Pandanus Dec 2012 by Environment Centre

PANDANUS protecting nature

living sustainably

creating a climate for change DECEMBER 2012

• Shale gas • Maningrida fights oil • Places you Love • Sustainable Living • Nuclear Free NT • Mini-budget

Ranger uranim mine - end

of an ERA.

IN THIS ISSUE From the Convenor From the Director

PANDANUS

Calotropis gigantea

SHRUBS & HERBS

WE EDS

NoRTH ERN AUSTR ALIA A FIELD GUID E

Calotropis procera Rubber bush

le family) APOCYNACEAE (periwink 3-5m tall (or small trees) Description: Shrubs and milky sap. Stems are ce with a waxy appearan , green-grey, n. Leaves opposite smooth, grey-gree often stemwith heart-shaped, splitting thick and waxy, green, bladder like, Pods bases. clasping med seeds. to release white-plu of the two, C. gigantea coarser and larger • C. gigantea is the petals. with mauve-pink flowers are larger purple are white with • C. procera flowers tip. at blotches year round Flowers/Fruits: All areas, roadsides, disturbed Thrives Habitat: Found on dunes. coastal flats and ing has water courses, river rly where overgraz on poor soils particula on from native grasses. removed competiti and water spread by wind in Dispersal: Seeds . Local stands increase an distances large over spread as . C. gigantea also size by suckering ornamental plant. Land pulling, grubbing); Control: Physical (handreduce grazing intensity, Management (hygiene, revegetation); Chemical C. gigantea control feral animals, cut stump). bark, C. gigantea (foliar spray, basal India and is native to Sri Lanka, Notes: C. gigantea C. procera is common in Timor. d into Asia and is very Asia and was introduce native to Africa and either as in the early 1890s Australia from India camels. It in pack-saddles of or native a garden plant which compete with forms dense thickets appearance the s transform sm by plant species and Also hinders pastorali g of the savanna. musterin lands and making degrading pasture however to be toxic to stock, tropical difficult. Reported in semi-arid and it is sometimes grazed drought. in even areas, the arid areas but rarely in

If you haven’t got your copy of Weeds of Northern Australia: A Field Guide yet you’d better be quick. They are selling fast. To place an order please call: 08 8981 1984 or visit:

www.ecnt.org

Environment Centre NT GPO Box 2120, Darwin, NT, 0801 Unit 3/98, Woods Street, Darwin. T 08 8981 1984 E admin@ecnt.org E COOLmob: coolmob@ecnt.org W www.ecnt.org Letters to the Editor E communications@ecnt.org Facebook: Environment Centre NT Flickr: environment_centre_nt Twitter: EnviroCentreNT

Magazine designed by Hannah Seward at Greenkey E: greenkeygraphics@live.com

Printed on FSC certified paper from sustainable sources using vegetable inks.

NT Petroleum Laws making life easy for the fossil fuel sector

Australian Nuclear Free Alliance

The Interview Maningrida

End of a Radioactive ERA

City of Palmerston advancing effective collaboration

Places we Love

7 Sustainable Living at home and afar

COOLmob - why invest in energy efficienct house design? COOLmob car pooling

Arid Lands Desert Update

NRM Calendar

Environment Centre NT Director Stuart Blanch Office Manager Lisa Peters Policy Officer Vacant Nuclear Free NT Campaigner Cat Beaton Sustainability Officer Mereki Garnett Communications & PANDANUS Editor Hannah Seward at Greenkey Graphics Fundraising Advisor Annette Herschtal COOLmob Program Manager Robin Knox COOLmob Team Adrielle Drury and Bridget Edmunds

LETTERS

Environment Centre

Nicholas Smith

Giant rubber bush

City of Darwin Sustainability @ the Top

18 Muckaty Nuclear Waste Dump update

MINI BUDGET - OUR TAKE The mini-budget 2012/13 is a mixed bag for the Territory’s environment, including necessary price rises for power and water plus a modest increase in supporting energy efficiency in business, to ignoring climate change and ditching landscape scale conservation in favour of an outdated ‘protect the parks’ approach What’s missing in the mini-Budget: Any mention of climate change and cutting carbon pollution at a time when the Territory’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to skyrocket and the world is on track for an average increase in temperatures of over 3 degrees Celsius; Additional support for solar panels and large solar farms to help cut rising power bills; Funding to implement a new Native Vegetation Management Act. The Bill is written and should be introduced into Parliament to ensure a modern framework for regulating land clearing in the world’s largest tropical savanna;

Cert no. L2/0031.2012

A commitment to further studying light rail for Greater Darwin to cut congestion and pollution; Infrastructure upgrades at East Arm Wharf to prevent bulk goods polluting Darwin Harbour; Funds to fence cats, pigs and donkeys out of large areas of our National Parks to allow threatened species to breed up and avoid local extinction; Landscape-scale initiatives to reduce threats and build climate resilience across different land tenures and between protected areas; Funds for an independent inquiry into the risks of the shale oil and gas industry to aquifers, landscapes, greenhouse emissions and remote communities. The Environment Centre NT urges the Mills Government to fund these important investments and undertake these key reforms in Budget 2013/14, and beyond within this term of Parliament.

From the Convenor I recently did some great bushwalks in the tall forests, mountain heaths and wildflowers of southern Western Australia. We hiked in some beautiful places with amazing wildlife, but the scars on the land from the bulldozers and the chain saws reminded me of the immense value to society of the Territory’s largely intact landscapes. We must protect our precious natural ecosystems. I also heard that in August the WA Government had announced

By Di Koser

regulations controlling fracking for unconventional onshore gas would be tightened. This is something the Environment Centre NT has also been calling for in the Territory. The new Territory Government has the opportunity to heed the calls from the community, pastoralists and Aboriginal Land Councils by placing a moratorium on fracking until our laws are reviewed and tightened. Our laws need to be stronger to adequately protect our wildlife and habitats, particularly

From the Director

petroleum, water, environmental assessment, and Di Koser pollution control laws. As the wet season draws closer we have had some changes amongst our dedicated staff. We recently said farewell to our Marine Parks Campaigner Jess Abrahams who after nearly two years of hard work has left us to travel, work and study overseas. And we were pleased to welcome back Stuart Blanch as Director.

