A heads up for the Moruya Bypass op ons

Minister for Regional Transport’s unlawful applica on of biodiversity offsets threatens to destroy ancient and unique cri cally endangered species near Coffs Harbour

Sue Higginson, the Greens Member of the NSW Legisla ve Council has released a media statement that suggests of an unlawful applica on of biodiversity offsets threatening to destroy ancient and unique cri cally endangered species near Coffs Harbour.

A biodiversity offset basically means "We can do whatever we want to to this land, we can clear fell it, kill all of its wildlife and turn it into a concrete wasteland if we want because... we paid money into a fund that "safeguards" an area where it will remain "untouched". Not managed but "untouched".

It is nothing more than a contrived, coordinated method to offset the impacts of development. An example of biodiversity offsets can be seen in Broulee and the Moruya Airport. Eurobodalla Shire Council (ESC) applied for, and was granted, a Biodiversity Cer fica on (Biocer fica on) of proposed urban expansion in the Broulee area and proposed development at Moruya Airport.

What does this have to do with the Moruya Bypass route?

Possibly a lot if we read look at the latest Classified Adver sement in the Bay Post and then at the latest media release of Sue Higginson :

The route selec on for the Coffs Harbour Pacific Highway Bypass is under intense scru ny following revela ons that expert advice was changed or ignored to avoid certain agribusiness proper es and instead destroy three areas of cri cally endangered species. Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Sam Farraway, must stop and explain and release the reports and documenta on that resulted in the decision to change the route from avoiding the cri cally endangered environments, to destroying them and unlawfully applying biodiversity offsets for ecological communi es and species that are on the verge of ex nc on.

Con nues….

Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment, Sue Higginson, said “The Minister for Regional Roads needs to immediately halt this bypass construc on. The discovery of two previously unknown, and now formally recognised as cri cally endangered, species and the rare and endangered rainforest remnant stand known as Grandpa’s Scrub, during the environmental inves ga ons for the Coffs Harbour Bypass should have guaranteed that these areas would not be destroyed for this road,

“The areas that have been chosen as biodiversity offsets for the new route are completely inappropriate and share none of the characteris cs of the area set to be destroyed. The minimum requirement of like-for-like biodiversity offsets for cri cally endangered species and ecological communi es has been completely ignored precisely because there is no other area that shares the unique ecology of Grandpa’s Scrub,

“Transport for NSW held community forums two-and-a-half years ago before deciding on a low impact route that would traverse already cleared land and hor cultural proper es. In an act of poli cal bastardry, there has since been a decision to change the route that will destroy cri cally endangered species and ecological communi es,

“To jus fy the new route, Transport for NSW commissioned a new assessment that only examined the weedy fringe of Grandpa’s scrub and over-ruled the original report that correctly iden fied the significance of this remnant rainforest,

“Sam Farraway needs to immediately stop this madness and release the documents that jus fy the decision to change the route of the bypass and explain why the new route favours influen al local business owners despite the proven presence of cri cally endangered species that will be destroyed,

“Grandpa’s Scrub is a small but significant stand of unique endangered biodiversity and contains living fossils from the ancient Gondwana Rainforests that are found nowhere else on Earth. We must not let the Government destroy this part of our environment. It is quite unbelievable that we would let this happen when we can have the highway bypass follow the route that passes through cleared land and hor cultural areas as was decided following the original consulta on and assessments,

“It’s not too late, in fact we are just in me to do the right thing. If we wrongfully con nue with the current proposed route; only then will it be too late - for these very special parts of our environment” Ms Higginson said.

Moruya RSL Sub Branch News

Remember the Moruya RSL Sub Branch mee ngs are held at the Moruya RSL Memorial Hall at 11Page St Moruya on the third Tuesday of the month. We welcome any visitors to our mee ngs who are veterans or serving personnel from the Armed Services.

Read the Beagle for further news of the Moruya RSL over the coming months towards Anzac Day

VOLUNTEER to HELP WILDLIFE, become a Rescuer and Carer

We need your help to help our Wildlife. The WIRES Rescue and Immediate Care Course (RICC) is WIRES introductory wildlife rescue and immediate care training. It is mandatory for all new WIRESvolunteers wan ng to start rescuing and caring for wildlife.

