Amanda Findley Shoalhaven Greens

Manildra and Ethanol in the Shoalhaven

2012-01-26T11:50:00.000+11:00

Ethanol is a fairly useful product for preserving specimens, as an additive in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, solvents, disinfectant and other medical uses. The most contested use however would have to be as a fuel for the worlds transport fleet.

Most people know that Shoalhaven is home of Manildras Shoalhaven Starches but somehow we ignore the fact that ethanol is produced here in large quantities.

I was asked today to comment on ethanol use in fuel by the South Coast Register so follows my comments.

Ethanol is not a viable replacement fuel for Australia's fleet, vast tracts of farming land are required to create the inputs for the product and seldom in Australia are the public made aware of the full life cycle costs of products.

Ethanol produced from grain/sugar cane not only needs land, but water, fertiliser, diesel to harvest and transport it to the production site. All of these inputs have a 'carbon cost' that needs to be accounted for.

With all of these 'costs' it makes ethanol a 'precious' commodity that should not be 'wasted' on the least valuable use.

Ethanol cannot replace oil derived fuels there simply is not enough land to grow the inputs and the growth of the inputs competes directly with food growing. This creates more pressure to clear more land and loose the valuable carbon storage of standing vegetation- a loose loose situation.

With the government mandating that ethanol must be part of the fuel mix this continues the reliance on the combustion engine, will drive up food costs ( remember that sugar and grain are two staple parts of a western diet).

With peak oil looming, low income regional communities like the Shoalhaven are vulnerable to fuel cost increases. We are reliant on private transport for the majority of our trips and would find it very difficult to get to work, school etc if fuel costs go beyond $2.50pl.

Instead of mandating for 'bio-fuels' the Government should be mandating for efficiency and for the introduction of electric vehicles- many benefits there- sustained car industry employment and less emissions from fuel-more wind and solar infrastructure needed = more green jobs etc.And of course it may seem like a tired old argument but improved public transport is imperative for Australia's future and not just in improving the efficiency of cities.

Supporting bio fuels needs a cautious approach so that we are not sacrificing food security and biodiversity for fuel security this would be a backward step.

First Step Taken to reduce Street Lighting costs

2011-12-05T12:21:00.000+11:00

Image taken from http://www.brilliantstore.com/blog/tag/led-lights/
Im not endorsing the content of this blog.

Council unanimously supported my call for the preparation of a report costing out the benefits of changing street lights to LED bulbs.

The City of Sydney Council have adopted a plan to reduce the Cities carbon footprint and LED lighting has been part of the strategy. They conducted a lighting trial to collect data and to test effectiveness.

Street lightening is considered one of the easy targets in the campaign to reduce our carbon footprint but can be costly and of course is controlled by the energy supplier. Rate payers pick up the enormous tab for lightening our streets and intersections and finding the balance between lighting for safety reasons and unnecessary waste can be tricky- even the timing of when lighting comes on and of.

I hope that the report back to Council shows that with an investment in LED lighting that we can not only reduce the amount of carbon we are dumping into the atmosphere, but also save money in the long term as electricity prices rise.

I expect that it will be quite costly to convert the lighting to LED but if so I would be very supportive of Council raising a loan to pay for such change as it will pay itself of over time through electricity savings.

Council has also made a commitment to have a sustainability fund were funds that are saved through reduced consumption of electricity can be banked and then used to purchase products that contribute to the saving.

So sustainable issue keep moving forward and the Waste and Sustainable Fund gives an income stream back to Council that tackles these big issues.

Looking forward to reading the report in the new year.

Community Consultation and a Council change of heart.

2011-12-02T12:45:00.000+11:00

So back to things political.........

For Councils November meeting I raised a motion that requested Council make further deliberations on the Local Environment Plan as open to the public forums, meetings etc and also that a summary of all submissions be placed on the web for consideration by the community as part of the ongoing consultation.

The motion was voted down in a hail of verbal bullets basically accusing me of proselytising Green rhetoric.

Actually I was just asking for what the community desires and that is to work with Council to finalise the document while seeking better outcomes, especially since it is the principal planning document for the next ten years or more.

Support for my motion came from Clrs Ward and Fergusson which wasn't totally unexpected but

Mayor Paul Green, Deputy Mayor Andrew Guile clrs Proudfoot, Brumerskyi, Bennett and Watson were are strongly opposed to having community members present as they felt that they would' take our words and release them to the media before any final decision is made'.

I think it's very important to have the community present for if Council is of a mind to change zoning and give 'spot rezonings' then Council should be held accountable and the reasons behind such moves aired in public not locked behind secret doors.

back to Tuesdays meeting.........

Staff put up a report on the Local Environment Plans progress which clearly requested that Council conduct all further deliberations in an open forum AND that no 'spot rezonings' will be allowable without the appropriate community consultation and test for appropriateness- which doesn't mean that nothing will be rezoned, just that it won't be done without a strategic aim that meets expected demand and fits with a growth management strategy.

I'm glad that I didn't hold my breath but I was concerned that the Liberals were going to remove these important parts from the motion.

It seems that a month is a long time in politics and whatever lobbying that has occurred during that period has had some effect for lo and behold the staff recommendation was supported in its entirety and unanimously ...

the cynic in me is burning as to why this sudden change of heart!

but I am prepared to attempt at optimism and think that their support was for their belief in the benefit of community consultation.........

Nah that is just too difficult to believe, and Ill let you the reader arrive at your own opinion as to why the change.

Happy days...we are in for an intense period trying to get through the changes and get them back out on exhibition which will be for the short time of 28 days, but for now at least the community are involved and I feel a sense of elation that good process won through in the end.

Wog Wog to the Castle Walking Trail- a spring time jaunt.

2011-12-02T12:22:00.000+11:00

So we are home- my legs feel slightly detached-not particularly sore just that faint hint of jelly legs- you know the sensation you get when you have been travelling downhill for a while. My hip joints feel sort of loose, my shoulders definitely feel light now that my pack has been removed, and I'm carrying a general sense of fatigue.Yep three days walking in the Budawangs is a bit taxing!

We started out on Saturday morning from the Wog Wog camping ground which is about 650 m above sea level and accessed from Northangra Rd of the Kings Hwy on the way to Braidwood.

Map one shows the beginning of the track and the first 8klms of the walk.

The first set of tears were shed at Wog Wog creek when skinny miss twelve (Tannar) couldn't get the pack adjusted to suit her body and all the weight was on her shoulders. I was built like that when I was wee and nothing that should fit does. I swapped packs with her- the one I got as a skinny teen adjusted to her waist size and from there on in it was good walking.

The beginning of the track winds its way through lovely open woodland that has that high country feel to it with small pale barked gums that look a little like snow gums. It doesn't seem to take long though before you are up into escarpment heath and it was spectacular.

It opened up before us in flowering glory, tea tree being the dominant at this point- the one with the giant pale pink flowers, Epacris, Tetratheca, yellow melalueca and the remnants of Pattersonia were in abundance.I love the soft curling furls of new growth on ferns.

The walking path showed signs of the wet winter with soft spongy spots and some great puddles for jumping. The duck boards seemed to be floating and a step in the middle would end up with a submerged foot. The first 8ks were fairly easy going with some great views emerging the further into the plateau we got, especially around Korra Hill and Corang Peak.

This second map joins the previous and is marked at the 8k mark the x is our first night camp in caves.

The Corang Arch is a spectacular feature we stopped here for a while and soaked up the ambiance and watched a storm coming in on us. The break was a good opportunity to fish out the wet weather gear and fill up on fuel. Unless you have hours to wait for the right light and a fantastic wide lens its difficult to capture the grandeur of the place so the pics end up just a reminder of good times with good friends.

Corang Arch

Mick on top of Corang Arch

The storm came in on us and we got wet but not drowned as it wasn't too heavy- I felt kind of vulnerable being the highest thing at the highest point but we did descend fairly quickly into the valley below Profile Rock which was fairly thick with grass and sedge. We pushed on through the rain rather than take shelter and headed for the caves where we camped the night. It was a big overhang, nice and dry and plenty of sandy spots for sleeping mats. we arrived fairly early and we couldn't wait for the sun to go down so that we could go to sleep. The storm kept up for a little while but the lightening was obscured from our view. Kiah and I checked out the little creek and brought back some extra water for cups of tea. The moon was just of full so it was certainly a bright night -it almost felt like daylight when I woke up and seemed to be beaming straight into the cave. I like sleeping outdoors the temperature was good- cool enough to want to snuggle right down into the bag but still have that hint of a breeze on your face. We all slept long but not always deep.

Day two we wanted to get into Monolith Valley and then around to Cooyoyo camp site just below the Castle. We left camp and got warmed up nicely on a not to steep rise, but that didn't last long as the ascent became steep but not vertical. Its lovely to stop at the vantage points along the track and look back at where you have come from. The ascent up Mt Cole was tough going as parts where almost vertical and a nice long break in a cave served us well for the hard push through the gap into Monolith Valley.

The pass between Mt Cole and the South west corner of Donjon looks much worse than it is- but a chicken like me is very glad of the vegetative cover which somehow makes the height/steepness so much more bearable than just naked rock. I'm not particularly agile on rock hops but I hope I make up for it in my ability to just keep going no matter how slowly.

Monolith Valley certainly has the WOW factor, a relic of milenia ago- seeing the little sign in the middle of nowhere extolling the ancient connections is out of context - but then again it is a national park. The valley of the monoliths really is something prehistoric, its been a wise move to try and minimise the human impact by restricting visits to day visits only. The moss and lichens look like take ages to grow but then there is a feeling of rain forest vastness which again seems out of context at 800m- I guess because we are so used to looking at dry eucalyptus forest it seems so weirdly green.

And just when you think you cannot gasp anymore at the beauty another spectacular sight opens up for you. With the moisture levels higher than they have been in a while there was a metronome of drips creating the background beat. It certainly was a highly pleasant few hours and warrants a return trip just to soak up the bits that we know we have missed. But with all deadlines we had to move on.

We got to the fork in the road well its more like a major intersection but without any signposts! I think we tried every option before we almost decided to camp, but we bumped into two gents who seemed to be going for a jog who told us that our first choice was the right one. So we headed back onto one of the most twisting turning parts of the track, which is quite difficult to get landmarks and bearings on when tackled from our one way direction- it seems more obvious on the reverse journey to what we were doing. Its an extraordinary track and really makes you think -how did it get there in the first place!

The last 500m of that 11 hour walking day felt soooo loong and as we fell into Cooyoyo camp we didn't feel like taking a single step more so forgot about the comforts of the cave and set up on the ground hoping that the weather didn't turn sour during the night.

Luckily it held and of course we had a very early sun up start for the descent down the Castle Cooyoyo face. Its like a giant stair case with not many landings every step is downhill with very little on flat ground certainly a test for the thighs and knees. But the real prize is the surroundings you are forced to go carefully and savour each new bend in the landscape and the early morning mistiness just made the landscape look like the quintessential Australian postcard all blue eucalyptus forest and a dramatic landscape.

We made it to the saddle before the riping hot westerly started tearing down the valley and spent the last part of journey making sure that we were well marinaded in our own juice! The cool river was tantalisingly close and something to look forward to- soaking our manky selves and feet. We passed some other walkers who were feeling the effects of the hot wind but had such a long way to go, we hoped they had plenty of water.

The final part of the walk takes you down through magnificent rain forest on the banks of the river its so dense and cool it inspires you to stay. When we arrived at the river we all silently stripped of our weary outer layer to revive the inner and only opened our mouths with a woop as we hit the icy cool water. It was like ice therapy on worn muscles, sheer delight and a great way to end a fun filled, magical few days. Cant wait for the next adventure

http://youtu.be/CYth-Hn43t4

Patriarchy and the Breeding Creed- end of semester work.

2011-11-01T11:34:00.000+11:00

So every now and then I disconnect from my council duties and focus on my course work for University. Im one of those painful over achieving mature age students who busts her own butt in the efforts to get good marks and keep the academic options open. Rather than just leave the words of this semesters final essay moth balled on a hard drive somewhere I thought I would share my rant on women's reproductive rights being controlled by the patriarchy to support a breeding creed.

I really enjoyed writing it and hope that you enjoy reading it.

This essay aims to discuss periods in history that have had an impact on women’s reproductive rights, to find parallels in a modern context and conclude that further legislative reformation is still hindered by dominant ideologies of patriarchy, nationalism and pronatalism. Australian women have long campaigned for reproductive autonomy the history is complex with different states having different watershed moments. Women since the 1890’s have conducted campaigns for birth control and abortion within a social discourse that is dominantly patriarchal. Fervour for nationalism and pronatalism has either denied women their rights or created a barrier for legislative reform. Campaigns for reproductive rights have been entwined in a meta-framework of disadvantage and have ranged from being the number one issue for women to covert campaigns undertaken with the utmost discretion. This essay adopts the position that abortion is a major part of the contraception debate in Australia. Women’s reproductive rights are intrinsically linked to contraception and abortion.

At the 1975 Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) National Conference polling was conducted to enable prioritization of issues. Abortion/Contraception gained a small percentage and at 13% was certainly not the dominant issue of the day. A general category of women’s issues topped the poll with 42%. Although the poll represents a moment in time it reflects a trend that places the issues of abortion and contraception within the sphere of women’s business and not always as a headline grabbing campaign brief. Abortion has been an option for women wanting to limit their family size since the mid nineteenth century. Some critics, particularly those campaigning from a religious or Right to Life perspective, do not believe that abortion is contraception. Australian women have not passively accepted the gendered roles assigned to them. Since early colonial days women have sought to challenge their position within the colony and to bring to the fore women’s issues. The Suffragette movement which aimed to gain women the vote in Australia is a popular and well documented campaign that achieved its aim in 1902. However campaigning for reproductive rights in Australia from the 1890’s has often gone unreported or has been part of other campaigns that have been more focused on overall women’s rights.

Birth control is an ancient practice that has been and remains dominantly ‘women’s business’. Men have sought and succeeded in controlling the availability of contraceptive aids and hindered women’s ability for reproductive autonomy. Family planning options for men are limited mostly to condom use and sterilization. Methods such as withdrawal are unreliable and abstinence is simply unrealistic in a modern and sexually liberated context. Early contraception in Australia was mostly available to those who could afford it generally the middle and upper classes. Working class earnings didn’t stretch to such ‘luxury items’ as contraceptives. Exhausted women were desperate to control their fertility in an attempt to keep families from poverty and break endless pregnancy and child rearing cycles. The views of women in late nineteenth century Australia were seldom heard in a cacophony of calls for women to fulfill their duty to their Country by rearing many children. The 1903 Royal Commission on the Decline of the Birth Rate and on the Morality of Infants in New South Wales (RCDBR) is a defining document of the times and clearly maps the attitudes of the period. The Commission’s report is often quoted and has gained notoriety around the views that are espoused by the committee membership. Made up of seven men representing government, pharmacy and manufacturing the purview of the Commission was to

‘ Make a diligent and full enquiry into the causes that have contributed to the decline of the birth-rate in New South Wales and the effects of the restriction of child-rearing upon the well being of the community’.

Once the Commission met it made application to the government to add to its terms of reference the ability to make recommendations as to the remedies of the ‘various evils’ which are indicated by the evidence as the cause of the decline of the birth-rate and of the high infant mortality’. This clearly indicates that the commission found the very idea of contraception repugnant and ‘evil’. When perusing the list of witnesses the commission called to give evidence there is stark gender inequity with only six women discernible from a list of ninety six. Three of these six women represented Infant homes including the Benevolent Society Institution. Siedlecky and Wyndham describe the NSW Benevolent Society as pronatalist even though the Benevolent Society took this stance the organization was responsible for the death of many children held in its care. Siedlecky and Wyndham could well have quoted directly from the RCDBR report which recognized that deaths in infant homes were exceptionally high and needed a higher level of inspection and control. Close reading of the report leaves the reader no doubt that this period in Australia’s history was very patriarchal and driving a nationalistic, pronatalist agenda that left little space for the views and needs of women. Women who desired to keep their family numbers low conducted their contraception affairs with the utmost of stealth and in fear of the laws which rejected outright the sale and advertising of contraceptive related items. It is little wonder that illegal and poorly administered abortion was rife and that women often resorted to ‘baby farming’ or paying for their infants to be taken away and ‘cared for’ by another.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the need for contraception and abortion was driving women to desperate measures. The literature shows that the patriarchal political position of the day ignored the needs of the female population and fervently supported an agenda of ‘populate or perish’ which described women who limited their families as unpatriotic. This provides us with a parallel situation between 1903 and 2010 where citizens’ actions and attitudes are in direct conflict with the political agenda of the times. Pringle asserts that 80% of the population is supportive of abortion reform yet the political will for change doesn’t match the attitude of the people. Summers also asserts that ‘populate or perish’ has been replaced by a conservative Government driven ideology of a ‘breeding creed’ a ‘powerful new ideology that defines women first and foremost as mothers’.

The pronatalist agenda in Australia has caused great suffering for women who have had to break the law in order to obtain abortions and contraception. The effects of World War One saw an increase in venereal disease in Australia and presented an opportunity for discussion around sexual hygiene. The interwar years were an interesting time for discussion about contraception as the debates were themed around reducing venereal disease and classic eugenics which proscribed limiting birth to those deemed ‘fit’ to reproduce and become the mothers of a strong nation. The proponents of eugenics managed to inculcate further the notion of ‘good’ domesticity and child rearing as national duty through domestic training for girls as part of the education curriculum. The Racial Hygiene Association (RHA) was successful in opening the first birth control clinic in Australia during 1933. Campaigner Ruby Rich confesses that the RHA adopted the name as a means to disguise the ‘threat’ of family planning which was considered ‘socially unacceptable’. Rich was responsible for sending back intelligence on British Birth Control Clinics, which aided the RHA in setting up the Sydney clinic in 1933. During the nineteen thirties the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) were campaigning on a number of fronts that included equal rights for women in pay, property ownership and child responsibility. The CPA also agitated for birth control. Jean Devanny a prominent member of the CPA was often jailed for her rousing speeches on numerous issues and believed that free birth control clinics should be available to women and abortion should be legalised. Devanny advocated sexual liberation for women and was considered a radical for taking this position. The notion was considered scandalous when Devanny pronounced ‘women had the right to enjoy sex as much as men did’. The political context during Devannys’ period of activism was still fiercely patriarchal as the federal sphere of politics was yet to see the influence of elected women, which didn’t occur until 1943.

The release of the contraceptive pill in January 1961 set the scene for the women’s revolution of the seventies. The ‘Pill’ gave women reassurance that they had a reliable and relevantly safe means to control family size. The release of ‘the pill’ was not simply a matter of supply and demand as it raised all sorts of moral and ethical dilemmas for medical doctors. Bongiorno discusses doctors using moral judgment when deciding whether or not to prescribe ‘the pill’ to unmarried women, a circumstance that catholic doctors in particular found challenging. According to Bongiorno, catholic doctors recycled old arguments of ‘infidelity, divorce, materialism, broken homes, delinquency, alcoholism, corruption, licentiousness, and marital disharmony’. The arguments of morality and ethics are a poor disguise for religious dogma, which raises its head some forty years later in discussions around the abortion drug RU486 discussed in further detail later in this paper.

The nineteen seventies are renowned for dominant themes of freedom and revolution. The political landscape, as reported by Sawer, was ready for change and it seems to be a period in history where there was a general feeling of optimism, youth and vitality. The Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) formed and became a well-organised collective of women who were determined to achieve policy reform on issues that affected women. High on that list of early priorities was contraception. Pushing the policy agenda WEL took an academic and direct action approach. Surveying women on their ‘experiences of contraception’ and holding marches such as the 1974 Victorian members march on Parliament with ‘condoms on sticks to protest against the statutory ban on advertising contraceptives’. Early in the formation of WEL the tactic of questioning election candidates revealed patriarchy and lack of knowledge on women’s issues. The importance of the campaign to remove the ‘luxury tax’ on contraceptives, lift the ban on advertising contraceptives and improved access to family planning was made all the more poignant with the revelation of WEL survey results. Women had difficulty in obtaining good advice on contraceptives and ‘more than half said they had suffered from fear of pregnancy at some stage on their lives’. WEL was successful in its aims and brought about legislative reform for contraceptives and family planning, but the ‘battle over abortion was far from won’.

Abortion reform has been slow and suffered from the highs and lows of community interest. More current headlines include the legislative reform case of abortion drug RU486 and the prosecution of young Queensland women who obtained RU486 from overseas and self-administered. Organisations within Australia such Reproductive Choice Australia still campaign for women’s access to legal and free abortion seems to fall on deaf ears in parliamentary structures at state and federal levels. Pringle defines this unwillingness of parliamentarians to raise the abortion issue as an ‘urban myth’ that is based on the false assumption that voters would not support a parliamentarian at the polls should they be supportive of pro-abortion position. This is also based on an assumption that there is a rise in religious practice in Australia. Pringle goes on to outline qualitative research into the opinions of Australian people in regards to their position on the availability of abortion which shows a high percentage of people (not just women) ‘support very liberal access to abortion, and this has been the case for at least 30 years’. Pringle unpacks the moral, political and legal arguments that surround the issue of abortion and points clearly to the conservatism of elected members as the real cause as the inhibiting factor in abortion legislative reform. Reforming legislation brought to the Federal Parliament for RU486 within the Therapeutic Goods Act, was supported by male and female parliamentarians in a vote that reflected the opinions of the population. Although Pringle doesn’t contribute the success of the RU486 debate on the gender balance of the 2004 Federal Parliament, it is noted throughout the article that the general increase of women within the political sphere has helped to readdress gender issues during the last thirty years.

Twenty first century pronatalism is thinly disguised under the new banner of a’ breeding creed’ and Right for Life, a group that vehemently opposes abortion. Right for Life advocates have also developed sexual education programs for adolescents that condone abstinence as a form of birth control. Harking back to an era of patriarchal conservatism Right for Life believes it is taking the ‘moral high ground’ but are teaching outdated modes considered impractical by the Family Planning Association which does not condone an ‘abstinence only’ approach as it is far less effective than a holistic approach to sexuality, relationships and contraception. Reading comments left on youth orientated website ActNow on the issue of sex education it is alarming that Australia as a progressive Country seems to be lagging behind in sex education, a campaign that was perceived to have been won during the 1970s. Conservative publication Quadrant published an article in 2010 declaring that modern day eugenics is all about choosing to abort fetuses that are highly likely to have genetic birth defects such as Down Syndrome. Author Deirdre Little declares that the practice of fetal selection is unethical and gives very little consideration to the quality of life for people born with severe birth defects. Little comes from a position of authority and seems to advocate for ‘life for life’s sake’. As a medical doctor and president of Obstetricians Who Respect the Hippocratic Oath , Little can invoke an argument from authority that undoubtedly would influence current decision makers when faced with legislative reform on abortion issues.

In attempting to appraise one hundred and twenty years of women’s struggles for reproductive autonomy, just the briefest of glances at particular times on the journey reveals that women’s struggles have always been defined within a patriarchal hegemony that still carries notions of nationalism and pronatalism. The modern context has changed the discourse for a new generation creating historical parallels such as the ‘breeding creed’ replacing the ‘populate or perish’ doctrine. Right for Life are modern day pronatalists rejecting abortion as immoral and teaching outdated doctrines for sex education. The sisterhood of the seventies which created the Women’s Electoral Lobby would be dismayed that the campaign wins from the 1970s have not been built upon in a substantial way. Women still do not have full reproductive autonomy and still have to deal with conservative, nationalistic government too fearful of electoral backlash to instigate further reforms.

