My Councillor Questions 25 June 2018

At the Ordinary Council Meeting held on June 25th 2018, I asked the following questions on the following topics:

1.     Animal Control

-         In light of the Murrurundi community’s concern regarding loose and dangerous dogs, does council believe that we are living up to the draft DPOP statement found on page 162 in the section “This is how we measure it” … and I quote “animal control functions provided to the community at levels that meet their expectations” are greater than 90%? Over at least the last 6 months Murrurundia residents have raised many instances of dog attacks resulting in deaths to pets and livestock, and I have been informed that many Murrurundi residents feel that council is doing nothing to remedy this alarming situation.

-         Please can I have a complete breakdown of monies from the years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, that were allocated and used for animal control … down to the last bag of kibble?

-         When are we going to insulate the cat section of the pound? And can we please not look at using fans as a summer solution for cooling the area. We all would agree that sitting in a tin shed in 40+ degrees is not optimum.

-         What is the purpose for the big empty shed which is situated at the dog pound area?

2.     Library

-         The technical services librarian whom we share with Muswellbrook Council, has resigned and the Upper Hunter Shire Council Library Services Advisory Committee requests that Muswellbrook Council (1) fills the position as soon as possible for the remainder of the maternity leave position, and (2) provide a report to the Upper Hunter Shire Council on the allocation of tasks and hours provided by the technical services librarian? The Upper Hunter Shire Council pays a significant sum of money for the services of the technical services librarian and we appreciate them, but we will not be happy to wait until next January 2019 for a new one to be appointed.

-         Are the Cassilis, Aberdeen, Merriwa and Murrurundi libraries deemed operational land or community land?

3.     Tomra Cleanaway and the EPA

-         Has council had any feedback from the EPA in relation to disability access to the Return and Earn machines? I have been in communication with TOMRA cleanaway and they inform me that their new machines being installed have disability access, and that they are working on a solution to provide like access to their old machines. Could council perhaps communicate with TOMRA cleanaway and suggest that they swap our 6 month old machines with their new ones as we are not happy that still not all residents in the Upper Hunter Shire can use their ‘old’ machines.’

4.     Code of conduct

-         How much did the 2017 code of conduct matter cost to the Upper Hunter Shire community? The community has a right to know.

5.     Bypass

-         In relation to the Scone Bypass, the Scone community is gravely concerned. Scone is not being bypassed; it is being cleaved into two. Many residents feel that there has been a lack of communication and information from both the Upper Hunter Shire Council and the RMS. Many residents of Scone are justifiably concerned about the irrevocable change that is on Scone’s horizon. There are many questions being asked by Scone residents, and they want answers before the bypass constructions works begin.

-         Residents of Aberdeen and Wingen Streets want to know what is the RMS going to do about the trucks crossing Liverpool and Aberdeen Streets as these trucks cart gravel to the golf course/bypass building-site? The residents had a meeting with the RMS this morning and they were informed that this issue is a council matter. So what is the UHSC going to do?

-         Residents of Aberdeen and Wingen Streets want to know what is the RMS going to do about the St Aubin’s Street intersection and the increase in traffic along this part of Scone? At the same meeting with the RMS this morning, the residents were told this issue is nothing to do with the RMS but again were informed that this issue is a council matter. So my question is what is the UHSC going to do about the increase in traffic on these quiet local roads as a result of flowing off and on the St Aubin’s Street intersection?

-         Many residents are concerned that sodic soils throughout the Scone floodplain will have an impact on the bypass infrastructure and its longevity. Is council concerned about the levels of high sodicity that may affect embankment stability and plasticity?

-         Is council concerned about the potential of low wet-bearing strengths?

-         Has the RMS conducted proper and thorough assessments of both current and future soil and landscape factors and processes in order to reassure the Scone community that the Scone Bypass is to be constructed and maintained appropriately?

-         Has the RMS considered the likelihood of gullying as a result of poor sodic soil management in the Scone bypass area which could also affect many hectares of adjoining property owners’ land?

-         What is the Scone Bypass’ design life?

-         What protections are in place for the stand of river red gums which are an endangered ecological community (EEC)?

-         Are the RMS engineers properly and expertly acquainted with soil science?

-         In light of these questions, can the Upper Hunter Shire Council seek an interim injunction to halt the building of the Scone Bypass until the Scone community has the answers to their questions? I, myself, feel very poorly briefed on this matter, and still wonder why Scone is getting a bypass when Muswellbrook and Singleton are not, notwithstanding that both Muswellbrook and Singleton wanted them so much more that we did. We wanted safe and efficient passage for emergency vehicles.

6.     Refugees

-         In light of recent distressing images of children being separated from their parents at US borders, it comes as a salutary reminder that our human rights record for asylum seekers and refugees is none too kind. Would council consider writing to our local member to suggest that he makes representations on our behalf to close down the Manus Island and Naru refugee processing centres, and to open up refugee processing centres here in Australia in order to administer refugee/asylum seeding claims. I understand that we need to have limits on immigration but to outsource this sensitive process overseas where matters are conducted behind closed doors is horrific and inhumane, and it does not sit well with me that it is done in my name, our name.