by Stuart Blanch

The Environment Centre NT has welcomed the Country Liberals’ election commitment to create a strong, independent Environment Protection Authority. We have long called for an independent EPA with broad and strong legal powers to assess the environmental impacts of projects, develop policy, and enforce compliance with development approvals and pollution laws. But Territorians are likely to question its independence over contentious projects as the Chair of the NT Planning Commission is automatically appointed to the EPA. This hardwires in a conflict of interest to the NT EPA. Apart from creating a new regulatory EPA, the election commitments released by the Country Liberals during the election campaign contained few details on environmental protection. Our staff and Board have been meeting with new Government to find out what their policies are on a broad range of environment and sustainability matters. Thanks to all our members and supporters who have contacted our office since the election to raise their concerns about the Arafura Harbour canal estate, development on the Kulaluk lease in Ludmilla, the future of land clearing controls, protection of National Parks, and keeping the

moratorium on seabed mining. We’ve been supporting Traditional Owners to voice their objections to oil exploration in bays and estuaries off the central Arnhem Land coast. This has never happened before in the shallow waters off the Territory coast, and oil exploration and production in our coastal waters presents a real threat to marine wildlife and sensitive habitats. You can read more about the fossil fuel rush across the Territory on page 4. Our team has been highlighting the risks of proposed seabed mining in Territory coastal waters, which was halted in March 2012 by the previous government under a threeyear moratorium. We urge the new Territory Government to keep 2

the moratorium in place for the three years. In September we met with Land Council representatives, regulators, CSIRO scientists, miners and the fishing sector to better understand mining techniques, legal requirements, environmental risks, and threats to sacred sites and song lines. We welcomed a report into the last December’s Edith River train derailment that identified poor risk management and lax safety standards by train company Genessee & Wyoming Australia. The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that Genessee & Wyoming did not have real time river height data for the Edith River when its train drivers drove across the flooded railway bridge.

Nature Territory

woodlands and forests across Northern Australia as part of the Kimberley to Cape initiative.

In September we received reports that mining company Western Desert Resources had bulldozed its haul road in the southwest Gulf Country without getting formal approval by Australian and Territory Governments. We referred the alleged breaches to Federal and Territory regulators. Whilst the bulldozing appears to be a clear breach of federal environmental law, the Territory’s mining, environmental assessment and pastoral lands laws are weak and full of loopholes. There may have been no breach of these laws, which– if true–would highlight again the need to strengthen these laws. The bulldozing was a calculated business decision to wear a small fine and potentially a court conviction in exchange for a head start before the Wet and making the mine a plump takeover target. The Australian and Territory Governments should not reward this type of behaviour. Approvals should be withheld until investigations are undertaken and any court action is complete. Given the NT EPA approved construction of the mine only one

We’d love your financial support as we haven’t secured enough funds to finish them.

month or so after the bulldozing was reported, the appetite of the new Government to withhold approvals for the mine appears limited. Our Sustainability Officer Meri Garnett is working closely with the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens to set up a community garden in Stuart Park. We are starting three exciting new projects: We’ll hold a workshop to scope challenges in exporting renewable energy to Asia through a high voltage subsea electricity cable, start producing the Top End’s first comprehensive field guide to wildlife and the protected areas where you can see them, and assessing the conservation values of eucalypt 3

And we’ve partnered with Ngarranbarrdji Development Corporation Ltd from the Mangarrayi Lands Trust at Jilkminggan to seek a grant from the federal government’s Biodiversity Fund to support onground management of fires, weeds, feral animals and cattle in the Roper River catchment. There is strong interest amongst Indigenous Ranger groups, landcare, Parks & Wildlife Commission NT and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy to develop a catchment-wide landscape conservation program that would address these threats across different land tenures over several million hectares.

Nature Territory

The Territory’s petroleum laws making life easy for the fossil fuel sector

denied a healthy environment by our generation.

By Stuart Blanch, Director

The Petroleum Act also does not direct bureaucrats in the NT Department of Mines and Energy to refer applications for exploration and production to the EPA for assessment under the Territory’s environmental assessment law. Yet the EPA are supposed to be the environmental cop.

“The petroleum law contains very weak environmental protections. It reads like a law written for oil men.”

Falcon Oil & Gas Australia’s Shenandoah 1A Fraccing, Stimulation and Testing set-up, Beetaloo Basin

At a time when the world’s best climate scientists are warning of the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2020, the creation of a large onshore and nearshore oil and gas industry would cause Territory carbon pollution levels to rise for many decades.

“Around 90% of the Territory’s land and coastal waters is being targeted for fossil fuel exploration.” Across the Territory fossil fuel companies are exploring for unconventional gas (tight gas, shale gas, coal seam gas), conventional gas, and oil. Tight gases are generally found in low permeability and low porosity sandstone and limestone, while shale gas is found within shale-type rocks that are commonly associated with traditional oil and gas sources. Both require horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to allow the gas to be released from the deep rocks and flow into wells. The number of fossil fuel companies scouring the land and sea make for a long list: Imperial Oil & Gas, Santos, Central Petroleum, Armour Energy, Hess, Falcon Oil & Gas, Tamboran Resources, Sweetpea Petroleum, Wiso Oil, Petrofrontier, Territory Oil & Gas, and so on.

Essentially nowhere is off-limits: National Parks, farms, aquifers that water pastoral properties and remote communities, the Daly River catchment, the Barkly, remote Aboriginal estates in Arnhem Land, bays and estuaries favoured by anglers, the Simpson and Tanami Deserts, and the West MacDonnell Ranges. The rush started a decade ago when Falcon Oil & Gas started exploring the Beetaloo Basin on the Barkly Tablelands. So if you wanted to object to plans by these companies to explore for fossil fuels in an area you loved and wanted to protect, what can you do? Well, the Petroleum Act prevents the vast majority of Territorians from even lodging an objection to the Department of Mines and Energy over oil and gas exploration (let alone actual oil production). The law stops you from even having your say! Unless you live on the land or nearby, or have a financial or legal interest in the area, any objection you lodged could legally be thrown in the bin. But this is just one problem with this important law. It does not require the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development to apply. This is critical because the application of the ESD principles is designed to conserve biodiversity, provide for community involvement in decision making, and ensure future generations are not 4

It could even allow oil wells to get the go-ahead on one of our beautiful remote National Parks such as Litchfield, or in an aquifer that keeps the Daly River flowing clean and clear during the Dry, or in the shallow waters between Darwin and the Tiwi Islands. There’s no requirement for a fossil fuel company to get a water licence like farmers do. And the community has very limited rights to access information about exploration and production, such as about what chemicals are used in fracking, what information is in environmental management plans, what the risks are of well casings cracking and polluting aquifers, or how much carbon pollution will be released. The Territory Government should adopt a moratorium on fracking until it reviews the Petroleum Act and other relevant statutes (water, environmental assessment, parks, pollution control), and creates no-go areas to protect sensitive habitats (such as National Parks) and important economic and cultural assets, such as farmlands and aquifers.