Bibliography

ActNow , Accessed online October 2011 http://www.actnow.com.au/Issues/Sex_education_in_Australia.aspx

Allen, J., ‘Octavious Beale reconsidered: Infanticide, Babyfarming and Abortion in NSW 1880-1939’, in Sydney Labor History Group (ed), What Rough Beast? The Social Order in Australian History, Sydney: George Allen and Unwin, 1982, pp 111-129. [E-book]

Bongiorno, F. ‘January 1961 The Release of the Pill:Contraceptive technology and the ‘Sexual revolution’’, in Martin Crotty and d Roberts(eds) Turning Points in Australian History, Sydney: UNSWP 2008,pp 157-170 (accessed via e-reading)

Choices Decisions Outcomes accessed online http://www.cdo.net.au/

Ferrier Carole, ‘A ‘Red Revolutionist and Ranter’: Jean Devanny in the Early 1930s’, Hecate Vol.24, no.2 ,(1998) p121-148

Legislative Assembly, New South Wales (1904),’Royal Commission on the decline of the birth rate and on the mortality of infants in New South Wales, Vol. 1 Report, Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly [NSW Parliamentary Papers] 4 (second session): 791-853

Little, DT, ‘The Return of Eugenics in Australia’, Quadrant , Vol 54 No.5 , (2010) pp 46-5

Pringle, Helen, ‘Urban Mythology: the Question of Abortion in Parliament’, Australasian Parliamentary Review, Spring,( 2007). Vol.22 (2) 5-22.

Rodwell, G, ‘Domestic science, Race Motherhood and Eugenics in Australian State Schools, 1900-1960’, History of Education Review, Vol.29, No.2, (2000), pp67-83.

Sawer, Marian, Making Women Count, A history of the Women’s Electoral Lobby in Australia UNSW Press , Sydney , Australia 2008.

Siedlecky , S and Wyndham D, Populate or Perish : Australian Women’s Fight for Birth Control , Allen and Unwin, Sydney, Australia, 1990.

Summers, Ann. The End of Equality: Work, Babies and Women’s Choices in 21st Century Australia, Random House, 2003.

The Australian Women’s Weekly , Wednesday 17 August 1977, Page 141, Ruby Rich a Fighter for Family Planning. article.http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/51268914?searchTerm=Racial Hygiene Association birth control clinic 1933&searchLimits=l-availability=y

l-australian=y

Sound tracks of life - music, creativity and nostalgia.

2011-10-30T18:13:00.000+11:00

Space today to do something creative, something that frees the spirit, for me it can be a simple pencil drawing an extravagant unfinished painting, a little bit of felting, collage- the options so endless. I love it most when I'm feeling fearless knowing that whats before me is mine not for someone else to critique. I'm generally fearless because I don't create for others I create for me and it doesn't matter what an others response is. One day I will make more time for life drawing- its so much fun to go through the short drawing sessions before the climax of the long pose, last time I experienced life drawing I was the muse taking other peoples pencils, pastels and charcoals on a journey.

Its amazing what bubbles up to the surface of your mind when at play, sometimes nostalgia, sometimes longing, sometimes hopeful for the unknown. What tumbles out can be a revelation, a catharsis or simply playful.

Always though I have music playing, creating the creative soundtrack. My taste in music is as eclectic as my artistic endeavours. A symphony one day, seventies punk another. The moods of the period preceding sort of blend into a soundtrack that often ends with mother and daughters flinging themselves around the lounge room miming the words of some vacuous but fun pop song. The soundtracks are a bit like dream, song snippets from other times.

So nostalgia was the theme today for crafts long forgotten and albums less played. In between doing my bits I helped Tannar with her lemon meringue pie (oh sweet nostalgia how I love LMPie) and from the depths came some old Midnight Oil lyrics. I ha vent purposely played Midnight Oil since Peter Garrett joined the Labour Party and put on a suit!

Midnight Oil entered my play list when I entered Australia in 1982 as a impressionable 12 year old fresh from Belfast. My Belfast crowd were all younger brothers and sisters and we were trying ever so hard to emulate their older siblings depressed swaggers and wild playlsits of Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Public Image, The Clash...mind you the New Romantics were emerging and when we though no one was listening switched to the softer tunes of Depeche Mode, Ultravox, The Cure and Co which still provided plenty of angst and unrequited love lyrics perfect for pubescent pre teens.

Imagine my shock landing in the land of sunshine after two weeks in rainy season Indo- everything seemed so bright and pure- no goths- no punks- no jumpy people, no bomb scares, NO BODY SEARCHES!

When I finally went to school my first real friend Shelley was quintessentially Australian - blond hair, blue eyes, beach babe in the burbs, who spent holidays in Queensland. It was either Shelley or the neighbours son Michael who rolled out the first copy of the Oils 10-1 and that was it hooked! It was sunshine angst that questioned the times, corny love songs, grunge guitar and Hirst's awesome drums. We loved the first album , and ep bird noises , place without a postcard was up there too- how could we not love lyrics like- 'theres a shit storm a coming' and 'when I'm screamin- I scream in blue'. Shelley and I somehow managed to get ourselves to an Oils gig at the Horden Pavilion and were carried away in the heaving crowd- I'm sure there were parts of that night where the manic up and down heave meant that my feet didn't touch the floor for about an hour we were so packed into the middle of the mosh. It was worth getting grounded for!

Its amazing how the memory recalls 'stuff' especially song lyrics that you thought had left long ago! How many times Shelley and I must have sung those songs at the top of our lungs ....'everyone says that loves on special on sale and everything you ever wanted you gotta pay for it seems so easy and gettable yes its real, if you got money its such a steal'....grrlll power had nothing on these tunes.

I didn't buy every album after Red Sails I thought they were starting to sell out and the Hunters and Collectors were playing live everywhere and giving us what we wanted-thumping grinding base that would make the crowds heave. Seymour never seemed to sell out completely to the big bucks, corporate coats and cigars.

Wonder if your nostalgia remembers it like mine Shelley. Happy Birthday friend.

Councils Fear Community Scrutiny in Local Environment Plan Deliberations

2011-10-28T12:42:00.000+11:00

Councils Ordinary Meeting 26 October 2011

Motion no 70.

1. During further future considerations of the Local Environment Plan 2009 (SLEP 2009), Council conduct all meetings, breifings etc as 'open' to the community.

2. Council publish on its website the submissions recieved from the community in regards to the SLEP2009

3. Council give greater weighting to the submission contributed by the 'Shoalhaven LEP Review Committee.

The public exhibition period for Shoalhavens Local Environment Plan ended a fortnight ago. Public sessions have been well attended and there is some level of interest from the community. The next steps in the building of the local environment plan is to review the submissions and consider how council will or will not incorporate the requests made into the final document.

Council staff will summarise the issues and present a report most likely to a series of breifings to get Councils direction on how to respond. These breifings are held in confidential session and are not supposed to create binindg decisions the public are not allowed to attend either as witness or particpant.

Bringing this motion to Council was inviting a hiding to nowhere as the dinosaurs at Shoalhaven Council have not yet evolved enough to understand that informed decision making and infomed constituients makes for a much better relationship and better outcomes. Councillor Brumerskji accused me of being 'irresponsible' and that it was 'problemtic' to include community who could go away and use our discussions against us.

Councillor Guile accused me of being audacious in bringing such a motion forward as it revealed my true colors in wanting to support my Green's mates and stack the room with SAC . Well that was a complement really as I certainly do want to represent the people who voted for me- who also see that community involvment is a 21st Century attitude.

It was obvious from the arguments that number three was the most abhorent part of the motion as the accusations were layed on thick and fast about trying to 'skew' the process by giveing one submission higher weighting- I think that their argument just shows a lack of understanding in how a network of like minded people crafted a seriously challengeing submission to the Local Environment Plan. However I was willing to show some flexability and removed number three and amended number two to request the summary that will be prepared be available publicly.

Still no joy though- I was only able to gain support from Clrs Ward and Fergusson for the revised version of the motion.

Check out the business papers in particular the General Managers Comments on page 69 of the reports. Im astounded that he claimed that the Local Environment Plan Review Group was less than representative as it was just over half of the groups sponsored by Council (13/24) and that 3 other community groups were included making it 16 groups which actually makes the representation more inclusive than the average 7/6 Council decision.

Over to you -Should Council include community in its Local Environment Plan breifings - vote in the poll and leave your comments

Ulladulla Civic Centre / Library complex gets an budget increase for the upgrade

2011-10-28T10:18:00.000+11:00

It started out on a journey to fix the kitchen and airconditioning.

Then we found that there was more than a million dollars worth of defects to bring the building up to standard.

I thought it would be good to see if we could extend the value of money spent on the Civic Centre and pushed for a further upgrade to the Library and improved community spaces.

Councillors plucked a magic figure of $5.1 million out of the air as the price for the fix up.

After some constructive sessions with architects Brewster Hjorth, community reps, staff and Councillors it was decided that the $8mill model was the one that would satisfy the communities needs without going for the top shelf model.

Last night Council unanimously voted the extra $2.9 mill to get the project up and running.

It was an interesting evening with a lot of back slapping but still a lot of negativity about increasing the library size.
There are national Library standards that give Councils guidance as to how big the space should be for the number of people living in the service area. Ulladulla Library should be 10 times its small 150 sqms, but Councillors have agreed to a compromise of around 600sqm- positively luxurious compared to the current cramped conditions.

Councillors seem to forget that libraries aren't all about books, but great places of respite on cold / hot days to pick up a periodical or a newspaper and catch up on the happenings of the world. A place were babies ans small children take their first steps into the literary world of amazing big picture books, bright colors and phonetics. Were young people can meet with the idea of doing 'homework' but more often work on their relationships and in Ulladulla were a tourist can call in get the latest information on things to do and places to stay.

So now the staff have the task of preparing the plans for final exhibition and comment while also preparing tender documents to get the project underway- sometime in 2012 after the blessing of the fleet.

I look forward to one day soon sitting in the library searching the catalogue for interesting reads and not having to have my chair pulled in so tight that my elbows are on the computer screen. I look forward to the centre redefining its place as the heart of the town, were all people are welcome- not wanting to wish time away but roll on 2012!

Fill illegally dumped- The Times 26 October 2011

2011-10-26T15:58:00.000+11:00

How would you answer this email?

2011-10-09T21:06:00.000+11:00

I thought I would share with you a recent email I recieved- Its not unlike mail I have had in the past- yet it's a quandry. I was curious to watch the show that inspired the email and I was not surprised at all- It just about describes some of the areas in Shoalhaven. Equity was one of the reasons I joined the Greens and that mean equity in all areas not just the human dominated one. i did put together a reply for the author and like many replies I have written languishs in the draft box for it seems futuile to respond - leave me a comment and tell me what you think

Amanda.......

Email recieved 5 October 2011 sent to all Councillors, Local Members and Some Chamber of Commerce people.

I suspect many of you were too busy or unmotivated to partake of “Four Corners” tonight. It was the best commentary and lesson for the politicians and corporate thieves that I have seen in the last ten years and demonstrated the pitiful performances of governance and empathy that has had me screaming at the television set for the last 12 years since leaving corporate life myself and watched the demise of our manufacturing industries and employment in Australia.

But...... I wonder if you are all capable of understanding what you are seeing Listen carefully to the “Words from the Mouths of Babes” & “the man that lost his $800 a month job” in Leicester and now brings up 3 children on $200 per month as his job was lost offshore ( probably to Eastern Europe – our equivalent to Asia).
The statistics that are presented as graffiti on the brick walls throughout the show are quite staggering and you should take special note of these if you watch the rerun............ if you missed it.

Overall it presents a frightening picture and don’t be blasé about it as you will find comparisons related to issues ( albeit of a lesser nature) fermenting in our paradise brought about by extreme unemployment ( especially in the area where we want to resolve the problem by putting in a 24 hr police station).. What a resolution.
This Four Corners presentation addresses the problems and if you listen carefully you should get an answer –get them jobs – not youth or student allowances... give them opportunities to take pride in their work and themselves –it’s not rocket science—it worked for 200 years before the do-gooders came along

This four tiered economy of ours, with its focus on mining, mining and more mining is leading us down the same path as what you will see in this episode.......... so I suggest that the “Top of the Tree” starts to wake up and realises that if the bottom of the tree is starving and rotting the top of the tree comes crashing down

What does that mean to the South Coast, Gilmore and our beautiful Shoalhaven?
If Sydney gets a cold we get pneumonia...

We have to liberalise our LEP, Expand and upgrade our hospitality standards to attract higher financially endowed tourism as well as our current emphasis on Family Tourism, expand our thinking beyond JB because its at saturation capacity, get those marinas going in JB & especially Ulladulla to develop diving and deep sea fishing industries,
Sink a few navy wrecks ( not just one) in key locations adjacent to our struggling coastal villages. By expanding and upgrading our tourism we will also increase fringe service industries and increase turnover and jobs in existing businesses-----
I know you all keep saying these things but for gods sake do something about it before its too late ............again
Don’t be frightened to take the hard decisions now and build a couple of 6-8-10 storey hotels in key tourist positions ( with views for a change).
The Ulladulla Civic Centre should be a JV with a major hotel group and encompass a 200 hundred hotel overlooking the harbour with a convention (civic) centre, library and tourism centre incorporated in it...
.Can you all handle that???????
Then when your done with that build the marina ( or do both at once) –wow what a feature that would be????/
You keep talking about creating jobs and a future for our youngsters –here’s one start in the underprivileged and cash starved Southern Shoalhaven that would turn it’s economy upside down....
Not only that we have top TAFE facilities turning out excellent chefs, waiters, administrators etc and then they have to go away to work?????????????
Are you all frightened that Ulladulla with a beautiful harbour, marina and smashing accommodation would become the NICE or MONACO of NSW or Australia----what a fantastic thought???????????
Think of the fringe benefits for all locations in the Shoalhaven –Nowra may need a domestic air terminal to handle the traffic –wow.......... more jobs.......heliport at Ulladulla........more jobs.........Marina.....stacks of jobs...........

Tough One Amanda????

Let’s get something going for a change---talk is cheap---and it’s only money.......what the hell Have a good day

Deliberative Democracy and the Grassroots Forum.

2011-10-03T21:40:00.000+11:00

It was cold and rainy last Wednesday and I really didn't feel like leaving home- more like curling up in front of the fire with the kids -listening to their chatter, reading, drinking tea.

My vehicle was playing up so I had to borrow a car to get to Nowra.

What a lovely surprise to see a packed room of people interested in better decision making!

Organised by Huskisson identity Graeme Gibson- Grassroots was a night not just talking about democracy but a two way conversation on how we can work together better with government.

The panel of four provided short stimulating presentation which gave the crowd ideas and the confidence to be bold in their own responses to the questions.

The 'world cafe' model was used for the second part of the evening. All gathered got to brainstorm ideas on how we can all 'do' democracy better and what ideas we had as a collective to improve process.

I was reminded of the attempts I have made at Shoalhaven Council to get meetings more open to community needs and even though these ideas have been boo-hooed out the door, I think that some osmosis is happening and the benefits may be reaped in other ways,(see earlier blog posts)

So I came away from the night feeling more positive about the future- 100 people had braved a cold wet evening to come out and talk about doing democracy better and there were even two persons under 25!

I look forward to looking at the spectrum of ideas that are currently in the process of being written up for distribution- hopefully the ideas will inspire me to raise them with Council.

Flood Policy- what policy?

2011-09-28T16:53:00.000+10:00

Council's across Australia have policies to guide us mere mortals when it comes to building or buying homes.

Policies to make sure that we dont haplessly build our new home on a flood plain- or at least build it high enough out if the water when the next flood comes that we or our possesions dont get washed away and become more of a hazard for emergency services.

Sounds logical and protectionist- and after the Queensland flash flooding that took the lives of some, you would think that people would be more inclined to follow the rules that Government bring in.

NOT in SHOALHAVEN LAND: all you have to do here is hire a consultant ( I call them The Fixits), make a presentation to Council advisinfg that Councils well educated and professional staff are wrong, maybe make a few phone calls to Councillors to stake your claim and hey presto- the magic wand of elected Councillors waves a big tick over your application and policy be dammed.

This was the scenario at a recent Council meeting were an applicant sought to subdivide a block and build a house in the Moona Moona Creek catchment. The current flood guide advisies that flood waters will reach 700mm and if Council follows the guidelines put out by the State Government this should be revised to 1.5meters.

Some areas of flood prone land can be developed with the floor level designed to be above the maximum flood level- but in this case Councillors ignored the expected flood levels to allow the dwelling and subdivsion to go ahead at the current level.

This might suit the current owners but as time goes on and owners change and climate change consequences start to unravel the occupants of this soon to be constructed house will be asking the same questions as those involved in the Queensland Flood Enquiry- why on earth did the planning authority allow this house to be built here!

The elected Council led on this occasion by Councillors Andrew Guile and Greg Watson, continue to make decsions against the flood plain planning guidelines a legacy of poor planning will be felt all across the City.

Its one thing to apply Liberal policy and be the friend of all- but its another altogether to mess with the lives of emergency service workers often volunteers, by planning so badly that everyone is at risk.

Shoalhaven City Council- The Dirt behind the Deputy Mayor deals

2011-09-21T20:08:00.000+10:00

The last conversation I had with Gareth Ward- Liberal councillor at Shoalhaven was a telephone conversation in which Gareth said this.."Amanda, we have to do what ever we can to stop Greg Watson getting any power again- we worked so hard at the 2008 election to be rid of him as Mayor we cannot let him rise again". and "I have had a binding caucus and will support fellow Liberal Andrew Guile as deputy". the reason behind my call to Gareth was to let him know that it was my intention to run as a candidate for Assistant Deputy or Deputy Mayor.

Why does the Deputy Mayor matter- well you get to represent the Mayor when he is unavailable at public meetings...Chair the Ordinary meeting in the absence of the Mayor and if needs be and probably the most powerful thing to use a casting vote to break a deadlock or tied vote. In the past the Deputy Mayor of the last year of a Council term has had a much better chance of winning the position of Mayor at the next election.

Mind you I have a double handicap in Shoalhaven land- firstly I'm a woman and the majority of my peers think I belong in the kitchen and second I'm a passionate Green.

Two weeks later the very same Gareth Ward and his Liberal and Christian Democrats team voted Councillor Greg Watson in as the assistant deputy mayor. The same Greg Watson who the Liberals made mince meat out of during the first year of this Council term- the same Greg Watson that they called for a probity review on- insinuating that his property deals as Mayor were corrupt. The same Greg Watson who was unmentionable because of the waste tender.

At the same time as they supported Greg Watson they rewarded their friends on their voting team with Brumerskji, Bennett and Soames all awarded Chairperson positions.

The deal was struck with Watson and his team voting for Guile as Deputy in exchange for the position of assistant and some extra chairperson positions also given to Watson. Ward and Guile will beg of that any deal was struck- but if the position was reversed a war of words and accusations would have erupted from their mouths as if they had been done the greatest disservice on the planet. Meanwhile their Teflon coated backs won't have any crap stick.

Brumerskji was in show off mode with the pastor of his church there to witness his antics. He laid into me and I had to demand the Mayor Paul Green pull him up over his behaviour and withdraw his comments.

Fergusson and Miller also coped the brunt of the Liberals brutal boot as all three of us were removed from all committees except for the ones that the Liberals thought had no value such as traffic.

It was a very interesting political game that was being played out- left to the end of the meeting so there were no witness's left in the gallery. The joining of the Shoalhaven Independents, Liberals and Christian Democrats in a show of power hungry misogyny.

Drunk on his success Andrew Guile treated staff as second rate citizens, positioned himself on all committees that he thought would be of the most benefit to his personal agenda such as the Southern Councils group, and generally threw his weight around.

But Ive seen it all before-punishment dished out to those who stick their heads up above the trench line...the only crime a desire to make sure that the community get the maximum say on issues... my only desire is that the rest of the community could witness this foul behaviour, and out these people for the real self interested individuals that they are.

So what do you think of this kind of behaviour?

Is it acceptable that Australian politics is driven by self interest?

Do you think the community cares?

Post me you comments.

Ulladulla Civic Centre /Library / Tourism Centre- what is it that Councillors Just dont get?

2011-09-14T11:33:00.000+10:00

Last nights Resources and Reserves Committee tried to address the elephant in the room of the Civic Centre redevelopment budget.

Council recently had a meeting with community reps and the architect to discuss further plans for the space and what seemed to be emerging is that if Council took the cheap option i.e. $5.1 million we would be getting a far inferior product than if actually lashing out and doing the job properly for around $8million.

So the committee asked the architect to go away and bring us back costings on the $5mill model and the $8 mill model to facilitate better decision making.

Councillors have a habit of plucking unrelated figures out of the air and saying that's what we will spend on the project rather than having a project fully scoped and knowing what the real spend should be.

Examples;

Ullaldulla Harbour Walkway $1 million- well what will that get us- know body knows even today!

Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre $24 million- needed a $2.4 million renovation for toilets within the first 5 years plus additional funding to finish of the landscaping.

There are lots of cost effective reasons why we should look at improving the civic centre /library/ tourism centre all in one go-but one of the main reasons that I brought it up on the first place was that council gets contributions for the library from developers- and the library money could be leveraged to make a better project overall!.

I think there is room for compromise in this project that will have excellent outcomes for all three areas (I'm not including the senior citzs area as is it is pretty good) lets face it Ulladulla and surrounding areas which the library services has grown immensely since the library was first created. Modern libraries are not just about dusty books, they are places for people to meet, places for children to learn a passion for learning, researching for family history, Internet hot spots for small business people or travellers, a place to share skills not just a place where people are always whispering and the library shushing you.

Here are some of the comments made by Councillors;

Councillor Proudfoot, I don't support spending any more money than what is already in the budget- this project was never about new library space but about air conditioning and a kitchen. I warned everyone that this project would get bigger once the community are involved

Councillor Brumerskyji: Books are a thing of the past, everyone will have kindles and ipads just look at how that technology has exploded.

Councillor Watson: We should make it $8 million and pare back on the library- this project has been hi jacked by the library lobbyists and the extra space is a luxury that is not needed.

It seems to me that these Councillors are blinded by their own circumstances and just because they don't use the facilities doesn't mean that others don't. Just ask the mums with pre schoolers who enjoy the big book corner. The older people who can access magazines that aren't affordable in their weekly budget. The researchers of family history who support one another learning about computers and history in one go. or the school kid who needs help with a school report or assignment.

As a community we can stand by and watch our public buildings and services be run into the ground and create the very destiny that some councillors see( which then would give them a good business case to sell the land for private development).

Or

We can redevelop our building well and have something for everyone a real community hub in the centre of town a vibrant place where people want to be, get information, be entertained, enjoy an exhibition the options are endless and there is a classic example at Albury which boasts an award winning Library Museum which is always a hive of activity when I have visited.

Albury's award wining Library Museum pic by John Gollings

Bawley Point vs Crown Castle Communications Round 2

2011-09-14T10:49:00.000+10:00

Image Courtesy of Crown Castle.

Earlier in the year Crown Castle Communications put forward a proposal to build a 50-60m lattice telecommunications tower on the ANU owned land a Kioloa.

The community were mostly outraged with such a large ugly development with over 100 residents making their opinions known to Council. Through out the process it was evident that residents would like their phone coverage improved but not at any cost and the cost to coastal visual amenity was high with this proposal.

What the company failed to learn from that exercise that the Kioloa / Bawley Point community want to be consulted and included in the process not locked out and treated like Country hicks who can be walked all over.

