What the Clarence Valley is fighting for (20)

Clarence River Gorge

http://youtu.be/DKRubtXrhY0

Those New England vandals have reared their heads again

Goodwood Island in the Clarence River estuary
Click on Google Earth image to enlarge

Former President of the New South Wales Farmers Association, member of  the federal Ministerial Advisory Council on Regional Australia, current Inverell Shire Mayor and Chair of Regional Development Australia: Northern Inland NSW  Mal Peters, along with fellow RDANI committee members Les Parsons, Heather Ranclaud, Neil Argent, Scott McLachlan, Ray Tait, Matt Patterson, Jane Kreis, Melanie Dowell, Sue Price, Ian Lobsey, and Anita Taylor (in company with Inverell councillor David C. Jones) have turned their greedy eyes towards the Clarence Valley.

With a view to wrecking not only the Clarence River below Harwood Bridge, but a good part of the Valley as well.

It seems these individuals are promoting the idea of creating a Moree to Iluka-Yamba rail line running into a bulk shipping/coal terminal probably situated on Goodwood Island after deep water dredging a channel from the river mouth and, in 2010-11 formed plans to ask for an estimated $1 million to conduct a feasibility study.

Mayor Peters apparently lobbied for this idea at the inaugural meeting of the Regional Australia Advisory Council in Melbourne in mid-2011.

However, Clarence Valley residents only became widely aware of this scheme when The Daily Examiner published an article on 5 March 2012, along with this diagram:

Click on image to enlarge

As has come to be expected from industry groups and local government over the Great Dividing Range, there is little to no consideration of the environmental, cultural, economic and social costs this scheme would impose on coastal communities.

The photograph below shows the infrastructure of one typical Australian coal terminal.

Unfortunately this is exactly the type of crudely executed vandalism which would appeal to the develop to death, mining at any cost heart of the new NSW Nationals Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis.

UNESCO & IUCN invited to see what mining would place at risk on the Dorrigo Plateau

19 March 2012

Dorrigo Environment Watch Inc.

Our mission is "To raise community awareness of risks to human and environmental health"

Press Release

Invitation to UNESCO & IUCN to visit the Dorrigo Plateau

By copy of this Press Release Dorrigo Environment Watch have invited the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) monitoring team (who are currently visiting Australia to monitor impacts of mining on the Barrier Reef) to also schedule in a visit to the Dorrigo Plateau.

The Dorrigo Plateau has 4 different mining companies with current exploration licences and recent drilling has been undertaken for gold and antimony across the Plateau. There is concern that the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area values could be compromised if any mining developments were approved on the Plateau.

Dorrigo Environment Watch will ask the NSW and Australian Governments to zone the plateau a ‘no go zone’ for mining to ensure that the world heritage values and vital ecosystem services (which underpin our food, fisheries, fibre and drinking water) are protected for present and future generations. Australia has an obligation to abide by our world heritage agreements to protect the Gondwana Rainforests. A ‘no go zone’ would serve as an appropriate Government commitment and celebration for the 25 year anniversary of the World Heritage listing of our Gondwana rainforests.

For more information or comment please contact Trevor Deane on 02 6657 4005.

What the Clarence Valley is fighting for (19)

Platypus Pool
at Wild Cattle Creek
Nymboida River sub-catchment
of the Clarence River Catchment

Short video here