Shifting freight to rail is the only way to get serious about Highway safety

The North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) claimed today the recent road tragedy at Urunga could have been much worse if the truck was carrying fuel or gas. NCEC spokesperson, John Jeayes, said, “It is very likely the truck driver may not have caused this terrible accident but the mere fact that B-Doubles and other heavy trucks are on our highways will contribute to more and more of these sorts of accidents.”

In an article “Shifting freight to rail could make the Pacific Highway safer”, Phillip Laird of Wollongong University wrote:

“Articulated trucks such as semi-trailers and “B-Doubles” are involved in about 30% of fatal road accidents on the Pacific Highway. As the number of trucks carrying freight between Sydney and Brisbane increases, we will see more tragic incidents like the fatal crash involving a B-Double on 8 January 2012 near Urunga.”¹

“Why, asks Mr Jeayes, “are we trying to convert the Pacific Highway into a super highway to cater for truck transport when the vast majority of North Coast residents just want a safe and adequate highway? The majority of long distance freight should be on an upgraded railway, he claimed.”

“Given some adequate funding the rail line could handle all the dangerous intercity cargo and make the highway less dangerous.”

“There is a lack of lateral thinking on solving the intercity cargo problem.

Why does ALL the money go into the highway and not equal sums into rail?

Could more be accomplished for the funds and the time available by choosing easier routes which are environmentally and economically sustainable?

How are the priorities for work decided and by whom? Is the community reference group work structured to give the result the RTA wanted in the first place no matter what community objections are raised.

Are there any North Coast residents outside the transport industry in favour of B-Doubles on our highway? How many people on the North Coast are afraid to drive after dark on our highways and mix it with convoys of trucks?

Is the upgrade of the Pacific Highway from Newcastle to Tweed more about business than road safety?

Even with the upgrade completed fatalities involving heavy trucks will continue as was indicated with the recent Tintenbar smash on a section of completed highway.²

Transport chiefs around Australia have said that improving the rail system to travel at 80kph

to carry cargo from Melbourne to Brisbane would result in the disappearance of long distance trucks from the highways.”

1 http://theconversation.edu.au/shifting-freight-to-rail-could-make-the-pacific-highway-safer-4882

 2 http://www.mydailynews.com.au/story/2011/01/01/crash-fatality-accident-ballina/

Victorian plan to log ‘parks and reserves’ a cause for alarm in NSW

“We are horrified that as the International Year of Forests draws to a close, we have a Government in Australia proposing to open up protected areas for logging” said NCEC President Susie Russell.

 “In response to the Victorian timber supply crisis resulting from decades of over-cutting and unsustainable practices, the Victorian Liberal Minister responsible is recommending the logging of ‘parks, reserves and water catchments’ ¹ as well as reducing protections for endangered species, bringing in 20 year wood supply contracts and making taxpayers liable for any timber shortfalls.

 “The Victorian Timber Action Plan released yesterday is an ecological and social disaster,” she said.

“What is alarming is that instead of seeing the writing on the wall for an industry that has failed to develop its own resource or respect the environment, the Victorian Government plans to head back to the dark ages and repeat the same mistakes by entrenching over-cutting, taxpayer liability and weakening environmental protection of key natural assets.

“It is a recipe for ongoing conflict in Victoria’s forests. You would think they would have learned something from the NSW experience. In NSW where 20 year contracts have been in place for more than a decade, and despite lax environmental regulation, taxpayers are already paying compensation to timber companies.

“The fight for the forests will be well and truly on again if the NSW Government follows suit and tries to open up protected areas for logging. We certainly hope they have more sense than to return to an era of protracted forest protest, ” she warned.

“We ask that Premier Barry O’Farrell and Forestry Minister Katrina Hodgkinson rule out solving the timber supply crisis in NSW by opening up national parks and other protected areas for logging, or watering down what we consider to be the already weak environmental protection measures that apply to logging.

