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Wednesday 8th August 2007 - - - Editor Mal Davies
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My Say
With the overload of correspondence and researching, not mention production, I have decided to publish SOS-NEWS on Wednesdays and Friday for the next few months.
If a newsworthy hits my desk then a special edition will hit your email inbox.
Mal Davies
(Editor)
FELLOW MUSHROOMS
Greens Unseen
Almost twenty years ago, having retired as the Treasurer of what is now Environment Victoria I focussed my activities on the Central Gippsland Area Forest Management Advisory Committee, a body set up by what is now DSE to develop protocols for the management of recreation activities in Central Gippsland forests.
My pleas for my former 'green' companions to join me met with a blank silence.
Later on, around 1997, that Committee underwent a slight change of focus and became the Regional Forests Agreement Committee. Again my pleas for my "green" friends to take part were ignored because as the President told me, they were not going to agree with the final protocols and couldn't be associated in any way.
Keeping this in mind, I wondered how the three Green MLC's were coping in Parliament. What a surprise;
Greg Barber MLC is on the Public Accounts & Estimates Committee. No doubt he is querying the decrease in the cost of managing the public's land between 1982 and 2005. $25 per hectare in 1982. $21 per hectare in 2005. Will he wonder why we concentrate the workforce in Melbourne when the job to be done is in rural Victoria, that is, the unknown lands east of Dandenong and west of Werribee.
Colleen Hartland MLC is on the Outer Suburban Interface Committee. There are two issues, (a) Matters concerning provisions of services to new urban regions and (b) Development or Expansion of new urban regions. One must wonder at this distraction from her forest worship. Hopefully, she is slowing down the rate of human habitations vis a vis the loss of animal habitation.
Sue Pennicuik MLC. Perhaps I overlooked her but I didn't note a Committee where she is listed as a member. Perhaps, in her Brighton Off ice there are many environmental issues that concern her.
How interesting that none of them are members of the Environment & Natural Resources Committee. One might draw the conclusion that they are intent upon opposing the eventual recommendations regarding the Inquiry into Public Land Management.
John Cribbes
Victorians Make Note
Attached is a further flier re the PLUG THE PIPE RALLY outlining the awful affect the pipe will have on landholders along its route. Note the change in venue for the rally start. Those who arrive at the previously notified venues Federation Square will be redirected.
Please note also that for those near Shepparton, Field and Game Australia is holding an information and discussion session on the Victorian Environment Assessment Council recommendations for more national parks in the Redgum forest areas. This will be held at Shepparton RSL, Cnr Wyndham & Knight Streets, at 7.30pm 8 August.
What Risks in Forward Selling, or Contract Entering?
Water allocated and then reduced by the government has sent a number of hardworking farmers to the courts.
Not to fight for water rights, but to respond to the failure to meet contracts of supply with a grain company.
Contracts that were entered into in good faith and with a complete understanding of just how much Maize could be grown for the water allocation the area was allowed and hence fair expectation of availability.
The farmers were advised before planting of an18% allocation of water that was able to be drawn from the Murrumbidgee River. On this information the correct and proper decisions were made on the amount of crop to be grown and contracts were entered into for the sale of the expected crop. Rain was not a necessary factor, as the crop size was decided by the availability of irrigation water allocated.
Along came the NSW government just when the crops were at a critical stage of growth, mature but not grained, the water allocation was reduced to 10%. A NSW governmental decision, a decision which denied the farmers the ability to nurture their crops to harvest, with the result that they were not able to meet their contractual obligations, let alone make a dollar to live on.
Some farmers with of decades of experience lost their entire crop through absolutely no fault of their own and the consequences of this water bastardry was financial difficulty, compounded by the legal need to answer to the obligations each holds to the grain company, forget not having food on the table.
As reported by Linda Silmalis of the Sunday Telegraph, "A spokesman for Primary Industries Minister Ian MacDonald said the drought had left the Government with no option but to change the water allocation."
This may well be the truth, but a Government is bound to the State's people as is the farmer to his contracts and it is clear here that the Government in making the decision to reduce allocation was going to clearly impact upon the obligations of some and if such a decision was to be made, the burden of cost of such a decision must be borne by the tax payer for the good of the State. Not borne by the farmer that had no say in his crops demise, a demise that was brought about by man's hand, a demise that leaves the farmer open to court action by the grain company.
Reading between the lines here, it is quite evident that un-natural manipulation of this Nation's water supplies has consequences of dire proportions, but more importantly defines just how easy it is to destroy a farming community with the stroke of a pen.
