protecting nature living sustainably creating a climate for changePANDANUS

JULY 2012

Top End GardeningYour practical guide to establishing a productive garden

Top End Sustainable Living Festival Proposed Muckaty Waste Dump Marine Reserves AnnouncedSolar Panel NewsTop End Oil & Gas

Cover images: Main: Top End Sustainable Living Festival & Tropical Garden Spectacular by Hannah Seward. West Atlas oil rig disaster, from TWS collection. Osprey near Borroloola by Hannah Seward.

Environment Centre NTActing Director Jess AbrahamsOffice Manager Lisa PetersPolicy Officer VacantNuclear Free NT Campaigner Cat BeatonSustainability Officer Mereki GarnettCommunications & PANDANUS EditorHannah Seward at Greenkey GraphicsFundraising Advisor Annette HerschtalCOOLmob Program Manager Robin KnoxCOOLmob Team Adrielle Drury and Bridget EdmundsContact usEnvironment Centre NTGPO Box 2120, Darwin, NT, 0801Unit 3/98, Woods Street, Darwin.T 08 8981 1984 E admin@ecnt.orgE COOLmob: coolmob@ecnt.orgW www.ecnt.orgLetters to the EditorE communications@ecnt.org

Facebook: Environment Centre NT

Flickr: environment_centre_nt

Twitter: EnviroCentreNT

Australian Marine Conservation SocietyActing Northern Marine Campaigner: Prue BarnardE sealife@amcs.org.auT 08 89417461 W www.sealife.org.au

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

From the ConvenorFrom the Director

Top End Oil & Gas

Four decades of global efforts

New Indigenous Protected Area

Nuclear Free NT

COOLMob Update

The Interview:Leonard Norman Sea Ranger

Desert update:Water Exemptions

Climate Change

Letters to the Editor

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New North Marine Reserves

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IN THIS ISSUE

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

WeipaDarwin

Karumba

Wyndham

Kununurra

Nhulunbuy

Borroloola

Maningrida

Wadeye

140°E

140°E

130°E

130°E

10°S

10°S

15°S

15°S

20°S

20°S

Papua New Guinea

Final North Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Proposal

Queensland

Australian Government Data Sources:DSEWPaC (2006): Commonwealth Marine Planning RegionsDSEWPaC (2010): CAPADDSEWPaC (2012): Final Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network ProposalGeoscience Australia (1998): Australia, TOPO-2.5M Topographic DataGeoscience Australia (2006): Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) v2.0

Produced by the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN)Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. © Commonwealth of Australia, 2012

Western Australia Northern Territory

0 100 200 300 40050

Approximate scale (km)Projection: Geographics

Maritime boundaries

Marine region boundaries

Limit of the Australian exclusive economic zone

Limit of coastal waters

Proposed zoning

Marine National Park Zone (IUCN II)

Special Purpose Zone (IUCN VI)

Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI)

Other marine protected areas

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Final North-west network proposal

Garig Gunak Barlu marine park

North-westMarine Region

TorresStrait

LimmenCommonwealthMarine Reserve

JosephBonaparte GulfCommonwealthMarine Reserve

Oceanic ShoalsCommonwealthMarine Reserve

ArafuraCommonwealthMarine Reserve

WesselCommonwealthMarine Reserve

Gulf of Carpentaria

CommonwealthMarine Reserve

West Cape YorkCommonwealthMarine Reserve

ArnhemCommonwealthMarine Reserve

For information on the activities allowed in the differentzone types, please refer to the department’s websitewww.environment.gov.au/marinereserves.

Ranger’s New Uranium Mine

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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

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LETTERS

Jess Abrahams as Acting Director

Cert no. L2/0031.2012

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WEEDS of

NoRTHERN AUSTRALIAA FIELD GUIDE

Nicholas Smith Environment Centre NT

C. gigantea

C. gigantea

C. gigantea

Calotropis gigantea

Giant rubber bush

Calotropis procera

Rubber bush

APOCYNACEAE (periwinkle family)

Description: Shrubs (or small trees) 3-5m tall

with a waxy appearance and milky sap. Stems are

smooth, grey-green. Leaves opposite, green-grey,

thick and waxy, with heart-shaped, often stem-

clasping bases. Pods green, bladder like, splitting

to release white-plumed seeds.

• C. gigantea is the larger and coarser of the two,

flowers are larger with mauve-pink petals.

• C. procera flowers are white with purple

blotches at tip.

Flowers/Fruits: All year round

Habitat: Found on roadsides, disturbed areas,

water courses, river flats and coastal dunes. Thrives

on poor soils particularly where overgrazing has

removed competition from native grasses.

Dispersal: Seeds spread by wind and water

over large distances. Local stands increase in

size by suckering. C. gigantea also spread as an

ornamental plant.

Control: Physical (hand pulling, grubbing); Land

Management (hygiene, reduce grazing intensity,

control feral animals, revegetation); Chemical

(foliar spray, basal bark, cut stump).

Notes: C. gigantea is native to Sri Lanka, India and

Asia and is very common in Timor. C. procera is

native to Africa and Asia and was introduced into

Australia from India in the early 1890s either as

a garden plant or in pack-saddles of camels. It

forms dense thickets which compete with native

plant species and transforms the appearance

of the savanna. Also hinders pastoralism by

degrading pasture lands and making mustering

difficult. Reported to be toxic to stock, however

it is sometimes grazed in semi-arid and tropical

areas but rarely in the arid areas, even in drought.

SHRU

BS & H

ERBS

PANDANUS

Pandanus welcomes Jess Abrahams to the role of Acting Director of the Environment Centre NT. Jess has a passion for the outdoors and a deep commitment to protecting the natural environment. Jess has a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Studies from the University of Melbourne and an Honours degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Tasmania.

Jess has worked on environmental issues for more than 15 years. For the past 18 months Jess has led the Environment Centre NT’s

work on marine conservation, with recent wins on seabed mining and new marine reserves in Territory and Commonwealth waters. Jess was previously based at the Arid Lands Environment Centre in Alice Springs, where he led the successful campaign to the Stop Angela Pamela uranium mine. Prior to that Jess worked for the Wilderness Society in Victoria, helping to secure 100,00 hectares of new Red Gum National Parks along the Murray River. Jess has also held roles in environmental education and sustainable behaviour change and is a former Ranger.

Jess is excited by the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the Environment Centre NT. He will work hard to ensure the Top End’s intact savannahs, rivers and seas are safeguarded from the growing threats of industrial development, degradation and climate change.

Jess is keen to hear your thoughts. You can contact him on 8981 1984 or via email: coordinator@ecnt.org

From the Director by Stuart Blanch

By Di Koser

Some potentially big changes lie ahead for the Environment Centre NT with Stuart Blanch working his final day as Director on Friday 15 June. Stuart has been a huge asset to the Environment Centre NT with his passionate, but measured approach to his campaigning and his dealings with people from a wide range of backgrounds and interests.

Staff, supporters and board members gave him an informal farewell at the Nightcliff foreshore before he begins his campaign to

become the Independent member for Nightcliff at the elections on 25 August. In whatever field Stuart works in the future we all know he will make a big difference for the better and we wish him well.

The role of Director is now in the very capable hands of Jess Abrahams, who has worked at the Environment Centre NT in the role of Marine Campaigner for the last 18 months. We know from this experience that Jess is a very professional and dedicated young man who will bring his many skills

Di Koser

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to the job. We look forward to this new phase in the development of the Environment Centre NT.

