Lismore’s “Gina Rinehart” arrested for taking Climate Action

BY KATE COXALL

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskus has pushed for harsher penalties as a response to group Extinction

Rebellion’s Climate Protests featuring Lismore resident Violet Coco this past week.

The Premier’s brother Rob works for Santos as Head of External Affairs, however he has vowed to “make all appropriate declarations” if a conflict is set to arise in his decision-making, he has told media when asked about the conflict and his harsh penalties, meaning protestors now may face up to $50,000 in fines for their actions.

Actions included an arrest of “Gina Rinehart” (the name given by Ms Coco who was arrested, glued onto the floor) obstructing entry to the APPEA Oil & Gas Conference, where more fossil fuel, namely gas, projects were being presented for investment for this past week. Other actions taken by the group included an awards ceremony for biggest climate wrecker, a major arterial road being blocked as one of the members of the Climate Action protest group dangled from a bridge, where she had abseiled down from, and a large banner drop across a major bridge, where the main windows of the conference, were facing, saying “End Fossil Fuels Now”.

Violet Coco just days prior had taken a 48 hour hunger strike action with a number of other protestors on the steps of the Victorian House of Parliament, declaring that food security is a very real risk of Climate Change. Whilst Violet and fellow protestors do face small fines, they were released after varying amounts of time on remand, some overnight, without convictions.

Violet’s actions, and those of her peers, come as the United Nations legislates to penalise any Nation who does not take immediate and appropriate action, in line with the IPCC recommendations, with those Nations to be penalised through the International Court of Justice.

Tweed Heads Fire Station Spreads Winter Fire Safety Message

BY SARAH WATERS

Fire and Rescue stations across the state opened their doors to the public on May 13 as part of their annual open day.

The open day coincided with the launch of NSW Fire and Rescue’s Winter Safety Fire Campaign.

Members of the public were able to see first-hand what goes on behind the scenes at local fire stations.

At Tweed Heads Fire Station, firefighters took part in active demonstrations, including how they use thermal imaging cameras to assist them with rescues at house or building fires.

They used one of their most recognisable tools - the jaws of life - to show how they extract a person trapped in a crash car. The hazardous material fire truck (hazmat) was on display along with two fire trucks which children were quick to jump in and live out their dream of being a firefighter.

Tweed Heads Leading Station Officer (LSO)

Erin Rampling said they had a great turn out for the day with about 400 people showing up.

“We had really good numbers - these open days are great for us, because we get to share our fire station with the public, but also reinforce our message about fire safety,” Mr Rampling said.

“For the 2023 safety campaign we remind people about the importance of being vigilant at home, because each year approximately

20 people die in NSW from fires that could have been prevented.

“Most of these fatalities occur in people’s homes,” he said.

Mr Rampling said there was still a surprising amount of people who don’t have working smoke alarms.

Residents need to ensure their smoke alarms are not only working but are installed in living areas and bedrooms.

Smoke alarms should be interconnected, so if one goes off, the other one in the house will too and they’re more likely to wake people up.

Residents can test their smoke alarms once a month by pushing the button on them, which does a quick test.

If it ‘starts chirping’ indicating that it is not working properly, local firefighters can come and have a look at it.

Mr Rampling said Tweed residents are also advised to phone the fire station and book a safety visit for free.

Firefighters will come to the house, check the smoke alarms are adequate and are installed in the correct areas of the home. They will also help residents make home fire escape plans and show them how to use a fire extinguisher.

Other tips to keep fire safe during winter include ‘keep looking when cooking’, not overloading power boards, keeping towels at least one meter away from heaters and clearing the lint in dryers.

Mr Rampling said the station responds to about

1000 calls a year.

“They’re a real mix bag, we have conventional structure fires, industrial unit fires, commercial buildings, but also a lot of motor vehicle accidents,” he said.

“We do a lot of rescues, also industrial rescues - entrapment in machinery - they can be challenging.

“Because Tweed is fairly unique and we’ve got the M1, we’ve got a lot of heavy vehicle movement on there, so that keeps us busy as well - we had a B double