“The timber supply crisis in NSW can only be dealt with by reducing contracted volumes, and reducing taxpayer liability. The biodiversity and climate crises can only be dealt with by protecting habitat, carbon stored in large trees, reserve connectivity and water catchment integrity.

“The way forward is less native forest logging not more… Victoria is certainly marching backwards under Bailleau,” Ms Russell said.

^1.http://premier.vic.gov.au/images/stories/documents/mediareleases/2011/111213_Timber_Industry_Action_Plan.pdf

Environment Office a toothless tiger when it comes to rainforest protection.

A major development on the NSW mid-north coast that will see the villages of Lake Cathie and Bonny Hills connected with residential and commercial buildings, has been approved.

 “However the approval fails to apply the 100m buffer required to protect littoral (coastal) rainforest,” said NCEC President Susie Russell.

“The site includes one of the largest littoral (coastal) rainforest remnants and it is in relatively good condition. Littoral rainforest is rare now, is an Endangered Ecological Community, and also has a special State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP 26) to ensure it is adequately recognised and protected.

“The SEPP requires that land within 100m of the rainforest shall be a buffer and should not be developed,” she said.

“The Littoral rainforest on the Lake Cathie/ Bonny Hills site is barely 100m in width. The development will have an average buffer of 47m and in some parts will have no buffer, with the road easement hard against the rainforest edge. The developers suggest that the road should be considered as part of the buffer!

“The Office of the Environment and Heritage made 2 submissions to the development pointing out that a 100m buffer was required. The Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority did the same. The developer and the Planning Department ignored them both and accepted the development proposal with less than half the buffer required by the SEPP.

“As the Northern Rivers CMA said in their submission, ‘the beach is subject to coastal erosion and recession’. When I visited the site on Sunday this was clearly apparent,” Ms Russell said.

“We can expect to see the extent of the rainforest diminish over time as higher tides eat away the vegetation on the coastal side. A100m buffer is to allow the rainforest to extend to the west over time and protect it from development impacts.

“This development approval with its pathetic rainforest buffer once again demonstrates that the NSW Government pays only lip-service to environmental protection and the Office of Environment and Heritage, responsible for providing advice on, and policing environmental policy and law, is ignored by the Department of Planning in its considerations.

For the environmental assets of NSW it is a death of many thousands of cuts,” Ms Russell said.

 

For the OEH submission see: https://majorprojects.affinitylive.com/public/31d6e14bac4c70d32a0c91f71c926b2e/OE&H%20response_%20EEC.pdf

For the NR CMA submission see: https://majorprojects.affinitylive.com/public/10f19c2479da689b465c9094f3509aec/Northern%20Rivers%20Catchment%20Management%20Authority.pdf

Flood plain development at West Byron. Climate change – what climate change?

With world Governments due to meet in Durban, South Africa to keep trying to hammer out a global agreement for action on climate change, it’s clear that Australian Governments are still largely in the denial phase.

According to NCEC President Susie Russell, this is demonstrated by the business as usual approach to planning and development, where Governments still encourage development of land subject to increasing natural hazards, using the same energy-guzzling designs.

“The proposed new suburb of Byron Bay – West Byron, is a case in point.

“The development will see about 1000 homes, plus retail and industrial buildings built on the floodplain of the Belongil Creek.

“Developing the floodplain of a coastal estuary is not wise. With sea-levels rising and rainfalls intensifying due to climate change it will subject future landowners to massive risks and hardships.

“Scientists have been telling us since the mid- 1990s that we can expect more intense rainfall events, with a likelihood of more flash flooding. One in a 100 year floods can be expected every 20 years. This is consistent with what we are seeing in Northern NSW.

“If the NSW Government accepts this ‘concept’ and rezones this floodplain for residential, retail and industrial development, will the taxpayers of NSW be responsible for picking up the tab for flood damage to this suburban infrastructure?

“The public has less than 2 days to comment on this development ‘concept’. ¹ Many questions about it remain unanswered. Changes to the planning process introduced under the previous Government mean that developers can get approval before detailing exactly what they plan to do, how they plan to solve various problems or deal with particular environmental impacts.

