Giant heatwave delivers hottest January on record

Giant heatwave delivers hottest January on record:
The monthly result means the September-January period was also the hottest on record, beating the previous three highest in 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2009-10.


Those earlier years “were all El Nino and drought years, whereas that hasn't been a factor this time,” said Blair Trewin, senior climatologist with the bureau's national climate centre. “That makes it even more remarkable.”

Dr Trewin said that while Australia had a variable climate, the recent heat spell should be seen against the backdrop of longer-term warming.

Can community members afford access to justice? | EDO NSW – Blog

Can community members afford access to justice? | EDO NSW – Blog:


KIRSTY RUDDOCK*

Being exposed to cost orders in the courts is one of the major impediments to community members starting or continuing litigation to protect the environment in the public interest. Recently, there was a decision in the Land and Environment Court of NSW that will have significant consequences for community groups seeking to enforce breaches of planning or environmental laws in the future.

Forrest loses land stoush - The West Australian WHEN IT COMES BACK TO BITE YOU ON THE BUM.

Forrest loses land stoush - The West Australian:
Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest faces the prospect of other miners moving in on his ancestral land, after the mining magnate lost the latest round of a running fight to prevent a sand mining company operating on his family cattle station.

After a two-year battle in the Warden's Court, which hears disputes about the grant of mining and exploration leases, Magistrate Stephen Wilson recommended Mines Minister Norman Moore approve the grant of two mining leases on Mr Forrest's Minderoo Station.

Premier coy on ways to stop FLNG - The West Australian

Premier coy on ways to stop FLNG - The West Australian:

Government sources said one possible weapon in Mr Barnett's armoury would be to refuse to grant a production licence for the giant Torosa gas field - one of the three main fields that make up the Browse resource.

Torosa is the key field in the political battle - unlike the more remote Brecknock and Calliance fields - as it is close to Scott Reef, which is part of WA, and may give Mr Barnett some leverage as without it the venture is less valuable.

When pressed repeatedly yesterday on whether he would refuse a production licence for Torosa, he would not rule it out, saying the focus was still on James Price Point.

"Well, we're not in that place, what we are doing is working with Woodside as joint venture partners to see an onshore development at James Price Point," he said.

UN Intervention called for at James Price Point

The project has also angered environmentalists and concerned paleontologists, with the state government's bid to compulsorily acquire the land after a legal stoush between native title claimant groups proving a particularly contentious issue. "We are supposed to have the right for free and prior informed consent; instead we get the compulsory acquisition of our land,'' Goolarabooloo elder Phillip Roe said. "We're supposed to have the right to protect our law, culture and sites, but when we ask for our sites to be protected, the state government approves their destruction. "When we try to stop this destruction, we're given move on notices from the police and told we'll be arrested.'' Calls for UN intervention at gas hub Sky News Australia Calls for UN intervention at gas hub Updated: 00:03, Thursday January 31, 2013 More traditional owners in Western Australia's Kimberley region have called ...

Push for UN to visit gas hub The West Australian More traditional owners in the Kimberley have called on the United Nations to intervene in Woodside's planned Browse gas project.

Calls for UN intervention at gas hub BigPond News Traditional owners in WA's Kimberley region are asking the UN to intervene in Woodside's Browse gas project. More traditional owners in Western Australia's ...

More calls for UN intervention at gas hub WA today The cliff line at James Price Point, 60 km north of Broome, the site of the proposed gas project. More traditional owners in Western Australia's Kimberley ...

Push for UN to intervene in Browse battle Herald Sun MORE traditional owners in Western Australia's Kimberley region have called on the ... Recommended Coverage Broome and the gas hub - a town divided BENEATH ...

Barnett Blooms in Broome

“The Broome Community No Gas Campaign is therefore calling on the Minister Burke to immediately appoint an independent expert panel to identify what the social impacts of the proposed gas hub project are likely to be on the town of Broome, and to evaluate whether they are addressed by the WA Government’s plans outlined in the SAR. No decision on approval for the project should be made until the issue of social impacts has been addressed to the satisfaction of the Broome community.”

Ms Wevers “We, the residents of this town made it what it is.   We are being bullied into submission by the Barnett government to accept this project; it will destroy our community, our culture and our country and we are not prepared to lie down and take it”.

photos Zebedee Parkes

Ending the Control of White Managers and FMG | Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation

Ending the Control of White Managers and FMG | Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation:

Last year the NNTT told The Australian newspaper, “The NNTT has no record of any declaration or other advice being received from Ms Maher in respect of her status as a director of MGA Consulting. The NNTT has no record of any declarations being made by Ms Maher in respect of her partner’s and daughter’s employment.”

Conflict of interest issues regarding Ms Maher’s conduct arise from a complex of relationships including immediate family and FMG executives:

Greens fear Horizontal Falls mining threat - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Greens fear Horizontal Falls mining threat - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

"If you're going to have a national park, great, very, very supportive, Horizontal Waterfalls needs to be protected but the 'green' areas which you've established should not have mining activity in them," he said.