Take Action! Tell Chief Minister Terry Mills you want a moratorium on fracking until key laws are reviewed and sensitive habitats and important economic and cultural assets are protected. Email: terry.mills@nt.gov.au Tel: 08 8928 6500 Address: The Hon Terry Mills MLA, Chief Minister, GPO Box 3146 Darwin NT 0801

Green NatureLiving Territory

Aninterviewwith...

Maningrida

By Hannah Seward, Editor & Communications Officer

Welcome to The Interview. We bring you environmental answers, news and views from key people in our community. In this issue of PANDANUS we talk to two women from the Maningrida region, situated on the north east coast of the Northern Territory. Recently community members were horrified to learn that around 30 packages of land across the entire coastline of Arnhem Land have been earmarked for oil and gas mining exploration. Local teacher Jeff Aschmann happened to spot the small notices by chance in the back pages of the NT News and alerted local community members. The mining company in question is Paltar Petroleum Limited, who ‘focus on the acquisition of, and exploration for, ‘unconventional’ oil and gas projects around the world.’ No one from Paltar, NT government or the NLC had any contact with the community regarding these exploration licence notices before they were published and community members were left feeling shocked and confused. A meeting was requested and took place on the 27th September attended by the NLC and the local community. This was the first time that anyone in the Maningrida area was able to find out what was planned, ask questions and look at a map of proposed exploration sites. Hannah Seward spoke to Helena Gulwa and Alice Diaguma Eather who wanted to speak out on behalf of their parents and grandparents, who the land belongs to.

HS: Helena and Alice, could you please tell our readers a little about yourselves?

HG: “My name is Helena Gulwa, I am from Maningrida region. My family is from both sides, saltwater and stone country. My grandfather and grandmother are from saltwater country. I speak four languages, I mainly speak my grandfather’s language which is Kunwinjku, there are 6 dialects of Kunwinjku. I speak for my mother, because it’s my mother’s country. By law and rules I have to support my mothers country.”

ADE: “My name is Alice Diaguma Eather. Diaguma is my Kunbalang name from Nagalarramba (the other side of Maningrida) from my greatgrandmother’s side. I am speaking on behalf of my grandmother as this is her country. I have a duty as her grand-daughter to protect this country and our sacred dreaming site called Djomi Dreaming. Djomi Dreaming is a sacred freshwater spring among the mangroves in the Liverpool River. I speak my mother’s tongue Ndjébbana and am from the Kunibídji people. We are saltwater people from Maningrida.”

HS: Can you tell us more about the Maningrida region?

ADE: “Maningrida has a seasonally changing population of around 3,000 people. The town is surrounded by 42 outstations and a total of 13 languages are spoken across the region.

The area supports a beautiful coastline, mangrove lined estuaries and rivers, salt-flats, wetland, savanna and water holes. The local people hunt and gather food from the region and rely on the health of the ecosystems and environment.

HS: What are the community’s main concerns?

HG: “We are concerned that no one spoke to us. If Jeff hadn’t seen the notices we still would have no idea what is planned for this region. We are worried about the impact on the environment and the land and sea habitats for shellfish, turtles, dugong and dolphins. We have hundreds of burial sites along the coast. Many are not registered and we worry that these areas will be threatened.”

Nature Territory

Community HS: What are your thoughts on how this issue was handled from a communication point of view?

ADE: “The notices appeared in the NT News during the school holidays when many families were out of the region or away camping, hunting and gathering. They were very small and only printed in English which could be the third or fourth language of many community members. There was hardly any information. No one came to talk to us or provided us with any information at all until we called a meeting with the NLC. The meeting was very quick. We were all left waiting for ages and most people went home. The meeting was finally held late in the day with a very small amount of community members. Alot of people were out of town for ceremony.”

HS: Have you been able to discover much information on the proposed explorations?

ADE: “Through my own research, which has taken a lot of time and effort I have found out that Paltar plan to carry out Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing, Laser Surveys and Seismic Surveys. We have no idea what damage these may cause to the habitats and animals.”

HS: What issues do you see this having for the region?

HG: “We are worried about the health of our food sources and wildlife. We rely on gathering oysters, mudcrabs and catching barra and other fish. The area is rich in wildlife, especially coastal bird species and Gouldian Finches. There is a very important fertility site in the mangroves on the Tompkinson River. Freshwater comes out of the mud and its a very spiritual sacred site.

We have 61 people officially opposed to the exploration notices. AFANT are supporting us by putting in a submission as are the 2 local sea ranger groups. The most important thing is to make everyone in this region aware of what is happening. We have set up a website, facebook page and online petition. We also have videos on YouTube and are planning a community brochure to get the information out there.

We haven’t seen an Environmental Impact Statement or any plans if problems such as pollution and accidents happen. This area is so remote and very dangerous. How will they get into the mangroves and coastline to clean up if there is an accident with all the crocs and stingers?”

HS: What is the community going about this?

ADE: “We held a public meeting and collected letters to send to government.

Our aim is to get a moratorium in place to delay these explorations. We have no idea what effect they could have.”

“Go to ‘Protect Arnhem Land’ on facebook to find out more. Please ‘Like’ our page and post a photo of yourself with a blue hand to say no to mining exploration in Arnhem Land.”

Nature Territory

Places You Love Tell Prime Minister Gillard to protect the laws that protect the places you love and the wildlife that lives there. Under pressure from big business and the mining industry, governments are moving forward with an aggressive plan to wind back our environmental protection laws. In the guise of cutting ‘green tape’, Government and industry propose to hand important federal approval powers to the states and territories, and fast track approvals for large developments. This will remove federal protection for our most special places and wildlife, and accelerate mining and other destructive development in our woodlands, rural landscapes and rivers. History has shown us that the Federal Government has a critical role in protecting matters of national environmental significance. Shortsighted development proposals have threatened Australia’s natural heritage several times in the past and the Federal Government has stepped in to prevent irreversible harm. Without Federal intervention, the Franklin River would be dammed, there would be oil rigs on the Great Barrier Reef, and near pristine Shoalwater Bay would be home to a large coal port. The momentum to protect our natural heritage is building across Australia. It is essential that the Prime Minister hears community support for the laws that protect the places you love.

The most recent national State of the Environment report shows the country is going backwards in biodiversity conservation, climate change impacts, the health of our catchments, and the protection of our forests and woodlands. Now more than ever, we need the Federal Government to uphold and strengthen laws to safeguard Australia’s natural heritage for future generations. Why Environmental Laws Matter Environmental laws are an essential element of a healthy society. They not only protect our fragile ecosystems, they also protect our health, our communities, our economy and future generations. Specifically our system of environmental laws: 1. Recognise the value of the environment, and can seek to ensure that decisions are made in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development. 2. Protect the community’s right to be informed of, and participate in, decision-making processes that affect the environment. 3. Ensure that a rigorous, science-based assessment of environmental impacts is applied in the decision-making process. 4. Provide enforcement mechanisms where environmental laws are breached.

