Category Archives: Campaigns

Empowering communities to protect the environment and live sustainably

Government Plans Massive Native Vegetation Clearing

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Without any prior notice to the community and certainly no consultation the Newman Government has decided to amend the laws protecting native vegetation in Queensland despite a written promise to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) prior to the election that his government would not do this. WWF is preparing to head up a Queensland wide campaign to stop the amendments and retain the protection of our native vegetation that not only protects wildlife, but reduces erosion and salinity, protects rivers from siltation, sequesters carbon and provide oxygen for us to breathe, helps to regulate our local climate and is a beautiful iconic part of our landscape. We need you to take action as well and email the Premier and Minister for Natural Resource Management. See email addresses below.

The economic, social and environmental costs of this Bill, if it succeeds, will reverberate down the decades long after the Newman Government has lost office and it has national ramifications. It is essential that the conservation movement engages Australians in opposing this Bill.

While many farmers may be environmentally responsible there are many others who see native vegetation only as an obstacle to greater production and it is the pressure from these farmers that is behind the changes. Minister Cripps gave a paper to farmers titled “Taking an Axe to Vegetation Laws.” The Vegetation Management Act in 2009 was the result of extensive and extended community consultation of many sectors and is designed to provide all those protective factors listed above. This legislation was the only reason that Australia was able to meet its Kyoto Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases and has proved to be essential for the protection of rare, threatened and endangered species. Australia has the highest rate of species extinction in the world and if this new law comes into being this will get worse and our greenhouse gas emissions, already the highest per capita in the world, will increase substantially.

The natural environment and its vegetation is the foundation of our society and economy and provides eco-system services which cannot be quantified, but are essential if our land is not to be degraded to the point of being unproductive. Sustaining natural vegetation is about sustaining the land’s ability to support us.

The nation has spent many millions of dollars, through Landcare and other schemes, repairing erosion and salinity from past poor farming practices and yet this Bill is proposing changes that will increase the erosion/ salinity problem. Erosion also means siltation of rivers, another cost, and run –off to the Great Barrier Reef, an icon that is already struggling to survive.

Gecko strongly objects to:-

  • The intent of the Bill, which is all about increased productivity and is clearly not about sustainability.
  • That rare, threatened and endangered species will be faced with extinction under this Bill.
  • High value regrowth vegetation on freehold and indigenous land which has not been cleared since 1994 being moved into Category X and would no longer be protected
  • Minister being provided with new discretionary powers, without any economic feasibility or impact assessment or consultation with the public nor any criteria to guide this power.
  • The total lack of public consultation prior to the Bill’s drafting.
  • The lack of science-based knowledge as a foundation for the Bill.
  • The lack of any definitions of sustainable land use and environmental clearing leaving the interpretation of these terms to be entirely arbitrary.
  • The use of ‘mistaken belief’ as a defence by farmers for illegal clearing. If this excuse was allowed in any other jurisdiction the legal system would be in chaos.
  • The proposal to allow farmers to self-assess whether clearing is permitted or not when there is no guarantee that they have the knowledge and skills to undertake such assessments.
  • The removal of monitoring requirements which will mean there are no checks on land degradation.

Gecko has written to the Premier and the Minister for Natural Resources stating that the Bill is ill conceived and not in the best interests of the people of Queensland or Australia and should be withdrawn. We have also written to the Federal Minister for Environment because of the national implications of these changes.

If there are difficulties (so-called green tape) with the current Vegetation Act these should be put out to full public consultation and any changes must be based on independent scientific knowledge, not the political aspirations of one sector of the Queensland economy.

The changes to this law is just one of so many which will leave our environment unprotected from the rampant development at all costs that is the 4 pillar economy, Agriculture, Resources, Tourism and Construction, of the Newman Government. The environment on which all of these depend does not even get a mention.

Take Action:

Please email the Premier, Campbell Newman, thepremier [at] premiers [dot] qld [dot] gov [dot] au and the Minister for Natural Resource Management, Minister Cripps, nrm [at] ministerial [dot] qld [dot] gov [dot] au,  and tell them of your concerns.

 

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The Real Science about Climate Change

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Confused about Climate Change? Wondering whether there is some truth to the denialist arguments? Visit the highly respected website Skeptical Science and explore the myths surrounding the threats our planet faces from the accumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere .

Topical issues are explored by scientists actively working in the field, not armchair bloggers with no scientific credentials. The site examines many popular myths doing the rounds, the aim of which is to preventing meaningful action to address Climate Change. Rational scientific explanations are offered with discussion ranging from easy to understand concepts for the novice to more complex language for those with a higher level of scientific expertise. The site is run by John Cook, winner of the 2011 Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum, in recognition of the Advancement of Scientific Knowledge.

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Big cruise ships unable to use new cruise terminal

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TONY RAGGATT   |  April 6th, 2013 Townsville Bulletin

LARGE cruise ships will be unable to dock at Townsville’s new $85 million cruise ship terminal because of safety concerns.

A media release from the Townsville Bulletin (6.4.2013) highlights several similar problems with their terminal that Gecko has raised about the issue of a cruise terminal in the Broadwater. Like Townsville the the Seaway and Broadwater channels are narrow and subject to variable winds, swell and tide flows making it a potential safety issue for the larger ships that the State Government and

Council anticipate coming here.

Townsville Bulletin also notes that it may not be economical to “widen or deepen”the channel which mirrors the Broadwater concerns where figures of an initial dredging cost of $92 million followed by an annual cost of $6 million for dredging have already been revealed. No developer in their right mind will sign a contract to pay $6 million every year forever unless they think they can offload it onto ratepayers a few years down the track.
Gecko has been saying for years that cruise liner passengers do not spend up big in ports and the figures put out by the cruise industry themselves confirm this. Townsville Enterprise chief executive David Kippin said “they (cruise passengers) they don’t spend a lot of money,” As a result of these problems only 6 cruise ships are booked for a brand new terminal facility in Townsville compared to 40 for Cairns.

