LATEST NIMBIN GOODTIMES ARTICLE Its been an extraordinary winter. I dont remember one like it with such cold dry conditions. One of my friends reported 10 consecutive days of frost at his property. One of my main focuses at Council recently has been to work with other Councillors, staff and interested residents to develop a land management policy that effectively protects our endangered environmental communities while not destroying our relationship with the farming community by overwhelming that important sector with regulation. Im hopeful that Council will eventually develop a mix of incentives and minimal backup regulation that will prove effective. Any ideas on this complex issue are always welcome. Council continues its energy and greenhouse gas reduction action by installing its biggest solar hot water system yet, with hundreds of solar evacuated tubes now visible on the roof of the Lismore Memorial Baths. The solar evacuated tube system is the final component in stage one of the Community Energy Efficiency Program, funded by the federal government and Council’s Cities for Climate Protection Fund. Altogether the energy efficient measures represent a collective saving of $124,000 per year, which equates to 531,273 kilowatt hours. More importantly, it will reduce Council’s CO2 emissions annually by 561 tonnes. On the Gasfield Free Communities front the Minister is continuing Metgascos licence suspension and Metgasco will be returning to the Supreme Court in October to fight the Minister decision. Given the huge drain on police resources in November with the G20 in Brisbane, the demands of Christmas and the looming state election in March it is hard to see how there will be any police resources available to try and get Metgasco into the Bentley site before April/May 2015. What a shame! Great to see the Labor Party listening to the people of the North Coast by passing a motion at its State Conference to halt unconventional gas drilling in the Northern Rivers. Its a shame that the ALP ever allowed it to happen in the first place. But with minister like Obied and McDonald what can you expect? To be fair Chris Hartcher the coalitions ex minister for mining is also under investigation by ICAC. There must be something about that ministry. At Lismores last Council meeting Council accepted my motion for the annual Local Government Conference that the Conference ask the NSW State Government to: 1. Declare ‘no-go zones’ for mining and gas in our drinking water catchments and to protect our rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater. 2. Declare ‘no-go zones’ for mining and gas on our productive farmland and in areas where it will have a negative impact on local business. 3. Declare ‘no-go zones’ for mining and gas development in our iconic wild places, conservation areas, state forests and travelling stock routes. 4. Set strong limits on air, noise, water, and carbon pollution from coal and gas developments. 5. Give landowners and local councils the right to refuse access to mining companies and restoring the legal right for the community to appeal mining approvals in the courts. 6. Put in place and independent, transparent and rigorous assessment of mining and gas projects and strengthen monitoring of existing operations and penalties for breaches. The motion was voted against by Crs Meinke and Scheible, both of whom stood on a no gas platform at the last Council election! Trish (my wife) and I have just returned from a 2,000 kms trip around Western NSW. I gave three talks about Bentley and the Gasfield Free initiative as well as doing training. We had a great reception and it very clear that the people around the PILliga and Maules Creek are in the fight for their livelihood and inevitably their environment. One farmer west of Burren Junction who farms 8,000 acres and has large overheads and debts said that even Santos (the miner) says their operations would lower his water bores by 14 metres. He said this would completely destroy his familys farming enterprise. This is some of Australias most productive farmland, hard to believe that a few brief years of fossil fuel energy exported overseas could get priority over food production for generations. Stay warm and safe.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 19:44:21 +0000
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