Protection of the environment and the waterways, the wild population of Dolphins populate in Koombana Bay. The numbers of dolphins have been decreasing as a result of human interactions in Koombana Bay already. What impact will a Marina have upon them should it be constructed?

Glyphosate has been banned or restricted in over 20 countries due to the threat it poses to human health. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (2015), Glyphosate is 'probably carcinogenic' to humans, can cause DNA & chromosomal damage in humans & causes cancer in lab tested mammals. Furthermore, Glyphosate has been linked to bee deaths and may be a contributing factor in the significant bee decline we are witnessing around the world (Motta & Moran 2018). The Central Coast Council is planning to roll out an extensive waterway weed control program across the entire Coast, with about 100 waterways targeted for 'treatment' with Glyphosate 360 and Metsulfuron-methyl from April 2019 - March 2020. We are calling on the Central Coast Council to cease immediately any further actioning of the above-mentioned Waterway Weed Control Program & make the move now to protect our health & environment from the risks associated with Glyphosate. We must work together to find innovative solutions to land & water management that have both safety & sustainability in the foreground. A public Forum is hereby requested.

Australia remains a global deforestation hotspot, and areas across the country are increasingly affected by intense fires, record temperatures and drought. Land clearing is harming Australian industry and society, as well as the flora and fauna that are directly affected. Over 300 scientists recently called on governments at all levels to take action to curb land clearing and native habitat destruction in Australia. Concerned Australians can amplify the scientists' message by supporting this campaign. The original open letter can be read here: https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/scientists-declaration-strong-legislation-needed-curb-australias-accelerating-rate-land-clearing This interview with Euan Ritchie sets out the issues clearly: http://thewire.org.au/story/experts-call-for-dramatic-decrease-in-land-clearing/ And this article in The Conversation sets out the reasons why urgent action is required at all levels of government: https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-fire-risk-and-meet-climate-targets-over-300-scientists-call-for-stronger-land-clearing-laws-113172 (NB Image courtesy of Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO).)

The world is quickly losing its dark skies due to light pollution. Light pollution doubled globally between 1992 and 2012 and at least 50% of the world will have lost their ability to see stars and the night sky by 2050 if the current 3% annual increase in light pollution continues. Bunya Mountains has unique fauna including fire beetles and powerful owls that need dark skies for their survival with Australia's vulnerable nocturnal fauna being at threat of extinction given the impacts of climate change. Bunya Mountains is the primary natural areas tourism destination in Western Queensland. UNESCO recognised Bunya Mountains qualities in 2010 with the world’s largest forest of Gondwana period Bunya Pines & the cultural significance of Bunya Mountains (Bonye Buri) which is an Uluru equivalent 'holy mountain' of First People Australians. https://www.darkskywarrior.com/ https://youtu.be/nkw2MuKVpGY https://www.dalbyherald.com.au/news/residents-fighting-to-preserve-buynas-unique-night/3840047/ https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1563117013724267&id=209825109053471&_rdr https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=StkEz1e_H04 https://www.darksky.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IDSC-Guidelines-2018.pdf https://m.southburnetttimes.com.au/news/keep-skies-dark-for-our-wildlife-conservationist/3583568/ https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLHP9vjfF5XLLAwK52XnhJnsVB7MPK9ApC&v=0FXJUP6_O1w https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLHP9vjfF5XLLAwK52XnhJnsVB7MPK9ApC&v=P2JQFyFcbRU&index=5 https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLHP9vjfF5XLLAwK52XnhJnsVB7MPK9ApC&index=1&v=dd82jaztFIo https://Youtu.be/_nlFcEj41Xk https://www.dalbyherald.com.au/news/residents-fighting-to-preserve-buynas-unique-night/3840047/ https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2018/08/why-we-need-to-reconnect-with-the-night-sky/ http://artificiallightatnight.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/0/5/37053463/alan_2018_booklet.pdf https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02212.x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-015-1232-3 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-94-007-6220-6 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-079X.2007.00473.x http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US8848634 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/1540-9295%282004%29002%5B0191%3AELP%5D2.0.CO%3B2 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-015-1196-3 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8186062 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12381 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01395 These are the Aoraki McKenzie Zealand Dark Sky Reserve reports: http://www.phys.canterbury.ac.nz/amidsr/AMIDSRReport2014-15.pdf http://darksky.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AorakiMackenzie-IDSR-2017-Annual-Report.pdf Winklmoosalm International Dark Sky Park: https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fdarksky.app.box.com%2Fs%2Fohs01y45x74dtrtmvwngwrk8edxwuh26 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y56JEg8x16Y https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_9tMAvjc3VA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F55wBS2kNNQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=juqjhMuHmLA https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=5.914582581405009&lat=-3068654&lon=16893537&layers=B0FFFFTFFFT

