From your Network Convener
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Number 92 August 2015 email: friendsvic@hotmail.com
New website: http://vnpa.org.au/page/volunteer/victorian-environment-friends-network
Jack Lyale Visitor Centre (Melway 3 D4). There will be sev-
From your Network Convener eral talks through the morning following the Welcome to
Ray Radford Country from the Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Bill Nicholson at
10 a.m., the Sugar Glider monitoring project at the park
Tour Organ Pipes National (Terry Lane and Kara Humphrey), on Western Plains geo-
Park on 10 October logy and landform (Neville Rosengren); on Volcanic Plains
After our very successful tour of flora (Steve Sinclair), and on Aboriginal culture (Uncle Bill).
Cranbourne Botanic Gardens and We ask you to bring your own lunch. There is a kitchenette
accompanying presentations on at the centre, so hot drinks can be organized and we’ll
Saturday 2nd May, your VEFN provide refreshments, and seating for about 45.
Committee has organised a similar
event at another great venue. This After lunch there will be several walks around the small
time it will be at the Organ Pipes park – to the glider and bat boxes, to the Pipes, to see the
National Park on Saturday 10 recent revegetation efforts by the Friends of Organ Pipes
October. There’s more information about this below, but and Port Philip and Westernport CMA, and inspect the
please register early as spots are limited. landforms. Moderate fitness is required; there is a steep
descent/climb to/from the gorge
The VEFN Committee needs you
We are also having the Network’s AGM that day: brief
Besides the exciting presentations at the Organ Pipes,
reports and selection of next year’s committee.
there will be another important event taking place: the
VEFN Annual General Meeting (which will be very brief). The charge for the day is $10 per person. Spots are
Please consider coming on board and helping to organise limited, so book early. To indicate your interest, please
interesting events such as this tour. email the Friends’ using the address at the head of this
page, preferably by Sep 15.
In previous years the AGM has been held at our biennial
weekend conferences, but this type of event no longer
attracts participants. Instead we are holding single day
events, and the Organ Pipes tour is the second one of
those. So come along and we hope that you might show
your support for the VEFN by nominating for the
Committee. If you can’t make it on the 10/10, we still
welcome your nomination: just let us know of your interest
at: friendsvic@hotmail.com This project is supported by the Port Phillip Westernport
Catchment Management Authority, through funding from
Organ Pipes NP Activity day: Oct. 10 the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program
Cranbourne Activity day, 2 May
We are organizing another day of talks and walks for the
network, this time in Melbourne’s west, at Organ Pipes NP
At our Cranbourne excursion, there were two presentations movements, most of which are along the little-used roads
after lunch. Sarah Maclagan is a PhD candidate at Deakin, and drains, so their territories are straight lines. She micro-
focusing on the ecology of the Southern Brown Bandicoot chipped the animals, took many measurements, assessed
around the fringe of Melbourne, especially in the former their condition, studied stress hormones and examined
Koo Wee Rup swamp east of the RBGC, where she has their parasites – ticks and mites.
been trapping and monitoring many bandicoots.
Many nest under weatherboard houses or in sheds, adults
The species’ historical range extended around the coast being too large for feral cats to tackle, but the young are
from Adelaide to Newcastle, including Tasmania, but its very vulnerable. The unkempt grasses along road verges
conservation status now varies from vulnerable (SA) to and drain channels provide the cover they need and are
endangered (NSW). adjacent to good grassy foraging areas. They cross roads
at any time, and seem road-savvy, their active periods
from noon to after midnight avoiding fox active hunting
times. She found male home ranges are about twice the
size of females’, so they are polygamous, males managing
the territories of several females. The linear strips are
crucial habitat and they gather around houses to raid food
bowls left for dogs and cats – a very adaptable species.
But in dense suburbs they disappear.
The problem that set off her research was the expansion of
the Urban Growth Boundary by the Brumby government,
and a decision to abandon two proposed wildlife corridors
to protect bandicoot habitat from suburban development.
