Koalas claim prime real estate http://bit.ly/cHLii5
The issue of land owners rights vs responsibilites continues to cause
debate. Or is it all about developers rights?
Sent from Echofon - http://echofon.com/
Sent from my iPhone
Grafton storm
http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/story/2010/01/18/storm-leaves-grafton
Sent from my iPhone
The fundamental message that our governments should be putting out is this: if you live in, or close to the Australian bush, you should expect to get a bushfire on a hot windy day in summer … and be prepared for it. To rely on a government warning system is to rely on something that is inherently unreliable.!!
[To read the full article, visit http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9927
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Melinda Pavey said yesterday the government must do more to explain its catastrophic fire warning system.
Residents across NSW have said they are unsure about what "catastrophic" means and that the definition is unclear, a spokesman for Mrs Pavey said.
Former Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg also publicly criticised the addition level of "catastrophic".
Mrs Pavey said many in the community believed that if a catastrophic warning was issued, a catastrophe was imminent.
"The warning system was developed nationally following the tragic Victorian bushfires last year," she said.
"Former Commissioner Phil Koperberg is correct in saying there is confusion in the general community.
"The community is saying that the warning relates to imminent danger not the culmination of fire risk through high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions.
"The State Labor Goverment and Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan, must do more to explain to the community what the new system means.
"If the State Labor Cabinet was picked on merit then Phil Koperberg would be in it, but unfortunately it is not.
"Nobody knows more about bushfires in NSW than Phil Koperberg so the State Government shouldn't be so dismissive of him.
"If people lose faith in warning systems through lack of understanding and respect for the warning, we create a very dangerous situation," Mrs Pavey said.
Two more towns in the north-west of New South Wales have been declared natural disaster zones following flooding over the past fortnight.
It brings the number of towns in the disaster zone to nine.
Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan says councils, residents and business owners in Gilgandra and Walgett affected by the floods will now be able to seek assistance from the State Government.
"That's based on estimates of damage to infrastructure in that area exceeding $1 million," he said.
"It's important that we can help the shires, particularly with their repairs to roads. A lot of unsealed roads in that region have suffered quite a lot of damage.
"All those areas now have access to assistance with infrastructure repairs for councils, and for primary producers with loans and fodder transport subsidies."
Meanwhile, floodwaters moving down the Namoi River have caused moderate flooding overnight in the Pilliga region, in the state's north-west.
A number of local roads and rural properties have been isolated at Bugilbone and Goandra.
The SES says flooding at Bugilbone is expected to last until early next week but floodwaters at Goandra could take up to a week to recede.
Floodwaters at Wee Waa are subsiding, although the SES says some rural properties there also remain isolated.
Map: Gilgandra 2827http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/08/2787881.htm
The North East Forest Alliance says their audit of timber harvesting in the Yabbra State Forest, west of Kyogle, revealed more than 50 breaches of forestry licensing conditions.
Greens MP Ian Cohen has called for an independent investigation of the breaches.
Steve Rayson from State Forests says their own investigations so far show there have been no breaches of threatened species requirements.
"Our preliminary investigations, which are still continuing, have not disclosed any breaches of the threatened species licence," he said.
"I mean we have done our absolute best to ensure compliance of those licence conditions as we always do and as I say, at this stage we haven't found any breaches of those licence conditions."
The drought has increased by 1 per cent across NSW, despite heavy rains in parts of the state in recent weeks.
Diversions have been put in place at Maclean to stop fruit bats from causing another major blackout.
Last week more than 10,000 electricity customers in the Clarence Valley were left without power when the bats flew into two high voltage lines at Maclean.
Brown outs continue to occur on allmost a daily basis in the Nymboida area
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/14/2792184.htm
| Download a free hit counter today! |