Now Crown Castle have come back for round two- this time they have invoked the State Environment Planning Policy b(SEPP) for Infrastructure- which basically allows for a 50 m tower to be built in a rural zoning as complying development meaning the first time the community heard of it was when it went onto Councils website approved by a private certifier.

The SEPP Infrastructure for NSW is one of those dodgy bits of planning law that allows things to be built without notification and in my opinion is a recipe for disaster and build mistrust in the community when it comes to governance around development.

If Crown Castle had simply learnt it lesson and spent some time with the people of Bawley Point / Kioloa Im sure they could have worked together as they have done in the past to find a constructive solution to the problem which could have resulted in some monopoles rather than a hideous lattice tower.

Right now the community are angry over this corporation basically bullying its way in with whatever means it sees fit. The process is all wrong and needs to be part of the overhaul of the State Planning regulations that are currently under review.

The Death of Lake Wollumboola?

2011-08-27T12:15:00.000+10:00

I last blogged on Lake Wollumboola and the possible listing of it as a RAMSAR site. In Shoalhaven World everything must have an 'economic benefit' so I pointed out that a RAMSAR listing had many opportunties for said benefit. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT BENEFIT IS CONSERVATION. Not many places can boast an unpolluted wetland that occasionaly opens to the sea and attracts thousands of birds every year through migration patterns.

But some people have it in their minds that conserving the wetland will somehow damage business and impede the ability of people to enjoy the wetland and its surrounds, these notions are unfounded and short sited.

I came back from holidays to find that the local developer had put in a last ditch effort to develop land of high conservation value on the shores of the lake for a golf course which would clear 40 out of 55 hectares right up to the current conservation buffer zone.

Shoalhaven has on exhibition its proposed new zoning plan which will see the whole area covered with a conservation classification so its hard not to be cynical that this a last ditch effort for any kind of development at any cost.

The developer still has an active Part 3A application sitting with the state government for a housing estate but this isnt about an either or argument- the simple fact is that any development within the Lakes catchment will have an impact on the long term health and sustainability of the lake. Its a principal that should be aheared to as a FIRST principle.

The campaign against the development of the site is building and was reported this weekend in the Sydney Morning Herald

There is still an opportunity to make a comment on this via Sholahaven Councils development tracking so take the time and drop a line it doesnt need to be an essay just express your feelings on this proposal go to the end of the page and there is a hyper link Contact Us About this application.

A Month Away from the Every Day

2011-08-04T11:19:00.000+10:00

Mataranka Springs:Photo courtesy of Micks Pixels

The last bit of sun on Katherine Gorge

You cant escape industry: Iron Ore loading facility just north of Borroloola

I certainly feel like a lucky puppy.

A whole month away from the hirdy girdy.

No phone reception (well not for Optus users anyway).

No desire to facebook, check email or otherwise be electronically engaged.

Just a desire to enjoy each day as it came deal with alternative challenges such as broken water pumps, flat tyres, smashed camp ovens and children's fights.

We missed out on wretched winter weather at home apparently 10 days of stormy wet weather.

I had no clue as to what was happening in the political world locally, nationally or internationally.

Our little bubble of friends camped under majestic river gums with high tide marks well beyond our reach and on massive flood plains that its hard to imagine the volume of water on the landscape.

We met up with old friends and managed to make some new ones along the way. The kindness of strangers is inspiring and even though its something we try to practice ourselves its still surprises when it comes your way.

Stumbling on Thommo, Duck and Gordo at Yuralla is a perfect example- the offer of the shearers quarters and a hot shower was irresistible, they shared a 'sherbet' with the hot thirsty travellers. lit the 'donkey' for our hot water and generally made sure we were comfortable. Directions the next morning set us back on track with a memory worth savouring.

How can you not be impressed with the ever changing landscape of Australia. Litchfield National Park was a stand out for me as well as Mataranka and the road through Gulf country from Borroloola to Bourketown was magnificent with its many river crossings and sandy camp spots just waiting to be enjoyed.

Of course the crew was great to sharing the cooking and decision making, being supportive when things went wrong rather than getting impatient and grumpy.

But sadly its back to this other reality, work, study, the daily chores but at least there is always another adventure to look forward to and adventures to reflect fondly on.

Lake Wollumboola- Listing as a RAMSAR site

2011-06-28T18:18:00.000+10:00

Shoalhaven Council is it so narrow minded that it will not support taking a step forward in listing a lovely wetland in the RAMSAR register? seems so.

Department of Environment and Heritage have approached Council to advise that they wish to begin the process of talking to the community about listing this special little lake as a significant wetland- local campaigner Frances Bray sent the following letter to Council to try and influence tonights decision making.

Thanks Frances for allowing me to share this and your great photo of the swans and teals.

To General Manager and Shoalhaven City Councillors,

Please circulate this message to all Councillors,

I understand that at your meeting on Tuesday next, that you will consider a recommendation to oppose the listing of Lake Wollumboola as a Wetland of International importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Today I have been on a bird counting walk at Lake Wollumboola with ornithologist, Ms Joy Pegler. The Lake is an astonishing site, with Joy counting 1100 Black Swan, 957 Grey Teal and 536 Chestnut Teal, as well as 9 other species.

Here is a photo of some of the birds which are easily viewed from the north shore. Do come and enjoy this wonderful experience.

I urge you to think carefully about the benefits of Ramsar listing. Increased monitoring and research into this unique Lake would benefit its management, whilst maintaining current recreational activities. There would be significant benefits for the Aboriginal community from employment in management and Cultural tourism opportunities if community members choose to support Ramsar listing. The local and wider Shoalhaven community would benefit too from carefully promoted and managed national as well as international tourism.

The Lake Wollumboola Protection Association Inc as well as many Culburra Beach residents and ratepayers strongly support Ramsar listing, knowing the special qualities of the Lake especially for birds and understanding that Lake Wollumboola meets the relevant Ramsar criteria.

We understand that the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage is in the process of consulting the Aboriginal community regarding its views and we respect the need for that consultation to continue before the Office proceeds with consultation with the wider community.

Please do not jeopardise the planned consultations and the opportunities represented by Ramsar listing.
Yours faithfully,
Frances Bray.
President Lake Wollumboola Protection Association Inc

OFarrells Work Choices where does Tony Abbott Stand

2011-06-17T21:33:00.000+10:00

DAVID SHOEBRIDGE MLC

MEDIA RELEASE

13 June 2011

O’Farrell’s WorkChoices: Where does Tony Abbott Stand?

With Federal unions now bringing pressure on the NSW Coalition's radical attack on industrial relations laws, it is time for the Federal Coalition to state its position. With Tony Abbott refusing to reject the NSW Coalition’s plans to slash the wages of nurses, teachers, firefighters and other public servants by nearly $2 billion, it is now clear that NSW is just the first stage in the Federal Coalition’s plan to relaunch WorkChoices.

See SMH page 1: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/unions-declare-war-on-premier-20110612-1fzgk.html110612-1fzgk.html

Greens NSW MP and Industrial Relations spokesperson David Shoebridge said:

"The newly-minted industrial relations laws being forced on the NSW Public Sector look like being the basis for a new federal IR system for the Coalition."

"These laws, which give direct control over wages and conditions to a single government minister, while retaining the pretense of an Industrial Relations Commission, are even more radical than John Howard's WorkChoices.

"Despite all its flaws, even under WorkChoices unions could approach the Commonwealth IRC to set minimum entitlements without being threatened with a veto by the Government.

"Under O'Farrell's new laws, all bets are off, and the Government of the day will get the power to veto wage rises, and cut back on conditions, by simply issuing a regulation."

"This is a real test for Tony Abbott, will he distance himself from the NSW Coalition's radical new IR laws or will he embrace them and risk having a fresh federal battle on industrial relations."

"If WorkChoices was dead, buried and cremated in 2007, then O'Farrell has just resurrected it, and it hasn't got any prettier in the meantime.

"A failure by Tony Abbott to reject the NSW Coalition's IR plan can only mean one thing - that this is the new IR model for the Federal Coalition."

More information: Contact David Shoebridge on 0408 113 952

Missing in Action- South Coast Register Style

2011-06-16T22:47:00.000+10:00

My quick comment before reading- I made sure that during the election campaign I attended to all Council matters. The meetings I seem to have missed are committee that I am either not a member of or just can't change my timetable to fit!

MISSING IN ACTION

BY JEFF STEPHENSON South Coast Register
15 Jun, 2011 08:21 AM

Minister’s claim you can’t be a councillor and an MP is borne out by the roll call

THE difficulty in combining state and local politics has been demonstrated by figures showing attendance records at Shoalhaven City Council meetings and council briefing sessions.

Both Mayor Paul Green and Cr Gareth Ward are under pressure to terminate their local government roles after the Local Government Minister Don Page voiced growing concerns about MPs continuing to hold roles on council.

Cr Ward’s attendance at council meetings has dropped dramatically since he won the seat of Kiama in March this year.

Figures released recently show Cr Ward has attended only 17 council meetings this year out of a possible 45 until the end of May.

This compares to Cr John Fergusson, who has attended 44 meetings and Cr Greg Watson with a record of 42 and Cr Amanda Findlay with an attendance record of 36 meetings from the 45.

Cr Ward’s attendance at briefing meetings is worse.

He attended only one briefing meeting this year until the end of May.

Cr Amanda Findley tops the count with a 100 per cent record of 12 out of 12.

Cr Green has managed much better than Cr Ward.

The mayor has attended seven of 12 briefing sessions this year and 24 of 45 council meetings.

Cr Ward had attended 90 briefing sessions from October, 2008 until May 2011, while Cr Green’s record for the same period is 149 from 180 meetings.

Cr Green insists he can manage the two roles.
He was elected as Shoalhaven Mayor in 2008 and a Member of the Legislative Council as a Christian Democrat in March.He has conceded the two roles “can be a strain” but he believed the advantage the city gained outweighed the disadvantage of him being out of the city on occasions. He said his time was “worth millions to the city if we get it right” and said the cost to the city could be as much as $250,000 should he relinquish the role which would be brought on by another election.

Mr Page sent shockwaves through the state government when he targeted people trying to fill the dual roles.

Solar Industry debacle- feed in tariffs not the only problem in NSW

2011-06-06T11:58:00.000+10:00

I'm in the mood for a good whinge so I thought I might give you a dose on my perspective of the Solar industry.

Firstly- when I encouraged fellow Councillor John Ferguson to support the outrage of Shoalhaven constituents and raise an urgency motion condemning the changes to the NSW solar tariff scheme, John was pretty much booed out of the Chamber by the dominant Liberal faction on Council.-Funny that (Not).

The moves in NSW politics to reduce the tariff for those who were promised a 60c rebate for the next seven years is just part of the problem for the Solar industry which is used to the storms created by government around rebates and has many times before put the industry through a rush / bust cycle.

The move mostly effects the bank balances of those who have counted on a level of income return to payback their system. New people wishing to purchase solar power are still doing so knowing that the scheme is suspended but that they are safe guarding themselves from rising energy costs and helping manage Australia's carbon footprint.

I would argue that they are also contributing to the micro energy generation which will mean that there is less reliance on coal fired power and therefore less need to build a new coal fire energy plant.

Some simple maths for you to keep in mind throughout this blog.

100kwh of electricity = 1 tonne of carbon emission

1tonne of carbon = 1 Renewable energy certificate

The current rebate scheme CREATES 5x the value of the Renewable Energy Certificate meaning that for every tonne of carbon offset by a renewable energy source 4 more tonnes are emitted but not offset as the generation capacity doesn't EXIST!

The rear action in this debacle comes from the Federal Governments - Renewable Energy Certificate Scheme or RECS.

The Federal Government has been offering a 5 times multiplier on renewable energy certificates since it took away the flat $8000 rebate early last year.Effectively that meant that on an average two kilowatt system the rebate would be about $6000 once the RECS were sold into the RECS market. Of course markets are volatile places-but what the federal government failed to see that this creation of FALSE CARBON CREDITS has flooded the market and there are not enough mandated buyers to purchase the 3 million extra certificates ( at this point the market needs 9 million certificate not 12). This has driven down the price of RECs from around $36-38 each to a measly $20-25 almost half .

For some owners / installers 4-6 weeks ago when they sent their paperwork of to create RECS they had an expectation to make around $6000 to offset the costs of installation. It takes four weeks for the government to create the certificates and by that time the market had crashed and people were left with a considerably smaller rebate i.e. between $2000-$4000 depending on the price in the spot market. Some installers who had entered into contracts that allowed buyers to just pay the difference are out of pocket by 25% of the value of the system. A big hit for a small business.

Solar still isn't cheap with 2kilowatts costing approx $11600 and that is mostly the cost of equipment- not the old formula of 50% for materials 50% for labor as you just end up out pricing yourself with competitors if you took on that simple formula.

But to put the icing on the cake the government doesn't guarantee the price of $40 to the householder but to the polluter. Example if Endeavour Energy needs 5 million certificates to reach its 5% renewable energy target and goes to the market place and the market price is $60 per certificate- they can then go to the government and purchase certificates at $40.

(REMEMBER: 4 million of those certificates have no generation capacity behind them as they are multiplier certificates! and effectively only offsetting 1% of the targeted 5%)

Like I said this is one confused country when it comes to solar rebates no wonder the installers/suppliers have been faced with rush / bust cycles before and I am sure will continue to in the future. Government really needs to talk to the industry and how it can do it better. I would suggest a small cash rebate, plus the real value of RECS not the multiplier and a national feed in tariff mandated by the federal government- I might have it wrong too but surely anythings better than the mess the industry is in now facing down another bust cycle!

Go to Energy Matters web site for the full version of this chart the Closed state is NSW!

Liberals and Christian Democrats gang up to strip back workers rights

2011-06-03T10:26:00.000+10:00

cartoon from inkcint.

With the ink barely dry on their inaugural speeches, the first 100 days of Liberal party rule in NSW has seen an outrageous attack on the ordinary people of NSW.

Firstly, trying to renege on contracts with people over the Solar Bonus Scheme and now an attack on public sector wages and entitlements.

Speaker of the House and South Coast Member Shelly Hancock an ex teacher at Ulladulla High School knows the difficult work conditions that teachers endure yet she is willing to turn her back on her fraternity and freeze wages.

Kiama member Gareth Ward just gave a maiden speech extolling the virtues of his school teachers is part of the Liberal back bench who will support this wages grab against teachers and police along with many others who will suffer loss of pay conditions that includes penalty rates.

Christian Democrat MLC Paul Green, Mayor of Shoalhaven has also shown his contempt for his industry, nursing, by joining the cross benchers who will support the bill. For anyone who listens to Mayor Green his speeches are always about supporting family- well I would like to ask him how this bill supports families reliant on nursing wages and overtime payments to make ends meet.

Can Mayor Green also tell this community if his plan to support this bill came about through party dealings with the Liberal Party to strengthen Religious Education in schools?

All three of our local MPs talk about the need for policing in our area, better nursing and support for teachers yet they are willing to support this attack on public sector workers so what’s it called people “StealthChoices”, stealing workers’ rights while their noses are to the grind!

Congratulations to the Greens and Labor Party for a long debate which allows us more time to get people informed about what is happening to their pay packet.

Reconciliation Week- Lets Talk Recognition

2011-05-31T12:30:00.000+10:00

Reconciliation week starts every year on the 27 May the anniversary of the referendum of 1967 that saw Aboriginal people gain their rights as Australian citizens. The week finishes on the date that commemorates the Mabo decision a landmark court case in Aboriginal Land Rights.

It was a great pleasure and privilege to this week be able to perform the opening of Sholahven City Councils Reconciliation Week contribution with the Pallingjang - Saltwater exhibition that has been hung in the foyer of the Council administration building at Nowra.

Check out Reconciliation Australias website it has great activities for young people and the young at heart.

This is a copy of the speach I gave for the begining of Reconciliation Week- thanks to input by Margaret Simoes Councils Aboriginal Community Development worker.

Good morning all and welcome to Shoalhaven City Council, It is with the deepest respect that I acknowledge all the Aunts and Uncles, elders past and present custodians of the land on which we gather. I acknowledge the suffering and pain that has occurred in the past and still today with our Aboriginal sisters and brothers in the Northern Territory and Torres Strait. I welcome all Aboriginal people here and value your contribution to contemporary life and your commitment to passing on your unique and ancient cultural heritage.

• It’s a great pleasure and privilege to open The Pallingjang- Saltwater 2009 Exhibition as part of Councils contribution to Reconciliation Week. This years theme “Lets Talk Recognition” gives us all an opportunity to yarn about our hopes and aspirations. To recognise and acknowledge the contribution Aborignal people have made to Australian, and particularly to the Shoalhaven. We need to make sure that topics such as Constitutional Recognition and a Treaty are given the opportunity to be front and centre.

• I would like to start that conversation by saying that I hope we can gather here again to continue to build strong and trusting relationships, not just in Reconciliation Week, but ongoing throughout the year.

• Australia has seen 44 referendums with only 8 of them carried- making the 1967 referendum monumental for Aboriginal People and reflects the sentiment of the nation. It is imperative that we work together for the outcome that Aboriginal people desire not that of the state.

• I see this exhibition as a way to build relationships within our community. Many people pass through the doors of this building who might not ordinarily go to a gallery. Surely they will be struck as I was when I first saw the collection hung and be drawn to stop, breath for a moment and admire the visual feast before them.

• I acknowledge the significance of the Aboriginal name ‘Pallingjang’ meaning ‘saltwater’ in Tharawal language; it is a fitting name for works from the coast. Some of the works you can see the coastal inspiration reflected.

• The Exhibition, originally curated by Wollongong City Gallery in 2009, recognises local Aboriginal knowledge, traditionally translated orally, that now has been transferred into something visual.

• While the Pallingjang - Saltwater 2009 included artists from the entire South Coast Region, the artworks selected for this Reconciliation Week Exhibition presents six artists from the immediate Shoalhaven area:

o Julie Freeman,

o Loretta Parsley,

o Steven Russell,

o Mally Smart,

o Jodie Stewart and

o Phyllis Stewart.

• Thank you all for sharing your works with us, I know the feeling of having a little piece of you on exhibition for all to see- it creates a certain type of nerves, excitement and apprehension all rolled into one.

• Since 1995 the Pallingjang project has provided a forum for the exploration of local and South Coast Aboriginal art and culture.

• The project has developed and evolved over the years through an insistence on consultation and collaboration and through the concerted effort, contributions and dedication of the many artists, curators and Wollongong City Gallery staff who have worked on the project.

• I would like to officially launch the Pallingjang – Saltwater 2009 Exhibition in as part of our celebration for Reconciliation Week. I hope that this years Reconciliation Week gets the important conversations fired up.

Thank you and please join me for morning tea.

Husky Tattoo Shop- called in by Council

2011-05-23T09:58:00.000+10:00

So lets get things straight. I don't have anything against Tattoos or Tattoo parlours OK. Most of my friends have ink and when Ulladulla had a parlour it wasn't a seedy joint- just a bloke having a go at what he did well. Tattoos are no longer the mark of sailors, whores or tribal folk but a modern day expression of wearable art.

Ancient and tribal art.

Modern day works of art thanks to Angel Wings Tattoo web site.

So with that said- why did I 'call in ' for the determination of Council an application for a Tattoo parlour at Husky? Firstly its my job- community have concerns over the application its my duty to address the concerns and the best way to address them is to have the application scrutinized by the Council. For if the application suits the zoning, crosses all the Ts and Dots the Is then there really shouldn't be a problem.

For the applicant it slows down the process a little as it has to go to development committee and to full Council, but in Tim Fletchers words 'At the end of the day' if the applicant has done all the right things can hold his head high and say his application was put under maximum scrutiny and passed the test.

As for me- well I don't think I will be the first customer at the new parlour if it gets the go ahead- I like my ink free body just the way it is at the moment thanks very much.

Tallowa Pipeline- Stealing water from Shoalhaven for a Uranium Mine WTF!

2011-05-23T09:36:00.000+10:00

Last Tuesday council agreed to support my motion condemning the Tallowa Pipeline proposal. This idea has been around for a little while now as it first came to my attention at the beginning of 2010 when it was supposed to solve the problem of dry western towns like Cobar- by pumping the water that goes over the spill way out west. In its most recent incarnation the Tallowa Pipe Line Proposal is suppose to send Shoalhaven water via the Murray Darling to Roxby Downs and the Olympic Dam mining project.

Tallowa with its newly constructed fish lift thanks to Sydney Catchment Authority

Rally on previous plans to pipe water and lift the height of the wall thanks to SMH

So I thought it was time to act- Mr Smith needs to know now that the people of Shoalhaven are very hostile towards his idea and its time he just dropped the notion.

For sending rivers inland is not a new ideas people have been trying it for thousands of years and all we manage to do is to destroy ecosystems and build communities on an unsustainable water source.

The water that over tops the Tallowa dam or gets let out is for environmental flows that the river depends on for its own resilience and yes here it is....with the effects of climate change meaning that we will have drier spells ahead we need to place even more value on the resilience of the river and of course the need for it to serve humanity.

There are so many organisms within the Shoalhaven ecosystem that are reliant on fresh water as well as salt for their growth and reproduction- just ask the oyster growers association if they would appreciate their lively hoods messed with by taking the so called 'extra' water.

One Councillor Nigel Soames declared my motion UN Australian for not sharing water with others who needed it- Clr Soames last time I checked Australia was acting pretty un Australian towards asylum seekers so that is totally the wrong argument for me! Maybe if Clr Soames turned up to more of Council briefings and meeting etc he would get a much better grip on reality.

I did an interview with WIN TV on the issue which aired on Thursday night so at least the issue has got an airing beyond the Shoalhaven.

Politicians far and wide will be receiving a letter soon from Council not supporting the proposal and so to will the Murray -Darling Basin authority- so hopefully for now the issue has been drowned :)

Me, Myself, I

2011-05-08T14:37:00.000+10:00

When I take a break from blogging there is always a reason and the last few months have been a frenzy of activity -from elections, to day to day Council, returning to study after a six month break, family and of course the farm.
The farm and family end up at the bottom of the priority list basically because they are the most self sufficient and supported part of the mix.
Thank goodness for family my mum for feeding the youngsters and poppy for feeding the cows when its just not going to happen.
The pace of life is a bit hectic but I can feel the slowing -down -for -winter sensation seeping in with the cold nights I hope I'm not kidding myself too much.
Today I'm in Balmain and attending the bi-monthly Greens conference, the first since the State election. The debate is passionate the topics hot but respect is maintained and people are sticking to the rules of not attacking people. I volunteered to facilitate a fairly feisty session with a record number of delegates attending and observers- It was exhilarating keeping up with the hands raised to go on the speakers list while following the conversations and working the meeting forward.
I value these times as they really are a training ground for managing process. I think though that I need to be more across the constitution but that's something that will have to wait a while with the end of the university semester looming.

I cant believe that there is only 4 or so weeks to go and all the major works due- so its time to read read read as I immerse myself in literature and the NT Intervention.

Fun days ahead........

Local Government and Shires Association give The Greens a thumbs up!

2011-03-11T15:12:00.000+11:00

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul- rebate wont work in the long run!

2011-03-06T22:11:00.000+11:00

South Coast Greens candidate Amanda Findley has criticised the two old parties for offering the electorate a $250 bribe just before the election in the form of an energy rebate.

“Bribing the electorate with a $250 rebate is robbing Peter to pay Paul and in the long run does nothing to ease household budget pressure” said Amanda.

‘It shows that the two old parties have nothing new to offer people in long term reduction of their costs’

The Greens want to tackle the cause of rising household expenses, not paint over the cracks and working with the people of NSW is a great place to start.