What investment banks, or private equity pariahs are waiting in the wings like vultures with wads of city centric disposable cash, fleeced from the real labourers of this nation, farmers, miners, timber workers etc, ready to squabble and pounce on the resultant, orchestrated carnage, like that as above.
Brumbyy with 2Ys
Keeping Our Rivers?
Acacia Rose's (Alpine Riverkeepers) letter to the Federal Environment Minister , Malcolm Turnbull, while containing some pertinent comments, generally reflects a broader approach to water management based on applying unproven theoretical solutions.
Unfortunately, the current water management debate on the Murray Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) region fails to acknowledge the need for a far more comprehensive approach to water management in Australia.
We do have a crisis in Australia, but contrary to popular belief, it is not a crisis of the MDBC, it's a crisis of long term planning for future population needs, encompassing our urban requirements. We have no investment in urban water infrastructure to sustain our cities via recycling, storm water capture and reuse or urban rainwater system on a scale to achieve sustainability.
Instead the focus of discussions is entirely focussed on the MDBC and is about winding back food production. Yes, there are certain areas of the MDBC basin where over extraction is causing concern to downstream river health requirements. Queensland Water Sharing Plans affecting the Darling and Lower Balonne region is one such case. Policies and taxation minimisation schemes, that encourage new irrigation schemes in South Australia and western NSW are also having impacts.
However, the misinformation about the whole system, will lead to political decisions, rather than strong investments in environmental and productive outcomes for the future.
Throughout this prolonged drought, the Murray River has flowed at near capacity for most of the summer periods in order to meet its South Australian commitments. Most Murray general security irrigators could only look on in envy as the water flowed past, as their crops withered or remained unplanted due to their zero water allocation.
Perceptions created of the dying Murray River today, bear no resemblance to the truth. In 1820, when Sturt 1st sighted the Murray River, his records show a series of salty pools.
The Federation drought of 1902- 1903 the Darling stopped flowing for 364 days. Between 1885 & 1960, the Darling River stopped flowing at Menindee 48 times.
Photos of the Murray River show a site upstream from Swan Hill in 1914 with people walking,
cycling plus horse and carriages along the Murray River bed - NO WATER.
and again in 2002.
As a result of our forefathers planning, our towns and communities have benefited from reliable water supplies.
Acacia's letter refers to the demise of the Murray Darling Basin and salinisation of productive land. However the original modelled predictions of salinity-affected land are now recognised as being incorrect. Assessments of Western Australia's conditions and the rising ground water theory did not translate into other Australian regions. Specific areas at risk of salinity have been identified and remedial actions taken.
Over allocation of irrigation licences is being addressed in NSW through the Water Sharing Plans. Families have undergone and are continuing to face enormous financial adjustment as a result of these plans, caps & other environmental re allocations. In other areas, along State borders, it is hoped that interstate water plans, will be addressed in the future
Currently the majority of water is now held in private hands, mainly through small family farms. Delivery of that water is entirely based on available supply and allocations are announced accordingly. The risk is not in small family owned, or private irrigation schemes operating water. The real risk, is corporatisation of water, or where Managed Investment schemes have the capacity to purchase and shift large amounts of water out of one region into another. However the last 7 years has proven, owning water does not guarantee supply.
Transparency of investment partners for modernising irrigation infrastructures already exists. Reports are regularly provided to Government and farmers personal investment can exceed $200,000.
Protection of Ramsar Wetlands & adherence to International treaties encompasses many things. Most is achieved, however at the cost of farmers. Our international obligations on greenhouse were not achieved by reductions of emissions at the source, instead State & Federal Governments applied vegetation restrictions that locked up vast areas of woody weeds in Western NSW and Queensland and claimed the uncontrolled vegetation growth as an offset on Australia's emissions. Individual families have paid the price as their native grasses have been destroyed by a dominance of woody weeds. Erosion from bare soil resulted and the silence from environmentalists has been deafening. A few have in fact run major campaigns supporting the government strategy.
Responding to environmental advocacy on protection of native forests and to meet Kyoto commitments, Australia since 1997, has embarked on a massive scale of plantation forestry. The environmental impacts of these pines and blue gums will be fully felt in years to come. Yet many urban and business people feel content that they have negated their carbon emissions and tax problems by planting a tree. Few have given thought to what the impacts are and will be, on our catchments in terms of water yields in the long term.
Rural Australia is experiencing a level of despair unprecedented. Not from the drought, but from the continued abandonment of common sense and practical knowledge displayed on environmental and land management issues.