“As a community we should be planning and building for a future of greater climatic instability, not continuing the folly of building new suburbs on flood prone land,” she said.

¹. http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=3547

NCEC Requests stop work on forestry operations in Boambee State Forest

The North Coast Environment Council has written to Coalition Environment Minister Robyn Parker requesting an immediate halt to logging in Boambee State Forest until it can be assessed against precautionary criteria.

In her evidence to the recent Estimates Committee hearings Ms Parker said that Forests NSW has been advised to take a precautionary approach to logging Koala habitat in Boambee State Forest.

Members of the North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) undertook an inspection on the weekend of the logging operations in the vicinity of log dumps No 1 and 3 in Compartment 602 Boambee State Forest and formed the opinion that the logging operation is clearly not taking a precautionary approach.

“The intensity of the logging operation exceeds a precautionary approach. The basal area removal of logged areas is estimated to be 80-90% with the only trees marked for retention being scattered and isolated seed trees and some Koala primary browse trees,” said Mr Ashley Love, spokesperson for the NCEC.

“From stump observation a high proportion of Tallowwood logs are being removed – an estimate of 4-5 times that being retained as primary browse trees. The removal of an estimated 80 % of large Tallowwood primary browse trees in the logging operation is not a precautionary approach in relation to maintaining Koala habitat.

“Further, the intensity of the logging operation is likely to promote a dense lantana understorey in the forest where this species is already a common component of the understorey in an area that is potentially susceptible to Bell Miner Assisted Dieback, a threatening process under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act,” Mr Love concluded.

Timber Supply Crisis to cost taxpayers millions for non-existent timber.

Court documents obtained by the NCEC confirm that Forests NSW are unable to meet timber commitments and are having to pay out mills for timber that never existed.

NCEC President, Susie Russell, said that ever since the NSW Government gave new Wood Supply Agreements for timber from public land to millers in 2004, Forests NSW have not been able to supply the committed volumes.

“At the time the new Wood Supply Agreements were issued there was abundant evidence that Forests NSW’s resource estimates were grossly overstated and unreliable. Unfortunately at that time the NSW Government removed a clause that was in previous agreements that allowed timber commitments to be reduced in line with yield reviews.

“Timber giant Boral initiated proceedings in the Supreme Court against Forests NSW in 2010 claiming Forests NSW have been unable to supply them with contracted timber volumes since 2002. The court documents show that Forests NSW were forced to pay Boral half a million dollars in 2006 for undersupply to that time. Since then supply has been declining and Forests NSW now owe Boral almost twice as much again,” she said.

“Forests NSW have also been forced to buy back timber commitments from other millers

“In vain efforts to meet shortfalls Forests NSW have been over-logging plantations, cutting trees before they mature, increasing logging intensities, logging stream buffers, logging trees and areas required to be retained for threatened species and buying timber from private properties.

“Despite leaving the forest looking like a battlefield and cutting out the future sawlogs, Forests NSW still cannot get them enough wood,” said long-time forest activist with the North East Forest Alliance, Dailan Pugh, who as a result of analysing all FNSW timber yield estimates predicted the timber supply crisis in 1999.

“The NSW Government’s recklessness in issuing the new Wood Supply Agreements in 2004 has already cost taxpayers a fortune, and exposed us to many millions of dollars in future compensation. The environmental costs are astronomical,” he said.

“The crisis is real and ongoing. The gross over-cutting now happening must be stopped immediately. Timber quotas must be immediately reduced to a sustainable level. The legal dispute between the Government and Boral is perhaps the only opportunity this Government will have to make these changes. Failure to do so could lead to further massive compensation payouts as well as doing irreparable damage to our public forests,” Ms Russell said.

To see the court document see:

http://nefa.org.au/resources/Summons_Boral_v_Forestry_Commission.pdf

Forests and Carbon key topic at Regional Forest Conference

Media Release October 17, 2011

 The North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) is pleased to announce that Professor Brendan Mackey¹ will be the keynote speaker at a Regional Forest Conference² to be held on October 22^nd starting at 10.30am in the Cavanbah Centre, Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour.

