimated and are teetering on the brink of extinction, it is outrageous that the NSW Government is now allowing land-clearing and logging to push many populations over the brink.
“The Natural Resources Commission’s belatedly released July 2019 report on land-clearing gives another damning assessment of NSW’s land-clearing free-for-all, it is no wonder the Government suppressed it for so long.
“The NRC reveals that from June 2018 until May 2019, 45,553 hectares was approved to be cleared under the Government’s new Land Management (Native Vegetation) Code, excluding “invasive native species”.
“This was a massive increase from the average of 2,700 hectares per year between 2006/07 and 2016/17.
“Though the NRC are scathing in their assessment that the Government is only setting aside in protected areas a fraction of the area approved to be cleared, when the Government promised they would protect 2-4 times more than was cleared.
“On the north coast the NRC reveal only one fifth the area of the land cleared is being set aside, and this drops down to less than a tenth on the New England Tablelands.
“As the NRC point out, in the second reading speech to Parliament for the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, the then Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair stated that ‘for each hectare cleared under the framework, it is estimated that between two and four hectares will be set aside and managed in perpetuity’ in order to conserve biodiversity values.
“The difference is even starker if the clearing of ‘invasive native species’ is accounted for as the Auditor General’s report last year identified that over 140,000 ha was also cleared under this dubious category.
“Because of the abject failure of the Government to live up to their promise to parliament, the NRC found there was a high biodiversity risk with nine of the eleven regions exceeding their biodiversity trigger thresholds.
“Land-clearing must stop, at least until there is a full assessment of the impacts of the bushfires on our imperilled wildlife, and the Environment Minister has fulfilled his responsibility to identify Areas of Outstanding Biodiversity Value, such as core Koala habitat, for protection.
“Land-clearing increases regional temperatures, reduces rainfalls and releases large quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, we cannot afford for it to continue, let alone escalate. We need to be planting more trees to take up carbon, not bulldozing them.” Mr. Pugh said.
World Environment Day festival Postponed
Climate Council > getting a “green recovery” after the epidemic > support
TSC Draft Climate Change Policy targets net zero by 2030
Earth Learning: At present the EPBC Act is failing to protect the environment – especially in matters of environmental significance.
Tweed Local Strategic Planning Statement
Tweed Local Strategic Planning Statement
On exhibition from Tuesday 3 March 2020 to Friday 3 April 2020
Local residents and visitors to the Tweed are invited to have their say on the Tweed Local Strategic Planning Statement ‘the Statement’ which sets out the 20 year vision for land-use planning in the Tweed. The Statement describes the special characteristics that contribute to the Tweed’s local identity, the shared values the community want to maintain and enhance, and how growth and change will be managed into the future.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON HAZARD REDUCTION FACTSHEET
Australia’s 2019-20 bushfire season is shaping up as being the worst on record.
Already, New South Wales and Queensland have su ered more property damage and forest loss than in any previous fire season, with the worst fire danger period yet to come for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
This guide sets out the facts on hazard reduction and the role of climate change in this catastrophic bushfire season.
Unless we address climate change and urgently reduce our emissions as part of a global e ort, the window of opportunity for prescribed burning will continue to shrink. And as bushfire weather worsens, the e ectiveness of hazard reduction will diminish – no amount of hazard reduction will protect human lives, animals and properties from catastrophic fires.
Caldera Music – The Blissmongers Collective
CEC Movie Club: The TARKINE
Groups Ask Koala Inquiry to Support Logging Moratorium
A number of groups have appeared before the NSW Legislative Council inquiry into Koala populations and habitat in New South Wales and have requested the committee actively call on the NSW Government to put in place a moratorium on logging koala habitat across public and private lands as an emergency response to the loss of thousands of Koalas and their habitat due to wildfires.
Wild fires have burnt out over 1.6 million hectares of the north east NSW bioregion (north from the Hunter River and westward to the Great Escarpment ), this represents 28% of the region and 39% of native vegetation, said NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh.
The water mining legislation is broken, change the legislation.
| November 15, Lismore, Tweed Water Alliance are convening a meeting of key people with a view to thinking through the mess of legislation and regulation around groundwater. “We are keen to protect our groundwater stocks and wind back this ridiculously greedy industry. Of course we will let you know the outcome and urge you to vote accordingly.” We have invited: Janelle Saffin, Member for Lismore. Geoff Provest, Member for Tweed. Tamara Smith, Member for Ballina. Sue Higginson, Environmental lawyer, consultant and former Greens candidate for Lismore. Austin Curtin, farmer and former Nationals candidate for Lismore. Katie Milne, Mayor, Tweed Shire. David Wright, Mayor, Ballina Shire. Scott Sledge, Northern Rivers Guardians. Jem Hallinan, Environmental Defender’s Office. Geoff Provest has already declined because of a prior engagement and we are trying to change that. The TWA executive (of course) as proponents of the initiative, Denise White, Pam Veness, Muffy (Pamela) Smith, Trevor White, Pat Miller. Janelle Saffin will be the principal proponent of this in the NSW parliament. We are very keen to have the initiative supported across parties and across legislative boundaries. |
Update: the Karlos appeal against TSC’s refusal to allow further water extraction.
