The NSW Government, in Australia, is currently undergoing more public scrutiny concerning developer and government corruption. Corruption in land dealings has had a long history along the eastern coastal strip of Australia. Also, money and ego can play a large part in the well being of Australia’s environmental sustainability for future generations.
Phantom Koala
Below are a a few links that may help you understand what is happening in the Tweed Coast concerning development.
Concreting the Coastal 2003 : Clearing and Development Pressures on the NSW Coast 2003 Total Environment Centre PDF – this compiled resource by the TOTAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE show problematic development, land clearing activity, approvals and proposals in coastal nsw 2002 -2003. It looks at the larger, more controversial, uncompleted developments at that time – (not the smaller, under the radar ones, nor the already completed ones). This is an excellent recent historic resource.
Kings Forest Development threatenes 21 Threatened Species of Fauna . This article includes a list of some of the Threatened species (including the Koala -Phascolarctos cinereus ), with links to find out more about some of them.
Phantom Koala sees that the KOALA -which has been “iconised” by a number of organisations- is much much more than an ICON##(see below). Inappropriate development threatens many more individual endangered species than just the KOALA of the Tweed Coast. The creation of “sustainable development” which is NOT sustainable development, but in reality, development that threatens many AT RISK vulnerable individual Australian wildlife species and their habitats on the Tweed Coast is inappropriate for this day and age of disappearing species and habitats.
In July 2005, with very little consultation, the NSW government introduced a new Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. See more about the implications of this planning law HERE.
- “Administrative Law in an Environmental Context” search results at bluecray Environmental search engine
- Duty of care and the precautionary principle : search results at bluecray environmental search engine.
Urban Taskforce – representing property developers
Planning Workshop Australia – Kings Forest and some other State Significant Sites’ work for developers
link on Sylvia Hale (Greens elected Member of the Legislative Council NSW) website to the Green’s Bad Developer Awards – to be announced October 15th 2009
Ian Cohen : media release Kings Forest (11th March 2010)
Some Regional Advocacy Links and EDO Compliance Portal .
Stateline NSW – Special Features: Systemic corruption in New South Wales?
View the letter from The Greens to the ICAC and the ICAC response.
search for Bob Ell development on bluecray’s ENVIRONMENTAL SEARCH engine
search for Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act on bluecray’s ENVIRONMENTAL SEARCH engine
PK and Moneybags discuss the future on the Tweed Coast
As I am writing this advocacy article, (24th September 2009) fire fighters are battling a blaze close to Kings Forest, on the Tweed Coast. While this fire has been contained, 40 ha of land has burnt, requiring 6 tankers to respond to the emergency. *The State Significant Site of Kings Forest and the surrounding area is under serious threat by a potential development being engineered by Bob Ell, one of the wealthiest people in Australia, who has a history of environmental vandalism. Development, habitat disturbance and inappropriate land management in Australia’s eastern coastal strip between Brisbane and Byron Bay has led to vaste numbers of native Australian fauna and flora disappearing forever from this zone.
The creation of Kings Forest as a State Significant Site and Part 3A, as successfully lobbied for by Bob Ell’s Leda Group ??(see Planning Workshop Australia above), has resulted in limited appeal actions on the part of advocates and concerned parties over inappropriate development there. To understand how Part 3A of the NSW works – try this link here to the Nature Conservation Council articles on Part3A of the Environment Planning & Assessment Act in NSW
When fires occur in the Australian landscape, many species are equipped with survival mechanisms that help them withstand the pressures of fire regimes so that these species can survive the ravages of fire in the Australian landscape.
However, when there is little resilient native bushland left about the area burnt, the wildlife and native plant populations can be stressed beyond repair. As development increases on the coastal strip, and as more people arrive to live in that region, more fires will become the norm. People often light fires, and the more people that are living in an area can often equate to more fires being lit.
Phantom Koala is hoping that love of Australia’s Natural Heritage will prevail over money and ego of developers and planners who use the Part3A of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act to over- develop the remaining low coastal remnant habitats of the Tweed Coast.
Phantom Koala hopes that the spread of Coastal development from SE Qld into NE NSW doesn't become the development from 'ell
And while you are here, have a look at these:-
AFAC 2009 – Annual AFAC Conference Incorporating the Bushfire CRC Conference. AFAC = Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities Council
PK and Benoit look at biodiversity v's moneybags. They see that moneybags makes things empty, and biodiversity makes things beautiful and abundant
## Developments under the umbrella of “its ok if we make it into some type of environmental Koala sight seeing tour” or more hollow motherhood statement theme developments that are based on tokenism as opposed to valid sustainable environmental practices that cater for many individual Australian Wildlife HABITATS that are required for BIODIVERSITY resilience.
