Saturday 27th of April 2024
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destruction of adorables by dollarability...

nat parksnat parks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Nothing dollarable is safe, however guarded” wrote the great American conservationist and protected area crusader, John Muir in 1909. He was right then, and he’s still right today: maybe more than ever. 

 

Current proposals for development in Kosciuszko National Park are a case in point, and they employ what is becoming a trademark method of attacking NSW national parks. It’s about imposing the culture of money on the carefully developed culture of nature conservation for the public good: a culture for which the great Kosciuszko National Park was once a world leader.

The new culture has its own language, a highly persuasive one. ‘Feral horses’ have of course been ‘heritage icons’ in NSW since John Barilaro’s triumphal Wild Horse Heritage Act made them so in 2018.   

Now, thanks to the Special Activation Master Planning process a whole new dictionary is being added to this language.

It reads:

  • unspoiled, unique opportunity = protected area;
  • already disturbed area = let’s trash it some more;
  •  Iconic adventure experience = drive on walking track with your Tour Guide.
  •  activation, leverage, opportunity = ways to make more money;
  • expand operations = ways to make more private money from public land;
  • access = bitumen car park on a rare alpine heathland;
  • cottage or eco cabin, or eco pod = house;
  • villages = built-up areas;
  • village = empty concrete shopping mall;
  • highly engineered viewing platform = view;
  • renewal, redevelopment, enhancement = more of anything;
  • ‘a depletion in the on snow experience’ = a crowded ski slope;
  •  infill = use an empty space;
  • world class = more like everywhere else;

It’s easy to present this new culture. Ignore precedent and established process, ignore or deride expertise, make up some dodgy claims and slogans for the desirability of a grand ‘plan’, frequently assert the value of ‘nature’ and/or ‘culture’ with no clear plan for protecting either. Above all open up access to what has become the prize: access to ‘pristine’ experiences for the juggernaut of international high-end tourism.

It wasn’t always so. Since 1944, first as a State Park, then a National Park, specific legislation has guarded Kosciuszko National Park. The National Parks and Wildlife Act requires a Plan of Management – the current Plan has been in place since 2006.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been a pioneer and leader of sound planning, especially at Kosciuszko. Park managers, scientists, conservation NGOs and other interest groups have developed a high level of management expertise in negotiating the complex balance between use and protection. A body of citizen expectation has built up around these protective processes, around the supremacy of the public good for special places. Australians everywhere might have been justified in thinking that these protections would stick.

The Park today is the outcome of determined protection for 75 years by previous Ministers and administrators. A long perspective is needed to maintain such a place in its best condition. But gone are the days of a visionary Premier, William McKell, who saw the truth of Muir’s statement when he established the then-largest national park in Australia. For McKell, the healthy condition of the mountains was the birthright of all, especially their value as a catchment. Concerned about widespread erosion, he did not think they should be real estate for the profit of a few narrow interest groups to treat as it suited them.

In the past, expert public servants such as soil conservationist Sam Clayton worked with McKell, to create the Park and to protect its water catchments from grazing. Clayton described the task of those times: commenting later ‘It is not easy to graft a new concept of land usage on a community…’.

Heroes of nature conservation in the mountains have tirelessly encouraged culture change towards that new concept. Before and after McKell and Clayton, Richard Helms, Baldur Byles, Edgeworth David, W.R. Browne, Neville Gare, Alec Costin, Tom Lewis, Roger Good, Graeme Worboys and dozens of others have spent much of their lives informing and educating others about the benefits permanent protection offered the mountains and their users.

In 1960, the first Superintendent of the Park, Neville Gare, told Monaro regional citizens that tourism was an important part of the management of the mountains, but if treated carelessly would destroy both the place and its own greatest advantage. Only by shaping an industry dependent on carefully conserved and presented natural features could tawdriness be avoided.

 

It is extremely important that we in this district recognise this great principle in the development of our Park.  Only by retaining the prime natural values of these mountains can we build a tourism industry that will last and not grow stale and brittle as it has on the Gold Coast and other highly commercialised resorts. Cooma-Monaro Express, 4 July 1960

 

What is dollarable in the new social contract to which the Masterplan is taking us? The ingredients are drearily predictable. Whilst glowingly describing the ‘unique’ precious qualities of the park, the glossy plans proceed to map out details of its commercialisation.

Firstly, there is the Main Range. It is now being developed as an ‘Iconic Walk’ for the ‘guests’ of commercial operators, necessitating use of commercial vehicles on the Summit Walk that has been closed for 56 years. This remarkable place was the scene of a turning point in Australian environmental history in 1958-65, when a coalition of Trust members, scientists, environmentalists, park staff and farmer organisations fought to protect it from despoliation by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. They succeeded and the precious alpine area above and beyond Charlottes Pass has been maintained in a near-natural state ever since. 

Then there are the ski resorts, or as Masterplan has it ‘villages’. It proposes an increase of between 40% and 60% new beds. This is justified by unsupported claims for increased demand, in the face of an ever-decreasing snow season, with little more than a wing and a prayer that the sewage and water supply systems will be ‘sustainable’. This despite the current clear lack of demand for summer accommodation, as anyone who has visited the ghost town of Perisher in summer will have noticed.