State Labor are forcing up electricity costs through privatisation and costly network upgrades that in some instances can be rendered unnecessary.

People need assistance in reducing the amount of electricity they use and support for efficiency gains.

The capacity of households to make savings is well demonstrated by Sydney's history of water consumption. Over the past twenty years, population has grown by 25% while total consumption has remained almost constant. There is still plenty of room for more savings.

‘Shoalhaven Water hasn’t had to increase the size of some of the water mains because people have changed their water demands making upgrades unnecessary’ said Amanda.

Reducing the amount of electricity used in a household has a direct effect on the wallet and doesn’t mean that a family has to sit in the dark.

“Some regional areas have opportunities to take power generation into their own hands with community wind projects delivering power direct and saving on expensive upgrades to the distribution networks”.

The Greens would reduce the $17.9billion Labor spend on unnecessary upgrades by $7.5billion and share these savings amongst households and business for low interest loans for energy efficient technology.

I Love a Sunburnt Country- a new version for climate change skeptics

2011-02-06T16:40:00.000+11:00

By Judy Horacek - from her newsletter etc

I love a sunburnt country

Posted on: February 4, 2011

It really got on my goat during the floods that people kept quoting Dorothy Mackellar’s My Country as proof that there is no such thing as climate change. A poem written more than 100 years ago by a homesick 19 year old versus an ever-increasing body of refereed scientific thought…hmm, hard to know which way to jump really.

Nothing against Ms Mackellar herself, whose original poem has brought much joy to many over the years – it’s not her fault her work is being used by the dark forces of denial. But in view of our current circumstances, some updating was obviously required. So here’s my version:

I love a sunburnt country

A land of sweeping plains

Of climate change deniers

Of droughts and flooding rains,

Of bleaching coral reefs

In oceans that are warming –

making cyclones rage through towns

and huge fires go a-storming.

I love her coal industry lobbyists,

I love her rightwing jocks –

either choosing wilful ignorance

or lying through their socks.

I love her weak politicians,

heads firmly in the sand –

‘the greatest moral challenge’

has pretty much been canned.

I weep for what will happen,

And wonder where it ends

Watching scenes of great destruction,

untold damage, death of friends.

I love her far horizons

with their burnt or ripped-up trees,

her vulnerability and our terror –

the wide-brown land for me.

Shoalhaven Schools NOT for Sale

2011-01-31T20:11:00.000+11:00

NSW Schools under threat from land use zoning changes.

Shoalhaven Schools Not for Sale

"The Greens are not prepared to stand by and watch our schools, hospitals, halls, churches, parks or any other public facilities that the Department of Planning wants to rezone for residential purposes sold off to the higher bidder" says Greens Candidate for the South Coast Amanda Findley.

"Land was set aside for the community generations ago and zoned in such a way as to make it very difficult to sell off for other purposes. Now the government wants to remove any impediments so that it can cash in on the increased land value these precious community assets tie up.

"The selling off of special use land assets to the highest bidder, usually for residential development, is short sighted and does nothing for planning for infrastructure needs into the future. It sets the state up for infrastructure failure and high cost land buy backs" she said.

"Should the Coalition be successful in forming government after the State election in March the Labor party are handing them all the right circumstances and excuses to move quickly to sell off property. I have no confidence that either major party will be interested in protecting special use land for hospitals and schools if the development lobby comes knocking. Across the state councils are being ordered to rezone this type of land - a diabolical plan to remove protection and snatch assets for quick sale.

" The draft Shoalhaven Local Environment Plan is very close to being released for public exhibition and we need our residents to scrutinise the maps and make a submission telling the Department of Planning that we say NO to having zoning protection removed from our public properties.

" In other areas rezoning of public facilities has taken place with little or no recognition of the consequences of zoning schools and hospital grounds as a part of the residential area.

" In Shellharbour for example over 30 properties that include schools, railways, police, churches and childcare centres have been rezoned for residential or business use.

" This is a real problem on more than one level for not only does it block public participation when it comes to rezoning public facilities but it also opens the way for any incoming state government to start selling land that was previously unavailable. The Greens will protect public land by reinstituting zoning which protects public infrastructure and instituting a parliamentary process for any sale of public assets in NSW" Ms Findley says.

"We need to send the message loud and clear that we want public facilities protected from redevelopment. We want our Council to boycott the demands of the Department of Planning and we want a policy commitment from all parties to reverse this diabolical grab for public assets".

Tax isn't the problem: Equity and Distribution is.

2011-01-30T09:19:00.000+11:00

The mere word TAX can send some into a ranting fit but we cant forget the daily benefits that tax brings us. Free education, income support, health care, water and waste services, roads just to name a few.

Car tax isn't an altogether appalling idea but how should the money raised be spent? Regional people need roads that are safe, safety programs for young drivers and more importantly we need money directed to a public transport system that will ensure that rising fuel costs do not further isolate us.

Rising fuel costs are not a thing of the past and as 'peak oil' comes into play we are in for some severe oil shocks. On average regional people pay more at the bowser and often private car travel is the only transport option available so there needs to be action to address regional inequity.

Talking to unemployed young people on the South Coast they cant afford to buy a car let alone fuel one and the transport options are so poor that getting to a place of higher education such as TAFE or University is impossible unless you can hitch a ride. At least with pensioners the option for community transport is available- this service has seen a real rise in demand. When Shoalhaven City Council surveyed the needs of the city transport was the most mentioned service gap.

Simply if you can afford a large vehicle such as a 4x4 you should be able to afford more tax. 4x4s in particular use more fuel, put more pressure on ageing and failing roads and don't necessarily offer more safety. Most of the 4x4s I see are in the morning driven by mums dropping children at school and would rarely make it off road. Our family have two of these vehicles in our driveway- mine spends 80% of its time driving on a highway.

So if all the funds of a car tax were spent on improving Sydney's public transport system that would compound the distribution of wealth problems faced by regional dwellers. It could have a net benefit effect for the state, moving the most people in the most efficient manner- improving workplace productivity and take pressure of the roads- but tax needs to be about equity and we need to stop complaining about it and engage in constructive criticism of its distribution.
The axe the tax campaign is a typical reactionary position that we will see more of as the State Election campaign ramps up over the coming weeks, trying to win electoral favour without analysis of the deeper problem.

4x4s at work on the swings and roundabouts of tax, pay more, claim as a business expense- contribute less

Two Nights in an Activists camp - Eden NSW

2011-01-22T19:10:00.000+11:00

We decided to spend two nights this week down at Eden with the group of activists who have been directly standing up to the woodchiping industry and the operation of the South East Fibre Exports woodchip mill and loading facility at Eden.

Along with our family we had a friend and five additional kids ten of us in total. The young people are keen to save our native animals and plants.

During the last week I have been asked the question- why protest-why participate in actions?
So I thought I should try and articulate what my thoughts are on the issue.

Woodchipping is a crime.

It directly contributes to the extinction of plants and animals.
Its a waste of valuable forest resources which should be nurtured to help Australia combat climate change.

It is unnessecary to cut down trees to make paper and cardboard products when we could be creating an alternative and local fibre industry.

We spend millions asking other countries to stop logging their native forests yet we are unwilling to do it ourselves.

'OUR' tax dollars are propping up an industry that is not profitable.

We need to leave something in reserve for future generations.

There are other points to be made but you get the picture.

Activism comes in many forms for many signing a petition, making a $ $ donation, attending a rallly are the limit.

I decided to take my action via the political process as I thought I could make a difference.

Some take up the cause at the 'front line' risking their lives, getting arrested, being subjected to violence and harrasment.

All these forms of protest are valid and needed to make sure that the issues around a 'cause' are making it into the mainstream, into peoples everyday as some are easily brushed over and lost in the dross.

Sometimes the only way to get attention is to conduct actions that make the headlines and that is exactly the intention of the crew that assembled in Eden this week.

Monday: a tripod was raised on the road and stopped the unloading of log trucks for 13 hours creating a que of trucks that backed up to the Princes Hwy and beyond.

Wednesday: Tripod raised again and work stopped for more than 3 hours.

Those at the tripod on Wednesday were assaulted by truck drivers. Mill workers also attempted to harass people camped nearby by trying to blockade them from leaving.

Thursday: A peacefull game of cricket at the entrance to the mill-play often stopped to allow log trucks to pass

Friday: 4 arrestted- two of which had been locked on to loaders - meaning the mill was seroiusly disrupted.

Timber industry workers were made aware that their industry is a damaging one and that people aren't scared to make a statement and take the industry on.

So were did we fit in the picture- hopefully we provided moral support at least letting those willing to go hard know that others do care about the issue.

We exposed friends and children to people they may not normally meet- an education for them to find people who are passionate about the forest issue and understand deeply the importance of its existance.

An education for us to talk to others and to retell their story to others unable to make it.
To do the best we can to make sure that the issue is not forgotten, spreading the word etc.
So if you happen to be reading this and find it interesting-SHARE IT on especially to people who dont have a clue that the 'Forest Wars' exist and that people are making courageous up front decsions every day to put their selves on the line.

To the 'forest ferals' that I met-I salute you all and am committed to doing my bit in this battle to stop the stupidity that is woodchipping.

Holiday Blog thanks

2011-01-22T16:23:00.000+11:00

So thanks to all of you who put up with reading the holiday blog with all of the spelling mistakes etc.
It was more challengeing than I thought to sit on a bus bouncing along at 80klms and trying to type quickly while still in range on a mobile phone. So what you got was a product of the circumstances less photos- seems I need to download some thingy majig to allow photo uploading...but in the meantime its back to this parallel universe that is not holiday land.

Harris Lake is it a meteorite site?

2011-01-12T10:55:00.000+11:00

Yarrie Lake appears to be perfectly round and apparently is dish shaped with the centre a mere 2m deep. It has a lovely fine sandy bottom and milky water which must be a clay suspension that comes from somewhere in it's catchment but not the immediate area as it is red dirt country. The locals swear by the bouncing meteorite theory as there are two other holes nearby that are supposed to have formed by the same event. It is a terrific place to stop but should be avoided on the weekends when it is populated by the local water skiing community. It is regulated camping but the sues are spread out so it is very private and makes you feel secluded. It rained most of one of the days we were there but that didnt stop us from swimming and hanging out by the camp fire with our projects. What we didn't know was that as we were relaxing in a light rain parts of Queensland were being hammered by torrential rain that caused flash flooding. All around us during this trip have been signs of lots of rain. The landscape is green and the humidity high were it would normally be very dry. The new growth on trees and shrubs is almost fluorescent green and with all the vegetative abundance has come an abundance of insect life. Butterflies of all shapes and colors have been most noticeable for me and I wish I had packed the identification book which gives field notes on their feeding habits.
We are a good bunch of travellers - easy to get along with- good company- good cooks for we have had some amazing camp dinners all cooked in the camp oven.

Part 4

2011-01-11T13:13:00.000+11:00

The Warrunbungle campsite was almost deserted and we worked out that it was to do with the heat that you would normally experience but we have been extremely lucky with weather and avoided all the storms that have been rocking other parts of the state.
We enjoyed the Siding Springs observatory and it sparked another vibrant campfire discussion- I think that the concept of space has a habit of inspiring big conversations. The size of th telescope was incredible and to think that 2.5 grams if aluminum was used to replace the massive reflective surface annually makes you wonder at applied science.
Piliga nature reserve was waiting for us and some quick decision making meant camping at the sculpture site at Dandry Gorge. Once again there was water in the creek which was a classic sandy normally dry river bed with gum trees along the edge. It was a mixed forest with cypress in the mix. The sculpture walk was amazing in it's location and artistic interpretations. The gorge was just as impressive and would have been well worth a visit if the sculptures were not installed. The Piliga Nature Reserve looks like a great place to come mountain biking in cooler weather to explore some of the forest tracks available. It would be nice to longer longer but time is starting to put pressure on and there are still a few spots we would like to get to for a camp and quick explore.

Holidays part 3

2011-01-11T12:31:00.000+11:00

Getting our man down felt like a huge effort so we stayed at the picnic grounds for lunch. Out injured man wasn't up for a big drive as he was in a lot of pain so we stopped in Doona State forest near Coonan.
It was fantastic to see this small remote community rallied and organized to say no to coal. When we made camp in the forest a security guard payed us a visit to tell us that we were camped in the middle of some exploration tran-sects that made up a grid looking for coal and gas and that security was keeping an eye on the machinery they were using. He must have been concerned by a bus load of ferals turning up in 'his' forest.
We were more concerned about the well wing of our injured man at that moment, but we had a lively camp fire conversation about coal and the damage of mining. We did see a wild Koala and I don't ever recall being in a place that supported wild Koalas so I claimed it as my first.

We moved on to Coonabarabran and stopped for a quick geology lesson at Crystal Kingdom, which was a small geology display that highlighted the features of the Warrunbungles which was our next spot to camp. It was interesting to see the local crystals from ancient volcanic actions and gave us a little understanding of the area we were heading to.
The Warrunbungles were spectacular and luckily for us the weather was mild enough to undertake some of the walks available Mick was the most adventurous and went to the grand high tops walk after completing the tor circuit with us less speedy walkers. We copped well enough but should have started the walk much earlier than we did. There was water in the campsite creek for us to wallow in and bring the body temperatures back to manageable level. I did the swamp walk circuit which was a bit of a challenge for someone who likes to admire swamps from a boardwalk as I much prefer forest walking.

Holidays part two

2011-01-06T18:54:00.000+11:00

As we descended from the plateau the landscape changed rapidly. Passing through a pine forest the bus went dark and the sounds of birds went quiet after we had been serenaded by bell birds. It is a peculiar land holding at Barrington with state forests still 'managing 'land alongside the national park. Private property coming out of the Park is also bizarre as it is so steep that farming would be an almost useless pass time but still some time ago some one thought it could be a profitable enterprise.
We marvelled at the landscape around us with many ohs and ahhs. Scone was waiting for us to refill the camp larder a d to make sure we were heading in the right direction for Washpools camping area. A pretty spot that lays beneath a sandstone bluff that is part of the Towarri National Park. Camp cricket was the hit and so was the swim in the lovely shaded swimming holes that we washed off in after the exertion of a few rounds. We explored around the creek but decided to head of the next morning for a new camp spot with a side visit to the burning mountain. We practiced our survival/ retrieval skills when one of our crew went down with a pulled muscle. It was a good trial to prove to ourselves that if things did happen to go really pear shaped that we had the skills and ability to get our person back down to camp. It was a good kilometer in steep terrain and we placed our patient on a camp bed fortified with carrying poles.

Summer Holidays are great

2011-01-05T14:51:00.000+11:00

My eldest daughter was born on 3 January, for at least the last fi e years we have t celebrated one at home as we have decided to go for a summer adventure. This years adventure started at Black Bulga in south Barrington on a friends property. Teased by the 'did I tell you I have two rivers' how could we resist. A few days of unwinding the pre Xmas coil and we were all feeling refreshed and ready to move on ( mind you we could had stayed and demanded squatters rights.
We headed on up to Barrington Tops and found a nice camp at Little Murray Creek right up on the plateau in the sub- alpine swamp lands. The forest was amazing snow gums with an understory of huge and most likely ancient tree ferns. The alpine meadows were alive with movement sound and color. The wildflowers provided a dense feeding ground for all sorts of creatures but the most visual being the butterflies. Frogs were almost deafening at night time- apart from the first night were we witnessed the most spectular and longest lightening storm I have ever seen. The bolts seemed to split the sky into two color zones the after burn on your eyes made it feel as though a black bolt had also struck. They broke apart like phosphorescence leaving a trail of fairy dust. I imagine that the super sonic crack of the thunder was as if the universe was creating an opening for us all to fall through. We all felt so close to the stars that our imagination was having a great time for the clouds had swallowed us up at the beginning of the storm.
We spent the next day exploring Junction Pools and the walking tracks around the swamp.

Red Head Villages Association meet with Department of Planning

2010-12-18T09:13:00.000+11:00

Today's meeting of the Department of Planning, The Red Head Villages Association, Councillors and Council staff I believe was a first and in my opinion was an integral part of breaking down communication barriers that exist.

Regional director Brett Whitworth travelled to the seaside village of Manyana to address the concerns raised by the association in regards to Caravan park/ Manufactured home parks development and the departments approach to the sensitive urban lands review in the upcoming Local Environment Plan changes.

The local environment plan review has been underway for at least 3 years and is premised on an administrative change over that sees current zones swapped over to new zones that are as similar as is possible within the context of reducing zone types from +50 down to +20.

Shoalhavens reputation as a developer friendly spot rezoning city has many people suspicious of the zoning changes. The community consultative groups from across the city have gathered together and created a Local Environment Review Group to try and start making sense of the draft before it gets on exhibition-problem is that the draft comes without the relevant maps which will not be available until the exhibition period starts proper.

So as a community we are nervous about the expansion of manufactured home estates throughout the region as it is the last thing we need to compound some of the problems we face with aging and missing infrastructure and the lack of sustainability that this type of so called 'affordable housing' supports.

The Department of Plannings representative did not give us the unequivocal answers that we wanted but there was a great sign of relief to know that the relevant state environment planning policy's (21 and 36) relating to caravan parks and manufactured homes have been tagged for priority review. Brett Whitworth indicated that he favoured a site compatibility certificate which would help weed out the really speculative proposals.

The Red Head Villages Association executive are a well prepared group of people, who have spent an extraordinary amount of time getting to know and understand the local environment planned changes. I think they understand it more than some of the Councillors do. They have weighed up the implications and asked the serious questions-it is a rare day that the bureaucracy's meets with the people to at least understand their perspective. For me it was a pleasure and honour to facilitate the meeting and represent the people of my ward in a forum that is surely a first.

Cancun Climate Talks- an Epic fail?

2010-12-13T18:07:00.000+11:00

Monday mornings are often contemplative for me as I enjoy the remnants of the weekend mixed in with the diary review of the week ahead.

My thoughts this morning turned to the Cancun climate talks, which in my opinion have been missing in action in the media that I generally enjoy (mostly radio and online) or else I have been like world leaders and put my head in the sand when it comes to the issue of Climate Change.

I dont think my head is in the sand at all- I feel as though I have moved through the stages of mourning for a world in climate chaos- from anger and disbelief onto acceptance and hope, but it is the moments of lack of action that send you packing back down the scale to depression-almost to despair.

Last year when the Copenhagen talks happened just before Christmas, I felt as did many an air of expectance, that surely there had been a level of maturity reached in the conversation that no one could possibly deny firm action and yet the world came away from the talks no firmer in its will to do something!

No wonder then this years talks are a little of the radar, like a child avoiding punishment who could lay blame for not wanting to turn up to once again 'COP a flogging'.

The outcome recieved without fanfare includes a

Green Climate Fund to support money transfer from first world to majority world to adapt to climate change.

A technology executive to get green technology transfer to those who need it.

A commitment to cease clear fell deforestation- It is this one that I find so woeful on a local level.

With deforestation (aka Forestry) contributing up to 120Mt CO2 per annum in Australia we are well placed to make an easy and popular decision to start tackling emission by ceasing to harvest native forest and make sure that plantation timber is a carbon neutral industry- creating green jobs in the process.

Yet the very agreement from Cancun that Australia signed up to exclude our home grown industry- seems that Colonial attitudes still abound that our forests are not as valuable as rainforest in tropical locations. Our forests provide essential natural services and are excellent carbon sinks.

So rather than vent my entire spleen here my course of action for the week goes something like this.
Contemplate and try hard not to dwell. Continue to talk about climate change it is the biggest issue of our time and no one should think they have the excuse to say 'but I didnt know'. Work on resiliance for my family-grow more food- install more solar. Remain focused on getting a community wind project realised.

Climate Camp 2010-

2010-12-06T21:58:00.000+11:00

On the fence

or on the track . All united to stop run away climate change

Climate Camp 2010 an absolute success.

I had the great pleasure to attend Sundays direct action @ Lake Liddell - a man made lake that feeds water to the Bayswater coal powered generator.

For me- not only participating in my own small way was empowering-but spending the time quietly listening to the stories of people assembled. Some of them telling their stories as official speakers others in conversation with friends, stories about climate change, hope and renewal.

The event was populated with mostly young people which by itself is inspirational as they are taking action into their own hands and not waiting for anyone else to express their desires for a safer world.

Recent media once again reiterated that current climate change indicators are trending way beyond the limits of climate models. With the pace of warming we can expect an increase of global temperatures of 6-7 degrees-which is a catastrophic warming which is extincting species on the plant already at a pace that outstrips historic mass extinctions.

We are a society hell bent on our own destruction.

Bayswater was a significant site in the lead up to State Government announcement which will see Bayswater B awarded to some electricity supplier who will invest billions in more pollution when the solution is renewable energy.

Renewable's are not a green fantasy but an imperative if we are pull anything from the wreckage of climate change.

Beyond Zero Emissions have been moving from state to state presenting their Zero Carbon Australia Stationary energy Plan which clearly outlines our renewable future. Read at least the executive summary to be convinced that it is possible and we have the technology now.

So the 70 plus people arrested during yesterdays action will have to deal with the system of law, but where is the accountability on reckless government leading us helter skelter to climate catastrophe.Without direct actions helping the message cut through, political webs will continue to make poor decisions that effect us now and well into the future.

Glad I took the drive in my bio fuel driven vehicle to be part of the message and to be re-inspired and hope filled-thanks people-you truly are specially amazing.

Assulted and Insulted by Local Developer

2010-12-02T17:36:00.000+11:00

Today the Joint Regional Planning Panel gave approval for the master plan for Claydon Park Retirement Complex ( see previous blog).

I look for silver linings and appreciated the recommendation that came from the panel that tied the development of the Residential High Care Facility to the second stage of the development rather than the fourth stage. The removal of the high care facility from the first stage in the original concept had raised suspicion amongst the community that it would never be delivered.

The second stage of the development brings online a large portion of the self care home sites.

The panel had taken the time to check out the location and consider the context of the development and the pressure that would be on the local hospital and existing high care facilities especially when it comes to palliative care.

As I was leaving the meeting the developer David Matthew approached me grabbed my arm and started to aggressively accuse me of not representing the community and for not coming to see him to discuss the plans, he slapped my chest twice with the back of his hand while telling me that I had sensationalised the issues without giving him the chance to address.

In my opinion Mr Matthew was certainly well supported with at least 4 people speaking in favour of his development.

To say that I was not representing my community is a gross insult. I represented the people who didn't agree with Mr Matthew's point of view- and he shouldn't expect that all people will be on his side during the journey.

It must have upset him greatly to have such a reaction from him- maybe he didn't approve of the high care facility being brought forward.

Now we as a community will await the development applications as they come in for each stage and give our response to Council.

Claydon Park Retirement Living and the Joint Regional Planning Panel

2010-12-01T10:29:00.000+11:00

Tomorrow the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) will deliberate an outcome for the Claydon Park Retirement Complex a master planned village which will be home to 260 self care dwellings and an 80 bed residential care facility.

The proposal sits on Class 1 agricultural land next to the village of Milton at the bottom of the hill.

Council is supporting the application, but I believe that they haven't looked at the application in a strategic context for projected retirement living already planned for the area. This will be one of the points I will make in a presentation to the JRPP.

The proponent of this development has been working on this project for many years and has in my opinion given the town 'developer fatigue'-where he started out with a plan that was completely hideous, moved on to a manufactured homes park and then has turned out this proposal covered in real estate gloss promising a complex that will have everything a resident will ever need including a boutique dairy to produce ice cream, fruit and nut groves and a well being centre.

