FURTHER THREAT TO NSW NATIONAL PARKS

O'Farrell Government Plans to Log National Parks

Last year the O'Farrell Government caved in to the Shooters and Fishers Party and announced it would allow recreational hunters into some of the state's National Parks.  Now it is planning to open up national parks in the north east of the state to logging. 

In a Media Release issued on 11^th February North East Forests Alliance (NEFA) spokesperson Dailan Pugh said, "The Forest Products Association are asking for over a million hectares of north-east NSW's National Parks, Nature Reserves and State Conservation Areas to be made available for logging. So far they have identified over 100,000 hectares of 43 specific reserves they want revoked.

"In the Northern Rivers the loggers have so far singled out 12 reserves they want to be wholly or partially revoked for logging: Wollumbin, Mebbin, Nightcap, Goonengerry, Guy Fawkes River, Chaelundi, and Nymboi-Binderay National Parks, and Wollumbin, Whian Whian , Bungawalbin, Butterleaf, and Chaelundi State Conservation Areas.

"The O'Farrell Government is currently assessing the timber resources in these reserves with a view to opening them up for logging."

In mid-December NEFA wrote to the Northern Rivers State Members (MPs) of Parliament (all members of the National Party which is in coalition with the Liberals as the State Government) asking if they supported "logging within, or revocation for logging of, any National Parks, Nature Reserves or State Conservation Areas on the far North Coast of NSW". 

Two MPs, Chris Gulaptis and Geoff Provest, did not respond and the other two, Thomas George and Don Page, gave equivocal replies.

"We need local members who are prepared to stand up for the north coast and not stand aside while our national parks are given to the shooters and loggers. The electors of the Northern Rivers must assume that the Government members for Lismore, Clarence, Tweed and Ballina have no intention to stand up for the local national parks that this community had to struggle for decades to protect," said Mr Pugh.

Many community members campaigned for years to have these special areas protected within the National Parks Estate.  The O'Farrell Government's continued attack on areas which protect the state's biodiversity is a further slap in the face for these people.  And it once again shows the lack of  O'Farrell's understanding of the purpose of national parks.

And what a sorry lot are our Northern Rivers MPs! They've already proved totally inadequate in supporting their local communities in relation to the coal seam gas mining threat.  And they obviously have no concerns about opening up national parks to the blood sports lobby.

Perhaps they feel it's not necessary to represent their communities' views at this time because they don't have to face their electorates until March 2015.  Presumably they also believe that voters have very short memories.

There is more information on this issue on a new website: SAVE PARKS
Electronic letters to politicians are also available on this website.

A TALE OF FOXES AND HEN HOUSES

Is the NSW Game Council a fit and proper body to issue licences for recreational hunters to hunt in National Parks?

Last year the NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell, made a deal with the two Shooters and Fishers Party representatives in the Legislative Council in order to gain their support for his government's  power privatisation bill.  Payment for the deal was opening up 79 of the state's national parks/nature reserves to recreational hunters.  The spin put on this sleazy deal  (in which O'Farrell blatantly broke an election promise) was that these shooters would be doing the community and the environment a service as they would be helping eradicate feral animals in the national parks estate.  See the CVCC post of 30th May 2012

The Game Council of NSW, which is partly funded from the public purse and is the tool of the state's hunting lobby will be responsible for licensing those who hunt in the 79 national parks/reserves when O'Farrell's deal comes into operation in March this year.

On 23^rd January the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that the Acting Chief Executive of the Game Council, Greg McFarland, had been suspended a few days earlier following a complaint about illegal hunting and trespass and inhumane killing of a feral goat in the central west of the state.  Herald article of 23rd January

The alleged incident which occurred on 28^th December was being investigated by police.

In a report a few days later (28^th January) the Herald gave an update saying that the Game Council had also referred the incident to police.  Herald report of 28th January 2013   Presumably they decided it was politic to do so because they knew it had already been referred to the police by the landholder where the trespass occurred. 

Comments by the Game Council about the matter suggest it is both arrogant (scarcely surprising given the kow-towing of the government to its minions) and has an overweening sense of entitlement.  According to the Herald, the Council's Chairman, John Mumford,"has called the matter an 'unfounded smear campaign' by Fairfax Media."  Not content with that dubious statement, the Council "said the allegations were leaked to discredit the council after it had been thrust into the spotlight over its impending role in licensing hunters when 79 of the state's national parks are opened to shooting on March 1."

Is it too much to hope that the NSW Premier and his government are wondering if they are on the right track in, firstly, opening up national parks to recreational hunters and, secondly, having the Game Council licensing the hunters ? 

