“This clearing should be halted immediately. Both Federal scientists and NSW Department of Environment Water and Climate Change (DECCW)
scientists have listed this area, the Cumberland Plain Woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion, as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community
and yet it is about to be bulldozed,” says Greens MP Ian Cohen.

“Environment Minister Sartor must talk to his Federal counterpart, Mr Garrett, and act to save the Cumberland Plain from desecration.

“The best way to protect the Cumberland Plain is through a specific State Environment Planing Policy (SEPP) for the area. Planning Minister Tony Kelly must take control of management of the Cumberland Plain, place restrictions on subdivision and clearing of vegetation and act to protect habitat corridors.

“In November last year DECCW released a Draft Recovery Plan for the Cumberland Plain. The Recovery Plan does not incorporate the recommendations of DECCW’s own Scientific Committee to protect critically endangered habitat. It is a set of guidelines only that cannot override environmental planning instruments that currently apply to the land.

“Already NSW Planning Laws and Local Councils have shown a failure to protect biodiversity in Western Sydney and I suspect the Government’s
Recovery Plan for the Cumberland Plain will be similarly ineffectual.

“Western Sydney’s natural heritage should not be laid bare to desecration because there is no political will in NSW to stop it happening.”

The NSW Supreme Court yesterday found that BHP Billiton’s licence to explore for coal on the properties of two Liverpool Plains farmers were invalid because the company had not consulted all landholders.

“This is a most welcome decision that brings some balance to the mining approval process that is so weighted in favour of mining companies,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“When the NSW parliament resumes next week I will question the Mineral Resources Minister Ian Macdonald on what action his department will now take to ensure breaches of the NSW Mining Act no longer occur.

“A finding in this Supreme Court case is that to abide by the Act mining companies must inform all landholders, including banks, of their exploration plans.

“This outcome is a great credit to the local community that have worked solidly for years to protect their farming land and the environment. Their determination has established that mining companies have to be accountable for their actions.

“All mining companies would be wise to put their exploration on private land in NSW on hold until they determine that they are not breaching the Mining Act.

“The Greens position remains that there should be no new coal mines and prime agricultural land should be protected from mining,” Ms Rhiannon said.

The SA Greens have published online a list of all donors (over $1,500) to the party over the last 12 months, and will update this list right up until the day before the state election.

“South Australian voters have a right to know who is paying the bills for each party’s election campaign,” said Greens MLC Mark Parnell.

“Yet under the current rules we don’t find out who has given what money to federally registered parties until February next year - and in the case of state registered parties and independents we never find out.

“The Greens call on all parties, but in particular Labor and Liberal, to match our commitment to be transparent and open,” he said.

Comprehensive reform of South Australia’s donations laws are a key part of the Greens ‘Enhancing SA’s Democracy’ position statement launched today.  Other actions include: giving 16 and 17 year olds the chance the vote, support for an ICAC, a crack down on taxpayer funded Government advertising, and giving voters control of their voting preference flow.

“The Greens are committed to cleaning up politics in South Australia and a good place to start is shining some sunlight on the murky world of money flows to political parties,” he said.

“Our state has the worst donations disclosure laws in the country - we call on both Labor and Liberal to commit to desperately needed reform,” he said.

For more information, go to www.sa.greens.org.au

“Our people inspected the remote area on Monday and found that contrary to statements from the Minister for the Environment, State Forest bulldozers were already at work on the road network that will be needed to allow access for the Eden woodchip mill’s huge log trucks,” said spokespersons for the groups.

“State Forests is deliberately pushing the community closer to direct confrontation in the forests even while protracted negotiations on the fate of the koalas are under way with the Department of the Environment.”

“State Forests is not listening to the community nor scientists who are concerned that roading, logging and woodchipping operations in this area will lead to the regional extinction of koalas in the South East Forests. This situation is reflected by other threats to koalas around the country and if we lose these koalas it will add another mark of shame to Australia’s sad record of wildlife extinctions from greedy and reckless exploitation of our unique landscape.”