Sounds appealing- but the likelihood of it ever coming to fruition is again in my opinion very slim. I think this way because this developer gave glamorous undertakings for one of his in town projects and has subsequently put the land with its plans on the market with a substantial mark up from the original purchase price. There was also the promise of the high care facility being the immediate need and therefore stage one. For the first project gone are the promises of artisans using quality materials to build unique terrace homes with a quality retail element. This mode of operation can be seen all across NSW.

what is in the pipeline for aged care across Milton area

A recent extension to the existing retirement village.

An approved 80 bed high care facility just 5klms down the road.

A rezoning of 30hect to allow for retirement living (on more marginal agricultural land) again within 5 klms of the village.

Extra home care packages for people who wish to stay at home.

what is needed

More palliative care and the staff to operate.

Better planning so that smaller retirement units are clustered within existing residential areas giving older people a real connection to community.

Pressure from state government for those care packages that have been released but not in use to be activated.

Most Coastal towns and villages are heading in the direction of having more than 60% of their population over 60, we have a real challenge and obligation as planners to make sure that any new homes built today have doors and hallways wide enough for wheel chairs, reinforced walls for railings in bathrooms and at least one entry to the home accessible without stairs-you get the picture-just basic changes for adaptable housing. Adaptable Housing was not supported by Councillors as the cost made homes not affordable. It is far more affordable to prepare for change at the outset of a project than to retrofit a poorly designed house. If more buildings used higher standards it would soon be accepted as the norm.

The other challenge/obligation is to not forget that vibrant and functional communities are blended with all ages and stages not dense clusters of one archetype-this type of social engineering has failed before and will be destined to fail again as we just don't seem to learn from some of our mistakes.

We have to make provisions for our young people who are ending up not only in the minority but also without a voice.

So I'm of to prepare some speaking notes for tomorrows panel and try my best to convince them that this project is speculative, doesn't meet demand, and shouldn't be abusing the State Environment Planning Policy SEPP (Housing for Seniors or People with a Disability) 2004

Lake Conjola and Community representation.

2010-11-29T14:09:00.000+11:00

Photo Courtesy of DIPNR: Note the sand spit which is the favoured
nesting site for visiting shore birds.

Last Thursday the Southern Natural Resources and Flood Plain management Committee made the decision to delay any action in regards to opening Lake Conjola.

The bulldozers were due to start work this morning to cut a channel to open the lake to the sea.

The committee came to a consensus decision that spending the meagre budget to open Lake Conjola at this point in time would not only be a waste of money but a serious imposition on the nesting endangered shorebirds ( Little Terns), and likely to fail given the low volume of water in the catchment.

Opening a lake is more likely to have a sustained effect if there is a good head of flood water behind the entrance cut to help force away the gazillions of tonnes of sand that have migrated via tidal forces to the northern end of the beach.

The opening of Lake Conjola is a hot button issue that sparks all sorts of reactions particularly on the lead up to Christmas holidays- so to come to this decision was not just logical but could even be expressed as monumental and proves that community does have the capacity to make decisions that may go against a preferred policy position but are the most beneficial given the circumstance.

Lake Conjola's entrance management plan has always sought to keep the Lake opened as it used to be an unsewered area and was subject to rogue spills in the catchment. It is also a low lying area that is flood prone. Since the development of the policy the sewer has been put on reducing the risk of human waste entering the system. Floods however can not be planned for or manipulated. The current position taken by the committee makes sure that if the threat of flood is imminent then the lake can be opened.

Natural Burials in the Shoalhaven

2010-11-19T15:13:00.000+11:00

My request for a report and feasability study for natural burials in Shoalhaven has lead to a trial for two years.

Council have set aside a portion of the main cemetry at Nowra to accomodate natural burials- the move has been well recieved by berevment services across the city who see it as a progressive move.

heres what Council had to say in its press release.

Shoalhaven Council resolved at its last meeting to approve a trial Natural Burial Portion at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens.

The 24 month trial is to determine the community’s reaction to the concept which is a growing trend throughout the world.

The term Natural Burials refers to the management of the deceased body using more traditional and natural methods.

This usually means the body is covered in a shroud and buried in an environmentally friendly box made of cardboard or organic materials such as wicker or plantation timber enabling a natural decomposition that then nourishes the earth.

After interment, a natural burial would see the ground restored to its natural state as soon as possible, as the grave would be marked with a rock or natural shrub rather than a monument.

The land set aside for natural burial could then be used for alternative, but appropriate purposes in the future.

All practices involved with natural burials must comply with the NSW Public Health Regulation (Disposal of Bodies 2000).

This sustainable funeral practice dates back thousands of years but has been interrupted in modern times by technological advances, however since the 1990’s there has been an increasing popularity in this greener alternative.

I hope that people catch on to the idea of natural burial as it is certainly a alternative to spreading ashes in different locations ( I think that this is also a great method of ritual ).

Please Weed, Proetct Biodiversity, Build Resilience

2010-10-31T22:18:00.000+11:00

One of the first things I did today was put a new blade in my trusty pocket saw a sleek Wolf Garten that has assisted in many murders-of Privet and Lantana. I topped up my poison bottle and headed of to the gully prepared to do real damage.

Its a funny thing going to 'war' with plants for the real agenda is building resilience. The little patch I've been working on for the last 7 years with lots of help from friends and relatives is showing signs of greater resilience and today's expedition was a real treat.

The first sounds when entering the patch was the fantastic calls of whip birds I find them kind of elusive as their big sounds lead you on a bizarre meander in search of the utterer. I put my head down and got to work- close to the soft brown earth that was alive with all sorts of creatures going about their business and even though I was creating a path of destruction little brown birds or lbb's and blue wrens were curious enough to come and check it out. I think they like the disturbance as it produces things they like to eat.

The perfume from the Privet was overwhelming but the best bit about working during flowering is the ability to search and destroy - so it is well worth the immersion if your body can stand it.

I found myself in all sorts of weird positions as the creek bank was very steep but the best position was the base of a Koda tree that was getting close to blooming. Unfortunately Honeysuckle had decided to try and squeeze the life out of it. I set to work at the base and chopped honeysuckle coils that were as thick as bananas I was obsessed with releasing the tree from its bonds it was as though the struggle of the tree became the metaphor for what has been happening around me- but this time I was in control, I could take direct and firm action- not waiting for decisions to be made on my behalf. I was going to improve the chances of survival in an uncertain world.

Coming to the end of the task I laughed aloud to whatever was listening, joyful and empowered I felt a little like Harry from Carey's- Bliss who had overcome the weeds and planted the nectar trees for the love of Honey. Successful in building resilience and supporting biodiversity on which we depend.

Boundabah Creek maybe a Privet central but today's efforts unveiled tree frens, young Eucs, a special Lilly that is at its most northern reaches , and a Koda free from the bonds of honeysuckle a day of protecting biodiversity, a day of renewal from weary battles that feel as if they have no relevance in a dying world.

I left behind the ticks and leaches and was rewarded with a cup of tea and a garden salad with crunchy asparagus fresh baby beets and the words ringing in my ears- Please Weed, protect biodiversity, build resilience.

NSW Takes step towards cleaner politics

2010-10-28T16:46:00.000+11:00

Media Release

John Kaye MLC

Greens NSW MP

28 October 2010

NSW takes step towards cleaner politics

Negotiations between the Greens and the Keneally government have produced an election funding and donations reform package that will significantly reduce the impacts of big money on politics in this state, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

Dr Kaye said: "The final package is far from perfect but it is much better than the current laws. It creates a starting point for driving money politics out of NSW.

"It can now pass through the Upper House with the combined votes of Labor and the Greens who together can form a majority.

"We spoke to the Coalition but there was little progress that could be made with parties that are expecting a flood of corporate donations for the March 2011 election.

"The outcome is a big step forward but we were unable to convince Labor on a ban on all corporate donations, smaller caps on expenditure and a more effective model for restricting third parties.

"The package provides a public election campaign funding model that will protect political diversity.

"Labor met us half way by abandoning their original tiered campaign finance model which would have destroyed new and emerging parties and locked in power for the Coalition and Labor.

"The new progressive tiered funding model and start-up money for new parties will maintain a dynamic political landscape that will allow new ideas to be tested before the voters.

"While the new public funding model will not deliver a significant increase in campaign funding for the Greens, it will allow smaller parties the opportunity to put their case to the people of NSW.

"We would have preferred more progress on key areas of corporate donations, caps and third parties but we believe that this is the best that can be achieved at this time.

"This is only a first step and there will be an on-going need for reform until corporate money politics are driven out of this state.

"The Greens will be voting for the package, recognising its imperfections. It is a big step forward over the current system that does not limit donations or expenditure.

"We expect the Coalition will be unhappy and to try to destroy progress on limiting campaign donations.

"We will not allow progress towards cleaner politics in NSW to be undermined by cheap tricks.

"The progress that has been made is a tribute to my former colleague Senatorelect Lee Rhiannon and her staff, the Director of Democracy for Sale Dr Norman Thompson and the community groups and academics who have worked hard to end the influence of money over politics," Dr Kaye said.

Key points negotiated between the Greens and Labor

Positive outcomes of negotiations

Donation caps apply across groups of companies

• Labor's proposed cap on corporate donations of $5,000 to a party and $2,000 to a candidate will now apply to a group of companies, closing a dangerous loophole.

Fairer public funding for parties and independents

• Labor abandoned its tiered funding model that discriminated against new, emerging and small parties. The new model is based on capped reimbursement for expenditure. Public funding will help end reliance on
corporate donations while providing funding to support diversity in politics

• A modest new and small parties start-up/policy development fund.

Issues where Labor would not move

Expenditure caps

• Legislative Assembly party candidates capped at spending $100,000 with independent candidates capped at $150,000. This is too high but better than no cap.

• The state-wide party spending cap is $100,000 for each of the 93 seats a party contests. The maximum cap is $9.3 million and a party cannot spend more than $50,000 in one seat. This is too high.

Third parties

• third parties can still receive donations of $2,000. This is too high but better than no cap.

• Overall third party cap of $1.05 million with a limit of $20,000 spent in one electorate. This is high, but previously there was no cap at all.

Mixed messages on Crabon Taxing and Electricty Bills.

2010-10-28T15:30:00.000+11:00

In a newspaper clipping last week Liberal Joanna Gash made some very odd statements.

Firstly -that power companies were putting up electricty because of uncertainty over carbon taxes.

Then- requested residents place stickers on their electricty bills demanding that the Labor party do nothinig about a carbon tax.

The article then went on to becry the story of Mrs Blogs having a $1000 power bill.

We need a carbon tax and we need it yesterday- we have to do more in this country to kick start action against climate change and a straight carbon tax would be useful, easy to understand and hopefully not put billions of tax payers funds into the hands of big polluters.

As for a $1000 electricty bill-I think Ms Gash would be better of referring such a person to the Department of Environment who sponsored the training of many 'energy consultants' who come to your palce check out how you live and then suggest ways to do it better and ultimately reduceing your monthly outgoings.

I still can not believe how many homes I see with mega amounts of power hungry downlights and air conditioners set at antarctic temperatures.

Mrs Gash should use her parliamentry position in a much more clever manner and lobby for improved energy ratings for day to day 'time saving' devices such as washing machines, fridges and dishwashers. How nice it would be to see under performing items have additional tax added and the most efficient devices have little to no tax at all. How bizarre that some of the most efficient devices are not available in Australia.

Just another day in mixed message land

Liberal Scheming and Conniving at Local Government Conference Albury 2010

2010-10-25T16:19:00.001+11:00

I was voted unanimously by Shoalhave City Councillors to be the alternative delegate for the Local Government Conference in Albury. Being the alternative delegate should mean that ALL voting rights for the conference are passed onto me should one of the delegates be unable to attend the conference.

Liberal colleagues Gareth Ward, Andrew Guile, David Bennett and would be Brumerskyji stitched up all the voting rights for the executive elections by handing on Guiles proxy to Brumerskyji- a voting right that should have come to me because of Guile's no show for the conference.

It was all part of the machinations in an attempt by the Liberals to claim a majority of the executive positions on the association, they tried to seize as many votes as they could. I spoke to many other Councillors from other Council areas who had similar things happen to them.

So the result of their scheming at this point is not known as the executive ballots have not yet been finally cast- although I do know that an independent has been voted in as president.

It seems that the NSW Liberals will stop at nothing in gathering as many positions of power in all manner of associations across the state.

I spoke to a member of the Aboriginal Lands Council who claims that Gareth Ward effectively threatened members of the Council should they not tow the line and vote the Liberal candidates in. It made for some very angry delegates from the Aboriginal Land Council- and makes the mind boggle at the low level of politics being displayed by some.

Manyana Bendelong- face massive commercial development

2010-10-19T17:47:00.000+11:00

Tonight's Ordinary Council meeting (19 Oct 2010)saw Council support a massive Commercial Development for the sleepy coastal holiday villages of Manyana Bendalong.
The area currently has around 900 dwellings which are 70% unoccupied for most of the year with the population exploding over the Xmas period as people visit their holiday homes.
A developer has put forward an application for 14 shops in a commercial area-with the first stage building 7 shops. In an attempt to bring the development to be more in scale with the village- I put forward with the support of Clr Miller and Clr Fergusson a consent condition that would have seen only five shops built and further justification brought to Council before the next stage commences.

I thought that this was a reasonable option that would be a better outcome for the community in that there wouldn't be a great big commercial white elephant in their midst and the developer would have half a chance at filling the smaller amount of shops.

However Clrs in their wisdom seemed to think that my reduction in shop numbers was against business and couldn't see the writing on the wall that shops will sit empty until the permanent population increases. Meantime the two small business that exist in the area will have to close when the development is complete and in my opinion the one with the ability to fund a larger operation will get the prime spot in the new shopping centre.

The developer will have 5 years to commence the development- so I wonder when the new shops will emerge and what the outcome will be.

Wind Power in the Shoalhaven

2010-10-18T10:32:00.000+11:00

Government time moves more slowly than regular time, especially when

a) there are perceived financial constraints

b) the political will doesn't exist

c) a combination of the above where the political will creates financial constraints.

This afternoon Shoalhaven Council will take some tiny baby steps towards furthering a sustainable future agenda, when it holds a briefing for Councillors on wind power options for the Shoalhaven.

This is not a new topic by any means as the Council showed support for wind power generation on rural land by including it as a valid use in the upcoming Local Environment Plan.

Also Council supported a joint initiative with the Southern Councils group (which includes Shoalhaven, Wingecarabbie, Eurobodalla, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama) to pursue a wind power future for the South Coast area. This was the birthing of the Green Jobs Illawarra project which hopes to see our very own steel supply network start to manufacture wind components rather than import the lot from other countries and to train people in the necessary skills to develop the industry.

Anyway back to the wind briefing at Shoalhaven- The briefing will hopefully bring Councillors up to speed with the wind industry and what benefits there are for being part of the early entry into the wind market. from my perspective I see it as a fantastic opportunity for a community driven project that STOPS big power companies coming into our area and dictating the terms and conditions to us- but the reverse- a wind power project that includes people who want to be included through the issue of a prospectus. This idea is not new either and is based on the Bendigo bank model.

So what are the advantages of a community wind power project-it helps us to set the agenda and not wait for federal or state funding to provide us with non polluting energy-it wont happen- or it will be to little action too late.
We help to buffer ourselves from outrageous power costs as the state government seems to be struggling under the weight of rundown infrastructure and its desperate case to sell of power assets that are an uncertain investment in a carbon constrained world.
Its much easier for a community to get behind a project that is being driven locally. Unlike the Capital Wind project in Bungendore that was put upon the community -not to drive Canberra's power needs but to supply the massive amounts of power used by Sydney's desalination plant.
We don't have to have a massive wind installation- just one or two turbines within our landscape to help generate local power needs.
The installation of turbines sends a clear message to visitors to our area that we are serious about tackling climate change (as we should be with so many coastal assets at risk).

Of course we will have to weigh up the positives with the negatives and hopefully today's briefing will at least give Councillors some background knowledge based in fact and not some gut reaction based on propaganda. It will be an interesting afternoon.

Tree Vandalism- The Outcome

2010-09-23T22:05:00.000+10:00

So the outcome was to be expected really with four Councillors supporting the motion and nine against. The debate as reported on radio was mostly mature and not the usual ridicule and lambasting that occurs in the chamber- maybe because it had been a somber evening of unusual outcomes - maybe because there was genuine interest in debating the issue.

Some of the debate went like this.

Clr Proudfoot: Thought that the very thought of putting up screens was extreme and obscene when it was the trees themselves that were the problem and needed to be cut down.

Clr Brumerskji showed his mocking immaturity when he described the screens as bunches of sheets between poles that would make the city look bad.

Clr Guile- wondered how it would look to visitors when we are perceived as being a pristine and sometimes iconic location ( i.e. Jervis Bay)

Clr Ward, pointed out that there were considerable penalties for anyone who was caught tampering with vegetation and that ought to be enough.

what did emerge just after the debate was that one of the most hotly contested areas of Jervis Bay- Collingwood beach, was one of the original Soil Conservation success stories of the late 70's early 80's. After severe storming and beach erosion events in 1974, the beach side residents were so concerned about the safety of their homes that they worked with government departments to return vegetation to the totally naked front dune- the homes along 1500m of beach were severely exposed, sand was drifting across roads and blocking up infrastructure such as storm water outlets and generally being a nuisance. The active management of the dunes and the reestablishment of vegetation was heralded as a great success.

Another point of view that I hadn't considered was how beach front property owners felt who lived with tree vegetation vandalism in front of them which they hadn't caused and how they felt guilty just by association and how uncomfortable it was to have people walk past and point at their homes in an accusatory manner.

What I had to reiterate throughout last nights debate is that using screens isn't the answer in every instance only where education and management had failed to deliver results and there was continuous vandalism from known parties who rangers couldn't catch.

I don't want to walk our beaches and look at screens, I want to admire a lovely landscape, enjoy glimpses of wildlife, sit in the shade of a tree to escape the heat of the day, swim in crystal waters and not have to look at eroded dunes with houses perched precariously a la Belongil beach style.

Tree Vandalism and Blocking the Illegal Views

2010-09-20T23:06:00.000+10:00

Tuesday's (21 Sept 2010) meeting sees a notice of motion go before Council that attempts to put screening in where tree vandalism takes place. This motion is mostly targeted at the foreshore areas that cop a hiding from view seekers, who are almost impossible to catch red handed- which is what needs to happen if they are to be fined. These illegal view choppers get the so called bonus of improved views without ever having to pay the price.

Places like Byron Bay have been using screens to firstly impede the view and then to provide some sort of shelter for regrowing native vegetation.

On many of the Shoalhaven foreshore's there has been volunteer restoration activity to make sure that unsightly weeds don't take over where native vegetation should be. The native vegetation does a number of services in return. It helps to stabilise the dune and in storm situations acts as a barrier by slowing down sea surges. The NSW coastal management manual lists vegetation as one of the tools to help reduce the loss of sand from dunes, it also list vegetation as the first line of defence when it comes to sea level rise.
The coastal vegetation also provides a lovely natural ambiance to the beach where beach goers aren't subjected to looking at coastal development. And of course the vegetation provides habitat for many living creatures and the contribution they make to life's great web.

I expect that the Council wont have the courage to support the motion, as the recent push has been to remove so called 'inappropriate' plantings from the foreshore that block views.

What some councillors don't seem to get is the fact that you can not buy a view and that the reserves are the commons of the people and not all people want to have to look at housing on the beach front-in fact that is why so many holiday makers make the journey to places like Jervis Bay and Narrawallee so that they can enjoy feeling like they are in a natural environment.

One cheeky journalist dared to suggest that a holiday maker would feel ripped off if they came down and rode on a beach side cycle way and couldn't see the sea- I don't think so- first of all they would be so happy to be out of the city that they would feel exhilarated just being able to ride and then might stay another day just to walk on some of the magnificent beaches the region has to offer.

Anyway back to tree vandals for views-to date the message has not been clear or strong enough- Don't Vandalise the very things that are helping to protect your property- and if we cant catch you we will inconvenience you. Regrettably some innocent neighbours will be caught up in the shadow of a sign but they can pressure the wrong doers into leaving the bush alone to do its thing- maybe even mature and provide a lasting and beautiful frame to a more tantalising view.

Image Courtesy of the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner

Sample letter to Stop woodchipping

2010-09-17T14:00:00.000+10:00

here is a sample letter to the government regarding stopping wood chipping, letters don't have to be complex or long but it is better that they are sent snail mail (in my opinion). If you include a CC to all house members and federal senate then all should get a copy- or you may just want to target a few individuals. This is the link to the feds web page for contact details.

http://australia.gov.au/directories/parliament-of-australia-contacts#localmember

its not about a technically correct letter, but getting something in front of the noses of those who make decisions- some of them I'm sure would be oblivious to the wood chipping issue

The Hon Julia Gillard MP

Prime Minister

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600

CC All members House of Representatives and the federal Senate

I call on the Federal Government of Australia to intervene and cease Native forest wood chipping for export immediately.

In NSW the industry is recording losses up to $14 million and yet as a country we continue to provide subsides directly and indirectly to an industry that has obviously failed. These figures appear to have been hidden and absorbed by the plantation industry in the same state under Forests NSW stewardship..

While we continue to subsidise a failed industry we are missing out on redirecting these valued funds into research and development opportunities for replacement fibre for paper and cardboard production and the extension of the plantation timber resource.

More critically though we are missing out on opportunity’s to mitigate our intense carbon use and tackle the issue of climate change.

There is much talk about reinvigorating regional Australia and intensifying population in different areas. Without a clean, green workforce for people to participate in a migration back to the job centres will occur. Instead of small aging forestry workforces there are many opportunities to provide good forest stewardship jobs to young people and help ease the outward flow of young people from regional areas.

There are many environmental benefits for ceasing native forest logging operations for woodchip, yet the environmental argument has been eclipsed by economic interests-the time has come to recognise that the current economic arguments are fallacies and fantasies.

I challenge you to uncover the economic truth that is a failed native forests woodchip industry and think laterally about the possibilities’ that are currently passing us by.

I look forward to the end of native forest ‘mining’ and hope that you can make this issue a priority for this government early in its parliamentary life.

Shoalhaven Business Chamber planning for the future

2010-09-16T14:57:00.000+10:00

Have been running from one thing to the next so no letter yet as a sample on the wood chipping industry.

Spent the evening at the Institute of Design Ulladulla- meeting with the business chamber who are looking at setting themselves a strategic direction with some sub groups to work on issues that people are passionate about rather than leave everything to a time poor executive. Still in the modern day it works- a lot of people contributing their piece to a larger outcome.

The chamber identified quite a few issues that they could see would help to improve the town and hopefully business. From the simple issue of customer service and trading hours to the long term issue of parking and what we might expect in the future. The frustration for some was that things seem to take such a long time - but I really think that the town has changed quite a lot in recent years- maybe not in outward appearance but in attitude and growth wise.

My contribution was to tell the facts on Councils budget and not to make false promises for this does no one any good, and for things to really progress we need people power not to wait for government to take our good ideas and sit on them. Our community like many has the capacity to take responsibility for its own destiny and work with our best asset- people- to get results.

Interesting times just keep on getting more interesting.

Putting the carbon back in Native Forests.

2010-09-13T21:57:00.000+10:00

Ok- So here is the promised policy review that I put together- it is a little wordy but hopefully captures for you the situation as it currently stands and where we need to go. I havent modified it for the blog.

The reference list is at the end if you need further reading and I hope the format is a little intact if you need to copy and paste for use offline.