Since the 1950s, the policy to resist urbanisation of the Park through an emphasis on off park accommodation has been fought for by the NPWS. It had some successes such as Skitube whose aim was to restrict further development and to reduce traffic problems on peak winter days. 

Yarrangobilly Caves and Currango Homestead are both dollarable. Briefs for ‘Precinct Plans’ for both blatantly instruct consultants to find more ways to make money from these places through ‘more premium’ experiences. The proposals for Yarrangobilly: 123% increase in overnight accommodation; increased frequency of cave tours regardless of evidence of damage to the caves from existing levels of use; privatised Japanese baths for ‘an exclusive and unique experience’ on the Yarrangobilly River; an 82-seat capacity ‘unique dining experience’ open from 7am to 9pm.  

At no point do these documents consider how the proposals might enhance people’s experience by showing the many values of the Park itself. Although they claim to want ‘greater access to the Park’s natural and cultural values’ they do not say how access alone will reveal these values to the anticipated wave of new visitors. Apparently more built features, more beds, and more parking will themselves produce this outcome.

It took nearly 100 years to end the damaging activity of domestic stock grazing. It has taken less than 50 for the new economic marauder of tourism to stake even stronger and more damaging claims to the treasures of Australia’s highest mountain range.

Of course, a dollar value has been put on KNP: its value for water conservation, its value for unique plants and animals, its value for isolation, but these dollars appear to be unrecognised by the current proponents of destruction.

 

Read more:

https://johnmenadue.com/nothing-dollarable-is-safe-in-the-kosciuszko-national-park/

fine print in the snow job...

 

A frosty atmosphere has descended on a NSW ski village, where the normally welcome presence of Sydneysiders is causing angst among locals who fear the arrival of an alpine super-spreader.

As most of Sydney struggles through week seven of lockdown, the Herald can reveal that District Court Judge Chris Hoy, SC, and his wife, Phoebe, have traded Sydney for the slopes of Thredbo.

Their arrival this week at an exclusive lodge has raised eyebrows among skiers, sparking questions over how such trips could be allowable under the public health orders.

It comes as the state government faced mounting pressure over whether it is doing enough to protect regional NSW from COVID-19, after a man from Rose Bay was charged with breaching public health orders while travelling to Byron Bay while infectious, reportedly to look at real estate.

However, the fine print appears to show the Hoys have not breached any regulations.

Mrs Hoy, an avid skier according to her social media profiles, was keen to set the record straight on Wednesday.

“We’re totally compliant,” she told the Heraldfrom Thredbo.

The orders do not permit people in Sydney to leave home for a holiday, although moving between “different places of residence” is listed as a reasonable excuse.

 

Read more:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/judge-trades-sydney-s-lockdown-for-the-ski-slopes-20210811-p58hye.html

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

the worst he ever did...

The resignations of the Premier and Deputy Premier of New South Wales, blaming ICAC and Friendlyjordies, respectively, signal the worst time of mourning for establishment media, writes [IA] managing editor Michelle Pini.

WHY DID both Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Deputy Premier John Barilaro choose to resign within days of each other?

Did the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (NSW ICAC) bring about the sudden resignations of either or both of these politicians? 

 

If so, does the NSW ICAC require further scrutiny, because it makes MPs"terrified to do their job", as the Deputy Prime Minister suggested?

And what role, if any, did Friendlyjordies play in the bizarre events of the past week?

Whatever the answers to these questions, one thing is certain: neither Berejiklian nor Barilaro’s resignations were brought about by the “public interest” journalism of Australia’s establishment media.

Never has the Coalition public relations machine that now occupies the nation’s Fourth Estate displayed more blatant bias and downright negligence than in the media coverage in the days following the implosion of the New South Wales Government. The shameless failure to hold the Premier, Deputy Premier and their entire Coalition Government to account after their respective resignations has been nothing short of breathtaking.

These failures would be comical if they weren’t so telling as to how far the mainstream media has fallen. 

 

When the former Premier of NSW suddenly chose to announce her resignation this week, expressions of sympathy for Berejiklian dominated "news" reports. It falls on us, then, to remind the general populace that Berejiklian has not died or been the victim of some terrible injustice, but is instead being investigated for corruption and breaching public trust by the State's independent body charged with this responsibility. 

It appears the media cabal is suffering from collective amnesia since even a short trip down memory lane reveals a Premier who:

  • had a secret relationship with one of her ministers;
  • covered up and lied about it;
  • awarded millions of dollars in grants for his business interests, while still involved with him; 
  • instructed her office to shred documents that may have provided evidence of her wrongdoing;
  • when first questioned by ICAC (in 2020) about these dealings, repeated that she couldn't recall details more than 150 times; and then
  • freely decided to resign rather than simply stand aside (as other premiers have done) while the corruption allegations against her are investigated. 