“The Premier has to intervene immediately if we are to save this colony. Clearly State Forests will not call a halt until a firm hand is raised to say STOP.

“We have alerted South Coast communities who have opposed this woodchipping operation since it began 40 years ago and who have fought so long to have the koala colony recognized and protected.

“The key to liveable cities is public transport. Anthony Albanese must allocate funding from Infrastructure Australia to large scale public transport projects, reversing the current preoccupation with roads,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“It’s time for a funding switch from the current situation where the Federal government is allocating $28 billion to road projects over six years, while rail gets a mere $7.9 billion.

“A key test for the Federal Minister will be refusing the NSW government’s request for Infrastructure Australia funding for the massive M5 expansion currently on the table. If we have any chance of combating climate change, reducing congestion and providing active transport options both the federal and NSW governments must end their love affair with roads.

“Sydney needs a big boost in public transport and this will only occur with Infrastructure Australia funding involvement.

“Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese would be wise to revisit submissions to the recent Senate Committee on Public Transport which argued for more public transport funding from the Commonwealth. The report of the Senate transport committee noted that in the 30 years to 2004 the Commonwealth spent $58 billion on roads, $2.2 billion on rail and $1.5 billion on public transport.

“Climate change and peak oil both necessitate we reduce our dependence on oil. Freeing Sydney from the yoke of cars and trucks will not just boost liveability - the task is also key to reducing carbon emissions and cleaning up poor air quality with its associated health risks.

“Mr Albanese will still be fiddling while Rome burns unless he acts to invest in top quality public transport and rail freight infrastructure for Sydney,” Ms Rhiannon said.

The politician who said too much will be in Moruya on Saturday March 13 at the Waterfront Hotel for a fund-raiser for his legal costs. The night is aptly called ‘Bite Your Tongue’.  Fabulous local artists Matt Southon, Jeff Aschmann and Lisa & Tony have donated their time but the big news is that on his way to a tour of Japan, world renowned didgeridoo player Charlie McMahon is taking a detour to play on the night. Charlie is well known for his work in the seminal Australian band Gondwanaland but lesser known is that he featured, with the London Symphony Orchestra, on Mad Max - Beyond the Thunderdome.

“Supporting Charlie is always a fantastic privilege,” said Lisa. “If you haven’t seen Charlie play you’ll be blown away.  He has a siesemic microphone set up to loop if he taps it.  He runs it along the ground and it sound like a big fat kick drum.  His didgeredoo is set up with a slide, like a trombone and can slide in and out of notes; it’s truly amazing and you cant stop dancing.”

“And I might walk around with a gag on,” says Cohen, the NSW Greens Member of the Legislative Council. “The less I say at benefits, the better.”

It was during two benefit concerts for Bill Mackay, a school teacher, that this story began.  A developer had been suing Mackay for defamation over a letter to a newspaper criticising an environmental award to the developer for his gated community. Cohen was helping to raise funds to cover Mackay’s legal costs.  The developer sent in private investigators who secretly taped Cohen’s address.

As three courts have heard, Cohen called the developer a thug and a bully and suggested he was suing to stop criticism and stifle public debate - a so-called SLAPP suit (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation).  For that outburst, the developer sued Cohen too.

The MLC now owes the developer $15,000 which is the damages for the defamation and a hefty more than $1 million in legal costs.

“It is not as though he called him a paedophile or a wife-beater or something,” Cohen’s barrister, Clive Evatt, told the High Court last month.
“This is about much more than Ian Cohen,” Jeff Aschman, one of the  organisers, says.  “It has very big implications about freedom of speech.”
In 2007 Cohen successfully defended the original case.  Justice Harrison suggested it was contrary to society’s interest that people’s rights should be hampered “by constant fear of actions for slander”. The judge ruled there was no malice in Cohen’s remarks, at least in those inside the hall.  The judge also said the developer had been “prepared to dish it out when it suited him” and had “dedicated much of his life to putting people offside”. He considered the developer’s 1996 conviction for assaulting the filmmaker David Bradbury and altercations with neighbours when dismissing the case.