Tim Flannery on Biodiversity - Copenhagen Climate Council at bluecray Environmental Search
“A Balance of Faeries” 1989 by al at bluecray – a true story about Koala Habitat Destruction, and how little by little, the Koala Habitat of SE QLD and NE NSW, if continually destroyed at the rate it is, will have far reaching consequences for our Children’s future. “A Balance of Faeries” tells us that the destruction of small, seemingly insignificant parcels of biodiversity in our natural landscapes, leaves us increasingly exposed to the greater forces of nature, WIND, SUN, HEAT, RAIN, FLOOD, FIRE . And that, folks, can lead to some rather harsh realities!
*AND one more thing – concerning BUFFER ZONES and KOALAS: the concept of a 50m buffer zone is an absurd and very much an “80′s way of appeasing developers’ mindsets or trying to enlighten politicians who still hadn’t been educated.
Lobbying for , say a 50m Buffer zones about large non sustainable developments does a disservice to KOALAS and all Australian native wildlife. Particularly threatened species. Buffer zones are a concept that came about to help ease political mindset into caring for our Natural Resources adn Natural Heritage. We must move forwards in a clever way now, and really see what chronic non environmentally sustainable over-urbanisation of our East coast Australian landscape is doing to our biodiverse ecological heritage. If we must lobby for buffer zones – at least one or two Km is the barest minimum – preferably more.
Many native animals need quite a few kilometres of habitat to live and reproduce in, particularly if the area is already degraded. Some need even more. Buffer zones are not really an adequate way of addressing danger and stress to threatened species when non sustainable urban development is in the area.
Animals do not read maps, follow scientific reasoning or keep up with where the next quick multi billion dollar development is being orchestrated. Some small native wildlife- threatened native species adapt, if they are able to, to small buffer zones, like ones I have seen suggested – 50 m, but the stresses and the pressure from urbanisation will eventually take their toll. Mostly, even a few kilometres is far from adequate, when it comes to other environmental issues, such as fire, climate change and human settlement consequences – fire, pests, domesticated animals gone wild, noise and light to name a few.
Particularly over time, “buffer zone” is a term that is long outdated. Integration of landscape features, infrastructure development and environmentally sustainable living necessitates that we move beyond this false concept, and move directly to honest and authentic land custodianship and land and water stewardship. The ’80′s concept of “wildlife corridors” must also be viewed in the wider context, for the 21st Century and beyond.
Habitat Clearing and habitat fragmentation, that is done little by little, is such a serious threat to the Koala and indeed, all native Australian Wildlife, that we, as responsible Australian Citizens, can no longer turn a blind eye, and allow inappropriate “supposed Environmental Stewardship”, under the guise of “necessary development” to continue.
“don’t be fooled again”
- NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water : Summaries of Legislation (ACTS) that the Department operates under
- NSW Department of Planning… and the legislation and planning instruments associated with it
- Environment and Planning Law in NSW : (book reviews etc) : Environmental and Planning Law in New South Wales By Rosemary Lyster, Zada Lipman, Nicola Franklin 2007
- Bluecray Environmental Advocacy Links for the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW & SE QLD, Australia
- EDO New South Wales Ltd – while you are there, check out the Compliance Portal – for environmental advocacy help in understanding matters such as Planning & Development, Land Clearing, Water, Threatened Species & Land
- Northern Rivers EDO Office – Lismore, NE NSW
- Caldera Environment Centre
- “A preliminary investigation of the distribution of koalas and their potential habitat in the Tweed Shire, and implications for management” by Judy Faulk Australian Zoologist, June 1991 Vol. 27(1 & 2). ##You may find it here at the Royal Zoological Society of NSW in the Journals. Alternatively, try this google search : australian zoologist June 1991 Vol. 27(1 & 2)
- Draft National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy 2009-2014 – submissions close COB 5th August 2009 and the National Koala Conservation Strategy 1998
- Tweed Shire Koala Habitat Atlas : created 1993 ? by the Tweed Shire Council with the assistance of the Australian Koala Foundation
- “Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land