We have just reprinted the Top End Gardening Guide which is full of handy tips for gardening in the Top End anywhere from balconies to large backyards. Now available from the Environment Centre NT office and the Greenies shop in Rapid Creek for the bargain price of $20.00 - A great read!

From the Convenor

This is Stuart’s last Directors report – he has resigned from his role at the Environment Centre NT to take up other challenges – however the great depth and breadth of his work is evident in the following article – Ed. The Environment Centre NT and its partners have long worked to protect Top End savannas from major land clearing, keep our rivers free-flowing and clean, and safeguard sealife. We’ve been urging both Territory Labor and the Country Liberals to pass the Territory’s first Native Vegetation Management Act to end major land clearing, legislate a ban on damming the Daly River in the face of renewed pressure to make the north a foodbowl and set up new marine parks.

The area of land cleared has fallen in recent years, but will likely increase after more than 13,000 hectares of land was approved for clearing last November.

Both major parties have said they do not support a dam on the Daly, but neither side has committed to give Territorians certainty by passing a new law, or amending existing laws (think water or planning laws), to explicitly keep the river free-flowing.

Our staff met with the federal Coalition’s Water Management Taskforce recently and were left with a very clear impression of their plans for large scale agriculture across the north, including in the Daly catchment.

The Environment Centre NT has always maintained that Territorians should take control of their own rivers by passing strong laws to keep them in good condition, full of fish, maintaining important Aboriginal cultural values and un-dammed.

We welcomed the Territory Government’s plan to create Limmen Bight Marine Park and hope they will commit to creating more marine parks around the coastline.

Sustainable livingThanks to the support of our partners and members we hosted the third Top End Sustainable Living Festival on 2-3 of June in the Botanic Gardens, alongside the Tropical Garden Spectacular.

Thousands of people heard inspiring and informative presentations by our guest speakers and panelists, took part in workshops, heard live music and ate yummy food.

There were good crowds listening to talks in the Green Living Tent, sampling food and chilling at the Community Café and learning from Indigenous communities at the Larrakia Precinct.

Together with our sustainability partners the Nursery & Garden Industry NT, we thank our major sponsors the NT Government, PowerWater, and City of Darwin.

The Festival was part of Sustainability Week NT 2012, which saw other events held across greater Darwin, including two exciting Business Day seminars. Allan Jones heads City of Sydney’s energy and climate department and talked about ‘ReEnergising Cities’, including cutting energy use in city CBDs by cooling buildings with waste heat, generating renewable energy onsite and nearby and automating collection of rubbish and recyclables.

Professor Peter Newman from Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute talked to a crowd of over 60 at Parliament House about the economic benefits of light rail, building dense urban cities around transport nodes and the coming transition to electric cars as fuel prices rise.

The Environment Centre NT Landscape Olympics Team by Hannah Seward

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Australia catching up with the world on pricing carbon pollutionThe Australian Government’s carbon price commenced on 1 July, bringing Australia into line with many other nations. As one of the world’s top 20 polluting nations, we must take a leadership role and do our fair share to cut greenhouse gas emissions and grow renewable energy use.

The clean energy futures package of laws and financial support places Australia in about the middle of the pack of developed nations when it comes to action on climate change, with nearly three dozen nations accounting for almost a third of the global economy having already established such systems or preparing to do so in the short term.

Despite allowing carbon pollution levels to continue to climb and multi-billion dollar subsidies being given to polluting industries, the emissions trading scheme and associated incentives are a profound economic reform needed to require big carbon polluters to pay for their pollution and to reward businesses and landholders which reduce their impacts on the climate.

Australia will join many US states, South Korea, China, EU nations and New Zealand in setting up an emissions trading scheme that will start to fix this major market failure that has operated since the Industrial Revolution commenced pumping increasing amounts of carbon pollution into the air over two centuries ago.

Mining and acid mine pollution of Top End riversOn the mining front we have made some headway on protecting our Top End Rivers from the risk of acid mine pollution from leaky tailings dams. Xstrata Zinc is proposing to use a ‘low permeability’ plastic layer on the bottom of a new and existing tailings dam at the McArthur River Mine near Borroloola, instead of the less effective bentonite clay lining used in their existing leaking tailings dams. It’s a great shame the company did not heed our advice

when it built its first tailings dams, as it would have avoided the risks from acid mine drainage to the McArthur River that the government-appointed Independent Monitor says are now inevitable. But we welcome the step forward by the company, one we had campaigned for over many years, and we hope the next step for the mining industry and regulators is to adopt new liners coming now on the market which hold out the promise of no-leak tailings dams.

Vista Gold apologised for failing to notify the Environment Centre NT of any pollution event or risk of a spill, after promising to do so last year, in late December when the Edith River catchment flooded leading to a major uncontrolled release from one of their retention ponds. The acknowledgement was welcome, and we urged them to adopt the highest standards of pollution control and risk management and not simply meet the generally weak requirements of Territory mining and pollution laws.

Western Desert Resources have released its draft plans for mining iron ore in the Limmen Bight region, (available to view in our office)including a damaging 160km long haul road cut through part of the proposed new Limmen National Park to export the ore at the port of Bing Bong. Though certainly a better option than building a port on Maria Island, the haul road would involve crossing large rivers, creeks and wetlands. We will also be examining the potential impacts of diverting

the Towns River or a tributary for a couple kilometres, and potentially generating acid mine drainage.

Big business and governments join in weakening our environment lawsOur amazing habitats and wildlife nationally face a renewed push by big business to weaken environment protection laws around the nation. Federal, state and territory governments have supported a push by big business to reduce the safeguards provided by environmental assessment laws at both federal and state/territory levels.

The Council of Australian Government’s decided at its April meeting to support calls by big business to streamline environmental regulations. The federal Coalition then went further, echoing calls from some state premiers to give states the sole responsibility for assessing and approving many large projects that could have very significant environmental impacts.

Despite assurances that environmental assessment processes would not be weakened, that is the inevitable outcome from reducing the rigour of environmental laws, particularly the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

We strongly oppose plans to weaken our already weak environmental laws. Could you imagine our under-staffed environmental and resources regulators in the Territory being largely, or even solely, responsible for assessing projects like LNG plants and large mines?

We still don’t have an EPA with real teeth, our Department of Resources were found to have adopted a ‘tick and flick’ approach to ensuring compliance at the Montara oil rig that caught fire and leaked oil into the Timor Sea, and the Parliament has still not passed stronger pollution control or environmental assessment laws.

The federal government has a duty to protect habitats and species, which are the focus of international agreements and conventions, such as threatened species, World Heritage sites, wetlands of international significance and migratory species.