5. Ensure that our international environmental obligations are upheld. What You Can Do Call, write or email Prime Minister Julia Gillard and your federal MP. As the head of COAG, the Prime Minister is responsible for implementing this plan to wind back environmental protection laws. Express your opposition to the Federal Government’s proposal to wind back environmental protection laws under the guise of cutting ‘green tape’. Tell our leaders Australia needs stronger not weaker environmental laws and the Federal Government should not be handing over matters of national environmental significance to the state governments. Highlight and insist that the current process - that allows the COAG Business Advisory Forum privileged access to high-level policy agendas to the exclusion of the rest of civil society - is unacceptable. Call: (02) 6277 7700 Email: www.pm.gov.au/contact-your-pm Address: The Hon Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister Parliament House Canberra Act 2600

Green Living

SUSTAINABLE LIVING at Home and Afar

By Mereki Garnett – Sustainability Officer

There seems to be a great deal of momentum with sustainable living in schools and communities across the Top End. While hosting a Carbon Negative Popcorn and Biochar workshop at this year’s CSIRO Carbon Kids Schools Day in August, it was pleasing to find students from as far south as Pine Creek coming together to unlock the mysteries of a sustainable future in the classroom. Many schools in Darwin and across the Territory are also working towards creating and managing a permaculture garden on site to support cooking classes, student health and diet, and to provide an exciting learnscape that complements the new Australian curriculum with a sensory outdoor experience. Fifteen years ago in Sydney the plight of the school ground was not so green. In two years my school was systematically stripped of all

remaining grassy knolls in favour of asphalt, and trees were replaced with plastic shade cloth. Bees were a thing of fear and loathing – a bee sting was considered much worse, it would seem, than the pursuing episodes of grazed knees, elbows, and hands. Although I was a school captain, the powers of the Lorax were not vested in me to protect the living school grounds, and so I could only stick to my campaign agenda of pumping Coca Cola through the school bubblers. Thanks to a growing critical mass of teachers in support of sustainable living education, school children in the Territory today are seeing a changing attitude towards our relationship with nature. Recently I have been joined in the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens by Henbury School and Darwin High School students to discuss uncertain energy futures and food security, followed by seed saving activities to support the in-school gardens. Even our little brothers and sisters from Mitchell Street Childcare Centre enjoy an early morning yoga session followed by an adventurous biodiversity audit of the Snake Bean Community Garden! 8

If you are involved with a school, institution, or refugee centre, there are opportunities for sustainability education and garden support at your site, so contact the Environment Centre to discuss fees and booking. Whether you want to investigate the Carbon Story or improve a garden bed over the Wet with a crop of mung beans. It’s never too late to engage with sustainable living. For many Environment Centre staff, the quest for a safe environment and safe futures extends all the way from campaigning in Darwin to hands-on support in remote communities. One example of a thriving community food garden project is in Utopia in the Barkly region. A September visit was the perfect time to plant summer crops of corn and watermelon and create a seasonal planting guide in the Alyawarra dialect. Here the elements are extreme – if it’s not hot, it’s cold, and if it’s not windy, there’s probably a bushfire or flooding rains. This and the resident horses can be challenging for any horticultural pursuit, but for community members reliant on a big diesel generator and an overpriced outback store, every new garden gives hope.

Green Living

COOLmob is a community based project of the Environment Centre NT. COOLmob aims to help people reduce their CO2 emissions through their activities which include household energy audits, television advertisements, publications, campaigns, media events and activities.

Why Invest in Energy Efficient

With energy costs rising and the introduction of the carbon price, choosing an energy efficient home will become as important as the buying price.

vary from $3600 to $80 000! There are considerable long term financial benefits in investing in an energy efficient house that is comfortable to live in with low power and water bills. It’s a win/win decision.

A factor many people overlook when buying a house, is how much will it cost to run? If you are thinking of buying a house in the tropics, it would be wise to consider the cost to run your house over its lifespan. This involves not just covering mortgage payments but also factoring in the energy/water costs to run your home. Energy costs are rising consistently and the carbon price is now adding to these costs.

Costs of cooling your home

There can be a lot of variation between utility bills from house to house. Differences in power bills can vary from $200 to $2000 a quarter. Over ten years costs could

The two main factors between expensive or cheap bills are: the design of your home and the way you live in your home.

The Design of your Home How to choose an energy efficient house The best and easiest way to save money on your bills is to be able to identify what will make an energy efficient house. Some features to look for: 9

Factors to consider • How will the house lose and gain heat? • How much will you need to rely upon an air conditioner to keep cool? • What features will help your house stay cool without an air conditioner? • What can I do to adapt a house to keep it cooler? • Booking a sustainable household audit for assessment and recommendations on how you can live comfortably and save money

Green Living If you would like to receive our email NEWSLETTER send your email address to : coolmob@ecnt.org. The free newsletter is full of exciting sustainable living tips, gadgets and news. COOLmob now has a Facebook page! Please search for us and stay in the sustainability loop.

House Design? Orientation - Most importantly, have the smallest part of your house facing the morning (east) and afternoon (west) sun. Consider how you can best catch and direct the NW ‘wet’ season breezes and the SE ‘dry’ season breezes.

Ventilation Can you encourage breezes to enter the house through vents, open windows and open doors? Louvers that open horizontally are wonderful for catching breezes, and they can be opened at an angle when it rains. - If you do have to use air conditioning, make sure the room can seal well so the cold air can’t escape.

Building Structure & Design - Light weight materials will cool down faster at night - Insulated structures and heavy weight materials will keep in the cold, air-conditioned air - Elevated houses can catch breezes as they are higher up and provide very cool space underneath.

The Way you live in your Home Energy Efficient Appliances A valuable investment is energy efficient appliances that have a high star rating. Energy efficient pool pumps, white goods and air conditioners will all significantly reduce your energy bill. “An increase of one star will give energy savings of 10% to 30% depending on the type of appliance,” http://www. saveenergy.vic.gov.au/shopsmart/ starratings.aspx. For example one small air conditioner (<2kW) running for 10

If you have your heart set on a house that doesn’t have these qualities there are still things you can do.

Shading - The more shade you create around your house to stop direct sunlight falling on the house, the cooler it will be. - Wide eaves protect your building from direct sunlight. - Shade paved areas from direct sunlight. Unshaded paved areas can radiate heat long after the sun has set. 10

hours a day every day of the year will cost between $292 - $584 per year depending on how well the room is sealed. One large 3.5kW air conditioner run for ten hours will cost between, $510 - $1920 per year. An inverter air conditioner run for similar periods will cost approximately 30% less. New ‘solar’ air conditioners can save additional costs on power bills. A well designed house will rarely have the need to use air conditioners.