O'Farrell and his government need to reflect on the wisdom of letting the fox look after the hen house.

METGASCO MOVES ITS DRILL RIG TO GLENUGIE

Coal seam gas mining company Metgasco finally moved its drilling rig and other equipment onto the drill site at Glenugie on Monday 7^th January. 

Background to Events of 7^th January

Towards the end  of November last year Metgasco, which had negotiated an agreement with the landholder,  set up a drill pad on the property in the Avenue, at Glenugie, south-west of Grafton.  Local residents, concerned at the company's failure to provide them with information about their plans and concerned for the local environment, established a vigil outside the site. 

This vigil became a blockade on 4^th December when the company sent fencing equipment to the site.  Access to the site was blocked by protesters and local resident Deb Whitley locked herself onto one of the trucks.  Eventually the Police Rescue Squad arrived and freed Ms Whitley.  Then local police and members of the Riot Squad cleared access so that the vehicles were able to enter the site.  Two concentric internal fences were set up around the drill pad over the next few days.

Company trucks made a further attempt to access the site on 10^th December but were held up by protesters as they attempted to reach the site.  As there were only a few local police present, the Metgasco workers gave up and returned to Casino.

The vigil continued with anti-CSG campaigners expecting the imminent arrival of the drill rig and other equipment.  The weeks' long wait enabled the protesters to strengthen defences and also to broaden understanding of CSG as an issue in the local community.  The protest encampment along the road expanded.  Supporters from further afield visited the site, many of them staying for days and returning a number of times.

Drill Rig Day – 7^th January

Following notification that the Metgasco convoy had left Casino, protesters camping near the drill site started strengthening the blockade.  They were soon joined by locals from Grafton and and surrounding communities while others travelling from further afield arrived later.

Around 60 police - local officers, Riot Police from Sydney  and members of the Police Rescue Squad - were at the site very early.  The Riot Police blocked off the area in front of the access gate and, in a line,  started pushing forward towards the road to move some 30 or 40 protesters from this area .  When this was done, they started clearing protesters from the road in front of the gate.

Riot police moving protesters from in front of the property gate

 Protesters sitting on the road before Riot Police start pushing them back

Once the protesters had been shifted from the area close to the gate, the Police Rescue Squad moved in to remove the protester locked on at the top of the tripod near the gate.  This took some time as did the freeing of the man locked on just outside the gate.  At the same time, police were demolishing or shifting the barriers to vehicle access including a large log placed parallel to the road.

Police Rescue Squad officers on a cherrypicker prepare to cut free a protester locked on to a tripod

Filming the crowd

The police then announced that they were closing off the road and, some time later, stationed police cars at the beginning of the Avenue to the south and at the junction of the Avenue and Six Mile Lane.

While the activity around the site was taking place,  the drill rig and a number of other trucks approached the site along the Avenue from Ulmarra to the north.  These vehicles pulled up three to four kilometres from the site to wait for the police to clear the road of protesters.  While they were parked, a woman locked herself on to one of the trucks.  So, when the Police Rescue Squad had finished its work near the drill site, they drove to these vehicles and released the locked-on woman. A further delay occurred when another woman locked herself onto a car parked partially on the road near Six Mile Lane.

After this woman was released and arrested, the  drill rig and accompanying trucks moved to the drill site, arriving there at around 3 p.m.

The drill rig, protected by Riot Squad police, moves past Six Mile Lane to the drill site.

While it was a peaceful protest, there were a number of incidents.  Eighteen protesters, including the "lock-ons", were arrested.  It was interesting that one of these, a  prominent Northern Rivers ant-CSG campaigner, was arrested because he threw a bottle of water to one of the locked-on protesters near the drill site. 

There were reports of excessive force being used by police and these incidents are likely to be pursued by the anti-CSG campaigners.

Six of  those arrested appeared in Grafton Court the next day.  The other 12 had been released on bail the evening before after being charged.  Those who remained in custody overnight did so because they refused to accept one of the bail conditions imposed - namely that they stay at least 3 kilometres away from the drill site until their charges  were decided on in court.  This effectively meant that they were being denied the opportunity to protest peacefully outside the site for more than a month.  The magistrate accepted their contention that this was not fair.  In four cases he removed the restriction completely but warned those charged that they would need to be of good behaviour and not breach their bail in the period before the hearing on 11th February.  The other two only sought the right to return to collect property left in the vicinity of the protest.  They were granted two hours after their release to do this.

It will be interesting  to learn just how much the police operation around the 7th January has cost the public purse - assuming the State Government informs the community of this cost.  The Government will certainly be asked the question.