Image: McArthur River by Hannah Seward

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WeipaDarwin

Karumba

Wyndham

Kununurra

Nhulunbuy

Borroloola

Maningrida

Wadeye

140°E

140°E

130°E

130°E

10°S

10°S

15°S

15°S

20°S

20°S

Papua New Guinea

Final North Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network Proposal

Queensland

Australian Government Data Sources:DSEWPaC (2006): Commonwealth Marine Planning RegionsDSEWPaC (2010): CAPADDSEWPaC (2012): Final Commonwealth Marine Reserves Network ProposalGeoscience Australia (1998): Australia, TOPO-2.5M Topographic DataGeoscience Australia (2006): Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) v2.0

Produced by the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN)Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. © Commonwealth of Australia, 2012

Western Australia Northern Territory

0 100 200 300 40050

Approximate scale (km)Projection: Geographics

Maritime boundaries

Marine region boundaries

Limit of the Australian exclusive economic zone

Limit of coastal waters

Proposed zoning

Marine National Park Zone (IUCN II)

Special Purpose Zone (IUCN VI)

Multiple Use Zone (IUCN VI)

Other marine protected areas

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Final North-west network proposal

Garig Gunak Barlu marine park

North-westMarine Region

TorresStrait

LimmenCommonwealthMarine Reserve

JosephBonaparte GulfCommonwealthMarine Reserve

Oceanic ShoalsCommonwealthMarine Reserve

ArafuraCommonwealthMarine Reserve

WesselCommonwealthMarine Reserve

Gulf of Carpentaria

CommonwealthMarine Reserve

West Cape YorkCommonwealthMarine Reserve

ArnhemCommonwealthMarine Reserve

For information on the activities allowed in the differentzone types, please refer to the department’s websitewww.environment.gov.au/marinereserves.

New North marine reserve network an important first step, but more work needed By Jess Abrahams, Northern Marine Campaigner

Map sourced from www.environment.gov.au

Nature Territory

On the 14th June, Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke announced a network of eight new marine reserves for the North, totalling over 120,000 sq. km and covering 20% of the region.

The network of reserves is a significant first step to ensuring our extraordinary tropical sealife is better protected, although some important areas have been left vulnerable to overfishing, oil and gas drilling and seabed mining. Further work is therfore still needed to safeguard our marine life and ensure the long term protection of our Northern marine environment. Three marine sanctuaries (marine national parks or green zones) are proposed in the North: west of Cape York, near the Wellesley Islands and in the Wessel group north of Nhulunbuy. These will fully protect some of the Top End’s extraordinary sealife including important dugong habitat, seagrass beds and reefs. The exclusion of bottom trawling in the (light blue coloured) multiple use zones in Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, the oceanic shoals west of the Tiwis and the Arafura Canyons will reduce fishing pressures on these areas, but damaging oil and gas blasting and drilling can still go ahead in these areas.

The (darker blue) special purpose zones will allow destructive gill netting to continue in several areas, and this represents a lessening of protection for these areas. Stepping up protection for Limmen Bight - an internationally significant site for dugong and an important sea turtle breeding and feeding area - is also an important addition, and we look forward to further progress to permanently protect that region from seabed mining.

It is not all good news however. Even though the offshore waters of the Northern Territory contain some of the most pristine tropical seas left on the planet and are a haven for turtles, dugong, reef fish and dolphins, only 3% of the region will be fully protected in marine sanctuaries. Compared top other regions around Australia which will receive much greater protection, the North appears to have been treated as a poor cousin, despite increasing pressures from oil and gas, sea bed mining and damaging fishing.

Opportunities for Indigenous saltwater communities to have greater control and management of their traditional

Sea Country have also not fully been seized, although an increase to the marine reserve off North East Arnhem Land should help meet the aspirations of some Traditional Owners. Thousands of Australians, including many from the North, called for greater protection during the public consultation phase. Future Australian Governments will need to put further marine sanctuaries in place in the North to protect critical areas left out of the network, like the rich waters surrounding the Crocodile Islands off the Arnhem Land coast, and the marine nurseries adjacent to Cape York’s wild rivers. The modest level of reserves in the North is expected to have very limited impacts on the commercial fishing industry and no impact what so ever on recreational fishers. The Environment Centre NT supports the Federal government’s policy to give fair financial assistance to commercial fishers and businesses directly affected by the creation of marine reserves.

A final 60 day public consultation period on the reserves will begin mid July and it is expected that the reserve network will be proclaimed and in place before the end of 2012. For more info go to: www.amcs.org.au.

By Mereki Garnett, Festival Manager‘Grow, Enjoy, Sustain.’ The theme of this year’s Top End Sustainable Living Festival proudly run by the Environment Centre NT speaks for itself. Again a collaborative effort with the Nursery and Garden Industry and many businesses and organisations from across the Territory, the weekend event in the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens on the 2nd & 3rd of June marked the climax of a successful Sustainability Week 2012.

Director of the Environment Centre Stuart Blanch officially opened Sustainability Week Business Day on Friday morning by introducing guest speaker and ‘infrastructure imagineer’ Allan Jones MBE to a full room at the Mantra Pandanus Business Breakfast Seminar.

Allan’s presentation about re-energising cities received nothing but acclaim and was a fantastic prelude to another booked out lunchtime address at Parliament House by sustainability colleague, Professor Peter Newman. Peter gave an inspiring presentation and rightfully shook the foundations of a dreamy status quo held by a city with an airport located closer to the CBD than its rail system.

And so the story of sustainability was passed from Darwin’s business elite into the realm of the public who lined the shade of the Brazilian Rain Trees at the weekend Tropical Garden Spectacular and Top End Sustainable Living Festival. The Festival as always provided fertile ground for people to engage with ideas and solutions towards a healthier and safer future in the Top End.

A diverse program included over 70 exhibitors including landscape and gardening experts, government agencies, environmental organisations, schools groups and cultural and gardening networks.

Special guests this year proved popular. The ‘Queen of Clean’ Shannon Lush boosted the collective capacity of Darwinians to solve domestic mysteries and dissolve stains using only natural products and a signed copy of her latest book. In the Sunday interim we enjoyed a relaxed encore performance from Neil Murray and Shellie Morris. They sung a rare duet of “My Island Home” that sent shivers down the spine of every listening patriot.

Green Living

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Green Living

Fan palm weaving at the Larrakia Nation area

Landscape Olympics garden

Highlights from the 2012 Top End Sustainable Living Festival and Sustainability Week

It was a win for culture and community this year. A well designed and interactive Larrakia and Community Garden Precinct served to entice and accommodate people while the likes of the ‘Biochar Revolution’ author Paul Taylor and local plant and garden experts shared their environmental intellect in the Green Tent.

ABC’s leading gardener Costa arrived in time to coordinate the popular Landscape Olympics with Darwin’s Leonie Norrington, and after 30 minutes of laughter, mayhem, and due consideration, they crowned the City of Darwin with Olympic Gold just ahead of strong Environment Centre/Independent/Mis-Fits outfit led by Stuart Blanch.

Costa remained in Darwin to present at the inspiring World Environment Day Schools Event on Tuesday 5th June. Festival sponsors and partners joined to bring the message of sustainability to 200 children from 12 schools from greater Darwin and as far away as Katherine. What a day!

You can help to consolidate and improve Sustainability Week and the Top End Sustainable Living Festival for next year by sharing your feedback at:

www.greenlivingfest.com.auFinally, a special thank you to all Festival Committee members, NGINT and funding partners EPA and Bowden McCormack.

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Business breakfast on re-engergising cities

Peter Newman at the business breakfast

Water saving plants

Costa with Leonie Norrington

Rapid Creek Landcare group loves Weeds

of Northern Australia: A Field Guide

Recycling ghost nets into bags with Aly-De Groot

Green cleaning guru Shannon Lush

Supporting Nuclear Free NT campaigns

The Top End Sustainable Living Festival & Sustainability Week 2012

Landscape Olympics!