| Justice Pain gave Karlos a belting. The Tweed Shire Council didn’t come out of it too well either. It’s a litany of either wrong or misconstrued advice, miscommunication and in our view, askewed interpretation of the local government act. That act and others around water were written to favour business and life has changed since it was enacted. No environment, no business in this shire. Read the judgement sections 230 to 233. It’s time to change the legislation and rules to ensure protection of our groundwater. Look how well the same set of rules has served the Murray Darling. Not! Our interpretation of the draft determinations – still not final – is that Karlos has 2.5 years to comply with the judgement – to wind back from 28.5Ml per year to 5Ml per year as originally approved, then somehow muddled through verbal wrong advice, Karlos misinterpreting it and complete lack of enforcement of DA conditions anyway. It should be back at 5Ml right now. Click here to read the draft orders. Here are a few other facts for you: Nobby’s Creek is still running enormous trucks carting water out.Nobby’s Creek has illegal infrastructure to fill these trucks built on Crown Land.That particular Crown Land has miraculously been released to council.On November 7 council will vote on whether to allow a swap to happen (I can hear the deal, “You can have the crown land, TSC will take a bit of your property. She’ll be right.”) so the illegal infrastructure suddenly comes legal.Click on the link and just have a read of Page 12 of the agenda. Council staff are recommending that it is approved.Our answer is a resounding ‘no’. Help us get the message to the Tweed Shire Council. You can’t make something legal retrospectively. Try doing that with your next parking fine. Here’s the link to the councillors’ contact phones and emails. Get in touch with them, email or have a chat. They are elected representatives and need to hear from you. Don’t forget they are your servants, not the other way around. And while we’re at it, how come crown land is suddenly available when our Uki Community Garden had to wait two years for the release of their modest plot of land? Here’s the heavy reading for you – the entire judgement from The Honourable Justice Nicola Pain in the matter of the Karlos appeal against the Tweed Shire Council’s refusal to allow further water extraction. |
Call for Submissions: Tweed River Estuary Management Plan 2019
The Caldera Environment Centre encourages those who care about the conservation and recreational use of the Tweed River estuary to forward a submission in support of the Plan to Tweed Shire Council.
The Plan has introduced the concept of Character Zones in two locations, Stotts Island (high conservation significance) and upstream of the Commercial Road boat ramp Murwillumbah (high potential for restoration). These zones will restrict the use of powered craft for towing and wake boarding. Currently the whole of the estuary is open to use for these activities. Character Zones will only limit use in a small section of the Tweed River and will provide areas for passive recreation and conservation.
The CEC has nominated Claire Masters and World Environment Day in the Tweed Sustainabilty Awards and would like to encourage members to view the nominees and vote.
The Tweed Sustainability Awards: Public voting is now open.Vote across the three categories of: Regenerative Agriculture, Wildlife and Habitat Conservation and Tweed Sustainability.
Read more about the nominees …, a chance to find out about the inspiring people and projects helping to protect and enhance our natural environment.
The CEC has nominated Claire Masters and World Environment Day and would like to encourage members to view the nominees and vote.
People’s Choice voting is now open.
Vote online or in person.
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The Tweed Sustainabilty Awards is a TSC initiative.
BRAEMAR’S KOALAS NEED YOUR URGENT HELP
NEFA (North East Forest Alliance) have identified a nationally significant population of Koalas on the Richmond Lowlands, with core breeding habitat in Braemar, Carwong and Royal Camp State Forests.
The Forestry Corporation are proposing to log the Koala high use areas in Braemar State Forest.
NEFA need your help to stop them.
“The rules used to be that the Forestry Corporation had to search for and protect Koala High Use Areas (HUAs).
With logging imminent under the old rules in Braemar State Forest, we [NEFA] checked it out in July 2019 and found an extensive Koala HUA that the Forestry Corporation had missed. We had caught them out again, and wrote to the Premier asking her to intervene to ensure all Koala HUAs were protected.
Northern Rivers Extinciton Rebellion Brisbane CBD action against CSG Corporation Santos
Brisbane Rebellion Week: Event Schedule and XR Daily Report Links
The Pottsville Global Climate Strike – Climate Justice is needed now.
PRESS RELEASE
The Pottsville Global Strike for Climate rally was attended by 1580 people who marched along the main Street to make their point – that Climate Justice is needed now.
The count was taken as the attendees filed out from Ambrose Brown park.