A one day RICC will be held in Batemans Bay, Saturday 4th March 2023. Another will be held later in the year, Saturday 1st July, 2023.

For more informa on please visit WIRES at www.wires.org.au or www.wires.org.au/rescue/become-a-rescuer

**Past Members and Former RICC Par cipants

It is now faster and easier for past members to rejoin WIRES and for those who have previously completed the RICC to ac vate their membership if they would like to get involved as ac ve rescuers and carers.

If it has been less than 2 years since you completed the WIRES RICC you can re-join or ac vate your membership by emailing members@wires.org.au.

If it has been more than 2 years since you completed the course you can re-join or ac vate your membership a er comple ng delivered 100% online.

The Shed welcomes males over eighteen with the aim to provide a safe place to be involved in joint projects, snooker, photography, cards, table tennis etc or just have a cuppa and a yarn.

Our general open me is Monday and Thursday 8.0012.00 am We also open Tuesday 2.00-4.00pm for cards (euchre)

Wednesday 2.00-4.00pm for snooker and the camera group meet Thursday 2.00-4.00pm.

For informa on contact brocky1967@outlook.com or ptuross@bigpond.com

Eurobodalla Shire Council Mayor Mat Hatcher, along with the Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips and the Member Bega, Dr Michael Holland, welcomed 18 new Aussies on January 26th at a ceremony in the forecourt of the Moruya Chamber. Above: pledging ci zenship under a sunny blue Eurobodalla sky.

Also announced today, the winner of the Fergus Thomson Heritage Award. Congratula ons to Gary Traynor who received his award from Yvonne Thomson.

Are you interested in Photography

Are you a seasoned photographer or a smart phone happy snapper? If you have an interest in photography, why not come along to Narooma Camera Club’s first ou ng for 2023 and meet our members.

Handkerchief Beach Picnic Area Sunday 5 February 4 pm Bring your camera, food and drinks

For further informa on call Maree 0435 835 815 or Michelle 0409 020 458

Locals, grab ckets to NRL trial match

More than 3,000 ckets to the NRL preseason match at Moruya have been sold, with half the crowd expected to come from out of town.

Moruya’s Ack Weyman oval is currently closed for prepara on to host the Canberra Raiders and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Sunday 12 February.

Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher said it was great to see so many spectators coming from out of town.

“More than half of the cket sales are from people outside Eurobodalla, which is great for our area, but we don’t want locals to miss out,” he said.

“Get your ckets quick, because I’m feeling this’ll be a sell-out event.”

Above: Canberra Raiders pu ng in the hard yards at training recently, ready for the preseason match. Image: Raiders media.

Tickets are capped at 5000 and won’t be sold at the gates. Buy ckets via Eventbrite.

“If you’re not tech savvy, find someone to give you a hand buying ckets online,” Mayor Hatcher said.

“You could also pop into your local library and use a computer there too.”

Ge ng to the game will be easy, thanks to Marshalls Bus and Coach Company who have prepared a bus schedule with ckets available on their website.

There will be two accessible sea ng sites and drop off points with Council’s mobility mats that are used on beaches, rolled out to help people across the so grass.

Mayor Hatcher looked forward to the under 21s Jersey Flegg game kicking off the day at 1.45pm.

“It’ll be great to see upcoming stars of Rugby League out to impress before the main game,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see everyone enjoy the spectacle of professional football at one of our local grounds.

“There’s full bar services provided by our local clubs, an oyster and champagne bar as well as pre and mid-game entertainment – it’ll be big with some local talent!”

Proceeds from the event will go to local Group 16 clubs.

Jan 28th - Dave Berry – Tomakin Club (7.30pm)

Jan 28th - DJ Jo Jo Karaoke – Tuross Club (7.30pm)

Jan 28th - DJ Ma Brown at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club

Jan 28th - Flock of Haircuts at Club Catalina 2pm

Jan 28th - Mick McGrath at the One Tree Inn, Tuross Head

Jan 29th -Rick Bamford – Club Tuross (4pm)

Jan 29th - Felicity Dowd at Tomakin Social Club

Feb 1st - Chamber Philharmonia Cologne (Germany) at the Anglican Church, Batemans Bay. 8pm. h ps://www.trybooking.com/events/ landing/999318