“We as human beings deserve a decent life, but this is being denied to us by governments that deny us justice. We shouldn't have to sell our identity and our land to have opportunities that non-Aboriginal people have.” - Noongar Traditional Owner Uncle Rex Bellotti Snr Noongar land and waters are our lifeblood and form the basis of our culture and identity as a People. To us, land, water and Noongar people are one. Our connection to our ancestors and culture is powerful, it is thousands of generations old and intrinsically interwoven into our land and waters. In 2015, the West Australian government struck a deal with some Noongar people to extinguish Noongar Native Title rights forever, in return for over a billion dollars. The land subject to the South West Native Title Settlement extends over the entire south east corner of WA, over 200,000km2. The South-West Native Title Settlement has been coined by some as the biggest native title deal in Australian history, but we say that it is the biggest native title steal in Australian history. Successful registration of these Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) will mean that half of Western Australia’s Aboriginal population will no longer have native title rights and Noongar native title will be extinguished forever. This extinguishment by the West Australian Government would leave our mineral-rich Country vulnerable to mining and fracking. It removes our right to negotiate on any future development. It is our responsibility to protect this connection and to ensure that it is never broken. Surrendering our native title rights will diminish our responsibilities as Traditional Custodians and consequently erode our connection to our ancestors, culture and Country. Noongar Not For Sale is a campaign for land justice, led by respected Noongar Elders and supported by a groundswell of strong and passionate grassroots mob. We are following in the footsteps of our ancestors and fighting to protect and preserve Noongar land, waters and culture for our children, grandchildren and the many generations of Noongars to come. For the past decade, Noongar people have been pushing the boundaries of native title law despite the State and Federal Governments constantly shifting the goalposts. Last year, we won our case in the full bench of the Federal Court in a major win for land justice. The court recognised that not all Native Title Claimants agreed with the settlement, the ILUA’s were invalid and the West Australian Government could not extinguish our Native Title. In response to this win, mining companies and special interest groups lobbied the Federal Government hard and in the end, the Native Title Act was amended retrospectively. Our justice was taken away but we are unshaken. On Monday 19th November we have again launched legal action against the West Australian Government and the South-West Land and Sea Council. We will continue our fight to de-register the 6 ILUAs that form the South-West Native Title Settlement. In the spirit of our early Noongar resistance fighters we assert that we will not surrender our birthrights. We are not for sale.

Scheme would drought proof most of western QLD & North west NSW. Below are links to all the information I could find about The Bradfield Scheme, a proposed Australian water diversion scheme, To make Western QLD and Northern West NSW Drought free for ever. https://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/3295673/beat-the-drought-build-bradfield/ http://www.fnq.cc/bradfield_scheme_a.html

The amount of plastic that goes into landfill or directly into the environment, including soils and oceans is catastrophically high. People do not understand that this is an enormous crisis which requires much more leadership in this country. Other countries are way ahead of us and we could learn so much from them!

Now is the time for Aussies to contact our politicians and tell them that we are very concerned about the fact that since 1 January, China has refused to take our recyclable waste - this accounts for 30% of Australia’s recyclables. The Aussie government has not put in the recycling infrastructure to support waste processing on-shore but now we are at a crisis. Recyclable waste is being stockpiled in warehouses. Little media and press is covering this story. Australian's love recycling, and are deeply concerned about the impact this waste will have on our environment and communities. We want to make the most of it, and create new jobs and ways of recycling, here in Australia. For a united voice to be heard, we need every Australian to sign and share this petition, and contact your local politicians.

The UN announced we have a planetary crisis due to plastics. Single use plastics including bottles, are wasteful, polluting and lethal to marine life. Oil and energy are used in the manufacture of plastic drink bottles. Recycling them takes more energy. Now that China has stopped taking our waste in 2018, waste management contractors have reported that the bottles are piling up by the millions per day and are a fire hazard. There have already been serious fires in Victoria of large piles of plastic bottles and legal action by people in surrounding areas resulting in financial loss and health risks. Neither do we have the space in landfill to bury them and that's also not a sustainable solution. We MUST stop the problem at its source. People can bring reusable drink bottles to fill at refilling stations. To keep up to date with some in the world who are banning plastic bottled water see https://www.banthebottle.net/map-of-campaigns/