Ian Cohen says he could become bankrupt but he is not crying poor. He has one property and a stake in another, both with mortgages, around Byron
Bay. He knows others do it much tougher, but if an elected member is declared bankrupt they can no longer hold that position.

He is selling his flat, which might cover half of it.  He has raised another $45,000 in donations.  He’s been offered loans.

Mr Cohen says he while he regrets making the comments, the case shows the difficulties faced by community activists. “Things get said on the football field, in the pub, at a party?” he said.
“How sensitive are we going to be?  It’s important to recognise that we need a little bit of a buffer, otherwise it becomes a situation where anything anyone says can be taken to court.

“I believe that cuts down the ability to actually represent and defend community values and attitudes and stick up for your mates,” said Cohen.

“That is no good for democracy,” says Bob Brown, the Australian Greens Parliamentary leader.  Brown was one of the Gunns 20, the 17 individuals and three organisations that the forestry company sued in 2004 for $6.4 million for activities ranging from protest to public statements.  Five years and $2.8 million later, Gunns has dropped its case against the defendants, including Brown. The ACT has now adopted the Greens’ anti-SLAPP  legislation.  Brown wants the rest of Australia to follow its lead and that of some US states ,and introduce the legislation to ensure cases are thrown out if they are designed to prevent protest or debate.

Cohen will retire in March 2011. Before he goes, he is considering a private member’s bill seeking to ensure costs in such cases are commensurate with any damages.  Cohen had been planning, in retirement, to do volunteer work in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
“I had big plans but they’ve been cast astray.”  Cohen recalls a Buddhist saying, “If they burn down your house, the better you can see the moon.”

The organisers of ‘Bite Your Tongue’ understand that the night will only make a small dent in Cohen’s bill. “But he has come down here many times and supported us, when our community was under great threat, so organising the night is the least we can do,” said Mr Aschman.

Tickets are by donation $15 or $10 concession.  The night kicks off at 7pm.

Commenting on Planning Minister Tony Kelly’s approval of the concept plans for 2,000 MW power plants at Mt Piper near Lithgow and Bayswater in the Upper Hunter, Dr Kaye said: “NSW does not need more baseload electricity generation to keep the lights on. “The Owen inquiry was manufactured by the Iemma government to justify its privatisation agenda. The exaggerated claims of generation capacity shortages have been completely discredited.

“The latest data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) shows that NSW has sufficient baseload capacity for reliable supply beyond 2016. It is highly improbable that Mt Piper will be gas powered given the distance to the nearest pipeline and the costs of connecting up supply.

“Even Bayswater is much more likely to be coal-fired. Risks of substantial price rises resulting from an East Coast gas export terminal will make gas a much less attractive fuel, even if the Senate passes the Rudd government’s highly ineffective Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
“Coal-fired stations will increase the state’s greenhouse gas emission by 15.1 per cent and gas by 7.1 percent. This is an unacceptable increase to the state’s burden on the climate.

“The Keneally government is turning NSW into an international greenhouse pariah. The future of jobs in the clean energy industry has been dealt a savage blow. Thousands of jobs in solar thermal energy, wind power and energy efficiency are being sacrificed to the myth that only coal can keep the lights on.

“The NSW government continues to trade on the clean coal fairy tale. Carbon capture and storage will not be available in the time scale needed to respond to global climate change. If it ever works, it is likely to be very expensive.

“Clean coal and gas are nothing but green-wash for a climate killing policy of swamping the state with excess coal-power. The approval of new power plants shows the Keneally Government is not serious about addressing the threat of climate change.