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/04/06/378841_print.html

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Health Groups Call for Action Against Coal and Coal Seam Gas

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A new collaborative network of health organisations has agreed to joint action to raise awareness of the adverse health effects of Australia’s current minerals and energy policy at a meeting in Canberra this week.

Hosted by five national health organisations, the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA), Climate Change Health Research Network (NCCARF-ARN), Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA), the Health and Energy Roundtable was attended by energy experts, community activists and health professionals, including doctors, physicians, nurses, physiotherapists and GPs, from dozen of organisations around the country.
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Newman’s Batty Bat Squad

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Attached is the Dept. of Environment’s report on the biodiversity workshop held as part of the February Round table. In the light of the actions of the Government in

changing the Nature Conservation Act, forestry and vegetation management etc and Newman’s speech to the farmers ( see attached doc from Queensland Country Life 14.3.13) about the need to contain the radical green agenda, this biodiversity document is irrelevant.

Read full story here

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Gecko Bike Ride for Clean, Renewable Energy

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Bike Ride start at Burleigh Heads“Bikes are better for the planet and your health” says Gecko campaigner Kathleen Green. A fun activity to promote the Lock the Gold Coast group against coal seam gas mining, was held on Sunday March 10th, starting at Burleigh Heads and finishing at Broadbeach.
A group of 22 bike riders took part in the Gecko/Lock the Gold Coast bike ride last Sunday, who were willing to ride rain or shine and luckily the sun did shine all day.

The Lock the Gold Coast group received lots of attention from people out and about on the beachfront also enjoying the sunshine. All riders and bikes were adorned in the Lock the Gold Coast colours of yellow and black with slogans of “no coal seam gas mining”. People were very curious to ask what the ride was about, giving the riders opportunity to explain.

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Hands off Native Forests in South East Queensland

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o.htmSpringbrook National Park © Tourism Queensland

MEDIA RELEASE
World Forestry Day, 21st March, 2013

Hands off Native Forests in South East Queensland

World Forestry Day on March 21st has been celebrated for over thirty years and is a recognition that forests are essential to life on Earth and are in need of protection and sustainable management if they are to continue to provide many benefits to all species on this planet.

“Unfortunately for Queenslanders we do not have a great deal to celebrate this year,” said Lois Levy, President of Gecko-Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Council Assoc. In (Gecko) “the recent decision of the Newman Government to resume logging in high conservation value forests, previously protected under the South East Queensland Forest Agreement, is another step back in time for this Government. This Agreement provided an uneconomical industry an opportunity to restructure and the forestry industries were in accord with it.”

Conservationists on the Gold Coast are calling upon the Newman Government to reverse its recent decision to allow logging in National Parks and State Forests, breaking a long-standing agreement with the logging industry and the community that protected these high biodiversity areas. Queensland has the lowest percentage of national parks in Australia at 5% and many of these affected forests were destined to increase that

percentage by becoming national parks.

Conservationists  are further cautioning the government against changes to the Vegetation Management Act allowing extensive clearing of native forests for agriculture and changes to the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which would allow subdivision in the steep-sloped, forested areas of the hinterland, increasing costs of delivering infrastructure and destroying the values that these forests provide. Our cities cannot survive without the services that forests provide.

According to Lois Levy, President of Gecko – Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Council, these policies were created based on science and after many years of committed negotiation with all parties. “These forests, full of threatened species of both plant and animal, should not be destroyed by some one-sided, simplistic decision of the Newman Government,” said Ms Levy.

“Very little of these high value forests is protected in South East Queensland,” she said. “The forests provide wildlife habitat as well as ecological services for residents, such as fresh air, clean water and stable soils. They are important for tourism and as a backdrop to the highly developed coastal areas. Native forests must be protected both on public and private land.”

A series of policies are in place at national, state and local levels of government to provide incentives for private landholders as well as government land managers to protect these areas from further fragmentation and heal the landscape.

It is time for the Newman Government to cease its attack on native forests and uphold agreements that protect the forests of South East Queensland for the benefit of all.

Each year more than 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forests are lost, an area roughly the size of England. As the forests go so goes the plant and animal species they embrace – 80% of all terrestrial biodiversity. Most importantly, forests play a crucial role in climate change including global warming: deforestation causes 12-18 percent of the world’s carbon emissions – almost equal to all the CO2 from the global transport sector. Equally crucial, healthy forests are one of the world’s primary ‘carbon sinks.’ The forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion of the world’s poorest people by providing food, fiber, water and medicines, as well as regulating environments. Those supported include indigenous peoples with unique and precious cultures.

“Forests are not just a source of timber and jobs, more importantly they provide us with oxygen to breathe without which the human race cannot survive.  It is time the Newman Government’s four pillars included a fifth pillar or rather an environmental foundation for the pillars without which the four pillars will tumble. A healthy economy and society is dependent on a healthy environment, “ said Lois

Contact: Lois Levy, President  0412 724 222

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Hands off Native Forests in South East Queensland

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World Forestry Day on March 21st has been celebrated for over thirty years and is a recognition that forests are essential to life on Earth and are in need of protection and sustainable management if they are to continue to provide many benefits to all species on this planet.

“Unfortunately for Queenslanders we do not have a great deal to celebrate this year,” said Lois Levy, President of Gecko-Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Council Assoc. In (Gecko) “the recent decision of the Newman Government to resume logging in high conservation value forests, previously protected under the South East Queensland Forest Agreement, is another step back in time for this Government. This Agreement provided an uneconomical industry an opportunity to restructure and the forestry industries were in accord with it.”

Continue reading →

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