Our high country is burnt beyond recognition, traditional practises are not recognised and our mantra on trees leads us to plant without planning. The spurious rhetoric on dying rivers fails to acknowledge that Australia is the land of drought, floods and sweeping plains.
Environmental allocations are being implemented in key areas. The Barmah/Millewa Forests in NSW received 512,000 megalitres of environmental water in 05/06. Despite a recognised environmental allocation utilised in the most advantageous periods to water the forest, advocates in Victoria are now claiming it needs 4 million megalitres. Plans to improve other River Icon sites, are occurring. There is more to be done, but Acacia's letter fails to acknowledge the existence of activities that have long passed the talk stage.
The letter to Malcolm Turnbull also seeks 'clear targets for environmental water recovery free from encumbrances of compensation'. Unfortunately, knowledge on water planning and what has occurred over the last ten years in relations to entitlement reductions and environmental allocations, appears still relatively unknown. Perhaps a good dose of what mother nature would have dished out if our forefathers hadn't built the Snowy Scheme, would see a return to days of buckets, food shortages and parking of the tourism boats for a number of years.
Unfortunately we live in an age where statements come easy and living with consequences of political change is borne by an embattled few. I wonder about a future where a house in Sydney, Canberra, or Melbourne, has one bedroom compulsorily re-allocated by the Government for the homeless. What would be the reaction?
We all have a responsibility to the environment and actions are being implemented. However, we now live in a society where environmental discussions and decisions have become based on emotion and ideologies which detract from better policies.
As our most arable lands continue to be concreted, our catchment landscapes are changed to grow non-indigenous pines, our cities continue to flush drinking water down the toilet, Companies & Governments enjoy the benefits of coal and simply shift the cost of emission reductions on to individual farming families, it seems our thinking hasn't changed.
It is much easier to focus on emotive issues that are currently fashionable, rather than look at how we can achieve sustainable living in Australia.
Louise Burge.
Farmer
Victims Presentation To Vic Government
1 August 2007
The 2006-7 fires have once again been caused more by political greed than most other factors. The desire to attract preferences from an extremist party (the Greens) with lunatic policies, who believe that if the environment is left long enough the vegetation will stop dropping leaves, sticks, bark and seed pods and as if by magic the fuel will disappear for a fairyland environment to develop. While governments of all persuasions have been prepared to walk over people who do not support them, this Government has played Russian Roulette with the water supplies of their own Melbourne people to collect green preferences.
I hold the Government as well as the agencies responsible for the management of Crown and public land accountable for the denuded landscape from the fires that caused the serious flooding along the Macalister River and Newry on 28 June 2007, as well as the risk of likely future flooding.
As a Captain of a fire brigade I have given warning after warning that has sadly come true. I have seen little indication up to the recent fires that the government cared in the slightest for the risks to the lives of hundreds of people in the mountains, water supplies, tourist industry, farming, timber industry or even the environment. I have little doubt that fires have been deliberately allowed to burn to push political agendas. The government response has been firstly to try and discredit me. When this failed they tried to salience me as a Captain from making such warnings while failing at most levels to address the serious risks.
The day in the mountains that shook me most was March 12 2006. There was no fires, no floods, just hundreds of innocent people, men wemen and children, all on Labour day holidays. If a fire had got going with the weather pattern and conditions on this day in the mountains, hundreds of people would have likely been killed, me being one of them. Through utter stupidity there was no total fire ban because of coastal sea breezes on the Gippsland plains. I took it on myself to go into the headwaters of the Barkly River to try and stop any fire getting away from campsites. I was acutely aware that if anything got going I would have had little hope of escape. I was in a 35 year old Land Rover that had done over 300,000 miles as it was safer than a fire truck. This is the area where 8 months later a fire threw spots that burnt Licola out and would have trapped hundreds of people had it happened on March 12.
There is widespread community suspicions that corruption is rife throughout the fire fighting agencies. The suspicions extend to fires being deliberately left to burn so as the money flows, to serious scams on the supply of CFA tankers built to dangerous standards with little indication that safety was considered. As a Captain of a fire brigade I have been disciplined along with brigade members for demonstrating the unsafe nature of equipment that has already killed innocent fire fighters. This had the full support of a government that enforces the strictest safety requirements on industry.
The Caledonia fire of 1998 demonstrated the fuel build up on Crown and public land was dangerous, the agencies could not put out a fire amongst high fuel levels, flash flooding, massive erosion and polluted water supplies follow fires that had been too hot for the environment. Little appeared learned from this by the relevant agencies.