“If they were, they would be announcing planning approval and direct public investment for large-scale solar thermal power plants to replace the state’s highly polluting coal-fired generators,” Dr Kaye said.

With deliberations on the new Palerang LEP working draft just begun, it is clear that environmental issues will not receive the support that some may have expected. At last Thursday’s meeting, Clause 26D, Ecologically Sustainable Development (local), was the first to go. It stated: Before granting consent for development, the consent authority must have regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development as they relate to the proposed development. Not long after that, the fifth objective of the section RU1 Primary Production was debated - to ensure that the development and management of the land has proper regard for the environmental constraints of the land and has a neutral or beneficial impact on environmental assets including waterways, riparian land, wetlands and other surface and groundwater resources, soil fertility, remnant native vegetation, and existing and potential fauna movement corridors. With Cr Turley safely out of the room after it was suggested in no uncertain terms that she had an unexempted pecuniary interest, this clause was successfully deleted also, with the casting vote of the mayor.

Anyone who has an opinion on keeping clauses like this in (and there are more to come) may wish to come to a meeting to speak in favour of their retention, and then later, make a submission as part of the exhibition process. If not, we may well end up with a draft that makes little mention of the specifics of environmental regard and which will be rejected by the Department because it does not conform to the ministerial guidelines, the Sydney-Canberra Corridor Strategy, or any of the other numerous documents and pieces of legislation that recognise the requirements and responsibilities of the 21st century.

(and a similar one, published in the Bungendore Mirror in the same week)

It is good to see the new South Wales Premier taking such an interest in local affairs, this time by penning the article “Petition against unflued heaters”, p. 3, Feb. 24. I wonder if she, as previous Planning minister, will be taking a similar interest in the new Palerang LEP? For example, will she have any opinion on Council’s decision to remove Clause 26D, Ecologically Sustainable Development (local), of the working draft, which stated: Before granting consent for development, the consent authority must have regard to the principles of ecologically sustainable development as they relate to the proposed development? Equally, will the Premier have a view about the proposed fifth objective of the section RU1 Primary Production which attempted to ensure that the development and management of the land has proper regard for the environmental constraints of the land and has a neutral or beneficial impact on environmental assets including waterways, riparian land, wetlands and other surface and groundwater resources, soil fertility, remnant native vegetation, and existing and potential fauna movement corridors? With Cr Turley safely out of the room after it was suggested in no uncertain terms that she had an unexempted pecuniary interest, this clause was successfully deleted with the casting vote of the mayor.

Anyone who has an opinion on keeping clauses like this in (and there are more to come) may wish to come to a meeting to speak in favour of their retention, and then later, make a submission as part of the exhibition process. If not, we may well end up with a draft that makes little mention of the specifics of environmental regard and which will be rejected by the Department because it does not conform to the ministerial guidelines, the Sydney-Canberra Corridor Strategy, or any of the other numerous documents and pieces of legislation that recognise the requirements and responsibilities of the 21st century.

(note: the Kristina Keneally by-line referred to was an editorial typo. The article was in fact then transcript of the petition.)

Catherine Moore, councillor, Palerang

Since your January 26 story “Koalas face big logging threat”, nothing much has changed except that, despite numerous representations to Ministers and further attempts to highlight the issue in the media and elsewhere, logging may begin as soon as Monday March 1. The support given by current and past governments to the ongoing, taxpayer-subsidised woodchipping of native forests and these governments’ blatant disregard for the protection of forests for biodiversity, water quality, habitat, climate change mitigation and tourist attraction reasons is hard to comprehend. How does continued logging of native forests in this way, without even value-adding in Australia, contribute to the nation’s financial or environmental well-being?

This country has one of the worst records of species extinction in the world, yet we continue, year after year, down the same path. It is essential that we act now to protect and improve what is left of our natural environment and the South East region of NSW should be a priority for any government, to ensure that we do not lose these areas of precious forests and the fauna which relies on them for their survival.

Catherine Moore, Charleys Forest