Adding the finishing touches

Neil Murray & Shellie Morris duet

Teams battle it out in the Landscape Olympics

Festival Fairies

Lots of great natives to take home

The kids loved the face painting

Green Living

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The Top End Sustainable Living Festival & Sustainability Week 2012

Kylie Sambo raps about her country

Tasty local community garden food

Community Garden Cafe in full swing

Neil Murray with his copy of PANDANUS

Environment fans show their support

Mosaics from recycled tiles at Schools Day

Carbon & cattle panel members

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Two decades ago the world’s leaders agreed on a raft of conventions and declarations at the Rio Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992 to agree on conventions and shared action on sustainable development, biodiversity conservation and climate change. Two decades before that, at the UN Conference on Human Development in Stockholm in 1972, world leaders agreed on the first global framework for environmental action including reducing pollution and supporting non-industrialised countries to minimise environmental impacts as they develop.

Forty years after Stockholm, and world leaders gathered again in June for the Rio+20 Earth Summit 2012 to focus on the green economy in the context of poverty alleviation, and stronger international institutions for sustainable development. As we wait to see if world leaders will agree on ambitious reforms, here is a snapshot of the state of our planet Earth in light of global efforts to live up to these conventions, declarations and action plans.

Positive:60% improvement in the Living

Planet Index since 1970 for tropical countries, due to habitat destruction, overexploitation of wild species, and pollution.*

31% improvement in the Living Planet Index for temperate countries, due mainly to better habitat protection and stronger environmental laws.*

12% of the world’s land and sea – an area three times the land area of Australia - is conserved within protected areas, such as National Parks, Marine Parks and Indigenous protected areas. (But only around 6% of the world’s oceans are protected.) #

Deforestation of Amazon rainforests has fallen since 2004, with over 44% in protected areas.

The ozone hole is forecast to shrink by mid century to pre-1980s levels, due to a global agreement to phase out CFCs and other ozone depleting substances.>Negative:

X28% decline in the global Living Planet Index since 1970 including both temperate and tropical countries.*

XOver half the world’s largest rivers have been dammed over the past 120 years, with less than 50 of the total 177 rivers longer than 1,000km forecast to remain free-flowing by 2020.*XHumanity’s ecological footprint has almost doubled since 1961.*XCarbon dioxide levels in the air increased from 325 parts per million in 1970 to 398 ppm today+, and the world’s best climate scientists predict dangerous warming of the climate this century without rapid global cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly by replacing fossil fuels with renewable and reducing deforestation.

XAlmost one third of the 61,914 species assessed by the International union for the Conservation of Nature were listed as threatened with extinction, out of an estimated 1.7 million described species.^

XOne-quarter of the world’s fish stocks are over-exploited, and a further half are fully exploited, with total fisheries capture having doubled since 1970.<

So, more crosses than ticks. While there have been some very positive reforms globally over the past four decades since global leaders started to work together on sustainable development, the overall trend remains negative and political will and business support for urgent meaningful reforms remains lacking.

Our team of staff and volunteers at the Environment Centre NT will continue to voice the hopes and ambitions of our members and supporters to protect nature, live sustainably, and create a climate for change. We will analyse commitments made at the Rio+20 meeting to see if the global community is serious about real and rapid change, and how Territorians can help achieve them.

Sources:* WWF. 2012. Living Planet Report 2012. Summary. WWF International, Gland, Switzerland.# IUCN WCPA 2010. Next Steps: Convention on Biological Diversity Programme of Work on Protected Areas, Gland Switzerland, p33.+ US National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration, Mauna Loa data, Hawaii.^ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Summary Statistics, Table 1.< World Bank 2006. Pro Fish Fact Sheets.> NASA, December 2010. The Incredible Shrinking Ozone Hole.

By Stuart Blanch, Director

Australia’s only endemic sea turtle. The threatened flatback turtle by Hannah Seward

Four decades of global efforts on sustainable development, and what has the world got to show for it?

Image above: M

elbourne fish stall by Hannah Seward

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Nuclear Free NT

The ageing and tired Ranger uranium mine is approaching the end of an era. Ranger was established on a no consent lease with the Mirarr Traditional Owners denied their ‘right to veto’. The open cut pits that have been dug for over 30 years are close to exhaustion and due to finish up later this year.

Within that 30 years, mining activities have held the environment on a knifes edge seeing seen over 150 leaks, spills and breaches, an overloaded tailings dam that leaks more than 100,000 litres a day, radioactive exposure to workers, ongoing mismanagement of contaminated water and a shutdown that resulted in a $150 million dollar loss last year. With a track record like this, the Environment Centre NT is concerned that dirty, dangerous and desperate mining techniques will be employed if the mine expands.

Instead of heeding the calls for an end to mining operations and a staged rehabilitation of the site, mine operator Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) are going underground to explore Ranger 3 Deeps – a predicted 34,000 tonne uranium deposit.

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 environmental assessment. The construction of the decline should be recognised as mining activity under the NT Mining Management Act.

On a Federal level the Ranger 3 Deeps decline should have been recognised as a nuclear action and triggered the EPBC Act for detailed assessment before it began. 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. This ‘exploration’ project will take over 18 months of construction before samples of ore can be taken.

The Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation have called for a federal review on the decline project and the highest level of federal assessment and scrutiny of any future mining application by ERA.The Environment Centre NT and many other groups oppose uranium mining in the NT, and the 3 Deeps project is no exception. While ERA argue this new 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.

Continued uranium mining within Kakadu means continued risk to the environment and community as trucks of Yellowcake make the long journey on weathered roads from Jabiru to Darwin and out through our port.Let us not forget the negative impact that Australian uranium has in the global nuclear fuel chain. The uranium that has been mined at Ranger to date has created long-lived unwanted radioactive waste that is being stored somewhere in the world with no known safe or final storage place.

We know that the continuing Fukushima nuclear disaster, a crisis that has displaced over 200,000 people and left widespread radioactive contamination, was directly fuelled by Australian uranium. From leaking tailings dams in Kakadu to falling fallout in Japan and beyond Australia’s uranium trade is unsafe, unwelcome and unclean and the Environment Centre NT will continue our efforts to oppose and end this contaminating industry.

Deep concerns over Ranger’s new uranium mine by Cat Beaton

Images: Ranger uranium mine by Hannah Seward

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In mid-March Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson’s National Radioactive Waste Management Bill passed the Senate. The bill paves the way for Australia’s first national radioactive waste dump to be built. Some of this waste will remain dangerous for more than 10,000 years and includes reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods and other waste from research, industrial and medical sources.

The Muckaty site remains hotly contested, not just by Traditional Owners on whose country the waste dump would be built, but also by a growing chorus of supporters from the NT government, trade unions, church, health and environment groups.

Since 2010 the nomination has also been the subject of a Federal Court action with Traditional Owners challenging the Federal Government and the Northern Land Council over nominating their land for the dump without consent. With the passing of the legislation, action against the waste dump is heating up.

Muckaty Traditional Owners recently staged a road blockade on the Stuart

Highway which would likely be used to transport waste to the Muckaty site.

In May a public meeting was held at the Crowne Plaza in Darwin. Matthew Gardiner, Secretary for the United Voice union representing many emergency workers, referenced the Edith River train disaster, stating that “if we had one container of nuclear waste on that train when it derailed, we would have had to use virtually every single firefighter in the NT.”

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) representatives have confirmed that the organisation has the capacity to manage the waste it produces onsite at the Lucas Heights reactor.

On May 1st ANSTO announced it would apply for a license to store Australian waste returning from overseas, alongside the long-lived intermediate level waste currently stored at the facility. It is a testament to the strength and determination of Muckaty Traditional Owners and supporters that the government’s original timeframe to have the waste dump in operation by 2011 is in

tatters, without even a site secured for the facility in mid-2012.