Aiming to have a draft letter up tomorrow and some contact details.

Putting the Carbon back in State Forests: A Review of Regional Forestry Agreements in a Carbon Constrained Policy Framework aiming for Zero emissions by 2020

ISSUE.

This review will look particularly at the NSW Forests Act 1916 and how the prescribed management practice extolled can help NSW achieve a zero Greenhouse Gas Emission target by 2020. The Forests Act 1916 underpins the management of Australian forests in four States, which has been regulated by Regional Forestry Agreements since 1997. The Regional Forestry Agreements were founded on a basis of settling conflicting views on forest management practice.

BACKGROUND

Deforestation has a significant impact on Australia's Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) with an estimated 77000 Gg tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent emissions . A proportion of this impact is mitigated by reforestation projects delivering a net amount of Co2 equivalent at 56000 Gg tons . Forested land is held in multiple ownership including, private land holdings, National Parks and State Forests. Government must take a leadership role in mitigating GHG Emissions and make changes to its own portfolio while commencing on a parallel process with private land-holders.

NSW Forests are a highly contested area of natural 'mining ' and have been subject to many conflicts especially with conservationist in regards to the management of the forest estate. The argument that forests are excellent natural carbon sinks and should be valued more in this context is juxtaposed against the reality of a 6000 kiloton per annum export wood chip industry and logs for a local timber industry .

Growing trees and retaining forested land is acknowledged as a one of the many actions required to reduce GHG. It is a low technological area that can provide employment across a mixed age workforce, backed by sound research and development into the attributes and quality of planted forest estates. The current workforce for timber harvesting and mill workers is faced with an aging workforce crisis and is finding it difficult to find and retain younger workers in a physically demanding and often dangerous occupation.

Regional Forest Agreement have been adapted to provide security for the saw mill and woodchip industry by forecasting the volume of logs available from numbered forestry compartments over a twenty year period. Anecdotal evidence suggests that high quality saw logs are still in demand and are more difficult to come by .

The use of Forest logs for high-end aesthetic product is acknowledged as a unique and valued added product. However, exporting of native forest wood chips to other countries at highly subsidized rates has been the practice most questioned by the conservation movement. Wood chip exports are reported as using up to 80%of the native forest resource . Wood chip exportation is a carbon intense process that takes raw product (wood chip) and ships it long distances for processing and then returned as a value added product to Australia and elsewhere. Wood chip export industry has a negative public image and draws criticism from a wide range of people who are disappointed with the lack of transparency and ability to have information released via Freedom of Information to make sound analysis of the industry value.

It is within the context of carbon constraint, conflict, ability to supply and value of the industry that this review takes place.

ANALYSIS

The NSW Forestry Act 1916 (the Act) is a policy with a primary function to support the use of native forests for timber harvest. Section 11 of the Act,' Powers and duties of the commission' clearly outlines the taking of timber powers that are conferred to Forests NSW as the principle authority to carry out and enforce the regulations under the Act and ancillary agreements such as the Regional Forest Agreements. Other features of Section 11 include the ability for Forests NSW to supply timber, seedlings, procure land and manage the forest estate. Forests NSW are to pay any dividend from a net surplus to the States Consolidated Fund at the end of the financial year.

Forests NSW under the act are also to ensure that a minimum area of no less than 3 250 000 hectares of land remain dedicated as forest and 600000 hectares is kept for the purpose of pine plantation . The dedication of these lands is to happen with consideration for public interest. Section 17.3a binds Forests NSW to providing economic and effective control over timber and other forest products. Land can also be managed that has special conservation values under section 21 A of the Act. Land that is under reserve cannot have timber operations commence without the consent of the relevant Minister . Royalty payments for removal of timber are expected and are set by Forests NSW . Forests NSW native forest operations ran at a loss in excess of $14 million and had to rely on the productivity of plantation operations to balance its trading sheet and create profit. The loss of $14 million that was absorbed by the plantation operations of NSW begs the question as to why the native forest estate continues to be included in forestry operations.

The Act under Part 4a- Carbon Sequestration rights gives Forests NSW the right to develop a carbon market and provide services in respect to qualifying carbon sequestration . The Act does not provide a directive in regards to Carbon sequestration but leaves it optional. Regulations that are prescribed further within the Act relate to retaining the quality of the timber products through land management practices such as weed exclusion.

The Forestry Act of NSW (1916) along with Regional Forestry Agreements (NSW 1997) take a 'sustainable management' approach that allows for the removal of trees for multiple purposes but mainly wood chip and saw logs. Forestry NSW is supposed to apply principles of Environmental Management Systems to the forest reserve to ensure that a comprehensive assessment is made of the reserve before commencement of an extraction operation. However, the value of the forest reserve as a carbon sink has not been considered as an economic instrument.

Recent Australian position papers on policy have begun to recognise the contribution to Carbon Pollution levels by deforestation. The recent NSW Greenhouse Plan identifies Forestry as a medium priority in dealing with the emissions from the sector . However the Australian Governments Green Paper on Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme deliberately leaves out deforestation. The reasons sited for this are that Australia has significantly improved land protection and that a move to include deforestation is difficult due to the active forest industry .

Deforestation is recognised by Governments internationally as a contributing factor to Climate Change. The United Nations have made many recommendations in regards to this issue including the landmark Agenda 21 adopted in 1992 which adopts a preservation and enhancement approach to biologically diverse areas . A preservation and enhancement approach to forest assets would ultimately produce a forest reserve that is growing in size and in quality.

A brief analysis of the quantity of logs harvested Australia wide across both hardwood and plantation softwood sends 60% of its volume to export wood chip. The export wood chip market is valued in the same report at $344 million. This compares to the much lesser volume but higher valued saw log market, which contributes $788 million to the industry from the remaining 40% . These figures are presented in a manner, which makes it difficult to scrutinise deeply the proportion of volume to income coming from NSW native forests.

Australian data sources for calculating the amount of emissions generated by the forest industry and the amount of carbon sequestered in the forest estate seem to frustrate those interested in pursuing a policy position according to Dr J Ajani . The current policy position would see the forest industry continue to extract high value carbon store logs from the forest estate and contribute to the overall increase of Australian and Global harmful Green House Gas inputs. Opportunities exist to replace forest industry jobs with data collection and forest management careers that are far less harmful to the environment. There is also a strong argument to cease native forest operation and to leave the estate intact for carbon storage purposes.

COMMENT
Forests NSW are facing many challenges in the coming years including an aging workforce and the costs of haulage of logs from the forest estate. Forest compartments for logging are further away from the infrastructure needed to process them into consumables. Add to these emerging issues the significance of Climate Change and the challenges presented by rising fuel costs a compelling case is arising for a significant change in industry direction.

With the aim to reduce NSW to a zero emissions target by 2020 the forestry industry will have to make significant changes through a major policy review that reflects a carbon constrained economy. Forests NSW are well positioned to make a valuable contribution to easing the carbon burden of the state. The current Forestry Act needs to aggressively pursue carbon storage as a major part of the forestry portfolio particularly in native forest operations. Forest accounting needs to accurately reflect the carbon value of the standing forest, with an afforestation program that creates positive growth in the amounts of carbon captured and not a decline. The focus must be on the amount of carbon held in the estate, which will have a monetary value, if the asset was available for sale in the marketplace. The carbon that is sequestered in forests must be for the benefit of the public good and only be applied to the balance of the NSW carbon account and not applied as an offset to particular projects or sold to outside agents.

Closing down of the native forest operations in NSW will have an impact on the availability of wood chip for export and high quality saw logs for aesthetic timber product purposes. With less wood chip available pricing for remaining stock will be forced upwards and result in an industry review in regards to viability which will include the carbon costs of shipping. Up ward pressure on hardwood building materials would result in a greater timber take from private landholdings, which will require continued monitoring and provide income for landholders. Landholders need a compensatory rating system that allows them to put land in reserve for forest income. A result of this upward pressure on viability will have a positive result on the recycling industry and could lead to a revival in onshore processing. Plantation timber products will remain firmly placed as a leading building material. Australia currently runs a trade deficit on forest exports to imports of $2.1 million .

Ceasing operations in native forest will have a positive social benefit and remove the stigma from forestry operations. With a newly positioned forestry industry that focuses on being part of the carbon pollution solution and the cessation of native forest operations, the industry will become a more attractive career option. This in turn could assist in solving the aging workforce by attracting younger persons who wish to be part of a solution for climate change. Taking steps to reduce emissions to zero by 2020 without impacting on jobs will be motivational for other states to follow suit and build key industry knowledge that can be exported from NSW.

Increasing the amount of plantation timber in NSW must not be at the expense of native forests or first class agricultural lands but seek out crown land holdings, and private landholdings to enter into partnership with. Private land holding partnership should be targeted at agricultural sectors, which are also high emitters of Green House Gas as this mix of farming i.e. cattle and timber could become mutually beneficial. Planted forests must include a mix of species to assist in building environmental resilience in the face of climate change, which is in line with the objectives of the United Nations Agenda 21.

NSW creates 34% of the nations carbon emissions and has a key role to play in influencing the Federal Government . The NSW Greenhouse Plan notes that land clearing represents only .75% of the emission from Agriculture, forestry and fishing but it also acknowledges the role that forests play in carbon sequestration . There are no explanation notes with the figures that consider wood chipping export, timber processing and manufacturing. This omission could be because of the difficulty and different accounting standards that are applied in regards to emissions.

The Federal Government's Green Paper failed to include native forests. Dr Judith Ajani recommends that this position should be revised due to the value of carbon stored in native forests and the cost of exclusion on other Australian business' trying to meet a carbon reduction target

RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made to advance the forest industry in NSW to a Zero emissions target by 2020. When implemented a review period should be put in place to ensure that targets are being met.

Recommendation 1:
Amend the Forestry Act 1916 and replace this with a policy that focus' on carbon storage and plantation timber.

Recommendation 2:
Immediately cease native forest operations that supply wood chip for export.

Recommendation 3:
Develop a Carbon Accounting system for standing forests that is accurate and can be used around Australia.

Recommendation 4:
Commit funding for research and development into an onshore paper recycling industry to supply the paper and packaging industry of Australia including the use of non-wood fibers.

Recommendation 5:
Phase out Federal and State subsidies that support traditional logging industry and redirect to the establishment of a fiber industry.

Recommendation 6:
Remove Rural Land Protection Board land rates that tax native ecosystems that are not in use for farm production.

Recommendation 7:
Target marginal farmland for multipurpose fiber production and timber plantation.

References
Ajani J. (2008) 'Australia's transition from native forests to plantations: the implications for woodchips, pulpmills, tax breaks and climate change', Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 15(3), 2008.

Australian Forest and Wood Products Statistics-September December quarters 2008 http://www.abare.gov.au/publications_html/forestry/forestry_09/forestry_09.html accessed online April 2010.
Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory,

http://ageis.climatechange.gov.au/# accessed online April 2010.

Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Green paper CPRS

http://climatechange.gov.au/publications/cprs/green-paper/cprs-greenpaper.aspx

accessed online April 2010.

Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/climatechange/greenhouseplan.htm accessed online March 2010.

Findley A. Interview conducted with Davis and Herbert Mill manager March 2010.

Forestry Act 1916, accessed online via

http://www.austlii.edu.au/ March 2010.

United Nations Division for Sustainable Development

http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_00.shtml accessed online March 2010

Batemans Bay Forest Forum

2010-09-12T21:23:00.000+10:00

Saturday was a busy and exciting day for lots of reasons. Forest Forum, Dunn and Lewis opening and of course On Stage 2010.

The Forest Forum in Batemans Bay that I attended for the morning was an inspiration to start writing letters to the new government to try and force action on the issue of native forest logging, which is still happening here in the beautiful Shoalhaven. So many reasons why logging for woodchip is wrong wrong wrong.

I was inspired by the fact that the Greens are in a strong position in both houses of government federally and I believe that if the independents can see a convincing argument that has good outcomes for regional/rural Australia they may be supportive.

The other piece of news that I unaware of was the statement from Gunns Pty Ltd believe that they have lost the battle with environmentalist for native forests and will move to plantation based business.
It is a significant statement on many fronts but means that more pressure has to come on government to make sure that we do not loose native forest cover to be replaced by plantation- we would end up with a disaster similar to the palm oil story in neighbouring countries.

I have written a short paper on the native forest woodchip industry and will post it tomorrow as background material for anyone who wants to write to government and put some pressure on. Its amazing how pester power works - I have seen first hand how council has made decisions based almost solely on pester power..
will also aim to put up a sample letter and some contacts for you all to use.

Ulladulla High Schools Exams due to start in a construction zone.

2010-08-19T22:00:00.000+10:00

Last week I was contacted by a distraught parent who thought her child would have to sit the HSC in Ulladulla High Schools hall which is a construction zone at the moment.

I got in touch with the P and C president and we talked over the needs of the young people and using Ulladulla Civic Centre which Shoalahven City Council usually charge for, that night I went straight to the general manager seeking a waiver of the fees and he agreed straight away.

The distraught parent had also been in touch with Clr Bob Proudfoot who is also a teacher so I filled him in on what the general manager had agreed to Bob said (tongue in cheek) arent you going to put up a notice of motion to get some votes. I replied no- there was no need as the objective had been acheived.

lo and behold I open up my business paper tonight and there is a notice of motion to waiver the fees signed by the vote seeking Clrs Ward and Bennett, who will want to put on a floor show at the meeting , which just happens to be held in Ulladulla that night.

Its hard to not be cynical in this position, actions like this just make the cynicism more rusted on,but it certainly wont stop me from acting in the best interests of my community without having to draw attention to every little deed!

The Future is in Our Hands- An alternative Vision

2010-05-11T14:26:00.000+10:00

Milton Meadows- A Hollow Victory- Land Zoned for Aged Care

2010-05-11T14:13:00.000+10:00

At long last the saga of Milton Meadows @ Milton ( farm land just North of the caravan park) has been resolved.
The community fought long and hard to have the land retained in the scenic zone that helps protect the village identity of Milton and stop sprawl from connecting Milton to Ulladulla.
Last year a move from some Councillors would have meant that the land could be used as a rural subdivision and carved in 2000m2 blocks.
This was against the position that after much debate the community had arrived at- that if the land was to be built upon that it had to be for the greatest good-a retirement complex that included a high care facility.
The community came out in force and with much pressure got Clrs Ward and Guile to reverse their position and support the community.
Council then advised the Department of Planning that it did not support a change of zoning that allowed rural residential but requested the Department place an allowance clause that supported an aged care facility.
This week the Dept released a memo that supported the recommendation that ultimately came from the community- no development other than aged care.
It feels like a hollow victory - the land will ultimately be developed in an aged care fashion but must have the support of the Roads and Traffic Authority. A small amount of remnant rain forest vegetation will be retained as a watercourse buffer- but the all important ridge line will be lost as an undeveloped part of Milton's rural setting.

So now we wait and hope that an architect sympathetic to sustainable living and the rural landscape is engaged to produce a plan that creates a place for the aged that we can all be proud off and feel that it was worth compromising for.

Green and Golden Bell Frogs- population boost

2010-05-03T16:39:00.000+10:00

Shoalhaven city is witnessing a once in a generation happening – the incredible breeding event of the threatened Green and Golden Bell Frog.

These endangered frogs are loving the timing of Xmas and Easter rains which has resulted in perfect breeding conditions.
The tadpoles have now grown to froglets and have dispersed in large numbers around the edges of the Shoalhaven floodplain looking for food and habitat.

The Green and Golden Bell frogs are now looking for a cosy spot to spend the winter hibernateing.

This mass breeding event suggests that water quality is good and there is suitable habitat for the species to breed, feed and move to areas that havent before supported a population- a good news story for East Nowra.

Green and Golden Bell Frogs may grow to 10 centimetres, but most of the frogs around at the moment are first year juveniles about 2cm long. Individual frogs vary in colour from bright green to patchy golden/green to almost dark brown. A creamish white stripe extends from behind the eye almost to the groin.

Green and Golden Bell Frog are listed in NSW and nationally as a threatened species and protected by Federal legislation. There is concern about their future because overall numbers are continuing to decline, mostly due to:

• a debilitating fungus that attacks the frog’s skin and is transmitted by human touch

• the destruction and drainage of wetlands

• predation by the introduced mosquito fish

• inappropriate pesticide application

• and feral animals.

The Bell frog is an unusual frog in that it is active during the day.

Fines for harming a threatened species are severe. If a person is convicted of a threatened species offence they face criminal penalties of up to $220,000 and / or two years in prison under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. If the case involves harming or picking threatened species, endangered populations or endangered ecological communities additional penalties of up to $11,000 apply to each species that was harmed.

On-the-spot penalty notice fines can be issued for harming or killing a threatened species. These are generally used as a way to penalise breaches which are not serious enough to warrant prosecution in court. The penalty notice fine amounts are $1500 for an individual, $3000 for a corporation who cause harm to an endangered species such as this frog.

What can you do to help the Green and Golden Bell Frogs?

• Enjoy the frogs around your home and be aware of their presence so you do not accidentally harm them. They will not harm you.

• Do not handle the frogs unless absolutely necessary and if so handle gently. If you need to move a frog, wear disposable gloves

• Avoid mowing on wetter days or times when frogs are moving over grass; and

• Encourage your children to observe and appreciate wildlife.

Visit the internet site http://threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/index.aspx for further information about Green and Golden Bell Frogs.

Picture from the animal pictures archive available at www.animalpicturesarchive.com/

Greens MLC Sylvia Hale Raises Tomerong Tip Questions in Parliament

2010-04-28T10:39:00.000+10:00

Following is a press release from Sylvia Hales office in regards to the Tomerong Tip proposal.
I have also included the question MLC Hale will put to the minister on behalf of the community.

The parliamentry support on this issue is no doubt appreciated by the community

Media Release

From Sylvia Hale MP, Greens spokesperson for Planning

23 April 2010   - For immediate use

Greens say tip at Tomerong too dangerous to tolerate

The Greens have added their voice to concerns about a proposed major
new tip at Tomerong. Sylvia Hale, Greens MP and spokesperson for
Planning, has put questions about the tip to the Ministers for Planning
and the Environment.

“Locating an enormous tip in the Shoalhaven area at Tomerong simply
doesn’t make sense,” said Ms Hale.

“Using an old quarry site that has been the subject of blasting, and
fracturing of the rocks over many years must surely call into question
whether a proposed dam to control leachate could operate safely.

“Added to that, there are concerns about the effect of a tip on local
bushland and fauna and the impact of a massive increase in heavy truck
movements along the Princes Highway.

"The development of a major tip in the catchment of Jervis Bay is
hardly likely to improve the image of the South Coast.

“One of the region's greatest attractions is its clean, green image,
its temperate rainforests, tall trees, clean rivers and streams, and
pristine white sandy beaches. That asset must be protected both for its
own natural values and for the economic benefit and quality of life it
brings to residents of the Shoalhaven.

“Everyone should be disturbed that the Minister for Planning has
taken the decision on this major proposal out of the hands of the local
council and given to a Joint Regional Planning Panel. The majority of
the Panel's members, including chair Pam Allen, a former Labor
Government Minister, are the Minister for Planning's appointees.

“Elected local councillors, who are answerable to their community,
should make decisions that will impact on the local community. Those
decisions should be governed by strong planning laws that protect the
local environment and ensure that any development actually improves the
quality of life for the community into the future.

"Unfortunately, current planning laws and decision-making processes
simply give open slather to developers.

“While there is always a need to generate employment in the area,
this proposal may have the opposite effect with job losses due to
concerns about the leaching of toxic substances into creeks running into
Jervis Bay," said Ms Hale.

Questions on notice

Ms Hale to the Minister for Planning, Minister for Infrastructure,
Minister for Lands—

1.      Is the Minister aware of an application for a Non- Putrescible
Waste Facility lodged with Shoalhaven City Council, which is to be
determined by Southern Region Joint Planning Panel chaired by Ms Pam
Allen, former State Minister for the Environment?
2.
a.       Has there been a full environmental assessment of the area
prepared that examines the impact of the proposed development on local
flora and fauna, including the powerful owl?
b.      If so, what does that assessment suggest?
c.       If no report has been prepared, why not?
3.      The proposal suggests that a sediment dam on Duck Creek, 150
metres from Tomerong Creek, which feeds into Jervis Bay, will be built
to protect the waterways from leachate from the waste facility.
a.       What reports have been prepared that examine the potential for
a breach of the dam wall in extreme weather events?
b.      If so, what are the findings of those reports?
c.       If no reports have been prepared, why not?
4.      Has any report been prepared that examines the effect of
blasting on the site over the last 35 years, and whether or not blasting
on the old quarry site has fragmented the ground to the extent that it
may not be able to prevent material leaching from the proposed facility?

a.       If so, what are the findings of the report?
b.      If no report has been prepared, why not?
5.
a.       Has an a
ssessment been made of the impact of a breach of the
proposed leachate dam on the catchment of the Jervis Bay Marine Park and
on the catchment of the environmentally sensitive weed beds and fish
breeding grounds of St George's Basin?
b.      What plans have been made to contain toxic leachate in the
event of the failure of the proposed dam?
c.       What action has been proposed to ensure that there will be no
pollution incidents during the construction, operation or during the
long-term life of this facility?
6.
a.       What is the current amount of non-putrescible waste in
percentage terms generated by the Shoalhaven local government area in
relation to the production of non-putrescible waste across New South
Wales?
b.      Would this facility take non- putrescible waste from outside
the Shoalhaven local Government area?
7.      The EIS indicates that road haulage to the proposed waste site
will generate a very heavy ` truck movement every 4 minutes.
a.       What measures are proposed to ameliorate the additional burden
of heavy traffic on the South Coast arterial road system?
b.      When compared to transporting waste to existing waste
facilities, what are the likely additional CO2 emissions created by
transporting waste from metropolitan areas to this location by road
given there is no rail access ?
8.      Has there been any modelling carried out on the impact this
type of facility will have on the tourist industry of the Shoalhaven
region, an industry that generates $640 million per annum for the local
area, is a key employer, and is the number one tourist destination in
NSW?
a.       If so, what is that impact?
b.      If no research has been carried out, why not? Which areas of
New South Wales have been identified as requiring a large
non-putrescible tip in the medium to long term?

Big Tax this; Big Tax that : The Rhetoric is Boring

2010-03-16T14:04:00.000+11:00

I am sick of hearing Labour and Liberal hammering each other with their childish slogans on BIG NEW TAX'S and hoping that we are all taking enough notice to not vote for new tax in the upcoming federal election.

Guess what....... I LIKE TAX.......In fact I delviered my annual tax papers to the accountant and told her that I wanted to pay my fair share and not to go looking for any deductions that were a little bit marginal.

I like tax as it delivers to us, free hospital services, free schooling, income support, heavily subsidised public transport, a reasonable road network, foreign aid helping those in need, of course this list could go on and on. In short tax pays for things we need, use or want on a daily basis, without us all paying our share things would certainly be more grim.

Somehow I still manage to be on the sitting state Liberal members mailing list, who today invited me to sign a petition calling on the NSW State government to NOT put up car registration as it would deliver more public transport services to the city. Even though I am a country dwelling girl, I dont have a problem with improving City transport- the city must have more capacity to get people off the roads and less dependent on fossil fuel.

I wont be signing the petition.....maybe I should send her a letter instead.........

Leo Drive Losses Wildlife

2010-03-12T11:41:00.000+11:00

The Leo Drive subdivision has commenced with clearing of the site well under way. 'The Greens' Clr Amanda Findley believes that this action should be a catalyst to spark community discussion on how we the community view growth for the area.