Professor Mackey is the lead author of “Green Carbon: The role of natural forests in carbon storage”.

“Professor Mackey’s report injected some crucial science into the carbon and forests debate. The report concludes that carbon stored in forests is under-estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and that stopping the degradation of natural forests, including industrial logging, contributes to their resilience and carbon storage. These are important lessons for NSW.

“International Year of Forests is an appropriate time to put some of our regional forest issues under the spotlight. Controversy continues about the impact of intensive logging on waterways, forest health and the animals and plants that depend on forests,” said Susie Russell who was last week elected as the President of the NCEC.

“Local perspectives will be given prominence with Dailan Pugh outlining the issues in this region; Jim Morrison discussing the problems with Private Native Forestry; Mark Graham will focus on the ecological impacts of intensive logging and John Hunter will give an introduction to Bell Miner Associated Dieback and its impact across the landscape.

“Other speakers at the Conference include Pepe Clarke form the Nature Conservation Council, Senator Lee Rhiannon, the Greens spokesperson on forest issues, and Warrick Jordan, the national campaign co-ordinator for The Wilderness Society.

“With Regional Forest Agreements nationally discredited and a new almost $1 billion fund that opens the door to protecting forests for their carbon and biodiversity, it’s time to get it all out in the open. We are encouraging all players in the debate to attend and already have registrations from several in the industry,” Ms Russell said.

¹ Brendan Mackey is a professor of environmental science at the Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University. His research and teaching is in the fields of ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and climate change, and he leads a research programme which is investigating the role of natural ecosystems in carbon storage. Brendan is a member of a number of government committees including: the science advisory group to the Climate Commission; the Tasmanian Forest Carbon Steering Committee; the Independent Verification Group to the Tasmanian Forest Agreement; and the expert working group for the National Wildlife Corridor Programme. Brendan is a member of the IUCN Council and the Earth Charter International Council.

² For conference program visit the website http://ncec.wordpress.com/forest-conference-oct-2011/

Forest NSW announce- Boambee koalas to get the chop

“Forests NSW in announcing their intention to log Core Koala habitat at Boambee State Forest immediately west of Coffs Harbour are acting like a rogue agency totally out of control,” said newly elected NCEC Vice-President Ashley Love. “They are proposing to trash high conservation publicly owned forests in a desperate attempt to meet unsustainable long-term wood supply commitments.”

 “Forests NSW are refusing to cooperate with other arms of the NSW Government to implement the NSW Koala Recovery Plan and to prepare landscape management plans for Koalas for important areas like Coffs Harbour.”

“NCEC has written detailed letters to both the Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson and Minister for the Environment Ms Robyn Parker on two occasions, the earliest in mid-August, seeking deferral of logging in this important area of koala habitat and as yet we have not received replies,” Mr Love said.

“In our most recent correspondence to the Ministers, following the release of the Federal Governments report into Koalas, the Council asked the Ministers to consider approaching the Federal Government for possible funding from the new $ 984m Carbon and Biodiversity Fund being set up as part of the Carbon Tax initiative. Guidelines released for the Fund specifically approve buyback of timber quotas on publicly owned forests with high biodiversity values.”

“The North Coast Environment Council has also asked the Ministers to investigate allegations that ForestsNSW had acted against the intent of the Coffs Harbour Koala Management Plan in offering to log Core Koala habitat on adjoining private lands.”

“To announce a commencement of logging of Core Koala habitat in the Coastal Range backdrop immediately to the west of Coffs Harbour without exploring the possibility of federal funding or investigation of FNSW inappropriate behaviour, demonstrates ForestsNSW are completely driven by unsustainable timber resource commitments and all the other objectives of the Forestry Act* are being ignored,” he said.