It is hoped this Parliamentary inquiry will be a big improvement on the Esplin public relations exercise (called an inquiry). Esplin produced a report following the 2003 fires as a cover up for an uncaring Victorian Government to hide behind, something the then Premier and Minister made full use of. Even Esplin has not been able to name an official Victorian Government report more discredited than his. If the Victorian Government had conducted a proper inquiry after the 2003 fires, a lot could have been done to reduce the impact of the 2006-7 fires and possibly even eliminate the serious flooding problem we now have from the Macalister River.
The Police road block on the Licola Road at Glenmaggie during the fire was an utter disgrace appearing to upset locals far more than the actual fire. The last thing any community wants at a time of a disaster of this nature is a road block manned by uncaring and arrogant Melbourne police who would not even let a local person go back to get his insulin he forgot. Things improved after the Chief Commissioner was threatened with the prospect of litigation and the media on this. The local police serving Licola are the most respected of any government agency.
The flash flooding that impacted my house on Feb 23 has been the only prediction many times worse than anticipated. I had been preparing for six weeks to be flooded and went on TV two nights before to air my concerns. Never in my wildest dreams did I even consider flood water would reach a hight just below the guttering on the roof. I think there is a real possibility of my place being washed away in a similar event once the summer thunderstorms start up. I have nowhere to go at this stage and have moved back into a damaged building the rats have moved out of.
My small community has been severely impacted by both fires and floods. As a Captain of a fire brigade I am unaware of any training that could have prepared anyone for what has occurred. It would be impossible to describe what it was like preparing a frightened community for the inevitable fire that came in. It was a very hot fire and what was saved was far in excess of what could be reasonably expected to be saved. The floods were far worse and made us feel just how hopeless we all were, it has been said often, "you just cannot fight a flood."
None of our brigade members lives were ever in real danger at any time from the fire. They fought these fires with great responsability. There was over 20 drip torches in our community and every one of these was used responsibly. This was in stark contrast to the DSE protecting the Melbourne water catchments. Just two of our home made drip torches saved over 1.2 million dollars of assets that included two school camps and a forestry camp the DSE wern't game to go near. I am enormously proud of this community.
I call for the following:
(1) An immediate and realistic plan free of most of the restrictions to prescribed burning presently in place, to address the fuel build up in all unburnt areas like the Melbourne water catchments and the remaining unburnt areas of the mountains to try and protect what's left of the environment.
(2) The Government immediately stop the disinformation coming from the fire agencies and Bruce Esplin that we are going to have to live with hot fires in the future and get off their buts to address the issues.
(3) Alpine cattle grazing and burning to return to create a buffer to retard fires from crossing divides, protecting the ancient single trunk snow gums, spaghnum bogs, bog skinks and the alpine marsh marigold, also to bring a caring human presence back into national parks.
(4) Captains of fire brigades should be encouraged, not discouraged, to speak out on safety issues to life and property not being addressed.
(5) A thorough investigation of all the fire fighting agencies to see just where the vast sums of money end up that appears to circulate with little apparent accountability.
(6) A public explanation from the State Coroner as to why he suppressed a report from his own independent expert on Linton (Packham Report) and a Royal Commission into the Coroners handling of the five deaths at Linton.
(7) CFA fire trucks to be built to a safe standard so as there is not a continual fight with CFA hierarchy during fires to keep tankers on the job protecting assets.
(8) Nominal registration for any vehicle fitted out to fight fires in country areas during the summer fire danger period to protect assets until the CFA can be relied on to supply safe equipment wherever it is needed.
(9) Police road blocks with fires and floods should be entirely under the control of the local police, the movement of residents and CFA personnel should not be restricted unless genuine safety issues are involved.
(10) Funding be cut to the La Trobe University and the CSIRO fire ecology section until they can show they can produce science where lying and deception is not part of the criteria.
(11) A clean out of senior management who allowed the ABC to be hijacked by the fire agencies to spread propaganda to try and hide an appalling and sometimes non existent fire fighting effort.
(12) The replacement of the entire top end of the DSE, Parks Victoria and the CFA with people who are competent and capable of doing the job of addressing serious fire risks.
While farmers are ignored and intentionally deprived of the ability to participate in the gathering of monetary rewards from harvesting clouds, Corporate pariahs are rewarded handsomely with our tax dollars. Dollars required for health, policing, education and carers.
Farmers are suffering the brunt of ridiculous business destroying legislation for no return, but at immense personal and viability cost, while clouds are traded in the plush offices of the big end of town for colossal profits.