"When it comes to the land-based side of the park, at least 50 per cent if not more of that park area is now covered by mining tenements, so what we're saying is if you're fair dinkum about having a national park you need to make sure no mining occurs in that area."

Appeal push for UN to visit gas hub - The West Australian

Appeal push for UN to visit gas hub - The West Australian:
Today, the Goolarabooloo people said they had sent an urgent appeal to the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, telling it their rights under 15 articles of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are being violated by the State Government and resource companies.

The Goolarabooloo people are staunchly opposed to the Browse project, saying it disrespects their law, culture, and song cycle, which identifies heritage sites.

The project has also angered environmentalists and concerned paleontologists, with the State Government’s bid to compulsorily acquire the land after a legal stoush between native title claimant groups proving a particularly contentious issue.


“We are supposed to have the right for free and prior informed consent; instead we get the compulsory acquisition of our land,“ Goolarabooloo elder Phillip Roe said.

“We’re supposed to have the right to protect our law, culture and sites, but when we ask for our sites to be protected, the State Government approves their destruction.

“When we try to stop this destruction, we’re given move on notices from the police and told we’ll be arrested.” It recently emerged that work in sand dunes near James Price Point, the proposed location of the Browse project, could disturb ancient Aboriginal burial grounds, prompting calls for federal Environment Minister Tony Burke to intervene.

Offshore Browse move hard to stop: EPA - The West Australian

Offshore Browse move hard to stop: EPA - The West Australian:

Mr Barnett, who has invested significant political capital in the James Price site, earlier this month vowed he had the power to stop any floating push.

However, he was vague on how he could achieve this, other than a veiled threat to strip the partners of their retention leases when they expire in the middle of this year - a move which would introduce significant risk for major investors in Australia's oil and gas industry.

Amanda Walsh photos

Now Dr Vogel has cast further doubts on the ability of WA to intervene in the commercial affairs of the global petroleum giants.

Although Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson supports the land-backed James Price site, some in industry have speculated that Mr Burke - who is yet to rule on the Browse project - could reject a land-backed solution to appease environmentalists fiercely opposed to the plan.

Farmers at wits' end applaud hoaxer's anti-coal stance | The Australian

Farmers at wits' end applaud hoaxer's anti-coal stance | The Australian:
FOR the rural communities living in the shadow of ever-expanding mines and gas projects, it is an uphill battle to get politicians, the media and the urban public to pay attention to their concerns.

Numerous blockades, arrests and mass protests have failed to make much of an impression on national awareness, nor have they stemmed the inexorable march of the mining juggernaut.

This is why the farmers of northern NSW, opposing several proposed mines, think this week's hoax press release by anti-coal activist Jonathan Moylan worked a treat to focus national and global attention on three mammoth coalmines that will tear apart the 8000ha Leard State Forest.

Sixth-generation farmer Phil Laird understands the need for these guerilla tactics and says the public can expect more, especially in an election year.

Referral detail - EPBC Act public notices database

Referral detail - EPBC Act public notices database:
Title of Referral: Karoon Gas (Browse Basin) Pty Ltd/Exploration (mineral, oil and gas - marine)/Approx. 320km north west of the Kimberley coastline/Commonwealth Marine/Kraken, Lusca & Asperus 3D Marine Seismic Survey
Date Received: 25 Jan 2013 Reference Number: 2013/6730

Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science - Climate Change - Environment - The Independent

Exclusive: Billionaires secretly fund attacks on climate science - Climate Change - Environment - The Independent:
Anonymous private funding of global warming sceptics, who have criticised climate scientists for their lack of transparency, is becoming increasingly common. The Kochs, for instance, have overtaken the corporate funding of climate denialism by oil companies such as ExxonMobil. One such organisation, Americans for Prosperity, which was established by David Koch, claimed that the "Climategate" emails illegally hacked from the University of East Anglia in 2009 proved that global warming was the "biggest hoax the world has ever seen".

Broome and the gas hub - a town divided | Perth Now

Broome and the gas hub - a town divided | Perth Now:
"We don't want the money, we just want to save the country. This is our spirit country. They're looking under every pebble, looking for money. The country has been here from day one, from dreamtime. I have to fight hard to keep it alive."

Phillip Roe, elder and law boss of the Goolarabooloo people, in the dunes where Woodside proposes to drill at James Price Point . Picture: Theo Fakos Source: PerthNow

Aboriginal elder Phillip Roe, 54, a Goolarabooloo law boss, says the graves of his ancestors are all around.

Wearing traditional dress, a pearl shell dangling from his hip, his body smeared in white sandstone ocre, he has a simple message for Woodside: "Just pack up. Pack up and take off."

It's been five years of division since the gas hub was proposed, but the issue is coming to a head.

Last week, the Barnett Government granted Woodside the right to disturb Aboriginal graves and sacred sites for drilling and surveys. The company could move in any day.