Welcome to Country was spoken by Claude Williams of the Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Lands Council.
The rally was addressed by five individual students ranging from Primary School to Year 12. Saige Hill from Kingscliff High School acted as MC and introduced us to his activist group, Zero Hour Australia.
Katie Milne ( mayor) addressed the crowd with the welcome news that that Council voted last night to declare a Climate Emergency. She thanked Council’s Youth Advisory Council which had recommended that motion and provided an excellent speaker at the Public Forum session.
Local organiser Danielle Brown spoke of her concerns about inaction on Climate, while adding that the numbers attending had far exceeded her expectations.
Tweed Shire Council declares a Climate Emergency [!]
At its meeting on 19th September, Tweed Shire Council adopted a motion put by the Mayor, Katie Milne, to declare a Climate Emergency.
Speeches addressing this motion were made in the Public Forum by Jasmine Cook, a member of Council’s “Youth Advisory Committee”; and by Barry Firth, a member of CEC.
The motion was adopted with a majority of 4 votes to 3, but the three Councillors who voted against the motion did not speak, so we don’t know on what basis they were opposed to it.
Adoption of a Climate Emergency Declaration imposes new priorities for action and new reporting requirements for Council, so it should have a real impact.
The full text of the mayor’s motion is reproduced below. For those interested, it makes very good reading!
7 [NOM-Cr K Milne] Climate Emergency Declaration
NOTICE OF MOTION:
Councillor K Milne moves that Council:
1. Declares that we are in a state of climate emergency that requires urgent action by all levels of government, including by local councils.
2. Notes that on 14 August 2019 Council’s Youth Advisory Committee proposed that Youth Council, as a group, recommend that Council declare a ‘Climate Crisis’. As this proposal was made during an informal session of the meeting such a recommendation could not be made. All members of the committee asked that this be noted with consideration being given to presenting at a future Community Access meeting.
3. Notes that our young people have the most at stake as they are the ones that will face the worst impacts of climate change if this is not addressed rapidly and effectively.
4. Supports the Schools Strike for Climate on the 20th September that is calling on adults to join them in the strike, and notes Council staff where practical are able to use leave entitlements if they wish to attend.
5. Notes that 45 other Australian Local Councils have declared a Climate Emergency, along with 987 government bodies around the world.
6. Notes Tweed’s 2017 Flood was the largest on record, and the two recent major fires that have burnt hundreds of hectares of Tweed’s bushland.
7. Notes last year’s IPCC report that global emissions of carbon dioxide must peak by 2020 and reduce by 45% by 2030 to keep the planet below 1.5?C increase.
8. Notes that even at 1.5?C increase there will be significant climate disruptions including the Great Barrier Reef predicted to lose 90% of its coral and the outlook for the reef now classified as very poor.
9. Notes the recent advice by Sir David Attenborough on Climate Change that “We cannot be radical enough in dealing with the issues that face us at the moment”.
10. Notes the numerous positive steps available to address this Climate Emergency if public and political will is mobilised.
11. Notes that the fastest and second fastest growing jobs in America are solar technicians (300,000 solar jobs) followed by wind power technicians, with the coal industry providing only 50,000 jobs.
12. Notes its commitment to reporting on and reducing emissions through the Global Climate Change Compact and the Cities Power Partnership.
13. Notes its Renewable Energy Action Plan target of 25% renewable energy by 2022 and 50% by 2025, and Council’s zero waste target is a great start but does not account for all Council’s emissions such as transport, buildings and infrastructure emission.
14. Brings back a report on actions Council is currently undertaking to address climate change and further steps that can be taken to reduce emissions to levels at least consistent with IPCC targets, and provides this report to the Youth Council for their input.
15. Includes advice in all reports to Council meetings on the implications for sustainability from the staff recommendations.
16. Requests the Mayor to write to the NSW State and Federal Governments and local Members of parliament requesting them to declare a climate emergency and prioritise actions to address this emergency.
17. Through the Mayor encourages neighbouring Local Government Areas to join with us in declaring a climate emergency.
Extinction Rebellion [XR] Call to Action!
We are facing an unprecedented global emergency. We are at ecological, economic and social tipping points right now, as you read this text. Australia is currently headed for a 4°C rise in global average temperature from preindustrial times, this amounts to a catastrophic loss of life.
We are calling on everyone, regardless of your political beliefs to join us in fighting for the survival of humanity and the billions of species on this planet. Join us in non-violent direct action against climate denial and in support of a just and rapid climate transition.
Please join us in Murwillumbah on Tuesday, 24th September at 5:30pm in the new Murwillumbah Community Centre to find out about Extinction Rebellion, the climate rebellion.
Or join us on Rebellion Week, Oct. 7th – Oct. 14th in Meanjin/ Brisbane City to demand action from our state and national governments. …