A letter to Ms DeWit

One of my neighbours has penned the following letter to Councillor Margaret DeWit.....










Margaret de Wit
Chairperson
Infrastructure Committee

Dear Margaret

Your letter does contain one accurate assessment, I am very disappointed with the result of Council investigation into our petition regarding road safety in Normanby Terrace.

I would also say that I am very frustrated at the series of letters from your office which failed to grasp the issues we raised.

Further, I am appalled at your refusal to meet with me to rectify your misconceptions about conditions in our street. The decision handed down by Council is based on incorrect information and erroneous judgements.

You are liable to be held responsible, along with Council, for any injuries or damage caused by the issues we have raised as you have failed in your duty of care to residents.

This matter has been referred to the Co-ordinator of the Normanby Action Group to make further representations on behalf of residents and pedestrians and cyclists diverted from the closed bikepath due to the Legacy Way tunnel.

Regards

Campbell Newman's Legacy

I have written the following letter to my Community & Stakeholder Coordinator for the Northern Link Road Tunnel Project.

N-Link is a $1.8b project for a four lane underground motor way from Toowong to Kelvin Grove.

It makes me wonder:

Is tunnels all Can-Do could do?

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/year-old-fig-tree-to-be-felled-to-make-way-for-legacy-way-tunnel/story-e6freoof-1226080885651

Teresa Millar
Community and Stakeholder Coordinator - East

Dear Teresa,

Thank you for your email today.

I wonder if there is anything TransCity can do to re-route the N-Link transitions, to avoid the Fig tree which was re-located during the construction of the Inner City Bypass (ICB).

This tree was relocated at great expense by a previous regime. It makes a mockery of the guilt offset process, if relocated trees are going to be mowed down by subsequent projects. The tree holds a degree of sentimental significance to some people in my community.

I understand there are also two Hoop Pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) which are approximately 40m high. The hoop pine are allegedly around 100 years old. I am also told there is a significant and healthy Moreton Bay Fig ( Ficus macrophylla) to be removed.

My main concerns about the Northern Link Road Tunnel, are related to perpetuation of car dependence, peak oil, climate change etc and the related social justice issues for future generations & those in developing communities who will suffer the worst consequences of climate change.

This current project that you represent will produce 32 000 tonnes of CO2e during construction and an estimated annual GHG emissions for the operation of the project are 18 120 tonnes CO2-e (averaged over a 12 year period from time of opening).

Mowing down old growth trees only adds insult to injury.

regards,

Rowan Barber

A message to Graham Quirk

A Message to Graham

With households feeling the weight of cost-of-living pressures and Brisbane still recovering from the impact of January’s floods, I’m mindful of the need for a responsible, ‘back to basics’ approach to Council’s finances.

That’s why I wonder why the largest line item in the 2011/12 budget is $456m for another road tunnel, while basic services like libraries & parks were cut in March 2011. Residents of Brisbane are suffering a rate rise to pay for the "Tunnel Vision" which was hospital passed from Can Do Campbell to Captain Quirk.

Graham is on track to deliver a little bit of guilt offset that was promised (and paid for) in 2008 - planting two million trees, purchasing 500 hectares of bushland for conservation, putting 500 new buses on Brisbane roads and chipping away at a $100 million upgrade to our fragmented bikeway infrastructure. In reality, how far will $100m go? How much has been spent? What improvements have there been?

At the same time Captain Quirk is proceeding with his white elephant, Northern Link Road Tunnel from Toowong to Kelvin Grove, (also known as the Legacy Way). The Federal Government have poured half a billion dollars down another hole in the ground. Additional funds will be bled from core Council services, with record spending on one single road project.

Captain Quirk is committed to making Brisbane a rabbit warren of tunnels. Like his predecessor - Campbell Newman, Quirky will leave our children with a Legacy of Debt. This tunnel unlike all the others is fully funded by taxpayers and ratepayers. Clem 7 and Airport Link were privately funded. Legacy way is not.

If you have any questions, or would like more information on what this year’s budget means for you, please contact the Lord Mayor's office on 3403 4400 or e-mail Captain Quirk at lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au

Rowan Barber

BRISBANE RESIDENT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Message from Graham

With households feeling the weight of cost-of-living pressures and Brisbane still recovering from the impact of January’s floods, I’m mindful of the need for a responsible, ‘back to basics’ approach to Council’s finances.

That’s why my 2011/12 budget is focused on improving core Council services while delivering one of the lowest rate rises in the past 35 years.

We’ re on track to deliver key promises we made in 2008 - planting two million trees, purchasing 500 hectares of bushland for conservation, putting 500 new buses on Brisbane roads and completing a $100 million upgrade to our bikeway infrastructure.