My Councillor Questions 28 May 2018

  

  At the Ordinary Council Meeting held on 28 May 2018, I asked:

1. Has Muswellbrook Shire Council responded to our request to stop calling their libraries the “Upper Hunter Regional Library?”

Response: The General Manager replied that Council has contacted Muswellbrook Shire Council requesting that this be considered.

Update:

A letter has been sent to Muswellbrook Shire Council regarding their use of the name ‘Upper Hunter Regional Library’. A response is yet to be received.

2. When the Warbirds Attraction is built, what is the guarantee that the warbirds stay with the structure?

Response: The General Manager replied that this would be part of the contractual negotiations.

My Shire Notes from June 2018: People, planet ... and plastic pollution

Image credit: Tangaroa Blue Foundation, published in The Guardian

It is a salutary thought to think that every single bit of plastic ever made is still in existence today somewhere in the world … and that it will never go away.

And yet still our fruit and vegetables and many of our groceries come unnecessarily wrapped in single-use plastic which we then put in single-use plastic bags in order to cart everything home only to throw away all the single-use plastic involved once we have unpacked our shopping.

Sadly this plastic then ends up in our landfills, our soil and our waterways, and sadly this plastic universally pollutes and invariably harms our wildlife.

Did you know that eight million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in freshwater and marine environments each year? Eight million tonnes …

So congratulations are definitely in order for Woolworths and Coles on their decision to no longer provide single-use plastic bags to shoppers at checkouts anymore.

From June 20 2018 and July 1 2018 respectively, Woolworths and Coles will commence their ‘no-more-plastic-bags’ pledge across the nation whether state governments have committed to this action or not.

Well done indeed.

The Upper Hunter Shire Council wholeheartedly supports Woolworths’ and Coles’ commitment to eliminating single-use plastic bags, and understands that customers who don’t bring their own bags will have access to a range of alternative shopping bag options, including thicker reusable plastic bags at 15 cents a bag and of course the fabulous free Boomerang Bags made in the Upper Hunter Shire and regularly supplied to Woolworths and Coles.

As we all transition to a grocery shopping experience without plastic bags, the Upper Hunter Shire Council urges Upper Hunter Shire residents to also think about seeking out products that are made from materials packaged in recyclable, compostable and/or reusable materials in order to reduce our plastic ‘consumption’ as much as we possibly can.

As we set about removing plastic in our lives, we could think of it in terms of the five Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Repurpose, Recycle, because these actions save landfill space, save money, and definitely help to reduce greenhouse emissions.

There's also a growing grassroots movement across the world to ban plastic straws, with nearly 100 venues Australia-wide already having phased out single-use straws - now I would love to see that happen in the Upper Hunter Shire, along with the banning of cotton buds.

Time for conversation and truth-telling

Looking over the Upper Hunter from Mount Royal, NSW

For the third time, I have left Facebook, and this third time will definitely be the FINAL time.

There is no going back for me, not after everything we actually really did know, coupled with extra dark and menacing stuff that maybe we didn't know but perhaps we did or had forgotten, as well as all the Cambridge Analytica sinister antics - curtains for me 100%.

As I have previously mentioned in this blog (I think?), since September 2016 I have been a councillor for the Upper Hunter Shire Council, and so now that I am no longer on Facebook and therefore no longer have a 'Councillor Page' I am going to use blogger to post regularly (that is if Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation doesn't impede me). Naturally anything I post will be all my own opinions, thoughts and views, and at no time will I ever be speaking on behalf of council.

There ... we've got that sorted (sigh).

On Monday 28th May 2018 we had our Ordinary Council Meeting and in the spirit of National Reconciliation Week I moved:

"That the Upper Hunter Shire Council work with the Wanaruah people and other relevant bodies to create a communications plan that focuses on 'broader community education to help the community better understand Aboriginal people's experiences of January 26.'"

Last September (2017) I put a similar motion to the Upper Hunter Shire Council but it was not even seconded so I never got a chance to talk to it.

This time it was, so in speaking for the motion and inspired by Mark McKenna after reading his recent Quarterly Essay, I said that:

"We need to recognise that the destruction of Aboriginal society was the price of European development. We need to recognise that the material success of Australian society was built upon the dispossession of Indigenous Australia. We need to recognise that it is the time for conversation, truth telling, treaty and settlement. 

We have to do more than begin public meetings with an acknowledgment of country that in itself is so silent when we stop short after "traditional owners of the land."  

Mark McKenna, the historian, in his Quarterly Essay entitled "Moment of Truth," suggests we should continue with a completing clause after we refer to Aboriginal people as traditional owners of the land with the words:

"... which was taken away from them without their consent, treaty or compensation."

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invitation to all Australians to start our future together, but to do that we need to recognise unequivocally the brutality of Australia's foundation and listen to Indigenous Australians tell their histories in the spirit of "Makarrata" (healing and coming together after a struggle).