The billion dollar court action instigated by Peter Spencer over the Governments theft of the Carbon Credit value (trading in clouds) of the draconian and unfair imposts imposed upon farmers over the preceding years, gains more and more credibility as the story of this bulldust Y2K trading scam gets aired.
The story below by Wendy Frew of the Sydney Morning Herald - congratulations to Wendy and the SMH for running it - is just a slight peek into the window through a gap in the curtains of corporate and governmental bastardry in respect to this most insidious scam of cloud trading being perpetrated upon a somewhat naive and trusting Australian public.
They have stolen the Australian Bush and protected it with laws and legislation.
They have built a monolithic bureaucracy nationally, supported Internationally, that wields Hitler Nazi Party powers.
They are in the process of stealing the oceans and all it contains, one area at a time with Newcastle to Shoalhaven next on the hit list.
They have almost stolen our God's nectar. (Water)
Only the clouds are next and they are well on the way to achieving this.
Ned Kelly was a thief, thug and murderer in law, but did he in fact face the same like people that we face today - was he left with no options but to "stand to?"
The Eureka Stockade rising of the people at Ballarat, was an event in our history that was finally brought towards its final conclusion by the killing of a young man followed by our first reported crooked coronial Inquiry, but reality may perhaps be much more sinister.
The money people of the city were desperate, for the labour they relied upon was leaving the cities and heading to the gold fields, this was a problem. This presented a problem for the pariahs of the day, which they solved by means that ended with a shooting incident of National consequence.
Are we going to emulate this history somewhere down the track in Australia, or are we going to pull the bit so tight into these pariahs mouths that they bleed from the gums, and their wallets?
It's your choice, if your Children and Grand Children can have any future.
Brumbyy with 2Ys
The Sydney Morning Herald.
Wendy Frew Environment Reporter
August 7, 2007
THE State Government is paying Snowy Hydro tens of thousands of dollars as a reward for cutting its greenhouse gas pollution even though its emissions have actually increased.
With dam levels at record lows because of the drought, Snowy Hydro has been forced to generate much more electricity from its gas assets to meet peak electricity contracts.
But the state's greenhouse gas abatement scheme assumes any new gas-fired generation would displace coal-fired power, and should be financially rewarded.
Rewarding the electricity generator for switching from clean, hydro power to much more polluting gas-fired power was just one example of flaws in the scheme that have also led to windfall gains for some of Australia's dirtiest power stations, critics say.
Research at the University of NSW shows some polluters have been rewarded for emissions cuts made before the scheme started and for cuts they would have made in the normal course of business.
Under the scheme, power plants and forestry groups that do something new to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are awarded certificates, each one representing the equivalent of one tonne of carbon dioxide avoided. They then sell these certificates to energy retailers, which have to meet mandatory emissions targets set by the State Government. The costs are passed on to electricity consumers.
Certificates have ranged in price between $6 and $13 since the scheme started in 2003, which means, on average, certificates generated by participants would be worth about $450 million, while Snowy Hydro's certificates would be worth about $95,000.
"This scheme is very dangerous because it is creating the impression the Government is doing something about rising greenhouse gas emissions," said a Greens member of the NSW Parliament, John Kaye.
"That gas [power] is there because it is servicing peak load and to protect Snowy's long-term contracts.
"It is not displacing coal-fired electricity; Snowy Hydro is increasing its own greenhouse gas emissions footprint and getting a reward for it."
The scheme is administered by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, which said it would be difficult to prove all of the activities taking place - from tree planting to running power plants more efficiently - only happened because of the scheme.
"It is very hard to prove whether [Snowy Hydro's gas investments] would have happened anyway," said the tribunal's chief executive, Jim Cox. "You would not say they were only doing it [because of the scheme]; clearly there are other reasons. But the revenue is important to them."
Last week the Government said greenhouse gas emissions in NSW had been reduced by almost 20 million tonnes last year because of the scheme.
But it later told the Herald the scheme was only one factor in that reduction.
"Without the scheme energy related emissions would be much higher," said a spokeswoman for the Minister for Energy, Ian Macdonald, who also said the scheme was not blind to Snowy Hydro's reduced hydro electricity generation. "In normal circumstances, Snowy Hydro would have used primarily its hydro assets rather than gas generation.
"However, the drought has impacted on its water storage levels, and therefore it is able to create certificates because its gas-fired generation production is displacing that of what would otherwise have been coal-fired generation."
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AUSTRALIA'S PAST
We will be featuring old advertisements in each issue that will bring back memories for some, and be a revelation for others.
This was a time when people were consulted by government, and you could walk the streets at night.