V8 car racing outside residential homes is unsafe and unacceptable. The Supercar "Noise Management Plan" recommends residents living on the racetrack "Keep doors and windows closed; seal cracks, doors and window frames using commercial or make shift products. Basic protection measures may include: adhesive sealing strips for door frames and windows , temporary vent seals, under door strip seals/draught stoppers, fill cracks using commercial foam fillers or silicon; remain in back rooms; use hearing protection; leave property during some or all of the race period". Many residents living on the racetrack have no air-conditioning, and cannot afford to go away for the race period. They are faced with living in the above conditions for 3 x 10 hour days. Please note there are at least 3 ladies in the area that are pregnant, one of whom is expecting her baby to born the event weekend. The Heritage Conservation Areas of Newcastle and Newcastle East is wholly unsuitable for V8 Super Car street racing. The race preparations have seriously degraded residential amenity, homes are being damaged and convict hewn sandstone blocks are being sawn up for the benefit of the layout of the Supercars race track. Businesses are suffering some have closed and one successful business has already lost $70000 in takings. To add insult to injury hospitality is being outsourced to Brisbane or Sydney Supercars suppliers. The race will impact negatively on historic houses, buildings, public parks and the inhabitants on, and within, the racetrack. It will impede access to three aged care complexes located within the proposed racing area. There are over 4000 people residing in this predominantly residential area. NCC are unable to guarantee that sound levels are safe for all residents and that there will be no delay in response times to emergency and medical service. Preparations have resulted in reduced public safety and access to major tourist sites including Newcastle Foreshore Park, Horseshoe Beach, The Convict Lumber Yard, The Cowrie Hole, The Soldiers Baths, Nobbys Breakwall, Bathers Way, Newcastle Baths, Fort Scratchley, the Canoe Pool, and Nobbys and Newcastle Beaches. This will also be the case during the event. This race affects every user of the iconic East End in the lead up to and at the beginning of the peak holiday season. Our beautiful peninsula will be scaffolded and barricaded for three months each year and visitors will be discouraged from coming. The vast majority of people would detest having a 3 day car racing event on their street, or in their suburb. Please consider what residents and the wider community have been living through in preparation for, and during, 3 x 10 hour days of this car racing event. Residents are being asked to provide their private details, to a consortium, in order to be "accredited" to enter their own homes. Many residents will also be forced to walk through a concrete and wire structure, less than 1 metre from V8's racing, for over 200 metres just to get to a pedestrian bridge to get out of their home and away from this event. For residents with disabilities or mobility difficulties there is only one entry and exit, with only one lift to help over a thousand people. Supercars refuse to reveal the Sound Report and to add more insult to injury Destination NSW have given no conditions for which Supercars should comply to. We are trapped by this appallling legislation and we will be soon be trapped by an enclosure, and racing cars, circling our homes and suburb. ANALYSIS OF THE MOTOR RACING (SYDNEY AND NEWCASTLE) ACT 2008 (NSW) This is an Act that: 1. suspends the operation of other Acts protecting safety and the environment before, during and after the proposed event; 2. permits the event to be conducted on public land eventhough it would not be otherwise permitted under those other Acts; 3. permits the event to be operated by a private entity without charge and with the aim of making a profit for the private entity; 4. requires oversight of the event by a government agency, but with no right for any other person to legally challenge the competency or quality of that oversight; 5. severely restricts the actions of any other person in and around the public land where the event is being conducted; 6. prevents any other person suffering financial loss as a result of the event from claiming compensation from the private entity or the government agencies permitting the event; and 7. removes oversight of reinstatement of the public space after the event from the local Council and hands it to Destinations NSW, a government department that only has accountability for tourism. If you're interested in knowing more about the comparison of this track location in relation to other s'cars tracks in Australia head to this website https://rightracewrongplace.org/2017/07/07/compare-the-newcastle-circuit/ This video shows some of the destruction caused in preparation for this intrusive and dangerous event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPc_JXgiQB8&feature=youtu.be

Koala populations are already struggling in certain parts of Queensland such as Dalby. Habitat is critical to the survival of the koala and up to 80% of koalas who lose their habitat are likely to be wiped out. The proposed destruction of koala habitat is for new coal seam gas wells on Queensland's Western Downs. Coal seam gas mining is a threat to farmlands and water resources not to mention the public health risks which have not yet been properly assessed. Potential harm could include an increased risk of cancer. What else can we do? Write to minister Hon Jackie Trad [email protected] Write to the Premier of Queensland Hon Anna Palaszczuk https://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/tools/contact.aspx Join the Animal Justice Party Queensland https://animaljusticeparty.org/join/ Donate to the Australian Koala Foundation https://www.savethekoala.com/

Will you join my call to make this a huge issue ahead of the Manly by-election? If enough of us come together now, we can win commitments from candidates that they’ll save the bushland. Sign now!