John "Call me Pork" Barilaro, meanwhile, seems to have taken inspiration from former Attorney-General Christian Porter, who, while on mental health leave, decided to sue the ABC for defamation over the reporting of rape allegations against him, then chose to abandon the lawsuit and, finally, claimed this amounted to vindication. 

Barilaro similarly chose to take defamation proceedings against YouTube comedian and political commentator Jordan Shanks-Markovina and is now claiming the lawsuit – which Barilaro instigated – is taking an intolerable toll on his health, such that it contributed to his resignation.

Shanks-Markovina told IA yesterday:

'Bruz can claim his demise came from the supposed racial abuse he suffered from me — a very defamatory claim I might add. He can't hide behind parliamentary privilege either as he said it under a tree where the ghost of a koala was hopefully pissing on him.'

It was Friendlyjordies, of course, who continued to shine the spotlight on Barilaro's shameless funnelling of public moneys into those electorates that served his personal political ends. 

Time will tell if Barilaro will also drop his defamation case before likewise claiming victory. Of course, this could be the reason Barilaro resigned. However, perhaps the revelations that may be unearthed by this action against Friendlyjordies together with a possible appearance before ICAC, yet to be confirmed, may have had some bearing on his sudden exodus.

 

Meanwhile, back at the mainstream media ranch, David Koch gesticulated with outrage and demanded answers from the PM as to whether NSW ICAC needs to be "reformed": 

"Who the hell are they [ICAC]? 

 

Who are they responsible to? 

 

Who reviews them? 

 

Does ICAC need to be reformed?"

 

The Prime Minister, seizing the scrutiny avoidance baton handed him by Barnaby Joyce, answered in a suitably sombre tone: 

"It's not a model that we've ever contemplated at a Federal level."

Because... wait for it:

"...You've gotta have processes that assume people are innocent before proven guilty."

A patently false statement that does not reflect NSW ICAC's remit or actions in any way — but that didn't stop the media at large from pouncing on the investigative body instead of the politicians it is investigating.

However, not only have these media insults to our intelligence continued ad nauseam, they are now accompanied by a full-on offensive on the supposed misconduct by Labor state premiers. 

Staining the cover of yesterday's (6 October)The Age – now an unrecognisable shadow of the former hard-hitting publication others once emulated – is not an image of either of the fallen New South Wales politicians. Instead, it featured a photo of  Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews alongside the headline, 'Graft body examines role of Premier in firefighters deal'. This was followed by reports of Andrews "defending himself".

The mere mention of the Victorian Premier, of course, prompted Victorian Shadow Attorney-General Tim Smith to call for Andrews' resignation.

Sadly, as the old adage of the "truth never getting in the way of a good story" now seems to form the motto for many mainstream publications, this ridiculous beat up was even picked up as a 'big story' by the ABC’s Michael Rowland.

Leaving aside the fact that it is not Berejiklian or Barilaro on the cover, despite its misleading headline, the farcical “report” doesn’t even indicate that Andrews is the subject of any investigation. In a radio interview later yesterday, Smith admitted to having "no idea" whether the investigation even involved Premier Andrews. 

Where, you may ask, is the outrage over both the Premier and Deputy Premier of NSW abandoning ship on the cusp of that state opening up, under persistent dark clouds of alleged corruption gathered years ago?

As Mike Carlton pointed out on Twitter, consider replacing Gladys Berejiklian with Eddie Obeid in the following statement from Scott Morrison with respect to a Federal ICAC:

"I'm sure there are millions of people who are seeing what's happened to Gladys Berejiklian and understand that's a pretty good call not to follow that model." 

Rounding off a week of irresponsible, if not downright idiotic, reporting, yesterday on Afternoon Briefing, the ABC's Jane Norman asked The Centre for Public Integrity's Stephen Charles AO QC about a Federal ICAC:

“Is there a risk here that if you allow a corruption watchdog to look back, well, then, if there’s a change of government the new government might use that watchdog to sort of settle political scores or level the ... um ... settle scores?"

A standard of journalism to which we can only aspire. 

Shanks-Markovina is nonetheless philosophical about Barilaro's exit, telling IA: 

Yet, despite [Barilaro] blaming me directly, I'm sad to see him go.

 

A massive cancer like that, who, on recalling his proudest accomplishments in office, listed the destruction of Kosciuszko National Park as numero uno. The best thing he ever did in his life! 

 

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a once in a lifetime gift to comedy. When will we ever see someone that overtly dumb in such a powerful position ever again? 

Perhaps, when racing to the defence of Berejiklian and co in future, the establishment media could, instead, take Shanks-Markovina's lead and at least find something to report that carries an element of truth, however terrifying.

This editorial was originally published as part of the weekly subscriber-only newsletter and may be read online in the IA members-only area. You can receive this weekly in your inbox by subscribing HERE.

You can follow managing editor Michelle Pini on Twitter @vmp9. Also, follow IA on Twitter @independentaus and on Facebook HERE, and in the new IA subscriber-only Facebook page HERE.

 

 

 

 

Read more:

https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/friendlyjordies-and-the-nsw-governments-demise,15602

 

 

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