Sustainable Household Audit Having a sustainable household audit is a powerful tool to put you in control of your power bill. Invest in an assessment and recommendations on how you can live in your house the most efficient way. For further information refer to the COOLmob Greenhouse Friendly Design for the Tropics Booklet and the Hardware for top end housing Booklet, Downloadable, at http:// coolmob.org/booklets

Green Living

Be COOL and CARPOOL

with COOLmob’s new carpooling website

We all know that Darwin has the best lifestyle of all the capital cities in Australia, but the truth is it is not without its daily traffic congestion.

developed a Fuel Guide based on the Australian Taxation Office Vehicle Running Costs calculator. This takes into account the vehicle’s engine size and the kilometres travelled.

The flow of commuters each morning into the city and away each afternoon is dominated by singlepassenger vehicles lined bumperto-bumper. So instead of thinking up acronyms of the number plate of the car in front that you’ve been staring at for 5 minutes, why not think about how cool it would be to carpool? And also how easy it is now! COOLmob has just launched a carpooling website, funded by the Northern Territory Government’s Climate Change Grant and City of Darwin Community Climate Change grant, to help commuters either share or find a ride. The site will link up commuters in and around Darwin with similar travel routes, times and destinations. Finding a suitable carpool is as easy as registering to the site and searching for a match.

You may decide to ask for a quarter or half (or even less) of the totals calculated in COOLmob’s fuel guide or you may decide to simply share the driving so you are swapping cars.

If you are carpooling for the first time, COOLmob urge drivers and passengers to arrange pick up points in public spaces (such as a shopping centre) and to let their colleagues know that they are carpooling. Ultimately, it is always up to the driver and passenger to decide whether they want to carpool together, though chances are you’ll find it a very practical, fun and social experience!

Popularity of carpooling is growing nation-wide Similar programs developed in other parts of Australia have been very successful, with carpooling becoming an important part of workplace’s transport and environmental policies. There are incentives for both organisations and individual commuters to introduce carpooling strategies as it reduces travel costs and greenhouse gas emissions for both. Some organisations are offering free parking, priority parking, parking vouchers or a guaranteed ride home scheme for carpoolers.

www.coolmob.org/carpool

Carpooling is not a new initiative, but as traffic congestion increases and petrol and parking costs also rise, it becomes a very attractive alternative to get to and from work. The relatively close proximity of suburbs and towns and our active social connections in Darwin also provide excellent opportunities for people to carpool.

How much will carpooling save me in vehicle running costs? Sharing the journey to or from work means you share the costs as well, so everyone benefits. COOLmob strongly encourage drivers and passengers to negotiate the amount of fuel contributions before the journey begins. To give you an idea of how much money a journey may cost a driver each journey COOLmob has

Is carpooling safe? The COOLmob carpooling website is for information purposes only to help people share or find rides, and all personal information (such as home address, email address and phone number) are kept private. Once you find a match that suits you, you will be prompted to send that person a message via the website and request a link up.

For example: A vehicle with engine size up to 1600cc (1.6 Litres) will cost $0.63 per kilometre. If you travel 100 kilometres per week it would cost $63.00 per week. A vehicle between 16012600cc (1.601-2.6 Litres) will cost $0.74 per kilometre, so 20 kilometres per day will cost $74.00.

Share or Find a Ride today! The COOLmob Carpooling website accommodates both regular weekly trip plans, irregular and once-off trips. So whether you’re looking for a ride to work each day, or to share a seat for a road trip south, then go to www.coolmob.org/carpool to find the ride that suits you best! If you have any questions regarding the website please don’t hesitate to contact COOLmob staff.

Green Living

Sustainability@TheTop well as post community events to the events calendar, the resource page and news page. By engaging the community through Sustainability@TheTop, Council and the community can work together in reducing the municipality’s environmental footprint.

Visit Sustainability@ TheTop at http://www. sustainabledarwin.com. au/ or follow the links through the City of Darwin website. The City of Darwin’s new interactive online portal ‘Sustainability@TheTop’

provides the community with information on living sustainably in Darwin and across the Top End, as well as the associated health and environmental benefits of doing so.

Council released its Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2020 late last year, which identified the need to engage the community in reducing the municipality’s environmental footprint. Council is continuing its commitment to this process by helping facilitate changes in behaviour by staff and the community by giving people the resources to do so.

Sustainability@TheTop

allows users to create their own sustainable action plan by pledging to complete actions at home, in the garden, at play and at work within a chosen timeframe. Users receive regular email prompts encouraging them to revisit their action plan and update their pledges. As users complete their pledges, their $, water, CO2 and ‘footprint’ savings are tracked through the inbuilt ecological footprint calculator.

Sustainability@TheTop provides

the opportunity for users to ask questions and make comments, as 12

Nuclear Free NT

Australian Nuclear Free Alliance The 2012 meeting of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) was held on the weekend of October 5-7 on the land of the Arrernte people in Alice Springs. The Alliance brings together Aboriginal people, environment and health groups and trade union representatives concerned about uranium and nuclear projects. Since we last met in September 2011, it has been confirmed in Federal Parliament that uranium from Australia was inside the stricken nuclear reactors at Fukushima. This news has had profound impacts on ANFA representatives, especially those whose country the uranium came from. The ANFA gathering was attended by representatives of the following Aboriginal nations, organisations and affiliated groups: Alyawarr, Anmatjere, Arabana, Arrernte, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Katyede, Koara, Kokatha/Anterkirinya, Kokatha/Mirning, Kokatha/ Narrangar, Larrakia, Mirarr, Ngalia, Nyoongar Pitjantjatjarra, Tjupan, Walpiri, Wajarri Yamatji, Warlmanpa, Warramungu, Yamatji. Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Alliance, Arid Lands Environment Centre, Australian Conservation Foundation, Beyond Nuclear Initiative, Choose Nuclear Free, Conservation Council of Western Australia, Environment Centre of the Northern Territory, Environmental Defenders Office, Friends of the Earth, Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Maritime Union of Australia, Medical Association for Prevention of War, Sortir Du Nucleaire (France).

Across Australia the nuclear industry is tireless and insidious in its efforts to gain a foothold at any cost. Pressure for uranium exploration is increasing in many places and mining companies are hopeful that new conservative state governments will weaken current restrictions. While some Australian governments may be complicit in wanting to expand the nuclear industry, internationally the winds of change are blowing with many nuclear powered countries committing to phase out this toxic energy source. Muckaty Traditional Owners updated the meeting on the campaign against the proposed national radioactive waste dump, calling it beautiful country that floods and tremors. Custodians talked about unity and solidarity for each other to ensure that when we stop the dump at Muckaty the government will not simply target another remote area. Radioactive waste is a national problem. We need to stop this toxic trade from the source: no uranium mining. ANFA resolved that radioactive waste should be stored at the federally designated facilities Lucas Heights and Woomera - where we have nuclear expertise, until there has been a comprehensive inquiry into the least worst way to manage this waste.