The Property Council complained about the cost of this
strategy, so it was dropped. They would have involved 72
hectares of the 5,260 set for development, or 1.4% of the
area. She is a founding member of the Friends of the
They used to be common all around Port Phillip Bay, but Bandicoot that is urging federal environment minister
as Melbourne expanded the bandicoots retreated, so now Greg Hunt to not sign-off on the approval for the removal of
there is a small population at Anglesea and a larger one the corridors.
along Melbourne’s south-east fringe, all of which is set for http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/stories/2014/04/08/spe
suburban estates in the next decade. The red dots show aking-for-the-bandicoot
where it is still found. Open circles show historical range.
She has set up a YouTube video (2013) of a feral cat
capturing and killing an adult bandicoot:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4MK3K6T5MeDPb
Ut5m9kEA/videos
Parks and Reserves Trust
The previous issue mentioned that the Parks Victoria alloc-
ation from the Trust’s $153m. revenue from water rates
has languished compared with revenue growth. This issue
will look at where the money has gone instead. The three
other main institutional allocatoins are to Zoos Vic. the
Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) and the Shrine of Rememb-
rance. Allocations to the Shrine began only in 2003-4.
Sarah has trapped 91 bandicoots over 3,000 trap-nights,
radio-collared 68 and spent many hours tracking their
Second-largest allocation is to Zoos Vic, which was given
$6.1m in 1999-0 rising to $17.6m in 2013-4, a growth of
191.2%, almost triple the first year of the series. When
price inflation is removed from this growth, using the CPI,
the “real” growth reduces to 92.1% or $11.6m., almost
double the start year. This compares with “real” growth of
the Parks Vic allocation of 12.7%, a little better than growth and the Parks Vic allocation. This chart shows the
stagnation. Parks Vic share is well below the revenue line, especially
over the last two years, with the other three well above it.
As the above chart shows, this growth hasn’t been smooth,
with ups and downs, peaking in 2011-2 and fluctuating Over this entire period, the Zoos/RBG/Shrine allocation
more wildly than usual the past two years. Apart from has gone from 16.8% of Trust revenue to 21.3%, while the
2000-1 and 2007-8 it has been consistently faster than the Parks Vic share shrank from 73.9% to 57.2%. The total
Trust’s revenue growth. allocation to all four institutions has moved from 90.7%
down to 78.5%, as increasing amounts of money have
Third-largest allocation is to the RBG, which grew from
been spent on other projects. More about that next issue.
$5.6m in 1999-0 to $13.9m in 2013-4, or by 147.4% - 2½
times the first year’s amount. With price inflation removed,
this reduces to 63.2% “real” growth
Parks Vic. employees
One widespread impression is that Parks Vic has fewer
employees now than it did when the Coalition came to
power in 2010-1. The PV annual reports (on their website
under About – publications, page 15), have shown figures
of actual employees and full-time-equivalent since 2006-7.
The chart below shows the common perception is correct.
The decrease has been about 6-7% each year, a total of
18.1% by 2013-4.
The RBG allocation has grown considerably faster than the
Trust’s revenue in all but the first year. It peaked in 2009-0
and has fallen since, though still well ahead of revenue.
Smallest allocation is to the Shrine, starting with $0.40m in
2003-4, rising to $0.96m. in 2013-4, growth of 141%, to 2½
times the first year’s allocation. With price inflation remov-
ed, this reduces to 84.3% “real” growth over 12 years.
The area of the parks estate has remained fairly constant
over this entire period at 4.1 m. hectares, so the ratio of
employees to parks area has fluctuated as employee
numbers rose and fell.
Uneven growth again but still well ahead of Trust revenue.