At the same time we are proceeding with our important traffic congestion busting project, Legacy Way, with a welcome contribution from the Federal Government. Additional funds will be invested in core Council services, with record spending on road resurfacing and footpaths.

I’m committed to making Brisbane a cleaner, greener and more inclusive city. This Budget - concentrating on the fundamentals of rates, roads and rubbish - does exactly this.

If you have any questions, or would like more information on what this year’s budget means for you, please contact my office on 3403 4400 or e-mail me at lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au

Graham Quirk

LORD MAYOR

Sustainable Business Weekly QLD Edition [A Price on Carbon, Sustainable Australia, WASH, Transport]

A Price on Carbon

The Federal Government has still not released the details of the proposed Price on Carbon.

The impacts of the proposed Price on Carbon were left out of the Federal budget last week. The Government has indicated details of this initiative will be announced in July 2011.

The first step in understanding the Carbon Price is to get one’s head around National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (the NGER Act).

The Howard Government introduced a national framework for the reporting and dissemination of information about greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas projects, and energy use and production of corporations which will form the basis of the financial liabilities for a price on Carbon.

The objectives of the NGER Act, as stated in the legislation, are to:
· inform Government policy and the Australian public;
· help meet Australia’s international reporting obligations;
· assist Commonwealth, state and territory government programs and activities;
· avoid the duplication of similar reporting requirements in the states and territories.

The first annual reporting period began on 1 July 2008.
Corporations that meet an NGER threshold must report their:
· greenhouse gas emissions;
· energy production;
· energy consumption;
· other information specified under NGER legislation.

Many of Australia’s largest organisations will be significantly impacted and, under the current timeline, will have less than a year to prepare, develop and implement a comprehensive strategy.





Sustainable Australia

Further to discussions on the Federal Government’s Sustainable Population Strategy. It has not set a population target, but includes major initiatives to drive growth to regional areas.
The platform for a Sustainable Australia was included in the Budget with $140 million of new expenditure:
• to encourage employment precincts in outer metropolitan suburbs to reduce travel time and fuel use;
• to support for regional areas to plan for future growth and housing supply, and
• new indicators to measure the nation's sustainability needs.

Sustainability in Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

There was an international AusAid Conference in Brisbane this week, considering sustainability in water, sanitation & hygiene, in the context of emergency relief & international development assistance.

Some of the issues that were raised at the Conference included:
· Institutional Sustainability;
· Functional/Environmental Sustainability;
· Behavioural Change & Social Sustainability &
· Financial Sustainability.

ASBG QLD is having a closer look at these same issues in the context of Queensland’s ongoing flux in the institutional arrangements, ecological impacts (& systemic failures during the floods) & the political machinations & ongoing blame game between State & Local Governments & the Statutory Authorities.

The Queensland Government has announced a new Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland (EWOQ) following the retirement of Barry Adams. Mr Forbes Smith will have his work cut out for him with the blame game on water pricing between State, Local Government & the various Utilities still in flux. He will commence his duties on 4 July 2011.

An Issues Paper preceded development of the Strategy. The Australian Water Association has previously commented on the rising cost and potential environmental and social impact of the extension of sewerage (&Trade Waste) systems. In an urban area, water supply cannot be extended without a concomitant extension in sewerage services. The discharge of treated effluent and the management of biosolids have, potentially, a significant impact on the environment. Installation of sewerage systems is expensive, particularly in brownfield sites where access may be difficult and land is in short supply.


Sustainable Transport

24 May 2011, the Society of Sustainability & Environmental Engineering (SSEE) will be hosting a Technical Meeting at Engineering House including a presentation on Electric Vehicles & a panel discussion on the wider issues of Sustainable Transport, including rail & active transport.





the History & Future of Human Sustainability

Richard Cassels, a Director of Climate Leadership will be discussing “Learning from the past at a lunch time presentation on Wednesday 25 May 2011 from 12:30 - 13:30 at the Department of Environment & resource Management (DERM) Wet Tropics Room, Level 3, 400 George Street.


ASBG June Seminars

Don’t forget ASBG QLD’s Environmental Management Seminar on Thursday 15 June 08:00-12:30.

Recycling, Transport, Wetlands, Wildlife, Coal in Court

Why Materials Efficiency Matters!

Rod Welford, Chief Executive of the Australian Council of Recycling Inc (ACOR), will be giving a lunch time presentation:

· describing the reformed role of ACOR to provide policy leadership around resource efficiency;

· exploring some of the policy requirements for improving economy-wide efficiency in the use of resources;

· outlining how the more efficient use of materials can drive efficiencies in energy and water concurrently;

· Considering the implications for climate change and the as yet unrecognised importance of resource recovery and recycling to achieving Australia’s carbon abatement goals.

