IS THE LAW DOING ENOUGH TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT? With recent law changes in Queensland to remove green-tape obstacles to development we have very little law left to protect the environmental values and assets that the whole community depends on for fresh air, water, food and quality of life. The transfer of the powers of the Federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to the States removes yet another layer of checks and balances that protected Australias environment, flora, fauna and World Heritage Areas. The recent reductions in the right to object to mining and CSG leases and approvals are designed to help the miners and gas companies, not protect the communitys interests in protecting food production, water quality and landscapes. Now Mantle Mining is poised to start exploration for CSG at Nguddaboolgan (Mt Mulligan). The mining legislation favours the miners and their short-term gains over the Traditional Owners and community wanting to protect the significant cultural heritage and natural values of a site with a 40,000 year history of occupation. As for dredging and port expansion in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the failure of our elected politicians and the reef protection agencies to act in the interests of the reefs survival has already been well-documented on this page. In Cairns the Novotel operated Oasis resort proposes to cut down eleven historic trees planted on Arbour Days as long ago as 1890 by the students of the Cairns Central School, the previous site occupant. The trees also form part of the Cairns CBD flying fox camp and threats to their removal were strongly opposed by the community in 1996 when the resort was being built; and more recently when they were trimmed in an attempt to disperse the flying foxes. Council even wrote protection clauses for the trees in the original building approvals and stopped work on the site in 1996 when foundation works got too close to the tree root balls. Now almost 20 years later a new Council is being asked to approve their removal when Councils own inadequate tree management policies already gives them no protection at all or even requires any approval for their removal. So the answer to the question posed above has, unfortunately, to be NO. The environment and the ecological services the community depends on for its survival is being sold off to vested interests with total disregard for any community interest or ownership. This is happening locally, regionally, nationally and globally. The laws created over decades in Australia and Queensland to protect the environment have been stripped away in only a few years. Only an informed and engaged community that makes demands of its politicians and government agencies can stop and reverse this trend. This community may well have to take direct action, such as the successful CSG blockade at Bentley in north-eastern NSW, to protect the elements of its environment and landscapes it values when there is no law left that achieves this. To paraphrase the song, we wont know what weve lost until its gone.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 22:17:45 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015