ANFA will continue to engage with trade unions. We are all workers, we are all people with families and children and we are all concerned about the future. ANFA was also described as a union in its own right. We will work with community groups, churches, doctors and all people opposed to the nuclear industry. There was acknowledgement of the struggles we have with fair representation in the media. We resolved to work hard to become our own media producers. Against a backdrop of rising resistance to nuclear power in India the meeting heard and expressed concerns about the Australian governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intention to sell uranium to that country. ANFA resolved to send a message of support to Indian anti-nuclear activists to coincide with Prime Minister Gillardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit in mid October. The meeting called for a moratorium on all uranium mining and dumping of nuclear waste in Australia pending a public inquiry into the impacts of all aspects of the nuclear industry including uranium exploration, mining and exports as well as health impacts on communities living with the legacy of nuclear weapons and uranium mines.

ANFA representatives from around the country spoke about uranium exploration and mining in each state and territory.

ECNT campaigner Cat Beaton with NT delegate Sam Cooper and ACF campaigner Dave Sweeney 13

Nuclear Free NT

End of a radioactive ERA Ranger uranium mine has ceased mining Pit 3 In late November 2012 Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) ceased mining Pit 3 at the Ranger uranium mine in the bounds of Kakadu National Park. This marks a historic point in Kakadu’s history as the mine has been in operation for over 30 years. It also marks a historic point for the Environment Centre, who has bared witness to the mining of uranium in Kakadu since the centre opened its doors in 1983. “This news is a step towards the ultimate end of uranium mining and processing in Kakadu and beyond,” said Environment Centre Nuclear Free campaigner Cat Beaton. ERA will continue to process stockpiled ore and develop plans for a new mining operation at the Ranger site and is expected to seek federal and NT government approval early in 2013 for an underground project known as Ranger 3 Deeps (R3D). Ranger was established on a no consent lease with the Mirarr Traditional Owners denied their ‘right to veto’. Within that 30 years, the Environment Centre has seen over 150 leaks, spills and breaches; an overloaded tailings dam that leaks more than 100,000 litres a day; radioactive exposure to workers; and a shutdown that resulted in a $150 million dollar loss last year and an $135 million dollar loss this year. The Environment Centre NT and many other groups oppose any uranium mining in the NT, and the 3 Deeps project is no exception. While ERA argue this new Ranger 3 Deeps work is part of the Ranger mine - we are looking at a whole new mine and a new mining technique, never before used by ERA.

Ranger Uranium Mine - Pit 3 (photo by Hannah Seward)

The 3 Deeps box cut decline began in April this year and will tunnel for 2 kilometres down to a depth of 350 metres under the Magela Creek. This exploration decline tunnel is the mining infrastructure needed if commercial mining of the 3 Deeps deposit is to occur. The Federal Government has come under heavy criticism for allowing ‘mining dressed as exploration’ to occur with no public environmental assessment. The 3 Deeps decline is a tunnel big enough to drive a truck down into and is well beyond anything ever previously considered for authorisation for exploration. The Environment Centre NT and other groups are urging an Environmental Impact Study be ensured for any proposal to mine the 3 Deeps deposit.

“In recent years ERA’s production and profits have declined with the company recording a series of annual losses,” said Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Dave Sweeney. “The ore body, like the company’s assurances, is depleted. Now would be a good time for ERA to draw a line under operations at the site and begin a comprehensive cleanup and managed exit. After more than three decades of contest and contamination at Ranger it is time this sorry chapter closed. “We will be looking for the highest level of federal and NT government assessment and scrutiny of ERA’s past performance and any future ambitions.”

The City of Palmerston – Sustainability and Advancing Effective Collaboration The City of Palmerston is now the largest city in the Northern Territory outside Darwin. Average age of 28 years, Palmerston’s 32,000 population is primarily made up of families. Around 30 per cent of the population is under 15 years of age. With an expected increase of 1,000 people over the next 10 years, Palmerston is increasingly becoming the major regional centre of the top end. Underway are three new suburbs and three new schools to accommodate the increase in population. Whilst Strategic and Town planning sit with the Northern Territory Government, Palmerston Council is actively involved in maintaining and enhancing sustainability at its various assets throughout the city and within the organisation. With over 100 Parks and Reserves throughout the City to maintain, Council is proud of the wonderful variety of large and small open spaces, which offer a great variety of outdoor experiences. Having just celebrated 30 years of Local Government, the City of

introduced new residents to this lovely walking area.

Palmerston is in a new and exciting era of revitalisation and change. Participation in 2012 by Council with many environment and climate change planning opportunities has seen a new era of partnerships underway with government departments, non-government organisations, the community and by participating in regional events. March: Clean Up Australia Day – held at the Palmerston Escarpment, families and friends groups got together with gloves and rubbish bags and did a great job. Meeting at Cunningham Park at higher end of the escarpment, the day

April: City of Palmerston Conservation and Land Management Scholarship, for students attending the Palmerston Campus of Charles Darwin University. The inaugural year of the new scholarship provides a week of work experience with Council through a project or by placement within the organisation. June: Top End Sustainable Living Festival – The Palmerston theme of “Sustainability and Healthy Communities” became an Expo held at the Water Tower location in the City on 1 June as part of the overall Top End Sustainable Living Festival. NRM NT, Power and Water, NT/SA Volunteers, Friends of Mitchell Creek, Roil Platinum, Greening Australia, Coolmob and Keep Australia Beautiful NT joined Council on the day.

Green Living

September:

Additionally, Palmerston’s Mayor, Ian Abbott joined the Lord Mayor of Darwin on the Saturday afternoon panel discussion in the Botanic Gardens, Darwin.

• The City of Palmerston was advised that it was successful with two projects submitted to the EnvironmeNT Grants.