A er several successful European tours in 2019 and 2020 the Chamber Philharmonia Cologne (Germany) is coming back to Australia in summer 2023 with a powerful and lovely new programme. Tickets $40

Feb 3rd - DJ Ma Brown at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club

Feb 3rd - Jamie Parkinson – Tomakin Club (7.30pm)

Feb 4th - Pla num Duo at Batemans Bay Soldiers Club

Feb 4th - Driving Sideways at Club Malua (7.30pm)

Feb 4th - Rod Folpp – Tuross Club (7.30pm)

Feb 5th - Steve Benic – Tomakin Club (2pm)

Feb 11th - Sirenics at Club Malua

Feb 18th - Flock of Haircuts at Club Malua

Mar 5th - Kingswood at Smokey Dan's, Tomakin

Mar 24th to 26th 2023 - Moruya Blues and Roots Fes val at the Moruya Waterfront Hotel

Cobargo Folk

Fes val March 3rd to 5th

2023 Tickets On Sale

Fes vals come in all shapes and sizes, from the large spectaculars where thousands dance in front of huge stages with giant sound systems and dazzling light shows, to those like ours, smaller and more in mate, and where everyone who steps over through the gate makes their own unique contribu on to crea ng the event.

We think our fes val is very special.

What began 28 years ago as a street fes val in the historic main street of Cobargo has grown into a joyful three-day celebra on of folk and roots music, song, dance, cra and more in the relaxed Sapphire Coast hinterland of New South Wales. Proudly produced and presented by the Yuin Folk Club Inc since 1996, the Cobargo Folk Fes val is wholly volunteer-run, independent and non-commercial. Any profits we make go to helping grow music and art in our beau ful region.

Our fes val is a place where you can immerse yourself in a range of different experiences, camp and reconnect with family and friends, join other musos in a pick or a session, perhaps with a couple of performers, enjoy a drink and some great food. Along with our concerts and an enthralling First Na ons program featuring the Yuin Elders’ Yarning Tent, we have workshops open to all, KIDBARGO! – our kids’ fes val and The Crossing Youth Stage, where you might spot an emerging young ar st with a shiny career ahead.

Authen c, original, crea ve, inspiring – come and join us in 2023. From our hearts to yours with love from a bunch of local folk who care. T

IX PRE-PURCHASED ONLINE ARE CHEAPER THAN GATE TICKETS. ALL CAMPERS MUST PRE-PURCHASE A WEEKEND TICKET PLUS CAMPING ONLINE. ONCE SOLD OUT NO FURTHER CAMPING TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE GATE STRICTLY NO PETS ALLOWED ON SITE – you will be directed to leave immediately

Fes val Site Ticket Office Hours Thursday 2nd March: 10.00am to 6pm – campers allowed on site from 10 am Friday 3rd March: 8.00am to10.30pm Saturday 4th March: 8.00am to 10.00pm Sunday 5th March: 8.00am to 2.00pm

Gadfly 271 By Robert Macklin

Jacinda Ardern’s announcement of her standing down as New Zealand’s PM was quite a surprise. Kiwi journos tell us that she had lost some popularity at home; and while that might indeed be true, can you imagine a John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison or Malcolm Turnbull voluntarily departing the limelight and the levers of power, much less a Vladimir Putin or a pretend emperor Xi Jinping, just because they were on the voters’ nose?

Not, I suggest, in a million years.

Of course, they’re all blokes, but that’s only part of it. I’m happy to accept her version that after five and a half years at the top: “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.’ robert@robertmacklin.com

But it’s the manner of her leaving that’s truly impressive. It’s not just a gender thing, even though it’s curiously reminiscent of Ash Barty’s decision to leave tennis at the top of her game. Somehow, the Kiwis have created a system where parliamentary democracy has found a rare graciousness beyond the raw struggle for majority power.

In this case it extends beyond the polite transfer of leadership from Ardern to Chris Hipkins (I guess that’s Kiwi for Hopkins) the kid from Hutt which we’re told is ‘a lower socio-economic region in the capital’s north’. The new Deputy PM, Carmel Sepuloni is a product of a Tongan, Samoan and Pakeha ancestry. ‘It’s very hard to fathom that a workingclass girl from Waitara can become the deputy prime minister of New Zealand,” Sepuloni said.