" Focusing on Ulladulla through the development control plan review is great but we also need to look at the bigger picture for our area."

'The Federal government is insisting on 1.3% annual growth, giving us the much talked about 36 million people. The knock on effect of that is Councils are left with planning for growth. Or as it is NSW having the will of the State Government put upon us." Amanda said

There is much to talk about locally.
Do we want to see valuable farmland lost to housing.
Is urban sprawl acceptable.
Can we retain character and have medium density housing.

Clr Findley wants the community to have a conversation about how we see ourselves in the future and is calling for all interested residents to meet in Narrawallee this Thursday at 10am at the unnamed street half way along Leo Drive on the western side.

"I think it will be constructive for people to witness first hand what is happening on site and then have a discussion about the future and how we can plan for sustainable growth and think about housing expectations." A report on these discussion will be forwarded to the Times for further comment.

ACTION: 10am Meeting Thursday 18 March 2010
halfway along Leo Drive, unnamed no through road on the west side.

Photo taken on site.

SAY NO to BRITISH Beef

2010-03-11T12:08:00.000+11:00

Thank goodness common sense ruled the day and not the pressing desire for so called "free trade". The following press release from Senator Christine Milne is cause for celebration.

Senator Christine Milne

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Milne congratulates Minister Burke for reversal of mad
cow beef import decision

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine
Milne, has congratulated Agriculture
Minister, Tony Burke, for listening to the concerns of
the community, the Greens and Opposition parties by reversing his
decision to lift the ban on importing beef from countries
affected by mad cow disease, or BSE.

Senator Milne had referred the issue to a Senate inquiry
last October, immediately after
learning that the ban would be lifted. The scrutiny of
the decision from the Senate Inquiry has
now led to a moratorium on lifting the ban pending a two
year import risk analysis.

"Public health and food security are vital and must be
protected at all costs. It was disgraceful that the community had been
kept in the dark about the fact that they could be eating beef from a
country affected by mad cow disease. "

"Consumers have the right to know if meat on supermarket
shelves comes from countries which have been affected by BSE.

"As someone who grew up on a dairy farm in North West
Tasmania, I am always vigilant about
standing up for a healthy environment and the excellent
reputation Australia's food has around the world for being clean and
uncontaminated.

"This reputation is critical for both consumers and
producers, and I am very pleased that the
Senate inquiry I established has helped deliver this
sensible decision.

"Minister Burke was clearly concerned there would be a
public outcry against this decision
when the beef industry was sworn to secrecy over the
decision to lift the ban. He wanted to push
a pure trade agenda based on pleasing overseas trading
partners like the USA and Canada before the livelihoods of Tasmanian
beef farmers and the health of Tasmanian families.

"Our local beef producers have the right to
reassurance, through a full and proper import
risk analysis, that their reputation for clean produce
will not be undermined.

"The next critical step is for Australia to move rapidly
to improve our food labelling laws to make
sure consumers know what is in the food they buy and how
it was produced."

Anarchy at Belongil Beach Byron Bay

2010-03-05T22:41:00.000+11:00

These photos were taken on Belongil beach in Byron Bay and are an example of the community anarchy that has erupted from the coastline being washed away. Individual property owners have taken protetcion into their own hands and dumped large quantities of junk in an attempt to save their homes from the next big sea.The giant sandbags weigh about 200 kilos each and have been placed by council. The original vegetation was without doubt removed to allow 'views', one friend described one of the properties as lawn all the way to edge.As we move into uncertain times it is our natural instinct to want to find someone to blame for the problems that need to be overcome, yet we refuse to acknowledge that collectivly we have had high expectation that we can manipulate our environment to deliver our wants and needs.No one person or one government is responsible just years of compacting problems as humanities expectations are treated as a priority over environment.

TALLOWA PIPELINE COMPANY: READY TO SUCK SHOALHAVEN RIVER DRY

2010-02-11T16:54:00.000+11:00

NSW and Shoalhaven Greens have jointly condemned comments from Nationals leader Andrew Stoner who plans to look at raising the wall height at Tallowa Dam, a proposal that was put in the bin during 2006.

Mr Stoner's comments are even more alarming in light of the revelation that private company Evans and Peck have made a submission to the NSW Government to pipe water from Tallowa Dam to Western NSW.

Greens NSW MP John Kaye said: “Pumping water over the Great Divide has never been a sensible idea and this particular proposal is even more flawed than most of its predecessors. In drought years towns like Goulburn and Yass would be in direct competition with Sydney for access to flows from the Shoalhaven River, creating even more conflict over the future of scarce water desperately needed for the environment.

Dr Kaye said: “The Keneally government needs to send a very clear message to the Tallowa Pipeline Company. Shoalhaven water is not for sale to the first get-rich-quick merchant who walks through the door with a scheme to send it off to the inland.”

Cl Findley said " Andrew Stoners comments are irresponsible and insensitive and show no thought for the people of Shoalhaven and our own quest for water security and environmental outcomes for the Shoalhaven River. Our population is projected to rise and Sydney Water will not hesitate to resume pumping if the circumstances present low dam levels."

Clr Findley was shocked to discover that Cobar council was taking the Evans and Peck proposal seriously and requesting that it be taken further up the governance chain.

" Any government who would support such a radical, extreme and expensive project should not be in government. Andrew Stoner needs to tell us if his statements about Tallowa were made with this pipeline project in mind."

“The proposal would inflict yet more damage on the Shoalhaven downstream from Tallowa Dam. It would starve the river of essential flows in flood times and lead to even more sand and silt build up.

“Losing 300 GL a year would be an environmental disaster for the Shoalhaven, taking away what’s left of the flood flows that clean and rejuvenate the river.

“The Tallowa to Basin pipeline would condemn inland populations to periods of devastating water shortages. Because it supposedly only pumps out water that would otherwise spill, it would leave Yass and the other towns with no water inflows in dry years, depending only on their local storages.

“The Keneally government should consign this proposal to the waste bin, along with hundreds of other previous pitches to pump the waters inland.

“The proponents want to cream off a profit from building the pipeline without bringing anything new to the table.

“The solutions to the problems of the Murray-Darling basin will not be resolved by stealing a few hundred gigalitres from the Shoalhaven each year. Most of the water would disappear into dry river beds and would do add little to environmental flows or irrigation,” Dr Kaye said.

Coastal Hazards Development Control Plan 118- An attempt to slow down development in the Coastal Zone.

2010-02-10T14:44:00.000+11:00

Council has drafted a plan to inform people of the dangers of living in the coastal zone or areas directly at risk from climate change induced coastal inundation.

The hazardous locations have been identified through a study that has assessed the risks and factored in sea level rise as adopted by the NSW Government.

Council conducted the first of its community information sessions at Ulladulla, which probably has the most expensive real estate at risk in the areas covered by the plan. The area covers the beach front of Mollymook and some of the surrounding headlands.

Property in this area has been exchanging hands for over $1Million since about 1998 with the most recent exchange occurring in the last 18 months. Many of the properties have been bought in the last ten years.

These transactions have occurred during a period when sea level rise and climate change has been known about and ignorance can not be an excuse when making investment decisions.

Some of the residents are bewildered at Councils approach to coastal hazards some are just downright angry that their property values have been effected.

For urban coastal dwellers in Australia you can see why- our lives feel fairly benign we feel mostly removed from climate effects, yet processes are well underway that will have a dramatic impact on our lives- not just the lives of our children and grand children. Federal and International governments should be addressing these issues aggressively now- and have left local governments to deal with climate changes.

The residents who attended the meeting conducted themselves exceptionally well under difficult circumstances. Some tried to query the entire issue of climate change science, but most accepted the evenings debate was not about climate science, but Shoalhaven City's response to directions from NSW state planning not to intensify living on the coastal strip.

It is difficult policy to make, knowing that the decision you make will impact dramatically on people's lives. These kinds of policy decisions prepare our population now for the shocks that are to come and will need rapid government response.

Climate Change will cost us in so many ways not just ecologically and the damage to the earth's systems that we rely upon.

So back to Mollymook.

Where will Shoalhaven end up taking this policy?
Will Council stick with the draft and extinguish building rights seaward of the 2025 sea level rise line?
If not at which point will building rights be extinguished as this is the logical end to the dilemma.
Will Council defer decisions until stronger policy direction comes from the State and leave people in limbo land or provide some sort of certainty?

The residents want to know who will pay?

We will all pay to replace and repair public infrastructure that is in the front line of ocean surges. Low lying roads, public property, water, sewage and unknowns. Council is preparing a register of public assets that are at risk.

RUBBISH EVERYWHERE: Were to with waste management.

2010-02-08T11:34:00.000+11:00

For most people the last time they think about the rubbish that they produce is when they close the lid of the bin after depositing something.

A second thought may cross the mind when a rates notice arrives with a charge for the domestic waste levy and the NSW waste levy- mine is a little over $200 a year.

At present in Shoalhaven everything in the red lid bin or the land fill bin goes straight to the big whole at west Nowra. There is a small landfill facility at Huskission but most village rubbish is transferred to Nowra and buried.

The yellow or recycle bin is sorted manually at Nowra by a local company who separate out the paper glass plastic and bundle it for reprocessing.

Most reprocessing of recycled materials occurs overseas.

I was fortunate enough to go and visit a few waste facilities to look at the different types of processes that our rubbish goes through before its life end. Some systems are highly mechanical, others are more people intense. The main aim is to remove from land fill anything that rots and creates methane- a green house gas that is partially responsible for climate change, and to ensure that anything that can be recycled is recycled.

It all costs a huge amount of money- although when spread out across the whole community we end up with a frequent service at low cost.

This year Shoalhaven City Council needs to make a decision on Rubbish. How will it be processed, how often will it be collected, how many bins are the types of questions we need to answer and find a suitable solution for.

So what should be our main aim?

Diverting the maximum amount of material from land fill.
Implementing a Green Waste system.

Implementing a system never before used in Australia but that has excellent results from trials.

The number of rubbish trucks moving around our city.

Waste process' that involve people sorting and sifting through our mess.

Educating our population on better ways to deal with rubbish.

Costs to the ratepayers of the city over the life of the contract.

All aspects have their plus and negative sides.

As you can see it makes for a difficult process and add to that 13 people (Councillors) that all have different opinions- an extra level of difficulty is created.

Some of the other things that I will be considering during the process, will be the carbon accounting of the whole operation and how we can have a more sustainable approach in general to waste management.

I think that Shoalhaven has done a remarkable job so far with the home composting program. Which returns to the soil waste that would currently end up in land fill which will be taxed twice- once by the state just for filling the hole and next an eventual emission tax on the methane produced by rotten organic material.

I like that if I need someone to take away my large green waste, I can call council and for a moderate fee someone will collect my waste for me. Our family have never used this though as our challenge is to put back on our garden all the pruning and clippings we produce.

I also hope that Council can raise the communities awareness to the land fill bin so that we can be more thoughtful about our disposal.

After all no one wants a tip in his or her backyard.

Logging at South Brooman State Forest.

2010-02-03T15:35:00.000+11:00

South Brooman Forest Monday 1 February 2010
Carbon Sinks Threatened Species Bad Public Policy.

I got a call from South East Forest Rescue to come and have a look at what was happening in forests in my own back yard at Brooman. When I turned up, I was faced with the typically devastating scene that forestry practices produce. This compartment didn’t have the usual roadside buffers as the access routes were not used and some were blocked so the logging operation came right up to the road and reports allege that creek buffers had been ignored and logged as close as 5 meter's.

It used to be a Spotted Gum forest with rainforest gullies evident by the ferns that were destroyed under the fallen canopy.

It used to be a feeding ground for threatened and endangered bats, who would come in each evening to feed on blossom.

Bats fly long distances to reliable feed sites and if these are removed, the bats do not have the energy to return to the roost. The colony at South Brooman is believed to be coming from Yatte Yattah on the northern side of Milton. Grey and Red headed flying foxes have been recorded at Yatte Yattah.

It has been alleged that NSW Forestry were not interested in improving a buffer zone to allow the bats their usual feeding place, and that someone within the logging crew fired shots so that the bats would not land and fee allowing logging to continue.

When I questioned the NSW Forestry spokesperson about the logs going to wood chip, I was told I was wrong and that they would all be prime saw logs. It is hard to swallow this explanation when there is much evidence to prove that mill quality logs are chipped and exported to Japan for paper and cardboard making.

Our forests need protecting- they may not conjure up the grand images like those of the Stix, Florentine or any other of the iconic Tasmanian forests, but they are the lungs of the coast- storing carbon, purifying the air, providing habitat for a diverse biota.

NSW has enough plantation pine to satisfy the need for construction timber and wood chip there is no need for the ongoing commercialisation of native forests it’s an industry that according to the auditor generals department lost $14million in 2007/2008.

Like many NSW government departments Forests NSW operates in a blanket of secrecy that requires skilled use of freedom of information to uncover detail. With contract detail hidden away under the 'commercial in confidence' code. This is all designed to stop or hinder public scrutiny into the affairs of Forestry.

NSW Forests are a public asset; we need to be able to scrutinise the management actions and the logging practices. Forests need to be managed as carbon sinks which will generate a different income stream in a carbon constrained world. The NSW and Federal governments need to put their heads together and offer a forestry retraining / buy out package, just like the dairy and fishing industries and retrain forest workers to be custodians rather than loggers. With a $14 million dollar loss, surely it makes sense to stop wood chipping our precious forest assets.

Holidays Over its Back to Work.

2010-02-03T11:02:00.000+11:00

I have had a fantastic time during January.

I managed to complete a summer session at University- the John Hatton inspired Politics, Community and the Common Good.

WoW- what a journey with the most amazing lectures I have ever attended. Geoffrey Robertson (QC), John Falzon ( St Vincent de Paul), John Mant, Dick Smith and retired Justice Michael Kirby were the headliners.

Some long serving community activists shared their stories, and a great turn out of non enrolled community particpants rounded the experience with their passion and history.

I intend to share some of the experience through the blog in the coming weeks.

Managed to go camping with the family in a quiet National Park out of mobile range for almost a week.

Celebrated my childrens birthdays.

Installed an experimental wind generator at home- its 1KW and I will share more on that later also.

Council did not return untill January 18th when the commitee meetings recommenced and the first meeting of the calendar year just last Wednesday (27 Jan). Plenty more to report on that front also.

I won't pack away the holiday feeling just yet though- may as well let it linger as long as it can!

Lights are on, but nobody is home: Wasted energy at Milton Public School.

2010-01-02T06:17:00.000+11:00

So what is it with these images?

They were all taken at 5am this morning at Milton Public School (2 Jan 2010) the lights have all been on since 4am and will remain on until about 6am. This happens every single day of the year, regardless of holidays or not. The light pollution is insane and all species of residents who have happily lived beside Milton Public School for years are affected by these lights shining into their homes at the wrong time of day.

( the lights used to come on in the middle of the night, but that at least has been sorted out)

But apart from the light pollution that has upset the residents, what a poor message this sends to the community on the issues of power saving and sustainability. It also highlights how different schools can be, when the primary school not 10kls away, does eveyhthing within its power to reduce reuse and conserve. That school also has a solar power array and would never tolerate the waste demonstrated in these photos. I'm glad its not my personal power bill- but then again it is, for every one of us PAY in greenhouse pollution increases and that effect on climate change and as tax payers of NSW. This year I hope will be the last year that we see this sort of energy waste at Milton Public School- one year is long enough to fix the problems and get it right!

MYTHBUSTING: manageing climate change will loose jobs!

2009-12-28T12:30:00.000+11:00

I recently read an interesting article on the myth that is propagated by government that tackling climate change will result in job loss. This appears to be a factless statement when you read what DR Richard Denniss f the Australia Institute has to say. This article has been partially reproduced from Issue 29 of the Green Mag.

The main argument against tackling climate change is that we can't do anything untill we have figured out where all the people who might lose their jobs will work. A history review will expose past practices.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, employment in coal mining fell from 30,400 employees to 16500 in 1999. So in one decade, employment in the coal industry fell by more than half. Apparently, when the introduction of labour-saving technologies wreaks havoc on regional communities we don't care but if we are tackling climate change its quite a different story.

"Ah, but that was due to market forces", I hear you say. "The difference with the Carbon Pollution Rediuction Scheme (CPRS) is it's the introduction of governmnet policy that will cause the job losses. Responsible governmnets would never introduce policy that would cause job losses." Yeah right.

Lets start small. The introduction of National Competition Policy (NCP) and the associated privatisation and contracting out resulted in the direct destruction of tens of thousamds of jobs. This was not an unintended consequence: it was the specific aim of the policy. According to the Electricty Supply Association, employment in electricty generation in Victoria alone fell from 9382 employees in 1994 to 5420 in 1998. That's 4000 workers in four years and at the time when Australian unemployment was substantially higher than it is today.

The impacts of the NCP were small compared to the longer term devastation of the manufacturing industry associated with 20 years of tariff reductions and the pursuit of free trade. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs in the search for a level playing field but, of course, these jobs were not seen as a barrier to the pursuit of this policy agenda. On the contrary, the language was that of 'freeing up' unproductive labour for employment in other areas of the economy. At the time, it was not seen to be necessary or even possible to forecast where these 'freed up' workers would end up.

And then we get to the big one, the recession we had to have. In the fight against rising inflation and rising imports, it was deemed necessay to drive interest rates so high that more than one million people lost their jobs. This was not just Paul Keating's folly: Treasury and the RBA was right behind the approach. We had to break the back of inflationary pressure even if it meant breaking the backs of many Australian families.

The point is..unemployment is destructive, wasteful and unequitable..but it is important to analyse the past in order to understand what is really going on in the current debate around mining jobs, green jobs and con jobs.

Firstly many industry groups, which are expressing concern about job losses, are crying crocodile tears to impress their workers. They were unconcerned in the past and will be unconcerned in the future. Nobody should think for one minute that, if some labour-saving technology were to be invented tomorrow, industries wouldnt install it at the expence of their regional workforces...

The simple facts are that no-one could envisage how many people would be employed in the mobile phone industry, or the internet industries and no one declared 'wait' we don not know were the photo lab workers will go- when we embraced the digital camera era.

If you want to read this article in full- go to Issue 29 of Green Magazine page 12.

Church Bells Ring for Copenhagen

2009-12-13T21:05:00.000+11:00

At 3pm today (Sunday 13 December) the Church bells rang out- not with a sound of warning but to offer hope that the world can tackle climate change.

An intiative of the Alliance of Religions and the World Combined Churches, the religious orders have joined political leaders and activists to send an important message of 350 parts per million as a peak amount for carbon pollution.

Churches across the world rang their bells 350 times, locally churches in Kiama participated in the event.

In a show of solidarity those who attended Rasberry Day at Foxground also put down their plates and cups and joined in to make as much noise as possible on this important issue.

A passionate speach from Howard highlighted to the gathering that in some respects we are ushering in the decade of cooperation, as humans had no choice but to listen to their neighbours and find ways of working together to make global change.

Let me know of any events that happened around your town today at 3pm- did you hear the Church Bells ring and wonder why!

Alcohol Ban on Shoalhaven Reserves.

2009-12-12T22:51:00.000+11:00

A couple of weeks ago the Mayor of Shoalhaven dropped a mayoral minute on our laps at the beginning of a meeting asking for alcohol bans in 37 reserves across the Shoalhaven.

The ban was suggested as a 24 hour ban on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, New Years Day and Australia Day, it was a hotly debated item that took well over an hour to discuss. I voted against this ban at this point for a variety of reasons.

Firstly we had been given no opportunity to discuss this issue prior to debating it. No data had been supplied to Councillors in regards to alcohol related incidents in the Shoalhaven. No community consultation had taken place to gauge the impact that such a ban would have on the community, and finally one that I feel strongly about- Civil Liberties- for it is my opinion that some of the regulations we live with are draconian and unnecessary. I was of the opinion that this was an increase in police power that was not required as police already have many powers to arrest those doing the wrong thing, move on large groups and confiscate alcohol.

Fast forward to Tuesday 8 December and we were back in the chamber to discuss the issue once again. this time it was a whole lot different to the previous fortnight. The local radio talkback had been in overdrive and their seemed to be a considerable amount of community support for the ban.

As the meeting commenced there were 12 uniformed police in the gallery- some obviously on duty as they had hand guns etc. These guys and girls had brought along a contingent of supporters.
The local commander was given the opportunity to speak and gave a video presentation of police footage from local riot days at Huskisson and some CCTV footage that was quite disturbing. The Councillors who had strongly supported the ban from the outset constructed an argument that basically framed any non supporters as not supporting police, a very difficult position to be in and intimidating.

The local command gave a commitment to turn a blind eye to any family groups enjoying a few quite drinks in the park and to use sense and discretion.
I found this to be a paradox-How could it be OK for one group of people to be drinking and another group alongside them in trouble with the law! Is booze banned or not!

After a long and passionate debate that included tears, accusation and the usual grandstanding style of some, a compromise position was reached.

This year a trial 24 hour alcohol ban will be in place across Shoalhaven reserves, results of the success or otherwise is to be reported back to Council, and police will continue to discuss reducing alcohol abuse in general.

Connect to friends!

2009-12-12T22:17:00.000+11:00

A few of you have asked how to be kept up to date with the content of this blog.

I have just added a followers Widget-its on the right hand side of this page.

Click on FOLLOW and put in your details, this should help you to stay connected.

You must have a google account which many of you already have thru google groups.

Children have a right to sex education!

2009-12-07T23:54:00.000+11:00

Locally I am the pariah...responsible for making statements only in this blog on the issue of sex education at our local high school. Statements that some people are in violent disagreement too.

When my daughter came home from school and told me that she was told you can get pregnant from pashing, I immediately went to work on researching the program being taught.

I did eventually speak informally to one of the women who delivered the program at school that day and it seems my daughter misheard it wasnt pashing that would get her pregnant but passion that could lead to pregnancy.

I have maintained throughout this debate that the problem lies in the material that is given to the children for them to further research. I also spoke to Dr Leslie Cannold about the issue and heres what she had to say. (if you want the full version click on the text to go to Dr Cannold's website)

Your children have a right to sex education. This right is a component of their sexual rights, themselves a subset of the human rights guaranteed to them in international laws, human rights documents and other consensus statements.

But don't cry out for joy or fly off the handle with rage just yet. Because whatever abstract entitlement our kids have to accurate, relevant and age-appropriate information about sex, relationships and reproduction in the classroom, most aren't getting any. Education, that is. They are getting plenty of sex, some of it unwanted, as well as sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and, if they are same-sex attracted, a worrying dose of suicidal thoughts.

On the flip side to Dr Cannolds comments I thought I should show a sample of the information that is available on the Choices Decision Outcomes recommended link ..Gravity Teen, you should go visit this sight and look at the emotion laden messages that are clearly one sided and in my opinion designed to induce guilt.

Two nights later, it was still bothering me. My mom, dad, and I were out to dinner and in the middle of my parents' conversation, I blurted out "Mom, were you pregnant when you were 16?" She just looked at me with tears filling her eyes. She explained to me how she had an abortion, and as an eight-year-old, I could only imagine what it was. She said something about my sister, whom she had named Elizabeth, being in Heaven. At that moment it clicked for me that I had lost my sister.

Over the next three years, my mom became more active in the pro-life movement. She became the executive director of NOEL: The National Organization of Episcopalians for Life. I grasped the concept of what an abortion really was and got used to the fact that I was deprived of a sister I should've had. It was scary to know that my mom had killed someone that was so important to me.