The time afforded by interim storage at Lucas Heights should be spent undertaking an inclusive and independent national commission that looks at all radioactive waste management options for Australia’s stockpiles of radioactive waste, rather than continuing the current divisive tactic of pursuing the contested Muckaty site.

In the lead up to the Territory elections in August we all need to make sure Muckaty remains a toxic issue to ensure the Australian government starts to look to examples overseas where governments are engaging with communities to discuss radioactive waste storage options. The key principles should be waste minimisation, robust science and informed community consent for management options. The current Muckaty plan fails all of these benchmarks.

Grab your free NO NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP bumper sticker from the Environment Centre NT office or market stall.

NO NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP

Darwin

Katherine

Alice Springs

MuckatyTennant Creek

Nuclear Free NT

Proposed Muckaty waste dump updateBy Cat Beaton and Lauren Mellor, Beyond Nuclear Initiative

12

Protection from uranium mining is a step closer for the Koongarra region of Kakadu National Park. The Full Council of the Northern Land Council recently passed a resolution of support for Djok Senior Traditional Owner Jefferey Lee and his aspiration to see his country at Koongarra kept safe from uranium mining.For years Jefferey Lee, the Senior Traditional Owner for the Koongarra estate 280 km east of Darwin, has worked towards protecting his country from uranium mining. The Koongarra lease - like the Ranger and Jabiluka uranium leases – was originally excluded from Kakadu National Park due to its uranium resources. As the tide continues to

“Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud” is a photographic exhibition presenting the community and country in the Northern Territory targeted to host a federal radioactive waste dump. The photos aim to break down the conception that these areas are ‘the middle of nowhere’ and thus suitable for dumping of hazardous materials.

Photographer Jagath Dheerasekara is of political refugee background from Sri Lanka and specialises in social documentary and social justice reportage. Jagath received the Amnesty International Human Rights

Innovation Grant 2010 to begin work on this exhibition and was a finalist in the prestigious Bowness Photography Prize 2011 with one of the images.

The exhibition is a collaborative project with the Beyond Nuclear Initiative (BNI) and the Muckaty Traditional Owners featured in the photographs.

The Environment Centre NT is very proud to be hosting the exhibition in Darwin as it relates directly to one of our key campaigns to stop a nuclear waste dump coming to the Territory.

“Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud” at the Darwin Festival

Venue: Christ Church Cathederal Darwin, 2 Smith Street, Darwin.Official opening: Friday 10 August: 6.30pmExhibition Dates: Fri 10 August: 10am - 10pmSat 11- Sat 26 August: 10am -8pmExhibition discussion: Wednesday 15 August: 6.30pm

NO NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP

Darwin

Katherine

Alice Springs

MuckatyTennant Creek

turn on uranium mining in the Kakadu region- we are drawing closer to seeing Koongarra given the protection from mining that Jefferey Lee has asked for.Protection for Koongarra has been a long journey for Jeffrey Lee including and a trip to Paris last year to request the UNESCO World Heritage Committee include the region within the Kakadu World Heritage Area.His request was granted and his country is now listed on the World Heritage Registser for its cultural and environmental values.French nuclear giant Areva had a commercial interest in mining the estimated 14,000 tonnes of uranium at Koongarra. Areva has repeatedly

offered Jeffrey Lee millions of dollars to accept mining on his land. Jefferey’s opposition to mining has remained steadfast. Now Kakadu National Park is set to expand- waiting only for the Federal Government to move quickly to proclaim the estate part of Kakadu National Park. The Environment Centre NT acknowledges the huge contribution to the NT environment that Jefferey Lee is making and congratulates him on the triumph in his long battle to protect his home. We look forward to celebrating the protection of Koongarra forever sometime in the not so distant future.

One of Jagath Dheerasekara’s photos

Protection for Koongarra – a step closer Kakadu National Park is set to expand By Cat Beaton

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.

PWC have announced that households can now connect systems as large as 4.5 kw solar systems without the need for any extensive investigations. The average Territory household used 8,908 kilowatts in 2010/11 year. A 4.5kw solar array in Darwin can produce

Espresso Essential Northern Territory has taken a stand and will only serve their drinks in cups that are made without plastic linings. Bio Cups are 100% carbon neutral and made from FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) paper and lined with a fermented corn starch bio-ploymer (PLA - poly lactic acid). 98% of the takeaway cups that were being used in the cafe market are lined with a product that is a derivative of polystyrene. Nowadays, more oil is used to make plastic than is used to fuel the transport

approximately 7,062 kilowatt of power a year therefore almost supplying enough green power to meet their needs.

Power and Water have had concerns about large rooftop solar arrays feeding into their infrastructure if the size of

installations is not managed. The ability of low voltage power lines and transformers receiving varying inputs of power during sunlight hours from home generated solar system could lead to network reliability issues.

If you wish to install a system larger than 4.5kw contact customer service at Power Water on 1800 245 092 or email: customerservice@powerwater.com.au and they will advise you about your particular situation.

Power consumption price rises by 10.1%

Last year we were paying 19.77 cents per kilowatt hour for power. We are now paying 21.77 cents per kilowatt hour. Of this 2 cent increase, the carbon price makes up 7.25% and the CPI increase makes up 2.75%. (Taken from Power Water Corporation web site.)

For more information contact COOLmob: www.coolmob.org

Power and Water Corporation approves 4.5kw rooftop solar power arraysBy Robin Knox, Program Manager, COOLmob

Green Living

13

Business leaders in cutting carbon

industry! Bio Cups felt that there had to be a much safer and environmentally friendly product out there that could lower the use of plastics and non-compostable cups.

Solar panels on a Nightcliff home by Robin Knox

Bio-Cups

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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.

There are many ways in which you can improve the environmental performance of your workplace. The advantages of becoming an environmentally sustainable organisation include:

1. Cost savings through reduced energy and water consumption

2. Attraction and retention of staff and increased productivity levels by having a healthier working environment

3. A reduced carbon footprint which will boost your organisation’s reputation for taking responsibility and acting on environmental issues

Anyone in a workplace can start the sustainability journey, but it is important that everyone comes along for the ride as you implement changes.

What is a Green Team?A Green Team is a group of staff members who take charge of reducing the organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions and improving environmental performance through:

1. RECORDING data2. Setting TARGETS for

improvement3. Tracking PROGRESS4. Providing FEEDBACK

to colleagues

Why start a Green Team?Electricity and water prices are rising, and the cost of managing waste and transport are also increasing. Reducing the impact of these on your workplace budgets will give you more time and money to direct towards your business goals.

A Green Team will be responsible for managing this impact and implementing changes.

How do you start a Green Team?1. Indentify colleagues who are

interested in sustainability and invite them to be part of your workplace Green Team. This can be done by displaying posters, sending out group emails, notifications on the intranet or even simply by word-of-mouth if your organisation is small.

2. Obtain management level support. This is important as it will add credibility to your Green Team and may even assist in securing funding for sustainability initiatives.

3. Schedule your first meeting. At the Green Team’s first meeting establish the Green Team Guidelines or a Terms of Reference document. This is a brief one-page document describing the purpose and structure of the Team, when it will meet (monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly) and what your meetings will cover.

4. Identify ‘Champions’ for each environmental theme. There should be at least an ‘Energy

Champion’, ‘Water Champion’, ‘Waste/Recycling Champion’, ‘Sustainable Purchasing Champion’ and ‘Transport Champion’.The role of champions is to drive the process of establishing action in each area. Each champion can refer to COOLmob’s guidelines relevant to their area to help them with ideas on improving the performance in their area. See www.coolmob.org/work

5. Establish the priorities of your Green Team. For instance: • Reduced energy bills• Reduced organisation wide

carbon footprint• Water conservation• Improved waste management• Sustainable transport

management and opportunities for reducing car use.