Costa “ABC Gardening Australia” came to Palmerston for the Monday after the Botanic Gardens event and visited the Driver Primary School and joined their gardening class and planted a tree in their Kitchen Garden. Costa also gave the ‘thumbs up’ to Council for its proposal of future community gardens in the suburbs of Woodroofe and Gray. June: Melaleuca Awards for Environmental Achievers – Local Government Section. Council was delighted to enter this prestigious award and welcomed the interest shown through press articles about the Sanctuary Lakes Story and through the video footage taken by Power and Water and placed on http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=WoGsW1iN4eM July: Planet Footprint Environmental Scorekeeping Service, engaged by Council to provide their services of independent environmental and carbon reporting requirements for organisations especially local council and government departments. Council held a presentation in Chambers with Mayor, Aldermen and staff in attendance along with invited representatives from adjoining

municipalities, government departments and non government organisations. Council has already been able to see from baseline data -Organisation wide water consumption in 11/12 on par with consumption in 10/11 and significantly less than consumption in previous years. August: Keep Australia Beautiful Week. Council partnered with students from the Bakewell Primary School to undertake a project called ‘Kids n Lids’. The students painted a ‘no rubbish’ stencil onto the new stormwater drain lids at the Council Depot. The importance of keeping rubbish off roads, footpaths and walkways was the message. The students who took part also learnt about Council services and improvements made to capture stormwater run-off. They in turn provided their experience and knowledge with their school classes.

• The City of Palmerston is the Northern Territory Finalist in the Keep Australia Beautiful 2012 National Sustainable Cities Award and judging took place against national criteria late September. In November the National Award winners were announced and we received a commendation. The Mayor, Aldermen and staff along with community representatives proudly showed the Judge the City. • An abstract presented by the City of Palmerston for the 2012 National Parks and Leisure Conference was accepted. Pam Robinson, Environment and Climate Change Strategic Planner and Simone Drury, Healthy Communities Manager, will present “Sustainability and Healthy Communities - Growing a Greenway in the City of Palmerston” at the Newcastle conference. A lot is happening in the City of Palmerston and if you haven’t been here lately, ‘come on down’ and take a trip through the variety of suburbs, old and new. Bring a picnic or walk in areas such as the Palmerston Escarpment, the beautiful reserve Marlow Lagoon or the picturesque Sanctuary Lakes area. Palmerston is a Place for People.

DESE

Coal seam gas wells, pipelines and access raods in Chinchilla, Queensland. Image provided by Jeremy Buckingham.

E T A D T UP

desertSMART EcoFair 2012 The desertSMART EcoFair was a great success. More than 2200 visits were made over the weekend and more than 1000 people attended the Sunday EcoFair. The programming of the EcoFair allowed for a range of events to be part of the whole ecofestival. On Friday we had more than 180 students from 7 different schools participate in a series of workshops facilitated by local organisations and Centralian Senior College students. Costa Georgiadis from Gardening Australia was around for the whole weekend and brought his energy and passion for sustainability and gardening to every step of his involvement. The students were fully engaged in their workshops and the current feedback has been hugely supportive. The 783ABC Outdoor Broadcast was very well attended and for 2 hours, Rohan Barwick held the Drive Show with special guests Costa, Dr Karl, Dr Mark Stafford Smith and Jeff Lang entertained more than 100 people. The exhibition opening Look up, look down by Barbara Stuart saw more than 150 people attend with the amazing Asante Sana choir entertain and warm everyone’s souls for the evening. Dr. Karl’s Global Warming was

Report by Jimmy Cocking

attended by almost 300 people. His direct warning about climate change inspired a new type of climate activist armed with the arguments against climate scepticism and the need for immediate action. The Changing Climate panel was wellattended with more than 100 people listening to local and interstate identities discuss the challenges and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods in Central Australia. The forum was followed by Green Drinks in the Garden, local candidates had 3 minutes to pitch their policies and local comedians Eshua Bolton and Leon Tripp kept us laughing until the Alice Springs Bicycle Film Festival started. The Bike Film Festival drew almost 300 people who all seemed to enjoy the mix of local and international films. The success of this inaugural partnership will see the Bicycle Film Festival become a regular part of the EcoFair. The event was made possible through National Science Week funding from the Australian Government, NT EnvironmeNT grants program, Power Water Corporation and Crowne Plaza sponsorship. The desertSMART EcoFair has matured and has become a permanent fixture on the Alice Springs event calendar. 17

Visit ALEC’S brand new website

www.alec.org

Nature Territory

Calendar recognises Territorians caring for country Tiny baby pheasants nesting in killer gamba grass and a boy’s first photograph feature in a calendar launched to celebrate the efforts of Territorians looking after their country.

Nhulunbuy Primary School student Sam Drysdale’s first photographic effort also features in the spectacular calendar after he took an amazing photo of a single dragonfly while camping near Turtle Beach in Gove.

The Territory Natural Resource Management Sharing Our Stories 2012 Calendar was launched at a forum showcasing how people are looking after the land, water, sea, soil, animals and plants across the Northern Territory.

The 10-year-old, who helps his mother Vanessa with natural resource projects for Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, captured the exquisite beauty of the insect in his first photograph with a proper camera.

More than 28 people shared their stories at the forum run by Territory Natural Resource Management (NRM) on 29 November including protecting threatened species, controlling feral cats and foxes, protecting swamps from buffalo, monitoring bush tucker in Darwin Harbour and managing fire in sensitive conservation areas. Work to eradicate gamba grass was recognised in the calendar with photos of three pheasant chicks discovered by Wangamaty (Lower Daly) Land Management Group coordinator Joye Maddison.

Young Nhulunbuy land carer Sam Drysdale took a winning photo of a dragonfly.

“I thought it was pretty cool and I am stoked my photo is in the calendar,” he said. “I think it is very important that we look after the environment or people won’t be able to see animals, birds and insects like these.”

The chicks were found in a cleverly disguised nest hidden inside an isolated clump of gamba grass on a property off Wooliana Road in the Daly River region. Joye marked the gamba grass clump with a flag and GPS coordinates before returning several weeks later once the chicks left the nest and before the weed seeded to spray the gamba grass with herbicide.

Territory NRM provides expertise, advice and funding through the Australian Government’s Caring for Country funding to help natural resource management projects across the Top End, through the Gulf, Barkly and Katherine regions and Central Australia. In the past year 37 individual groups were directly funded to undertake natural resource management work including 13 Indigenous land management groups, four pastoral landcare groups, eight pastoralists, four educational institutions, four conservation organisations, three urban landcare groups and four local government and industry groups. Baby coucal pheasant chicks nesting in gamba grass.

Nuclear Free NT

A struggle through many seasons: MUCKATY NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP UPDATE Five years have now passed since the federal government accepted the Northern Land Council’s (NLC) nomination of a site in the Muckaty Land trust for a national radioactive waste facility. The NLC issued a press release at the time telling the public there was overwhelming support for the proposal and stating that it was “only a few individuals in neighbouring groups expressing concerns.” (Media Release, Approval of nomination of Muckaty Station for Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Repository, 27 September 2007). Traditional Owners of Muckaty continue to speak out against this NLC assertion and against the dump being built at Muckaty. Over the years they have developed a network of supporters across the country that includes trade unionists, health professionals, environmentalists and human rights organisations.

By Natalie Wasley, Beyond Nuclear Initiative coordinator.