When I turned 11, I was invited to speak at the Memorial Service for the Unborn as a sibling of an aborted child. I talked about how much I missed having an older sister and how I missed out on the little things, like watching her get ready for Prom or for her wedding. Spreading my experience of abortion was a big deal for me because it had been so much to overcome. Even though it wasn't me that had had the abortion, I felt bad and cried a lot about it.

Again you can click on the text for the full story and follow the tabs around the site- it makes for interesting reading. CDO doesn't appear to have anything to do with the site, but the fact remains that it is recommended to anyone who visits CDO.

Today's lesson: condoms in the classroom cause controversy

2009-12-03T22:32:00.000+11:00

Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Radio today picked up on the issue of Choices Decisions Outcomes program delivering a message thats not compliant with NSW health.

the following was reported by Journalist Heath Gilmore

Today's lesson: condoms in the classroom cause controversyHEATH GILMORE

December 3, 2009

Picture from Q and A ... the Choices Decisions Outcomes’ website.

A PRIVATELY run sex education program operating in NSW public high schools questions the effectiveness of condoms for preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Real Choices Australia operates the program, Choices Decisions Outcomes, mainly in government schools across Australia. One of its directors and spokeswoman, Debbie Garratt, has links to the Catholic Church and has worked with anti-abortion groups.

The program is used at Ulladulla High School. Teams are trying to promote it in the Newcastle, Kempsey, Macksville, Port Macquarie and Taree regions. On the Choices Decisions Outcomes' website, students are warned that condoms are not 100 per cent effective in stopping sexually transmitted infections. It highlights that children who engage in sexual activity are ''flirting with danger''.The website goes on to say there is ''no scientific evidence that condoms prevent the transmission of most sexually transmitted diseases''.

The NSW Greens MP John Kaye said the program compromised the State Government's public health strategy, which says the use of condoms during casual sexual encounters ''significantly'' reduced STI transmissions.

''The program is using subterfuge to infiltrate the classroom and indoctrinate young people with a minority viewpoint, putting their sexual health at risk,'' Dr Kaye said.

Ms Garratt said the program, which catered for the first four years of secondary schooling, encouraged adolescents to make healthy lifestyle choices regarding their sexuality as well as health and relationship issues.

Asked whether the website was designed to dissuade students from using condoms, she said some readers may have inferred the wrong meaning. ''The message is that condoms are not 100 per cent safe,'' she said. ''We don't promote abstinence as the preferred option.''

Nicholas Parkhill, the chief executive of ACON, formerly the AIDS Council of NSW, said questioning the effectiveness of condoms put the lives of young people at risk.
''It is very concerning to learn that groups are questioning the effectiveness of condoms in relation to the prevention of HIV and other STIs,'' Mr Parkhill said.

Ellie Freedman, medical education co-ordinator of Family Planning NSW, said scientific evidence existed that condoms prevented the transmission of most STIs. She said laboratory studies showed latex is impermeable to STIs.

''At Family Planning NSW we advise that consistent condom use is the most effective way of protecting against STIs,'' Dr Freedman said.

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Training said Real Choice Australia did not require departmental authorisation for its presentations, only approval from principals.

''Where an external speaker addresses students on a topic, the regular classroom teacher remains present to ensure the information is consistent with the curriculum,'' he said.

''Condom use is included as one of several options for minimising the risk of infection.''

Liberals anti CPRS and Trees!

2009-12-01T14:27:00.000+11:00

Federal Liberals are doing their best to block Labors pathetic Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and now with Tony Abbott as the new leader an even more extreme conservatisim is born.

Meanwhile on the home front- Local Conservative Liberals Guile and Ward
(oops thats right Im supposed to call them independents) are dishing up there own brand of anti-green, with their latest attack on the City tree policy.

Clr Guile has got a bee in his bonnet that rural hedges are unsightly and a blight on the rural landscape. For someone who one day hopes to grow grapes- he had better start looking into the benefit trees provide.
He also thinks that it should become the elected Councils job to get involved in tree removal disputes and give us the opportunity to debate and overturn the technical officers advice in regards to the removal of trees. Clr Guile has consistently argued that Council should be a more professional outfit and yet he wants to reduce our fortnightly debates to trees trees trees!

The other problem that has not been considered is that if we create a policy that protects rural views, then there is an expectation that those living close to the ocean should have their views protected also. Yet this would be a direct conflict in the attempts that are being made to stabilise coastal vegetation as a first line defence with rising sea's.

What if you want to farm carbon and plant out your 100acres with trees- how would that work in a landscape protectionist policy.

The tree policy may not be the best peice of policy, but it looks like that certain group of Shoalhaven Clrs ( Watson, Proudfoot, Guile, Ward, Kearney, Green) may take this opportunity to create an even worse policy than current.

So I am off to research tree policies around the state and see if we can actually improve things rather than make it easier to cut down trees in the Shoalhaven

Photograph of the Largest Spotted gum in the Shoalhaven- Thankfully safe in a reserve.

Greens name candidates for 2011 State Election

2009-11-30T22:17:00.000+11:00

Here is how the Herald reported the results from The Greens pre-selection process.

Greens name election hopes
ANDREW CLENNELL

November 30, 2009 (Sydney Morning Herald)

THE executive director of the Nature Conservation Council, Cate Faehrmann, and the Mayor of Byron Bay, Jan Barham, are set to become state MPs for the Greens after winning preselection at the weekend.

Ms Faehrmann will be in Parliament sooner than the next state election in 2011 because she has been preselected to fill the casual vacancy state MP Lee Rhiannon will create when she leaves the Legislative Council to run for the Senate at next year's federal poll.

A quirk of the preselection is that Ms Faehrmann was an unsuccessful rival for the Senate preselection against Ms Rhiannon this year even though Ms Faehrmann had the backing of the Greens leader, Senator Bob Brown.

A Sydney lawyer and councillor, David Shoebridge, Ms Barham and the Orange City councillor Jeremy Buckingham will be the top three on the Greens ticket for the upper house in the next election.

Missing out on one of the top three spots was the Rhiannon-backed Rockdale councillor Lesa de Leau, who came second to Ms Faehrmann for the casual vacancy. With the Greens polling 12 per cent in the latest Herald/Nielsen poll, the third seat could be winnable, boosting Greens numbers in the upper house to five.

As well as Ms Faehrmann, the other MP up for election in 2015 is John Kaye.

Greens sources last night were hailing the result as the ''Greening of the Greens'' against the Rhiannon-Kaye harder left forces. Ms Barham, Mr Buckingham and Ms Faehrmann are seen as ''large G'' Greens.

Carbon Pollution On the Rise!

2009-11-24T14:17:00.000+11:00

Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities rose 2 per cent in 2008 despite the economic effects of the global financial crisis, according to a paper published in Nature Geoscience.

Total missions in 2008 reached an all-time high of 1.3 tonnes of carbon per capita per year, the paper found.

The paper – by scientists from the internationally respected climate research group, the Global Carbon Project (GCP) – said rising emissions from fossil fuels last year were caused mainly by increased use of coal.

However, it found there were minor decreases in emissions from oil and deforestation.

“The current growth in carbon dioxide emissions is closely linked to growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” said one of the paper’s lead authors, CSIRO’s Dr Mike Raupach.

“CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion are estimated to have increased 41 per cent above 1990 levels with emissions continuing to track close to the worst-case scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

"There will be a small downturn in emissions because of the GFC, but anthropogenic emissions growth will resume when the economy recovers unless the global effort to reduce emissions from human activity is accelerated."

The GCP estimates that the growth in emissions from developing countries increased in part due to the production of manufactured goods consumed in developed countries.

In China alone, 50 per cent of the growth in emissions from 2002 to 2005 was attributed to the country’s export industries.

According to the GCP’s findings, atmospheric CO2 growth was about four billion metric tonnes of carbon in 2008 and global atmospheric CO2 concentrations reached 385 parts per million – 38 per cent above pre-industrial levels.

More than 30 experts from major international climate research institutions contributed to the GCP’s annual Global Carbon Budget report – now considered a primary reference on the human effects on atmospheric CO2 for governments and policy-makers around the world.

Banning Election Donations- Is Rees going far enough!

2009-11-19T16:52:00.000+11:00

Rees nade the announcement that banning developer donations was now at the top of his agenda. Years of pressure from The Greens must have brought about Ree's change of heart as he prepares himself for the 2011 election with a new cabinet and so clled new donations direction. but as always the devil is in the detail, and just like the current donations situation could see candidates exploit any loopholes. Further commentry......

Rees falls short on donation reform

By Angela Dorizas

The New South Wales Government ban on political donations from developers does not go far enough to reform election funding, according to Greens MPs, State Opposition and local government.

NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said the ban introduced by Premier Nathan Rees this week included no commitment on banning corporate donations, limiting individual donations or capping election expenditure.

“If Premier Rees really wants to demonstrate he’s putting a new broom through this government he needs to do a lot more than just ban developer donations,” Ms Rhiannon told GovernmentNews.

“The model we have put forward, which is based on what’s happening in Canada and has often been supported by various Labor and Coalition MPs in recent years, is a total ban on donations from corporations and other organisations, a strict limit on donations from individuals, tight caps on how much money can be spent at election time and also bringing in limits on how much third parties can donate and also use in election time.”

Ms Rhiannon said the NSW Government was playing catch-up on banning political donations.

“Mr Rees is a late convert to this because we’ve actually, over many years, we’ve introduced a bill into the NSW Parliament about banning developer donations as the first step to achieving this,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“It's good that he’s now come on board, so we welcome that, but it certainly needs to be seen as just the first move in a far more reaching reform process.”

Ms Rhiannon called for the immediate disclosure all corporate donations to the Government and Opposition in the lead up to the 2011 state election.

Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell said the Rees Government had failed to cap spending, ban corporate donations and ban lobbyist success fees.

He said the Labor Government urgently needed to address the ‘donations for decisions’ culture that had developed within the planning system.

Local Government Association president Cr Genia McCaffery welcomed the Premier’s announcement on developer donations, but warned of potential loopholes.

“We absolutely support it, but developers could easily step around it,” Cr McCaffery told GovernmentNews.

“I personally do agree with Barry O’Farrell, where you ban all donations except from individuals, and have a cap of $1000. That to me is the sensible thing to do.”

In announcing the ban on donations, Mr Rees said he wanted to change the “perception of campaign funding” within the state.

He introduced an immediate ban on donations from developers to the NSW ALP, introduced legislation to extend the ban on developer donations to all parties and referred campaign spending caps, donation caps and public funding of elections to the NSW Parliament’s Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.

The committee is due to report back to Government by March 2010.

Ulladulla Primary School and governance.

2009-11-19T12:10:00.000+11:00

Year 5's curriculum has a focus on governance and how all the different spheres of government work.
I was invitied to speak to my nephews year 5 class at Ulladulla Public School. The class had prepared a long list of questions covering a vareity of topics. For me the most challengeing part of this excercise was trying to convert what can be quite complex things into something that was relevant to the kids.

One of the questions asked was what is it like being on council, my kid friendly explanation went like this.

Sometimes its like the playground at lunchtime, when you meet up with other people, and some want to play football, some handball and others skip. If I want to play handball I have to convince the others not to play football or skip, sometimes you have to compromise and play handball for a while and football a for a while and finally sometimes you have to stick to what you want and play by yourself.

What do Councils do?

I gave them a list of things that could understand easily and then gave the following analogy for planning.

Say you wanted to go on a long bike ride- well you just wouldn't hop on your bike and go but you have to plan and get ready by knowing where you want to go, the best way to get there is it by road or on a bike path, do you have to wear a helmet, do you need to take water and lunch. So you would do a lot of work before you go on the journey and this is similar to Council planning for the future.

One young fellow asked me what it meant that land was owned by the crown!

I also had to explain who could vote in an election.

I hope they had an interesting session, I really enjoyed their questions and it was evident that they were paying attention when they asked questions that related to some of the issues discussed
(What are the hot issues in Council right now!)

I gave them all some homework- to fill in the survey that has been prepared as part off Councils consultation strategy for the Community Strategic Plan. So hopefully that will be some more different ideas feeding into the plans of the future!

Thanks Ulladulla Public for a great day.

A new Pool for Shoalhaven Heads!

2009-11-11T22:07:00.000+11:00

A new pool is one of the recreational facilities that have been proposed for the Shoalhaven Heads Tourist Park. Nothing wrong with that one would think- except that less than 30 metres from the gate is the village pool. A pool that Council struggles to keep open and supervised for a full day.

When Council supported this additional piece of infrastructure I was almost lost for words!

Those in favour of the park getting the pool argued that a premium tourist product needed a pool to give it a resort feel and that tourist didn't want to compete with locals for water space! Oh and that people didn't feel safe in the village pool and that the opening hours didn't suit the holiday schedule.

My counter argument was that we should be maximising the assets we have and diverting the funds from creating something new to improving and extending the village pool to better meet the needs of the tourist park (and locals) during peak season.

I don't know the costings for the new pool but even a guesstimate of $50,000 would provide ample funds for extended lifeguard hours, some water play equipment, and the subsidised costs for the visitors. Ongoing maintenance should make such a plan sustainable.

I thought my proposition was logical- I think those in the gallery agreed and they would have liked this additional funding spent on some long overdue maintenance on their pool at Nowra, which they are fighting to save.

Locking the public out of Tabourie Reserve

2009-11-11T21:46:00.000+11:00

Holiday Haven Tourist Parks are located on Crown Reserves throughout the Shoalhaven.These camping facilities provide a huge amount of dollars into Councils revenue, so at Tuesday nights meeting when it was suggested that we lock the public out of the reserve by installing a boom gate to protect the paying customers and keeping the car park private, there was only one response that needed to be given- NO.

Instead of going down that simple path, I had to convince at least 6 others that this was a bad plan.

The facts emerged as the debate went on.

No Community Consultation had taken place,
No existing boom gate at the facility that blocked the road (even though Councillors were told there was).
No other parking was available to the public that is family friendly access to both the lake and Wairo Beach.

Councils across NSW have been given license to operate caravan parks on crown reserves, one of the conditions of the license is that they provide camping areas and not have the majority of the parks swallowed up by private vans and council cabins. This historic decision supported equity for all people no matter how big your wallet. The very idea of Crown Reserves in my opinion is the essence of public access.

The argument against the boom was strong, and we at least now have a commitment to consultation before any further action is taken.

Common Sense saves the day!

2009-11-05T21:48:00.000+11:00

Climate Change Adaptation Forum and Workshop

The forum and workshop, held in Sydney and Melbourne, will address climate change adaptation and managing the risks and building resilience.
Times and places
Melbourne Forum (Melbourne, 24 November 2009)
Melbourne Workshop (25 November 2009)
Sydney Forum (Darling Harbour, Sydney, 26 November 2009)
Sydney Workshop (27 November 2009)

This forum will:
Outline what adaptation is and how it relates to mitigation
Describe what are we adapting to - an overview of the science and key issues
Introduce ways to assess vulnerability, including compound risks with other emerging conditions such as economic contraction and peak oil
Outline approaches to building adaptive capacity and key capabilities around innovation and learning
Identify implications for strategy and business models
Provide participants with a new strategic frame to address climate impacts, as well as practical approaches they can apply.
Read more about Climate Adaptation Flagship.

Coastal Hazard Draft Policy Approved for Exhibition

2009-11-03T23:20:00.000+11:00

At tonight's development committee meeting, Council adopted a draft policy to deal with rising sea levels and coastal development. The plan was given a last minute name change removing the word hazard in an attempt to soften the blow.

Over the last 18 months or so Council has been conducting studies into areas of high risk which includes the Millionaires row at Mollymook beach, testing for vulnerability when it comes to sea level rise and climatic change. Consultants UmWelt have come back with a report that includes some hazard mapping with indicators for the years 2025,2050 and 2100. These line's were revised to reflect the adopted draft position of the NSW State Government which has a 40cm rise by 2050 and 90cm rise by 2100.

So what does it all mean.

Basically, the plan extinguishes building rights on land that is seaward of the 2025 line. This land is classified as HIGH RISK and when you look at it you can see why. It is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of storm surges. Dunes with a good vegetation mix could help in mitigating the impacts, and is one of the recommended actions within the report.

Anything land-ward of the 2025 line has some building opportunities but these have been reduced and had new controls put in place.

Like many places around the state (not just coastal) some properties are devaluing due to climate change.

As a farmer who has been dealing with drought over the last 7 years we have been working with the Department of Primary Industries and CSIRO on adapting our business to suit climate change.

Like drought, knowledge of rising sea levels is not something that has occurred overnight, but has been solidly in the public eye for the last 10 years. Councils now have a duty of care to produce adaptation plans for their regions.

I decided to research the changes in ownership along millionaires row and was surprised to find property changing hands for premium prices as little as 8 months ago in these high risk areas. This area has been attracting the million + price tag since 2004, the buyer beware alarm bells should surely be ringing in such low lying coastal areas.

It was around 2004 that a good friend of mine decided to sell her low lying lake front property at a reduced price because of her concerns about climate change.

Low lying areas are suffering world wide from rising sea levels, farmers in NSW have been living with reduced income and land devaluation because of climate change induced drought. Island Nations are feeling the impacts keenly.

Decadent, Prepostorous Spring

2009-11-03T10:02:00.000+11:00

I adore spring, its so decadent, sensory even sensuous, a feast for eyes, ears, nose and body. I'm surprised someone hasn’t try to ban it.
Working at our farm garden today I hilled soil full of life onto potatoes, and daydreamed of the fluffy white spuds or waxy kipflers I will be enjoying in a matter of weeks. I admired the strong shoots of the new corn bursting through and the bright green carrot tops now long enough to sway gently in the breeze.
The orchard is a work of art also, with small summer fruits taking shape, an utter abundance of foliage on the grapes and kiwi fruits, the delicious smell of the last of the citrus blossoms.
I watched tiny chicks follow their mother hen, and red headed wrens preen their newly coloured feathers in the light spray from a leaky hose. I gathered up my collection of food under the shade of the mandarin tree. Colours so bright they are almost preposterous or at least from an abstract artwork on the walls of famous gallery.
The abundance is an illusion though, like a dessert mirage, for just below the surface lurks the grim fingers of drought ready to snatch away the fruit of our toil.
So from my heady sensory heights I fall and think once more about population pressure and the ever-diminishing farm land that has the smallest of chances to escape the fingers of drought and supply food for our always gaping jaws. Has our government condemned us to a life of imported food from China, through its newly aggressive immigration position? Leaving us vulnerable and unable to care for ourselves. Have they considered that blind consumption is the mantra that has been created by governments' hell bent on growth at any cost. Life giving water resources, barely enough to satiate the thirst of the nation now. Are we destined to rape the fresh rainfalls of Tasmania from the once suggested pipeline!

So interconnected is our web that each decision that impacts on our direct environment impacts directly on us- yet so many seem unable to accept that simple reality- we are just an animal, overpopulating and destroying the ability to sustain ourselves. I drift into the rose garden, drawn by the sweet late afternoon perfume drawing in not only me, but the end of day bees looking for that last feast to share with the colony and wonder will we do the same!

(Photo of one my favourite local nativeorchids known here as the "Flying Duck Orchid.)

Community Forum Voted Down

2009-10-31T15:23:00.000+11:00

This first year on council one of my focus points has been on better access for the community in regards to council's business.
All the ideas that I have put forward to improve consultation have been voted down, the latest being the forum prior to Council meetings. The idea of the forum was to have open access to all 13 Councillors in the one spot for members of our community who feel that the Consultative Bodies do not represent their interests. Community should be invited to share its experiences and contribute ideas for the city's future. Shoalhavens reputation as a Council that doesn't listen will be a difficult one to repair and a years worth of decisions is not the only way to turn that situation around.

I won't give up when it comes to improved community consultation and will keep bringing forward amendments for current practices so that Council can be more inclusive.

Tomerong Tip Part Four the closing statement

2009-10-17T21:52:00.000+11:00

Closing Statement

This submission is a brief analysis of the application that has been put forward to the community.
It is plain to see that the application inadequately addresses environmental, land management and traffic issues.

The application if exposed to close and prolonged scrutiny would doubtless reveal additional issues that require addressing.

The Shoalhaven markets itself as a tourism location that has pristine waterways and natural vistas for the visitor to explore and enjoy. The Jervis Bay area, and its catchment in particular, attract many visitors from the domestic and overseas market.

It is an area of high environmental value and a semi-rural community lives here for the peace and quiet of a healthy environment. Given that the environmental credentials of the area have been long established, residents should expect a quality lifestyle, not the potential to be living next to a toxic waste dump.

When asked at a briefing as to why such a sensitive environmental site had been chosen for this facility, one of the joint preparers of the EIS stated "the landfill will be in a mined-out quarry, simple as that".

No consideration for the environmental implications and no confidence generated in the EIS. This is not just about filling an old quarry but changing the topography of the site with a 50 metre hill of toxic waste - in an environmentally sensitive catchment.

The Shoalhaven Greens are also shocked that the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) have deemed the condition of the Princes Highway adequate to support increased volume in heavy vehicle haulage.

This is of great concern as it appears to remove liability from the RTA should there be an increase in vehicle accidents due to increased congestion and the need for transport operators to meet deadlines and fulfil contractual agreements.

The Shoalhaven Greens are of the firm opinion that the only responsible course of action to take in determining the application is to enact the precautionary principle. Refusal of the application should be the recommendation on the grounds that it is not possible to guarantee the health of the environment or ensure as to what may happen in either the short or long term future on this site.

It is not possible to prove that toxins will not escape into the catchment via ground water, surface water or air and in light of this inability to prove that the development would be benign, the application must be refused.

We trust that the relevant Ministers and Panel members will exercise their environmental and social responsibilities and reject this proposal.

Tomerong Tip Part 3- Environmental Issues.

2009-10-16T20:55:00.000+11:00

Water Quality and Environmental Issues

Development, particularly industrial development, in sensitive environmental areas must be proven to be benign or beneficial to the biodiversity, water and air quality of that area. This is spelled out in detail in the government's environmental legislation and the South Coast Regional Strategy.

It is clearly impossible for this proposal to meet those criteria and therefore renders the proposal completely unsustainable. The Tomerong quarry is in an area of high environmental significance, being in the catchment of St Georges Basin with the major feeder stream, Tomerong Creek, running mere metres past the quarry and its leachate/holding dams, and the headwaters of Moona Moona Creek and the Jervis Bay catchment.

Any toxic spill from this site would have serious consequences for Tomerong Creek and St Georges Basin.
The applicant cannot guarantee that there will be no leaching of toxins from this site or overflows of
polluted water, especially during extreme rainfall events. The reliance on mechanical pumping devices to reticulate water through the site and maintain leachate pond levels is problematic.

The applicant has already identified issues with ground water moving through the rock profile in locations above the current ground level of approx 13.5 AHD.
The precautionary principle must be applied to protect the already stressed St Georges Basin and its surrounding environment due to the applicant's inability to guarantee no leachate or toxic water overflows from the site. The leachate will be toxic - it is unsuitable for irrigating the site and toxins will be transferred into the catchment if the leachate is used as irrigation via aerosol action of sprayed water containing particulate.

Accidents happen and any pollution event resulting in toxins being released into Tomerong Creek could be catastrophic. St Georges Basin is already pushed to the brink of environmental health by the development
around it. This was recently recognised in the Federal Government's decision to stop any further housing
development within the catchment at the location known as Heritage Estates which would have directly impacted upon St Georges Basin.

To allow a large facility storing toxic solid and liquid (leachate) waste in the catchment of a still healthy, precious natural resource can only be described as epic folly. To quote Council staff, "there is only a very narrow buffer between the quarry and the sensitive water bodies leading to significant waterways".