When ParksVic was created in the mid-1990s there was
about one employee per 4,000 ha., which fell from 2008 to
2011 to a low of 1 per 3,700 ha. then rose dramatically to 1
per 4,540 ha. last year. The intensity and quality of parks
management has clearly been affected by the decline in
employees, so one of the actions we are proposing for the
new government is a restoration of staffing levels to at
least what they were in 2011. The decrease in FTE staff is
just on 200 (18%) of the 1103 employed in 2011, or 22.2%
of the current level of 903 FTE.
VEFN meets Minister’s adviser
Finally, the Zoos, RBG and Shrine allocations have been On 21 May, four of the committee met for 30 minutes with
combined into one line for comparison with Trust revenue Lisa Dundas, adviser to Environment Minister Lisa Neville,
to introduce ourselves and present our concerns and assisted his organizing ability and planning of FOLD work,
proposals for the new government. We had prepared a as well as attending the on-ground physical work-days for
Briefing Paper and sent it to Lisa some days earlier. It 28 years now. A well-deserved award.
presented our concerns about the Parks and Reserves
Trust Fund’s distribution and no published information Suburb expansion vs flora extinction
about it, the mismatch between the collection and
Rewritten from a story by Bridie Smith in The Age, 27 May.
distribution areas for the Fund, which are collected via the
Parks Charge on Melbourne water bills, the reduction of Melbourne’s basalt plains grasslands, west of Merri Creek,
Parks Victoria rangers and the burden of administrative are being rapidly covered by suburban expansion around
costs faced by Friends groups. We suggested that the Craigieburn and in Melton and Wyndham – see map below
government designate a fund for Friends groups to apply
These grass-lands contain hundreds of species rem-nant
to, helping support these aspects of volunteering. We
flora – grasses, flower-ing herbs, orchids, lilies, etc. Most
requested that an annual report on the income and
of these grasslands were cleared and destroyed early in
expenditure of the Parks and Reserves Trust Fund be
the European settlement of Melbourne, so only 2% of the
published and consideration be given to extending the
area is still in reasonably good condition – basalt plains
collection area of the Fund to at least the current Urban
grass-land flora is among the most threatened ecosystems
Growth Boundary. We also requested that ranger staffing
in Australia. A study by ARCUE ecologists Amy Hahs and
of Parks Victoria be restored to a level at which our
director Mark McDonnell of 22 cities around the world and
national and state parks will be better cared for.
their loss of floral biodiversity, published in Ecological
Restoration and Management in May discusses the
prospects and management options for reducing the
predicted extinction rate.
It was a very positive meeting and Lisa agreed to provide
some feedback about our proposals. Meeting with a Min-
ister or senior adviser soon after a change of government 1200 indigenous
or ministerial reshuffle has become one of the long-term plants species
practices of the VEFN committee. are found in greater Mel-bourne, of which 660 (55%) are
threatened with extinction by suburban expansion to the
Les Smith: Best Friend Award 2015 end of this century. Of the 875 grassland species 184
Soon after Little Desert NP was created in 1988, Les set (21%) are expected to be lost. All these plants support
up the Fo Little Desert at a local meeting, and served on many indigenous insects, spiders, birds, lizards and other
every position of the committee ever since. He organized fauna. One of the problems is that most of the remnant
weeding and monitoring the Malleefowl for years until the grassland is privately owned, so vul-nerable to sale and
Recovery Group took over. subdivision for housing estates. The western and northern
suburbs are the fastest-growing in human population in this
fastest-growing city in Australia. The big problem is to find
ways of protecting as much as possible of what’s left as
suburbs grow outwards. Several Friends groups focus on
these areas – they will have a big struggle to protect their
patches from development pressures.
