PROPOSED WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY IN THE CLARENCE VALLEY

 Six months ago, I reported on a series of undescribed plant species that have been discovered in the Clarence Valley in recent years, including the discovery of two small populations of previously unknown trees of the Gmelina genus, closely related to the local White Beech. 

That tree has now been described by a team at the Royal Botanic Gardens’ Herbarium at Mt Annan, led by Dr Trevor Wilson, who will shortly publish his findings.

With less than 30 mature trees remaining since the Liberation Trail wildfire decimated its habitat in 2019, this find is comparable to the Wollemi Pine discovery three decades ago. But unlike the spectacular Pine, which was growing in a national park, the new Gmelina is growing on Clarence Valley Council’s Shannon Creek property, with no legal protection whatsoever. 

Naturally, it has been nominated for listing as an endangered population under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act, with a decision from the Scientific Committee imminent. This move is strongly supported by Dr. Wilson, who has described the discovery as extremely significant and recommends immediate conservation action be undertaken.

As a result Clarence Valley Council has been approached with a proposal for their entire property, together with the adjoining nature reserve, to be nominated as “An Area of Outstanding Biodiversity Value, as a conceptual Shannon Creek Wildlife Conservancy.

An Area of Outstanding Biodiversity Value is a conservation category under the state’s Biodiversity Conservation Act, applied to areas deemed to contain irreplaceable biodiversity values that are important to the whole of New South Wales, Australia or globally. 

With 1000 native plant species, and 290 species of fauna having been recorded, the proposed ‘Conservancy’ has merit. Include the fact that 4 of those plant species occur nowhere else in the world, and that an incredible 63 of those flora and fauna species are on the threatened species list, makes the case for an Outstanding Biodiversity Value listing even stronger. 

Add survey results that recorded 23 microbat species, a figure unsurpassed anywhere else in NSW, and possibly Australia, and the case appears clear-cut. 

 

-        John Edwards

 Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent   8th  May, 2026 under the title: "Proposed Wildlife Conservancy".

ELIZABETH ISLAND

Elizabeth Island in the Clarence River is managed by the Susan and Elizabth Island Recreation Land Manager Board.  The Board manages the regeneration and restoration of both the islands near Grafton. The management plan is to restore the Lowland Rainforest with species that are endemic to the area.

It has obtained a Crown Land Grant for Elizabeth Island for two years consecutively which has helped them to clear weeds and plant native species local to the area.  As the current grant expires at the end of June 2026, the Board is hoping to obtain another grant to continue this work.

The Project Coordinator for Elizabeth Island is Ant van Haren.  Two permanent workers are employed to assist him.  Further work is provided by around 8 to 10 volunteers who go over to the island once a month to weed and plant young trees as well as curtaining more established climbers which cover the large native trees such as Tulipwood.

Tree species growing on the on the 32 ha island include Forest Red Gum, Red Bean, Black Bean, Moreton Bay Fig, Coogera, Native Elms, Giant Stinging Tree, Whalebone, Hairy Birds Eye, Red Bottlebrush and Tulipwood.  Elizabeth and Susan Islands have the southern-most stand of Tulipwood.

Plantings on the island are sourced from Maclean Landcare Nursery and Minnie Waters Nursery as well as from Susan Island.  Seeds from Susan Island are collected and propagated by National Parks officers Wayne Stevens and Matt Clarke and TAFE teacher Gary Clark and then planted on both islands.

Adapted from a report given by Rhonda Coleman at a recent Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition committee meeting.  Rhonda has been volunteering on both Elizabeth and Susan Island working bees for some years.

 

 

EXOTIC WEEDS

 Chatting with a friend recently, I was encouraged to hear him express a desire, when he retired, to undertake some voluntary bush regeneration in a council reserve near his home. “Of course,” he said jokingly, “I’ll need you to show me which plants are weeds and which are native”.

 I wasn’t familiar with the reserve in question and, on checking, found it was situated on a river bank and having a picnic area, so I dropped by to check it out.

From the road, the forested reserve shows an impressively healthy canopy which I was delighted to find consisted of a rare Silky Oak / Black Bean forest community. However, on entering the picnic area, I was confronted by rubbish and weeds, a sad reflection, not only on those who abuse and vandalise these amenities, but also on Council’s neglect.

The highly invasive weed, Cat’s Claw Creeper, was just one of many species there and not yet fully developed, but if left untreated, it will eventually smother and kill the trees completely.