*(1) The objects of the commission shall be:

(a) to conserve and utilise the timber on Crown-timber lands and land owned by the commission or otherwise under its control or management to the best advantage of the State,

(b) to provide adequate supplies of timber from Crown-timber lands and land owned by the commission or otherwise under its control or management for building, commercial, industrial, agricultural, mining and domestic purposes,

(c) to preserve and improve, in accordance with good forestry practice, the soil resources and water catchment capabilities ofCrown-timber lands and land owned by the commission or otherwise under its control or management,

(d) to encourage the use of timber derived from trees grown in the State,

(e) consistent with the use of State forests for the purposes of forestry and of flora reserves for the preservation of the native flora thereon:

(i) to promote and encourage their use as a recreation, and

(ii) to conserve birds and animals thereon, and

(f) to provide natural resource environmental services (whether within or outside of New South Wales)

Senate Koala Report endorsed and NSW Government and local councils called on to match reform

The North Coast Environmental Council has broadly endorsed the Federal Government’s Senate inquiry report on Koalas tabled in Federal Parliament on Friday 23^rd September as a first step to stop the dramatic decline of Koalas on the North Coast of NSW.

In identifying the dramatic decline in Koala populations on the North Coast the Senate Committee recommended the Federal Government undertake habitat mapping including the identification of priority areas for Koala conservation and provide more assistance for research into diseases such as chlamydia and koala retrovirus.

The Committee also recommended that the Australian Government actively consider options for recognition and funding for private landholders for the conservation of Koala habitat.

These are important first steps in improving the chances of saving Koalas on the North Coast and must be adopted by the Federal Government the spokesperson for the environmental group, Mr Morrison said.

Mr. Morrison called on the NSW Government and local councils to now get on board and cooperate with the Federal Government in strengthening Koala conservation measures which was one of their key pre-election promises.

Mr Morrison said the complementary state measures required to achieve this are:

1. The NSW government should revise and strengthen NSW Koala Recovery Plan to implement Senate Inquiry findings.

2. Review and revise the State Environmental Planning Policy No. 44 for Koalas to bring it in line with Senate Inquiry findings and recommendations by Local Councils.

3. Reject Integrated Forest Operations Approval amendments proposed by the previous government which weaken Koala protection in state forests.

4. Reform administration of Private Native Forestry to ensure Core Koala habitat is protected from logging and habitat connectivity is maintained.

5. Provide immediate interim protection for Core Koala habitat on all Crown lands and finalize protection of core koala habitat within two years.

6. Establish and encourage with the Federal Government, programs for financial compensation for protection of core koala habitat and protection or restoration of connectivity between core habitats.

7. Provide incentives for local government to undertake and regularly revise Koala Management plans.

World Car Rally Disturbs Muttonbirds

The official monitoring of the first night of the World Car Rally has detected significant disturbance to the Wedgetailed Shearwater colony on Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve according to Jim Morrison president of the North Coast Environment Council.

Environment groups were allowed to station an observer on the Island with the official monitoring team which undertook monitoring from 6 to 8pm.

At 8 pm the birds were significantly more disturbed than recorded on nights prior to the rally and the official observer expected the disturbance to continue until the rally was finished for the evening.

Factors which may have contributed to the disturbance included seven sets of temporary lights erected for the rally which were pointing partly or directly towards Muttonbird Island Mr Morrison said.

At two points on the circuit rally car headlights pointed directly at the Island.

Both forms of lighting were bright white lights known to have more effect on the birds than coloured lights.

The noise of the rally cars was clearly heard on the Island and may have also contributed to the enhanced disturbance of the birds.

Artificial noise and lights are identified in the Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve Plan of Management as two major threats to the birds.

Mr Morrison called for the remaining two super special stages of the rally at the Jetty to be brought forward to daylight hours.

If this cannot be achieved Mr Morrison said the seven sets of lights should be realigned away from the island and screens erected at two locations to prevent car headlights pointing directly at Muttonbird Island.

The Shearwater colony on Muttonbird Island is already severely depleted and has a low breeding rate. “Additional stress should not be placed on the colony for sake of a car rally,” Mr Morrison said.