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1111%2Femr.12112?
r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_chec
kout=1&purchase_referrer=onlinelibrary.wiley.com&purcha
se_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED
Pittosporum threat to Dandenong Ranges
Roslyn Gleadow of Monash Uni and Jeff Walker, teacher
at Menzies Creek PS, presented a paper to the Weed
Science Victoria conference. They had teamed up to
study the spread of this invasive native weed at two sites:
Over 14 years he led the revegetation of degraded Kiata the woodland edge and centre, lopping 39 trees to count
camp-ground. His scientific background and networking tree rings and try to correlate circumference with age. They
estimate the weed is spreading at the rate of 80 metres a Foundation member, 2005 Joint co-ordinator, Mornington
year and will dominate the entire Dandenong Ranges Roundtable, Peninsula and Westernport Biosphere, 2006-
within 25 years if not controlled. It became a popular 2008 Organiser, Clean Up Australia campaign, Mornington
th
garden ornamental in the late 19 century and its seeds region, since 2005. Vice President, Royal Geographical
are spread abound by another introduced invader, the Society of Queensland and Fellow, since 1989 Council
Blackbird. It is now widespread in southern Victoria right to member, Australian Marine Conservation Society, 1991-
the SA border and is the second most-common weed after 1995 and Life member, 2002;
Blackberry. In 1925 there was one Pittosporum at Menzies President, Marine Education Society of Australia, 1994-
Creek, whereas in 2014 there were 4 to 6,000 stems per 1995; Vice-president, 1992-1993; Secretary, 1996-1997.
hectare, the youngest trees establishing over 7 km south of Honorary Director, Australian Marine Conservation Society
the original plant, in 89 years: 80 metres a year. Field Study Centre, Beerwah Queensland, 1992-1995.
Member of a range of environment and conservation
The entire Yarra Ranges park is surrounded by edge-
organisations including: Mornington Foreshore Coastal
invasions of Pittosporum. At the measured advance rate,
Advisory Group, current. Friends of Mills Beach, current.
the invasion fronts will meet in the middle by 2040. There
Red Bluff Regeneration Group, current. Natural Systems
were almost no eucalyptus seedlings in the dense Pitto-
Team, Banksia Woodland Restoration, current. Peninsula
sporum woodland, so by 2040 this species will displace the
Speaks, Westernport and Peninsula Protection Council,
current eucalypt forest and nearly all biodiversity will be
since 2012. Balcombe Estuary Rehabilitation Group, 2005-
lost. Only 25-30% of trees were female, so if these are
2007. The Briars Environmental Week, 2009-2010.
vigorously controlled, the invasion can be halted, starting
Membership Secretary, Australian Association of Environ-
with removal of females that produce large volumes of
mental Education, '1980s'. President, Geography
berries.
Teacher's Association of Queensland, 1980-1983. Vice-
Many groups east of Melbourne are already tackling this President, University of 3rd Age Mornington, since 2015
weed, as we learned on the excursions at the Yarra and Instructor, Watercolour painting, since 2010.
Ranges weekend in 2013. This paper asserts that their Secretary, Peninsula Arts Society, 2013-2014.
efforts are very urgently needed to prevent a serious Member of a range of community organisations:
disaster for Yarra Ranges biodiversity in the near future.
Dr Valerie Margaret TARRANT, Black Rock, Vic
http://www.academia.edu/9087336/Realising_predictions_
For service to conservation and the environment, and to
about_Pittosporum_undulatum
community history.
Foundation Secretary, Black Rock and Sandringham
Queen’s Birthday honours 2015 Conservation Association (BRASCA); Member since
Maelor extracted these from the published honours list. 1969.Joint Coordinator, Friends of George Street Reserve,
The details are from the Governor-General’s website. since 1990. Member of a range of environment and
https://www.gg.gov.au/queens-birthday-2015-honours-list conservation organisations including: Port Phillip Conser-
vation Council, since 1970s; Australian Conservation
Ms Karen Ruth ALEXANDER, Emerald, Vic Foundation, since 1970s; Steering Committee, Bayside
For service to conservation and the environment, and to City Council Indigenous Plant Nursery, since 1995; The
the community. Friends of the Highett Grassy Woodland, since 2011;
From Wikipedia: Karen Ruth Alexander (born 1948) was Victorian National Parks Association, since 1978; and
one of the founders of The Wilderness Society, born in Lake Pedder Action Committee (Victoria), 1970s.