Make sure the priorities you decide on are made transparent and advertised to the entire workplace. Display your Green Team Goals on a communal notice board, stick a poster on the staff fridge and send out a workplace-wide email outlining the goals you will be achieving.

6. Discuss progress regularly. At each meeting each champion should discuss the progress towards their area’s goals.

How else can COOLmob help?COOLmob has launched online resources to help Green Teams achieve their goals. Check these out at:www.coolmob.org/work for more guides on establishing baseline data, setting goals and tracking environmental improvement.

City of Darwin Green Office Champs Sheree Jeeves and Abbey Grigg encourage office recy-cling. Supplied by City of Darwin.

13

Green Teams: essential for every workplace

OIL and WATER don’t mix! We all know oil and water don’t mix. That is why the Top End Sea Life campaign is pushing back on the rapidly increasing threat to our marine environment from offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Top End.

When the Montara oil disaster spilled millions of litres of oil into the Timor Sea in 2009, untold damage was done to our marine environment. However it is not just well blow outs and oil spills that threaten our marine environment.

New evidence is showing that seismic blasting, which is the first step in petroleum development and involves firing incredibly loud air guns underwater, has also been shown to impact not just marine mammals like whales and dolphins, but also fish, squid and turtles. Indeed commercial fisherman across the Top End have been

complaining of significantly reduced catch in areas subject to seismic blasting.

Having scuppered the devastating threat of seabed mining in coastal waters, at least for now, with a three year moratorium in place, The Top End Sea Life campaign is well placed to challenge oil and gas development, especially in iconic areas of high marine biodiversity conservation significance.

For example, in 2011, Federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson released two massive ‘petroleum acreages’ in the Money Shoal basin, one directly adjacent to the Cobourg Marine Park, the other just North of the Tiwi Islands. In 2012, Minister Fergusson released two more massive areas, one in the Money Shoal basin and another directly above the Arafura Canyons.

In doing so, Minister Fergusson pre-empted the outcome of the Australian Government’s marine

bioregional planning process, which was assessing areas like the Arafura canyons for protection in marine reserves.

The Arafura canyons, identified as one of twelve underwater icons of Northern Australia, lie on the edge of the continental shelf. The area features deep underwater ravines, uncharacteristic of the generally shallow northern waters. These canyons force nutrient rich waters to rise from the deep, creating a critical feeding area for whale sharks, large schools of pelagic fish and sea turtles.

Another example where oil and water don’t mix is close to Darwin in Beagle and Van Diemen Gulf where a small Territory owned oil and gas company has applied for exploration permits over sensitive marine areas, including the mouth of Bynoe and Darwin Harbours, over popular recreational fishing sites off the Vernon Islands and in areas adjacent to Kakadu and Cobourg marine park.

The worse case scenario if an exploitable resource was found, could be oil rigs off Casuarina beach and gas flares visible to the thousands of locals and tourists who enjoy sunset views at Mindil Beach. The Northern Territory’s amazing marine environment, while still relatively healthy and intact, won’t stay that way if we turn our big blue backyard into a industrial petroleum park.

That is why we are campaigning hard to have iconic areas like the Arafura canyons and Bynoe Harbour effectively safeguarded in marine sanctuaries, that protect our Top End Sea life from seismic blasting and oil drilling.

You can support our campaign by writing letters to the Editor or to your local member of Parliament arguing that some areas are simply too precious to drill and blast, and instead should be better protected in large marine sanctuaries.

15

Pushing back on petroleum in our Top End seasBy Jess Abrahams, Northern Marine Campaigner

Image above: In 2009 the West Atlas oil rig spilled millions of litres of oil from the Montara oil field into the Timor Sea. Photo TWS collection.

Nature Territory

16

By Hannah Seward, Communications Officer

COMMUNITY PRIDE AND EMOTION shone through as the Yanyuwa people gathered on 17 May, 2012 to witness an official ceremony to celebrate the protection of 1,300sq. km of traditional Aboriginal land in the heart of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The NT’s newest Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), the Yanyuwa IPA, is the 50th in Australia but only the second to officially incorporate a national park. A total of 260,000 sq. km of land is now protected under IPA agreements across Australia.

The wider IPA falls under the protection of the Yanyuwa traditional owners and the li-Anthawirriyarra sea rangers. Yanyuwa traditional owner and li-Anthawirriyarra sea ranger Leonard Norman has been waiting for this day since formal preparations began in 2006. “This IPA is very important. It encompasses all of the islands to protect them for my grandchildren and their children. We want everyone to work together to look after this land for future generations,” he says.

Sacred Aboriginal land protectedSituated two hours south-east of Darwin by plane, the Yanyuwa IPA borders stretch from the south of Borroloola, alongside the mighty McArthur River, and to the vast

mangrove fringed mudflats and out across to the Sir Edward Pellew archipelago.

For the Yanyuwa, the health of land, sea and people is interlinked. They have a long history on the land often told through physical songlines embodied in the landscape, and known as kujika. These songlines stretch across Yanyuwa country holding the land and sea together in a strong bond.

During the wet season the river level in this region can rise as high as 30m, filling the many lagoons and waterholes, providing Yanyuwa with bushtucker such as barramundi, black bream and longneck turtles. The Yanyuwa people regularly collect food and bush medicines that grow in the areas along the river, including berry tree, bush plum and bush potato.

“We have waited so long and at last it came,” says Yanyuwa senior traditional owner Billy Miller. “My country means a lot to me. It’s important to protect my land.”

Aboriginal traditional owners working in partnershipTraditional owners will work in mentoring roles in partnership with sea ranger groups and three Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife rangers, sharing skills and resources to look after the IPA, including existing Barranyi National Park, which covers 8 per cent of the terrestrial area of the archipelago.

The IPA contains six main islands with more than fifty sandy islets, reefs and rock formations scattered in between. Habitats including open forests, mudflats, mangroves, vine thickets, sandstone heaths and sand dunes. The larger islands are the homelands of Yanyuwa families, and are internationally significant nesting sites for colonial sea birds and marine turtles. Endangered green turtles and threatened flatback turtles nest annually on the quiet island beaches. Herds of 30 dugong at a time feed on the thick beds of sea grass fringing the islands, and elusive snubfin dolphins are frequently spotted.

Threatened species and ferals managementThe islands provide a refuge to rare threatened mammals such as the brush-tailed rabbit-rat, northern brush-tailed phascogale, northern quoll and Carpentarian antechinus. The archipelago is also believed to be the last stronghold in the Northern Territory of the canefield rat. A key IPA management goal is to reduce feral animals including cats, pigs, goats and more recent pests such as cane toads, which arrived on the islands in floodwaters in 2003.

The Environment Centre NT welcomes the official protection of a unique area. Stuart Blanch comments “This will improve land and sea management efforts and build stronger partnerships for a key group of islands in Northern Australia,” he says. “The good ecological health of the island ecosystems is due in large part to the relatively good condition of the catchment of the McArthur River, which bathes the rich shallow marine waters around the islands with monsoonal floodwaters each wet season”.

This article is based on a story that appeared on the Australian Geographic website on 23rd May 2012.