Unfortunately, this neglect is evident across all public land, a standout example being a travelling stock reserve at South Grafton, just a few hundred metres from the Local Land Services’ office (LLS), the agency responsible for its management.

A survey of that seventy-hectare block revealed that one third of the 120 plant species recorded were exotic weeds, including several that are notifiable, and should be removed by law.

Interestingly, LLS’s website displays a document titled, ‘Regional Strategic Weed Management Plans’, which opens its first sentence with: "As a landowner, it’s your responsibility to manage weeds on your land".

Despite the frustration these sorts of examples generate, we shouldn’t be too critical of councils, or any of those agencies, as none of them are provided with the necessary resources to tackle the problem, but they should set an example.

In the end, it’s up to the community to stop dumping garbage and garden waste on roadsides and in bushland, clean up our own backyards, and maybe volunteer with a Landcare group.

    - John Edwards 

Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 8th  May, 2026.  

TAXING GAS EXPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA FAIRLY

The recent Senate inquiry into the taxation of gas resources  attracted considerable interest in the leadup to May’s federal budget. A strong case had been made for improving the tax revenue the government receives from the export of gas - a non-renewable resource owned by Australian citizens. 

The independent NGO, the Climate Council, is among the critics of the current taxation system which lets the gas companies off very lightly.  It claims that Australia is missing out on the level of revenue that many other nations derive from the export of their gas resources.  For example, Qatar and Australia export similar amounts of gas each year with Qatar collecting five times as much government revenue from its gas exports.

Tax revenue on gas exports is derived from royalties for onshore gas extraction or from a Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) for gas sourced from Commonwealth waters.  While there are problems with royalties charged for onshore gas, the situation is even worse with the PRRT.  The NGO the Australia Institute claims it has been an abject failure because while LNG exports surged by $47.7 billion from 2014 to 2025, PRRT revenue was $450 million lower in 2024-25 than in 2014-15.

The Australia Institute, along with the ACTU, the Australian Council of Social Services, the Commonwealth Bank CEO, the Australian Greens and several independent cross-benchers support the introduction of a 25% tax on the value of gas exports.  It is estimated that this tax could raise up to $17 billion per year.

Unsurprisingly the gas industry is mounting a well-financed campaign against any changes to taxation which curtail their enormous profits.

Co-CEO of the Australia Institute, Dr Richard Denniss said, “If this parliament chooses to leave things largely unchanged, then it is choosing to put foreign-owned gas companies ahead of deficit repair and properly funding things like the NDIS, hospitals, schools and roads.”

“A 25% gas export tax would transform the Commonwealth budget, push down domestic gas and electricity prices and show Australians that their politicians are willing to put them first.”

            Leonie Blain

The Federal Government ruled out any changes to taxes on gas exports prior to the handing down of the Federal Budget on May 13. 

  Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 1 May, 2026.  Updated  for publication on this blog.

IS THE CLARENCE RIVER MIGHTY?

As we head into our traditional winter dry season, current weather conditions are worrying. Grafton has just experienced a prolonged period of hot weather with maximum daily temperatures at an incredible 5°C above average, peaking on 10^th April at 37.1°C, breaking the previous record by1.5°C.

 

With rainfall since October just one third of the long-term average, river flows and dam levels have declined rapidly. The situation is particularly dire for bushland environments that are still struggling to recover from the catastrophic 2019 fire-storm.

 

Water is life, and we are fortunate in that the valley’s lifeblood is provided by the state’s largest river system, affectionately called the “mighty Clarence”. However, the entire system is under stress and while the more remote wilderness areas are still relatively pristine, with waters cascading through dramatically picturesque mountain landscapes, the same cannot be said for the lower reaches of the river.

 

There are hundreds of kilometres of waterways across the valley that should more realistically be described as a depleted environment with sterile weed-infested banks, trampled by livestock with little left to attract native birds and animals. Further down the river system has been drained, distorted, and confined by levy banks into a single murky channel of water which is certainly no longer mighty.

 

So, can the Clarence River continue to help buffer us against the insidious impacts of climate change? Is it currently able to withstand the impacts of more intense rainfall events and resultant flooding and irreparable bank erosion, or continue to provide the basic needs of humans and the natural environment in the face of ever higher temperatures and frequent droughts?

 

To rescue the river and allow it to recover its best possible potential, it has to be protected. River and creek banks throughout the entire catchment need to be revegetated, and livestock excluded, something that all landowners can be involved in for their own benefit in reducing erosion of their land, as well as providing improved water quality for the entire population, and the wildlife we all want to thrive.

 

-        John Edwards

  Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent , 24 April, 2026.