Melbourne, studied mathematics at Monash University Friend of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Member, Friends of
then geology in Tasmania, Bachelor of Applied Science in the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, many years.
Canberra. She was a co-founder of the Melbourne branch
of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, campaigning Emeritus Professor Martin Edward WESTBROOKE,
against the proposed Franklin Dam. Bob Brown described Buninyong, Vic
her as the "driving force in Melbourne behind turning the For service to ecology, and to environmental management.
Franklin River campaign into a national issue". She was a Federation University Australia (formerly University of
co-director of the national TWS, during 1988 worked with Ballarat): Emeritus Professor, since 2007; Associate Prof-
the United Nations Environment Program, then environ- essor/Professor, 1992-2007. Head of School, Science and
ment manager for the Australian Conservation Foundation. Engineering, 1997-2007.
She later completed her Masters degree at the University Foundation Director, Centre for Environmental Manage-
of Western Australia. Involved in the Australian Greens, ment, 1992-2007. Co-established the Bachelor of Applied
she was also president of Bush Heritage Australia from Science in Environmental Management, 1978; Established
2000 to 2004. In 2005 she took up her current position in Nanya Station as a nationally significant IUCN Category
the Victorian National Parks Association 1A Nature Reserve within the National Reserve System;
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, 1974-1992. Contributed to
Ms Janet Stuart OLIVER, Mornington, Vic forestry education, School of Forestry, Forestry
For service to conservation and the environment, and to Commission and University of Melbourne, 20 years.
the community of the Mornington Peninsula. Member of a range of advisory groups, including:
President, Mornington Environment Association (MEA), Technical Scientific Advisory Committee, Willandra Lakes
since 2010; Member since 2004. President, Devilbend Region World Heritage Area, 20 years;
Foundation, 2007-2009; Secretary, since 2009 and Victorian Kangaroo Technical Advisory Committee, 25
Committee Member, since 2014 and Foundation Member, years; Lower Darling Area Advisory Committee, New
since 2003. Treasurer, Australian Biosphere Volunteers, South Wales National Parks and Wildlife
2008-2011. Treasurer, Peninsula Exchange, foundation Service, 10 years; Joint Management Advisory Committee,
member, since 2006. Treasurer, Friends of Tanti Creek; Mungo National Park, 10 years; and Advisory Council,
Victorian National Parks, 10 years. Biodiversity Advisory
Committee, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management, 10 what more complex story. 610 koalas were introduced
years. Received Commonwealth grant enabling restoration around Halls Gap from French Island, which is free of
of Cape Otway Telegraph Station, 1998 Chlamydia – one effect of Chlamydia virus is sterility, so
[Ed.: some people fit an astonishing assemblage of this population quickly increased in numbers. But a
achievements and wide involvements into one lifetime!] decade earlier another translocation from Phillip Island of
28 koalas was Chlamydia positive, then in 1963 some of
these were transferred from the secure Wartook Island into
Willows in Tyers Park, Yallourn North the general forests around Halls Gap and their disease
Tyers River flows from Moondarra reservoir just south of slowly spread through the entire Grampians population.
Rawson, through Tyers Park, to join Morwell River. Much This now comprises old koalas and almost zero joeys, so
of its length has been seriously infested with willows, that is seriously in decline. One result is that Victoria’s koalas
choke waterways and increase flood damage. The state’s are an odd mix of dense and overpopulated forests where
Communities for Nature grants program awarded $70,000 culling and euthanasia must be practiced, as happened
for a three-year program to remove the wattles along 20 early in 2015 in the Otway coast, and thinly dispersed and
km of the river, accessed by canoe down the steep-sided declining populations where it is not safe to translocate
gorge. An expedition in autumn this year cleared the last more koalas due to the widespread Chlamydia. A major
few missed on earlier weed control trips. Friends of Tyers wildlife management headache.