Unique corner of the Gulf protected

Image above: Some of the IPA team by the unveiled sign in Borroloola by Hannah Seward

Nature Territory

17 14

By Hannah Seward, Editor & Communications Officer

Welcome to The Interview. We bring you environmental answers, news and views from key people in our community.

An interview with... Leonard Norman, Sea Ranger

Nature Territory

This issue we talk to Leonard Norman, a Yanyuwa Traditional Owner and a li-Anthawirriyarra Sea Ranger, about the newly declared Yanyuwa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in the heart of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The official IPA ceremony was held in Borroloola on May 17th 2012. The Environment Centre NT’s Communications Officer Hannah Seward was there as a guest and spoke to Leonard about his feelings now that the IPA was official.

HS: Thank you for inviting us to be part of such a special and emotional day Leonard. How do you feel now the ceremony has taken place and all the documents signed?

LN: It was a pretty good turnout, we had several Ministers here, Minister Snowden, Minister McCarthy and Minister Hampton.

I’m glad we got to this day. A lot of the elders who have passed on were the driving force behind this process. On behalf of them; Yanyuwa people who have given their time and effort, I would like to thank all of the government and non government agencies and everyone that helped to get to today.

HS: Why is this IPA so important to you?

LN: This IPA is very important. It encompasses all of the islands and quite a lot of the mainland as well. It’s so important as it’s not just for the people living here now, it’s going to be for the next generation coming up. My grandchildren and their children. It’s going to be for their future as well as for us mob at this time.

HS: Can you tell me a little more about the partnerships that have made this IPA happen?

LN: I’m really glad that the government has come into this. As Minister Hampton mentioned today, he wants us to work together with Parks & Wildlife and the government in order to make it happen. We have funding from the agencies that can support the IPA and the li-Anthawirriyarra Sea Rangers in doing the work on the islands and on the mainland.

HS: This IPA is obviously going to be great for the Yanyuwa people to keep tradition and culture strong on their country. Can you tell me what environments and wildlife will benefit from the IPA?

LN: The IPA will benefit dugong and sea turtle in particular. We’ve had so many problems with fishermen

and crabbers not understanding that we need to look after these species. Dugongs and turtles often get hit by their boats and killed, or tangled in nets.

Rangers are currently monitoring the migratory sea birds that come here yearly. We are also researching the snubfin dolphin and Fisheries are helping us with this.

HS: The Environment Centre NT fully supports the protection of this unique part of the NT. You mentioned to me beforehand that you’d like to see us working more closely together?

LN: I’m so proud of the Environment Centre NT. I would like us to work together to keep this area clean and the coastal areas pristine. To look after the areas with the sacred sites and keep the culture strong. I would like the Environment Centre NT to come together and work with us to help keep our country the way we want it for future generations.

14

An interview with... Leonard Norman, Sea Ranger Images from far left: Leonard Norman. The McArthur River near Borroloola. Yanyuwa family members with the 3 visiting Ministers. Traditonal owners signing the IPA papers. Li-Anthawirriyarra sea rangers, kindly provided by the sea ranger group. Yanyuwa dancers perform at the ceremony. McArthur River and Osprey by Hannah Seward

19

Water. It’s the most important resource for the survival for any species living in the desert. Yet here in the NT, it’s currently at risk of unfettered extraction and pollution with minimal regulatory oversight by the relevant authorities.

The Northern Territory has the weakest regulations governing the extraction of water, waste management and the reporting of pollution by the mining, gas and petroleum industries in Australia. The recently published National Water Commission Discussion paper Integrating the mining sector into water planning and entitlements regimes by Mark Hamstead and Steve Fermio points out that in the NT, “Mining is given the highest priority in water sharing”. This comes at the expense of other uses such as public water supplies, agricultural use and the natural environment. The weakness of the Water Act and the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act to protect our precious groundwater supplies is a result of the exemptions under Section 7 of the Water Act and Section 6 of the Waste Management and Pollution Control Act.

These exemptions enable mining, gas and petroleum companies to drill bores, extract water and pump contaminates back into the

ground without requiring permits under these Acts to do so. While mining proponents will state there is adequate regulation – there is no coordinated approach to monitoring the cumulative impacts of mining, gas and petroleum activities on the water resources of the NT.

Recent media coverage has highlighted the growing concern that the public has for the potential impacts of coal seam gas extraction on prime agricultural land in Queensland and New South Wales. At least mining and gas companies have to apply for water licences to extract water there. Here in the NT, mining, gas and petroleum companies don’t need licences to extract water and they can even pollute aquifers located within their mining title without reporting it!

The exemptions of the mining, gas and petroleum industries do not encourage ‘best practice’ or water efficiency in extractive industries. Instead it provides a platform for marginal players that are less likely to have the internal processes to minimise pollution and water extraction. This is an important issue for all of us who want to live in the Territory for the long-term.

Our precious water resources need to be managed with all future activities taken into account. The current exemptions from the Water Act and Waste Management and Pollution Control Act must be repealed to require mining, gas and petroleum industries to operate on a level playing field where the needs of people and

the environment are taken into consideration.

Article printed in Centralian Advocate, Friday May 11 2012Reference: ‘Integrating the mining sector into water planning and entitlements regimes’ by Mark Hamstead and Steve FermioVisit: www.nwc.gov.au

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

Todd River, Alice Springs in flood by Nigel Weston. Below: Irrigation units by Stuart Blanch

If we’re heading into a so-called gas and mining boom with these exemptions in place, we significantly increase the risk of an environmental disaster in the near future. Send your concerns about the exemptions to Minister Hampton (minister.hampton@nt.gov au), Opposition Environment Spokesperson (peter.chandler@nt.gov.au), Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport (NRETAS), Chief Executive Jim Grant (jim.grant@nt.gov.au) and Senior Executive Director, Carbon and Landscapes, Diana Leeder (diana.leeder@nt.gov.au).

DESERT UPDATE

Water exemptions have to goBy Jimmy Cocking, Coordinator, Arid Land Environment Centre

20

If you have been watching ABC’s Q&A program over the last month, you might have seen the episode called “I Can Change Your Mind About Climate Change”. It included a fascinating debate/road-trip involving former Liberal Finance Minister Nick Minchin and founder of the Australia Youth Climate Coalition Anna Rose as they travelled the world seeking to convince each other of their differing perspectives on the issue of Climate Change.

As they travelled, they quickly discovered that like 90% of Australians (according to a recent CSIRO survey ) they agreed that climate change is happening, what they disagreed about was whether it is manmade or not. But perhaps the crux of the documentary came when they found that research shows that in the community the different positions people hold are influenced more by their existing worldviews than by a rational assessment of the science.

Climate change proponents tend to be politically progressive and interested in fairness and social justice. Climate sceptics tend to be politically conservative, and interested in individual liberty, small government and a strong economy. Furthermore, at least 50% of viewers participating in an online survey as part of the Q&A program said they would not change their mind on this issue.

Which begs the question, are we wasting our time constantly debating whether climate change is manmade or not? The UK provides a fascinating example of a country and a parliament which has not come to any agreement about whether climate change is man made or not, yet has been able to move forward on climate change initiatives such as energy efficiency reforms through adoption of a no regrets approach to policy development.