Thursday 12 May 2011, 12:30 - 13:30 in the Wet Tropics Room at the Department of Environment & Resource Management (DERM) Level 3, 400 George Street. BYO Lunch

The next session on 25 May 2011: Learning from the past: the history and future of human sustainability, Richard Cassels, Director, Climate Leadership

Sustainable Transport

On the 24 May 2011, the Society of Sustainability & Environmental Engineering (SSEE) will be hosting a Technical Meeting at Engineering House, featuring Dr Andrew Simpson one of Australia’s foremost independent experts in renewable electric vehicle (EV) technology, policy and strategy.

Following Andrew’s presentation there will be a panel discussion on the wider issues of sustainability and Transport including representatives and advocates of mass transport, active transport & new technologies versus the incumbent modes/technologies.

Note for your diary:

Annie Leonard: the star of the Story of Stuff will be in Brisbane as a Keynote Speaker for the SSEE 2011 International Conference in October this year. Go to the Conference Website to register your interest. The conference runs from the 24 to 26 October 2011 at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC).

ASBG June Seminars

ASBG QLD is very excited about a couple of seminars to be hosted at Norton Rose Australia in June 2011.

Details of the Environmental Management Seminar on Thursday 15 June 08:00-12:30 are in last week's blog.

In 2008, Workplace Relations Ministers from around Australia agreed to nationally harmonise work health and safety (WHS) laws. Safe Work Australia is currently developing national model WHS laws, which the Commonwealth and each State and Territory will implement by the end of 2011.

The national aced agenda for the harmonisation of work health and safety laws and practices is progressing and will be a focus for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland over the next twelve months.

Employers & managers should become familiar with the new legislation and the impact it will have on their businesses.

On Wednesday 22 June from 08:00 to 12:30, ASBG is running a Safety Management Seminar which will include the proposed new regulations and new codes of practice.

World Environment Day

ASBG’s rural correspondent Lord Julian will be celebrating all things for a sustainable lifestyle, in Boonah for World Environment Day featuring free creative workshops, market stalls, demonstrations, talks, local organic produce, recycled artwork and jewellery, native wildlife, eco cleaning products, live entertainment, and recycling bays.

Wetland Management online tool

The Queensland Government has launched new online tools on its wetlands management resource website, WetlandInfo. The new online tools include wetland place names, an ability to link wetland mapping using Google maps functions and an advanced search function that allows users to search for wetlands. An up-to-date toolbox of planning legislation allows planners, decision making agencies and individuals to get a customised list of laws and regulations that could affect a project that impacts on wetlands.

Protecting endangered animals and eradicating pests

Australian ecologists at the University of Queensland, have developed a set of simple rules that will not only help protect endangered native species and eradicate introduced pests in Australia and overseas, but also manage biosecurity and disease outbreaks.

The research which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week, describes a decision tool that will help wildlife conservation managers to prioritise their management strategies and focus on the most efficient conservation or control strategy.

Qld Coal Miner in Court

Mining giant Xstrata has been taken to the Land Court by the community based activist organisation – Friends of the Earth.

Xstrata has been asked to defend the greenhouse impacts of its proposed Wandoan coal mine.

An initial hearing this week has set out the scope of the trial. A variety of experts will give evidence concerning the impacts of Wandoan Coal mine on Qld's environment & the global climate. The trial is set for 22 August 2011.

paradigms

Every day I am confronted by the way other people see the world.

Yesterday, a bloke came up to me on the street & started yelling at me for towing away his car.

At the time I was wearing a Brisbane City Council high Visibility vest (I was emptying rubbish bins). To him, I symbolised "the Council". The poor bloke was a disabilities pensioner. I was not without empathy. I called the Council Customer Service telephone line for him. They were at least able to tell him where his car had been taken and how he might go about retrieving it.

This morning another friend claimed that she needs a new car! In fact, what she wants and what she needs may be different things.

* Perhaps she need a new way of transporting her & her equipment around??

* Perhaps we need a new way of projecting her holographically on to a stage, such that she does not need to lug her equipment to a gig???

* perhaps she just needs more portable equipment????

Democracy appears to be a very cumbersome system. Politicians make assumptions about things we may want or need. Newspapers and opinion polls offer feedback on whether they think the politicians have it right.

How do I obtain the things that I need, in a way that does not compromise the ability of others (who currently share the planet or those who are yet to be born) to meet their needs?