Park convener, Jim Stranger, has been most pleased that
this project has been so successful in bushland restoration.
Map from Martin & Handasyde, p. 81
Photo: Jim Stranger surveying some of the willows Greening Melbourne’s West
The F o Tyers Park has the beginnings of a website at The F o Maribyrnong Valley autumn 2015 newsletter has
tyerspark.blogspot.com, set up by Ron Lambert a story about a project to plant a million trees in the west-
ern suburbs. It is to be managed by LeadWest, supported
Friends of Grampians fauna surveys by 6 Councils and delivered as one of the federal govern-
ment’s Green Army program. Project site preparation
The FoGG newsletter for Jan. 2015 starts, as always with
activities will incorporate Green Army projects as well as
a summary of what the season brings: bushfire risk, eel
works undertaken by the region’s local governments and
and galaxias migrations basking snakes, stick insects
other land managers, water management authority, roads
attaching foliage, mistletoe and Messmate flowering etc. –
authority, Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Manage-
what a good idea, to make readers aware of the seasonal
ment Authority, water utilities, and Landcare and “Friends
round and its complexity for flora and fauna.
of” groups. Three local indigenous nurseries are to supply
There is a report from Mike Stevens of the Grampians the seeds and tubestock.
Wildlife Trust, of the discovery from 1970 of 5 unsuspected
There are five sub-projects, in Werribee, Point Cook Coast
inland populations of Long-nosed Potoroos. One came
-al Park, Mariburnong valley, Kororoit Creek and Toolern
from FNCV Mammal Survey group’s work, one from road-
Creek/Melton. As one example, the Maribyrnong valley
kill collected by a ranger, and the remainder from remote
sub-project is to involve 300,000 plantings of a mix of
digital cameras, which several Friends groups have started
species by June 2017 (or 12,500 a month – a large order!
using to survey fauna when the group is absent (most of
– if planting is confined as usual to about 3 months of the
the time). All populations were in long-unburned heath
year, that is 6 plantings of 50,000 tubes each time). Five
(showing how important is the review of the 5% mandatory
initial sites are announced within Moonee Valley, with six
annual burning target). Several populations were likely
more to follow and a range of sites managed by Parks
eradiated in major bushfire events of recent summers, but
Victoria, Brimbank and Maribyrnong Councils.
bushland restoration, and the remote camera information,
reveal good locations to attempt reintroductions. A great The Kororoit Creek plan is for 150,000 plants in by June
example of Friends groups, FNCV, remote camera projects 2017. Within Brimbank 12 sites have been selected, plus
and good database assemblers all working together. golf courses, regional rail lines and powerline easements.
Another note in their History Corner is about the release The other plans are for Werribee River (200,000), Point
in 1957 of 300 koalas around Halls Gap. Roger Martin and Cook Coastal Park (150,000), Toolern Creek (200,000). It
Kathrine Handasyde’s book on The Koala tells a some- will be interesting to revisit this project after 2017 to see
what has been achieved, where they found the workforce Since the tailings are for dumping on the planet's greatest reef;
to implement such a big program, and what the survival
rate is overall, given we are supposed to be moving into an When an orchestrated panic stops a wind farm on the hill;
El Nino drought period. When financial sharks are confident of doing as they will;
When expensive superhighways eat another wedge of green;
And when, to tackle these, it seems no government is keen;
Let's not kid ourselves a bundle. What is happening was planned
And although we feel depressed that so much done is underhand,
We must face up to the challenge and acknowledge now and
here,
'By and of and for the PEOPLE', just belongs to yesteryear.