In the arid southern half of the Northern Territory, there are plenty of great initiatives we could undertake if we were more interested in looking for common ground and no regrets type opportunities rather than debating our differences on climate change. Just a few examples could be:

• Continuing to build on Alice’s reputation for being a leader in solar energy through extending the Alice Solar City program when it ends in June 2013

• Building on existing water efficiency initiatives like Alice Water Smart so Alice Springs can continue to grow within the natural limits of the aquifer we all depend on for water

• Supporting local pastoral and agricultural industry to reduce the impact of fuel price rises on food costs and to improve their flexibility and resilience to weather and economic shocks

• Supporting improved pasture management to achieve sustainable stocking rates, improved soil carbon and high biodiversity

• Looking after country, rangelands, and the fragile natural resources we have here in the centre through weed control, bushfire preparedness, and creative feral animal control initiatives

• Reducing waste into landfill by supporting strong measures to implement the NT Government’s commitment to halving landfill waste by 2020

These initiatives would not only create many new jobs and contribute to the quality of life of Central Australians, they also make sense for living in the desert – this is what the Arid Lands Environment Centre means when we talk about making Alice Springs a desertSMART town.

At the end of the day, climate change is not about climate change. It’s become a forum to debate the big issues in our society (to paraphrase Mike Hulme ). For the average person living in the centre, that means a better economy, better quality of life and a healthy environment come what may. And that’ll only happen when we’re all at the table talking to each other, despite our differences.

Solar panels on the Crowne Plaza hotel in Alice Springs by Hannah Seward

Safe Climate

Visit ALEC’S brand new website www.alec.org

By Alex McClean, Program Manager DesertSMART COOLmobChanging Minds about Climate Change?

Lett

ers

L

ett

ers

Market mess blowing in the windFishos need to tidy up their act

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.

21

Your Say

To the Editor,

I am not one to generally describe myself as a “greenie”, but it seems as I get older there are more things that are getting me concerned. Some of those are the “big issues”, but others are the things that are around me, things that could be easily fixed if not for laziness and apathy.

I am a keen amateur fisherman and there are many others that I see around that share that same interest. The disappointing thing for me is when I go to a fishing spot and I am met by discarded bait bags jammed into rock crevices or left to blow around and into our waterways which then pose a real danger to the marine life. Then along with these pieces of plastic there is often an assortment of bottles or cans that someone has had the energy to carry in full but is too lazy to carry out the empties to get rid of them properly for recycling.

Every fishing program I watch these days promotes catch and release or keep only what you need, yet there are still those that take far more than they could possibly use and then others that think that near enough is good enough when it comes to size limits.

So friends, let’s leave a place at least as clean as we find it, let’s not overfish or take molluscs from rock platforms that we know we shouldn’t and let’s enjoy our fishing and eating the catch.

Paul Avery, Marrara

Dear Editor,

I love eating out at Darwin’s great markets but why does it have to result in producing tonnes of plastic containers for land fill? And that’s the land fill site that we will soon be paying a price per tonne for carbon that the decomposing waste produces.

Darwinites are always eating out so why aren’t we carrying our own cup and plate? That way we can enjoy our food stalls without leaving a big mess behind. Whether it’s the Glenti, India@Mindil, the Show, the Darwin Festival or our weekly markets, we could all bring our own kit.

If we can learn to carry own water bottles and take our shopping bags to the supermarket, we can learn to take our plates to markets. Get your PUC (Plate, Utensils, Cup) pack together now.

Come on Darwinites, Get with it. PUC pack it!

Robin Knox, COOLmob Program Manager

Both good points of view. Residents and visitors to Darwin should take responsibility for their waste. It should be second nature to dispose of rubbish responsibily or ideally take your rubbish home with you and recycle what you can.

Encourage your family and friends to put together a market pack, or at the very least, bring your cups, plates and plastic tubs home from the markets, give them a wash and put them in your recycle bin. - Ed.

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Membership Application

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

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

Facebook: Environment Centre NT

Flickr: environment_centre_nt

Twitter: EnviroCentreNT

You can download a copy of PANDANUS Magazine from our website:

www.ecnt.org

If you would like additional copies of PANDANUS please send us an email or give us a call on the contact details above.

22

Join or renew your

membership at

www.ecnt.org

“Let’s Ask our Community” Forum hosted by PLAN NT

Environment Centre NT Film Fundraiser at the Deckchair

Environment Centre NT at the markets

What: Steve Beagley, author of COOLmob’s Greenhouse Friendly Design for the Tropics and Robin Knox, COOLmob program manager speaking on COOLmob Household Observations. Followed by question time.When: Tuesday 14th August. Light lunch 11:45am – 12:15pm Speakers 12:15pm – 1pm.Where: Darwin City Council Meeting Room.Contact: Coolmob on 08 8981 2532

What: ‘The Lorax’ (G) Dr. Seuss’ classic tale about a 12 year old boy.When: Thursday 19th JulyWhere: The Deckchair Cinema, Jervois Road, off Kitchener Drive.Contact: Lisa on 08 8981 1984

What: Come and chat to us about environmental issues. Any volunteer help much appreciated!When: Saturdays and SundaysWhere: Nightcliff and Parap weekend marketsContact: Lisa on 08 8981 1984

Events

Darwin Sustainability Drinks at Lizards

What: Drop in for a drink and nibbles, explore inspiring environmental solutions and see what’s happening on the Darwin green scene in 2012 and beyond. Great guest speakers and a whole host of friendly faces.When: 5pm to 7pm on the first Thursday of every month. Where: Lizards Bar, Top End Hotel (Cnr Mitchell & Daley St)Contact: www.sustainabilitydrinks.com

Swap @ The Top

What: Swap your old stuff! Items must be in good condition, no electrical items, up to 5 tokens per person. Sausage sizzle fundraiser for Keep Australia Beautiful.When: Friday 13th July - drop off from 9am, swap from 12pm-2pm.Where: Raintree Park, Smith Street Mall, Darwin City.Contact: www.darwin.nt.gov.au or phone 89300623

EVENTSUpcoming

Check out our Facebook page: Environment Centre NT

Check out our new website: www.ecnt.org

Out & About photos by Jess Abrahams and Hannah Seward

Environment Centre NT Out & AboutIf you feel strongly about anything you have seen in this magazine, get involved...

Take Action!Contact your local MLA, send them an email, call or write a letter, or submit a post on a our Facebook page.

If we can help you to do this please give us a call on 08 8981 1984 or email admin@ecnt.org

The Back Page

Environment Centre NT staff,

volunteers and friends gathered

together on 15th June to wish Stuart

Blanch all the best as he leaves after 3

and a half years as Director. Everyone

at the Environment Centre NT would

like to say a massive THANK YOU

to Stuart for his endless hard work,

amazing dedication, non-stop passion

and ever-ready sense of humour.

Stuart has worked tirelessly to

stand up and protect our unique NT

environments. It’s a big pair of thongs

to fill. We’ll miss you Stuart, the office

just won’t be the same with out you!

We welcome Jess Abrahams as acting

Director and look forward to working

with him in the next few months.Stuart Blanch makes his farewell speech

Stuart’s leaving do in Nightcliff

We have just revised our Top End Gardening Guide.

This was hugely popular last year and has been updated

and reprinted. If you would like a copy please call our

office on: 08 8981 1984 or visit: www.ecnt.org.

Essential for Top End gardeners and an excellent gift!

Top End GardeningYour practical guide to establishing a productive garden

We have been flat out over the last few months! Our staff have been busy organising

a World Turtle Day sandcastle competition, attending the Yanyuwa IPA ceremony and

running the Top End Sustainable Living Festival and Sustainability Week. We have also

run Nuclear Free NT events and a well attended East Point mangrove boardwalk talk and

Darwin harbour kayak trip. If you’d like to get involved please get in touch!