Maybe so. But compare that with Australia, where until the Albanese Government came along Aboriginal women were virtually invisible in the councils of government. Perhaps it’s significant that it was New Zealand that gave women the right to vote in 1893 some nine years before Australia in 1902.

In each case, the British landgrab was at least in part a strategic thrust against its traditional French competitor. And in New Zealand’s case, this was a factor in the negotiation with the Maori in the Treaty of Waitangi. We’re still awaiting such a Treaty with the Aboriginal people and Waitangi complicated the possible incorporation of the two colonies in the Australian Federation.

But we’ve always had a fascinating relationship with ‘Aotearoa’ (which is itself an equally valid name for NZ these days). It sometimes feels as though they’re a kind of conscience against which to measure our national proclivities. Their relationships with America and China, for example, seem somehow more principled – they decline to host US nuclear warships and market Chinese gooseberries as Kiwifruit – yet they’re so nice about it they escape unscathed from both.

At the same time, we love competing against them on the sporting arenas, be it netball where we usually win or rugby where we invariably lose. And we love pinching their talents and claiming them for our own, like our first Labor PM Chris Watson who migrated here at 19; entertainers Rebecca Gibney, Keith Urban, Russell Crowe and the mighty Phar Lap; to say nothing of the mouth-watering comestibles like the Pavlova, the Lamington, the Anzac biscuit and of course the Flat White cup of coffee.

But above all, it’s the quality that Jacinda Ardern wanted most to be remembered for that seems to elude our political practitioners: ‘As someone who always tried to be kind,’ she said.

I guess that’s it in a nutshell…or a kiwifruit.

Reading—A beer with Baz

Mick was engrossed in a copy of ‘Spare’ by Prince Harry, as Bazza landed the schooners. He nodded a ‘G’day’ and returned to reading.

“I will just finish this chapter, Bazza.”

Mick took a sip, turned a page and his audible ‘tut tuts’ had Bazza smiling.

“Reading the sequel to ‘Oliver Twist’, eh Mick?”

Mick shook his head and con nued reading as ‘Know All Ron’ and ‘Timeless Tom’ joined them.

Ron sipped his schooner and rubbed his chin.

“Well……that’s another Australia Day done and dusted, Bazza.”

“Yeah Ron…….it seems to be a day of either lamb chop barbecues or demonstra ons. A na onal day should unify a country. I reckon we need a different approach.”

Tom leaned in.

“Well Bazza…..there are other ways to cook lamb you know. You could extend the menu to lamb curries, Morrocan lamb or a favourite of mine, slow cooked Greek lamb shoulder.”

Bazza furrowed his brow.

“Ahh…… yeah, Tom celebra ng our range of cultures is a good start but I reckon we should talk about the date.”

Ron splu ered his beer and eyeballed Bazza.

“I suppose you want to change the date for Australia Day, Bazza. Bloody typical of you…… and it was noted that you were not flying the Australian Flag at your place yesterday.”

Bazza took a generous sip.

“Well we won’t get into that one, Ron, but changing the date will not change the history. We could argue ‘invasion’ or ‘se lement’ for hours but there is no doubt our First Na ons People are affronted by a celebra on on the 26th January. I reckon Noel Pearson’s sugges on that the 25th and 26th January be both recognised as na on days is worth considering.”

Tom’s eyes beamed.

“What…… allocate two public holidays, Bazza?”

“Yeah, Tom. The 25th January to recognise more than 60,000 years of con nuous culture of our First Na ons People and the 26th January to recognise the mul cultural country we have become. I reckon the two days can be jus fied. If necessary, we can do without the Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday which was never celebrated on her birth date and besides, we now have a King.”

Ron rubbed his head.

“What do you reckon about changing the dates for Australia Day Mick?”

Mick carefully bookmarked his copy of ‘Spare’, took a long sip, cleared his throat and enjoyed the elongated silence.

“I totally agree to changing the dates…….. I blame Captain Arthur Phillip.”

Bazza’s schooner and bo om jaw dropped simultaneously.

“You see fellas……if Captain Arthur Phillip had waited un l Friday or even the Monday to set foot on Sydney Cove, we would not have this problem of a public holiday on a Thursday.”

Acknowledge: h ps://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/2023/01/26/australia-day-two-day-fes val-kohler/

Have a beer with Bazza at john.longhurst59@gmail.com