Royce Arriso
Bastille Day, 2014
Aust Wildlife Conservancy & NSW parks
In NSW a large number of the smaller mammal species
went extinct quite early, as that is where European settle-
ment spread first. Despite a good variety of national parks
having been set up, mammal surveys, as everywhere,
show a steady ongoing decline in abundance. The AWC
has a good record of setting up predator-proof areas to
exclude foxes and feral cats and reintroduce locally extinct
http://www.leadwest.com.au/Resources/Western-
native mammals. In June this year the AWC and the NSW
Agenda/Sustainable-Liveability/Greening-the-
Parks and Wildlife Service agreed that, starting in two
West/Greening-the-West-One-Million-Trees
national parks, AWC will reintroduce 10 small mammals
that have been extinct in NSW for a century – Bridled
Poem on government and business Nailtail wallaby, Burrowing bettong, Brush-tailed bettong,
After all the verses from Evan Elpus, we now have a contri- Bilby, Western Barred Bandicoot, Numbat, Western Quoll,
bution from his mate Royce Arriso. Red-tailed Phascogale, Greater Stick-nest Rat, Plains
The revolving door Mouse. The plan is to increase the global populations of
these species by anything from 5% (mouse) to 160%
Although politics and business seem to lie in different spheres (wallaby)
Still, a worrying propinquity has grown up through the years This will involve major fencing projects to set up fox- and
Until all that separates them - never seen in days of yore
cat-proof fence perimeters, with much local employment
And installed when all was quiet - is a large revolving door.
spin-off, and should increase visitation rates at these parks
On its far side are the boardrooms of almighty self-made men to enjoy guided tours to see these reintroduced animals. If
Who love dearly their creators and, emerging now and then, only Victoria’s ParksVic might have the funding to set up a
Full of windy self-importance, lay down strictures hardly fair similar project in some of our large remote parks.
By which others should be living. (Maurice Newman, are you
there?)
http://www.australianwildlife.org/news/field-updates-and-
news.aspx
There are governments on this side, the result of all who vote.
And although we put more effort into finding the remote Wetlands and blue carbon
We're encouraged to believe that members listen to our voice
Rewritten from The Age, John Elder, 28 June 2015
Even when they're of a party which was not our voting choice
But we kid ourselves a bundle. For when all is said and done
The revolving door determines how the country will be run Photo
It allows Big Money's agents to insert themselves between from
Those elected and the voters, with results we've often seen Simon
O’Dwyer
Here's a 'Servant Of The People'. He is pausing to reflect The Age
On improvements to his parliamentary office, smart-bedecked
While beyond the tasteful carpet stands the great revolving door
Which will land Big Money's hitmen on the minister's new floor.
And he ponders on his future and the role the door will play
(Though it mostly gives admittance, it can swing whichever way)
For when politics is over, it will smooth his quick retreat
To a twenty-storey boardroom and a leather-cushioned seat
So, admit the corporate agents! (But let's keep it to ourselves,
Dr. Peter Macreadie, (Deakin & Uni Tech Sydney) recently
as they push for fats and sugars on the supermarket shelves)
While a prelude to discussion, to ensure his willing ear, completed a research project along Victoria’s 2,000 km
Is a promise of donations, twice as big as those last year. coastline into carbon storage in wetlands such as man-
grove forests, sea-grass beds and salt marshes. He has
become very concerned about marina excavation at Gee-
When a quarry's operations sound a knell for local farms;
When a junk food corporation has a township up in arms;
long and port extension dredging at Hastings. Both pro-
When some tropic mine proposal makes you blink in disbelief jects will radically disturb offshore sediments and release
very large amounts of stored carbon dioxide. This recently
occurred when the Sacramento delta in northern Caifornia
Hundreds of old trees felled for road
was extensively drained for development: Rewritten from The Age, Adam Carey, 7 Aug 2015
The levee system allowed farmers to drain and reclaim A road relocation project west of Ballarat, from Ararat to
2
almost 500,000 acres (2,000 km ) of the Delta, then a tidal Beaufort, aiming to shorten the journey by 2 minutes, was
marsh. Once the rivers were confined to their riverbeds, planned to lop 221 large old-growth eucalypts, but is now
the peat soil of the former tidal marsh was exposed to to remove 885 of them, all hundreds of years old, classified
oxygen. As the oxygen-rich peat soil decomposed and as of “very high conservation significance”, to reduce the
then released carbon dioxide, profound subsidence of the risk of cars running off the highway and crashing into a
land resulted. Currently, most of the Delta is below sea tree. A local group, Western Highway Alternative Mindsets,
level, with a great deal of the western and central Delta at led by Helen Lewers, protested loudly and eventually won
least 15 feet (4.6 m) below sea level. Land subsidence has an admission of the serious misinformation in the planning
endangered the Delta’s system of protective levees, documents that won approval for the project.