Please, councillors, let us start this conversation in the Upper Hunter Shire."

Out of the seven councillors who were at the meeting three of us voted for the motion, and whilst I was disappointed that yet again it wasn't carried, I felt a little  heartened that two of my fellow councillors thought starting a conversation was a good idea, and that after the meeting the General Manager suggested he might be able to arrange a link up with the Wanaruah people for a meet and greet.

So, perhaps it's actually started ...

My Council Shire Notes (3rd April 2018): Consumption Minimisation

News from South Africa should have us very alarmed … and I am not talking about the dull-thud-on-willow variety.

Cape Town is approaching “Day Zero;” the day when the city’s taps will be turned off and water will only be able to be accessed from designated armed-guarded collection points.

That water is a finite resource should concern us all.

Cape Town was warned that climate change would herald drier, hotter weather with less winter rainfall leading to reduced stream and river flows and diminished city water levels but the warnings were unheeded. That was until last year (2017) when three straight years of drought saw the city’s six reservoirs go from 100% of capacity to 26% of capacity.

Then the city moved into action, and now after strict water restrictions were imposed (50 litres per person per day) along with a decline in agricultural usage, Day Zero, which was to have been this month, has potentially been pushed back to July.

The Cape Town situation affects us all on planet earth and that means those of us living in the Upper Hunter Shire too. Basically it warns us that we need to be implementing water-wise strategies now. 

The Upper Hunter Shire Council recognises that diminishing water levels pose a risk to our lives, and so along with NSW government funding for the major capital pipeline and treatment plant projects, has been water-proofing our shire.

And as the water consumers that we all are, we have an important role to play too.

Yes water-consumption charges have increased but that is because water conservation must be encouraged, though through our actual water consumption we still do have a choice over our water charges - for example when we choose to use less water, our water bills will be reduced.

South Africa has warned us that our water habits have to change, and we need to heed their warning.

As climate change embeds itself more and more into our daily lives, our current water habits must be addressed, and this requires leadership from all levels of governments and the community. Council is attempting to do this, and as always welcomes any feedback and suggestions.

And to conclude with that other news from South Africa, in my opinion Steve Smith has shown leadership and bravery, and I abhor that he has been thrown to the wolves - shame on you, Cricket Australia.

Things That Keep Me Awake At Night (Director's Cut)

Bayswater Power Station, Upper Hunter, New South Wales)

Every week in our local (and slowly dying) paper an Upper Hunter Shire councillor writes a column entitled 'Shire Notes.' Given that there are nine councillors, I (yes I was elected last September 2016) get a turn once every 9 weeks. Here are my latest ones.
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Last week (Wednesday 29th March 2017) I attended the ‘Power Stations and Our Health Community Workshop’ held at the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music in Muswellbrook. 

It was chilling. 

According to Dr Ben Ewald from Doctors of the Environment the Upper Hunter community pays a high cost for the polluted air billowing out from our coal-fired power stations. We pay through heart disease, lung disease and asthma. There are no safe levels of pollution and both Bayswater and Liddell are health hazards to our community.

Despite the Australian government allowing coal-fired power stations to belch out a much higher level of polluting emissions than the World Health Organisation advises, Muswellbrook’s air quality shows air pollution levels beyond even our own paltry standard. 

There are five monitoring sites in the Upper Hunter, and the data collected tells us we have a problem.

The main pollutants from Bayswater and Liddell are sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and small invisible particulate matter referred to as PM2.5 (product of combustibles), and they are absorbed through our lungs into our bloodstream where they can cause angina, heart attacks and strokes. Unsurprisingly, children are at an extreme risk from this toxic mix of air pollution.

Two AGL representatives at the workshop noted that Liddell is due for retirement in 2022 and Bayswater in 2035. But what concerns Doctors for the Environment is that closure schedules all too often pit commercial interests against health damage, and consequently power stations are retired first on economic grounds rather than health.

Bearing in mind that our power stations could actually close earlier than forecast, Doctors for the Environment raised the spectre that Australian governments are ill-prepared in creating new jobs and new industries for the inevitable transition away from coal-fired power stations. It is all a great worry.

The proposed Scone Bypass is also causing me concern.

The loss of part of the Bill Rose Sporting Complex, the impact on the Golf Club and White Park, the unsightliness of a significantly raised road through the floodplain area of Parson’s Gully and Kingdon Ponds … how is any of this going to improve our town?

The apparent minimal community discussion RMS have had (or not had) on the environmental and social impacts of the bypass alarm me. Whilst the removal of trucks from our high street has been flagged as a significant driver for the bypass, will we not also be removing essential traffic required for business along Kelly Street?

Yes Council is working hard with local stakeholders to have our town ready when the bypass is complete but this project is essentially about motorway building and the moving of freight on a national integrated system of super roads.

Today’s roads have morphed into mobile warehouses, and Scone bypass will be an imposed environmental grievance with lasting impacts on our town.
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