KEEP THE POISON OUT OF MUCKATY

A group of Muckaty women recently wrote to Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills asking for support in their campaign against the proposed radioactive dump. The letter says:

“Kurlalu yarnmi Majju Majju Manu Wangku ka Wangangka yama nyirrinjji mana Manu Wangku Kuna”

“We think about our culture. That land is very important to us; we will not let it be poisoned with a nuclear dump. We have had lots of protest marches in town and some pastoralists have come along to

Maurice Blackburn Social Justice Practice is representing Traditional Owners pro-bono in a federal court action taken against both the Northern Land Council and federal government.

“You have said you want to listen to people in the bush. We are speaking up now to say please come to Tennant Creek and talk to us… We will show you the country where they want to put it. We want you to listen to our story and help us say no to the nuclear dump.”

People across the Barkly region remain resolutely against the dump.

Nuclear Free NT

The CLP knows very well that the Muckaty dump is a high-profile issue for the region. Despite the swing against the ALP in most bush seats, Gerry McCarthy was returned as Member for Barkly due at least in part to his very active campaigning against the waste dump. The CLP candidate in the Barkly, a Tennant Creek resident, also publicly stated opposition during the election campaign. The Country Liberals say they are opposed to the dump being built in the NT, yet have declared it inevitable due to the overarching powers of the federal government. It is important therefore for the community campaign to maintain pressure on the NT government to stand up and fight the federal government every way possible.

Federal process The initial government timeframe estimated a remote NT waste dump would be operating by the end of 2011. The tenacity of the community has held this threat at bay and the Muckaty site has not yet even been officially declared. Consequently, the federal government is examining the option of storing spent fuel rods onsite at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor complex for an

‘interim’ period of five years until a remote facility is operating. The first shipment of this spent fuel, generated at Lucas Heights but reprocessed overseas, is due to return to Australia in mid 2015. The Lucas Heights facility is where the vast majority of the waste is currently stored, and where Australia’s nuclear expertise is concentrated. As Dr Ron Cameron from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has said: “ANSTO is capable of handling and storing wastes for long periods of time. There is no difficulty with that.” Despite capacity to leave the waste at Lucas Heights, and a commitment to respect the outcome of the Federal Court action, Minister Martin Ferguson is clearly determined to press ahead with a remote facility at Muckaty. Departments under his jurisdiction are preparing facility design concepts and environmental assessment frameworks even while awaiting the court’s determination. The campaign to stop a waste dump being built in South Australia was a decade long struggle and laid the foundations for the current Muckaty struggle. We must continue to build momentum against the federal plan to dump Australia’s worst

industrial waste on the Territory and push the government to undertake responsible radioactive waste management. There is broad support across civil society for an independent and comprehensive commission into production, transport and storage of radioactive waste. This could take input from a range of stakeholders and consider all available options, rather than continued pursuit of a single remote facility in an area considered by Canberra to be politically vulnerable. natwasley@gmail.com www.beyondnuclearinitiative.com

Letters Letters

Your Say they would have to carry the can for the clean up. Whilst a driver for the NT economy, it was questionable as to whether the mine ever made a genuine profit. – unlikely when the costs of rehabilitation are factored in.

Railway to Rehabilitation To the Editor, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to attend a public meeting convened by the Environment Centre NT to hear expert opinion on the current state of Rum Jungle.

The Department of Mines and Energy will issue its report and recommendation for the sites rehabilitation in 2013.

The Railway Club recently provided an illuminating backdrop to the vexed problem of the issues surrounding the rehabilitation of the scar that is the Rum Jungle Uranium site. A problem long forgotten by those living outside the NT.

The well-attended meeting was conducted harmoniously alongside the Railway Club’s Monday night pool competition. I now feel that I have a greater appreciation for the issues confronting the NT residents and the importance of the Environment Centre in bringing these issues to the public’s attention.

It was a good effort by you to bring together Rum Jungle elder Kath Mills, Dr Gavan Mudd, Dept of Engineering, Monash University and Ms. Tania Laurencont, Principal Mining Scientist for the NT Government.

William Owens Rapid Creek. 05/12/12

Their presentations covered the history of the mine the environmental degradation of the site and surrounding areas and the planning towards putting it all back together. It was apparent that the understanding of mining damage and its rehabilitation has come a long way since the 1950’s.

Thanks Bill. It was great to have such a weighty discussion so well attended - thanks for coming. Do look out for similar events early in the new year. - Ed.

There was vigorous questioning from the audience, which included representatives from the Batchelor community, members of the Mines and Energy Department, media and The Amateur Fisherman’s Association NT. Issues canvassed included how much, how long and who is going to pay. It was explained that as the mine was a Federal Government initiative based on national security grounds,

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We’d like to hear from you.... Here’s your chance to put pen to paper and write in to the Environment Centre NT. We’d like to know what’s on your mind. Please send any letters, comments, tips, statements, facts or questions to us via post or email and we will select the best ones and put them in the next magazine. Topics can be on anything environmental. Maybe you have a question for the team here, a top tropical gardening tip, ideas to make our lives more sustainable, or simply want to let off steam about an issue, here’s the place to do it! Write to us: The Environment Centre NT, GPO Box 2120, Darwin, 0801. Email us: communications@ecnt.org Call us: (08) 89811984 Please note: Submissions should be no longer than 200 words and must include your name and address and either a phone number or email address. We will not publish your name if you request us not to. We reserve the right to edit all content and refuse submission of any unsuitable content.

Things to look out for

Fukushima Delegation The Environment Centre NT along with other National groups will host a delegation from Japan of people affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Coming to Darwin will be a farmer from the Iitate village in the Fukushima prefecture whose farm and livestock were contaminated from the meltdown. There will be a special seminar at Charles Darwin University on Thursday the 14 of March. More details to come.

Things to look o u t fo r in 2013

Fossil fueled future? In early 2013 the Environment Centre will host a public meeting about shale gas and oil exploration and extraction in the NT. We will hear from Traditional Owners, environmentalists and east coast campaigners.

New Staff If you have an event we should all know about please contact the Environment Centre NT: The Environment Centre NT, GPO Box 2120, Darwin, 0801

The Environment Centre NT will be joined by two new staff members, filling the positions of Policy Officer and Kimberly to Cape program manager.

Email us: admin@ecnt.org Call us: (08) 8981 1984

Membership

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a busy 2013

Feb1, 2013

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Seward

Decemb uanita C e r James C oft, Stuart Blan r meeting are ( left to r ourtney ch, Chris ight , Di and Deb M Hall (ab Koser, Michell cBride, Amy K ) imber, sent: Pa e Pipino mela M , Justin ills and Tutty Hannah Seward ).

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