occasionally triggering levee failure and subsequent
flooding. [Wikipedia on Sacramento delta] The released
carbon had been stored over 5,000 years and released in
a year or two. Macreadie says wetlands store carbon much
longer than do trees, as trees die and decompose in a
century or two, while wetlands endure for millennia.
In the interview, Macreadie referred to the Keeling curve,
which shows how important sequestration of carbon in
vegetation is. It has been developed since 1958 at Mauna
Loa in Hawaii to show the steady rise in carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere, with annual cycles (grey) around the
central red trend line. It peaks in April and troughs in
October, coinciding with northern spring and autumn un-
furling and fall of tree foliage, and formation of tree growth The Minister for Roads has promised that the next road
rings from absorbed carbon. The Earth “breathing”. project further west would be redesigned as a result of this
issue. Greens Leader Greg Barber said both Labor and
Liberals had exempted VicRoads from planning approvals
for vegetation clearing. Photo: Simon O’Dwyer
Premier’s Volunteer Champions
The Victorian Government have recently announced a call
for nominations to recognise and celebrate outstanding
volunteers. The government’s new volunteer recognition
program, the Premier’s Volunteer Champions Awards, are
now open for nominations. The awards will celebrate and
recognise the extraordinary contribution of volunteers who
commit themselves to making this state a better, safer and
more connected place to live.
To acknowledge the growing numbers of Victorians who
give their time and skills, this year, up to 51 volunteers will
Macreadie says the only known way to reduce carbon be recognised with awards, including the Dame Elisabeth
dioxide already in the atmosphere is to increase vegetation Murdoch Award for Volunteer of the Year.
which absorbs it. Many Friends groups care for wetland The award categories are:
areas, coastal and inland. They are looking after our planet • Volunteer of the Year, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Award
• Outstanding Youth Volunteers (24 years and under)
Volunteering declined in 2014 • Outstanding Adult Volunteers (25 years and over)
• Outstanding Volunteer Managers
From the Australian Bureau of Statistics: General
• Outstanding Volunteer Team – Rural and Regional
Social Survey, Summary Results 2014:
Victoria
Voluntary work is one indicator of community support. This • Outstanding Volunteer Team – Metropolitan Melbourne
is unpaid help that is willingly given in the form of time, Award recipients will be invited to a celebration and
service or skills to a formal organisation. In 2014, volunteer ceremony in December 2015, in Melbourne.
-ing rates declined for the first time since the ABS began You can find out more and nominate outstanding
national voluntary work surveys in 1995. Between 1995 volunteers today at
and 2010, volunteering rates increased, reaching a peak of www.dhs.vic.gov.au/premiersvolunteerawards.
36% in 2010, but in 2014, the proportion of people aged 18 Nominations close 15 September 2015.
years and over who were volunteering fell to 31%. Both
men and women were less likely to volunteer in 2014 than Your committee
they were in 2010. This decline is also seen in a drop in Ray Radford: convener Maelor Himbury - secretary
the proportion of people providing less formal help and
assistance to others outside their household, although this Michael Howes – treasurer Sue Wright
difference was not statistically significant. Robert Bender: FriendsNET Sarah Fowler
General Social Survey, 2014 (cat. no 4159.0), Laura Mumaw
You can also read
