With over 30,000 Australians killed or seriously injured each year, road safety is a health issue! Yet basic actions can be taken to protect people's lives! As part of Australia's Road Rules we need a national law that acts to protect those who find themselves vulnerable on our roads and highways. By making sure that passing drivers and riders "slow down and move over" when approaching an incident, crash or breakdown we can ensure road users "Drive So Others Survive!" (See Centre for Road Safety Video www.youtube.com/watch?v=H75mP0X41Gw ) There is no longer a Commonwealth Minister for Road Safety so we are asking the Deputy Prime Minister (who is also Minister for Transport and Infrastructure) to become the champion for National Road Safety. Given his portfolio responsibilities, we believe the Deputy Prime Minister needs to become the National Road Safety Champion by publicly stating his commitment to road safety. We then ask the Deputy Prime Minister to demonstrate this commitment to the protection of vulnerable road users and those who protect and assist (emergency services, tow truck drivers, roadside assistance personnel) by leading the push for a "Slow By at least 30" (SB30) Australian Road Rule.

Chevron is guilty of oil leaks and spills on and around the island. In the following link you can see images of leaking oil pipes: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/leaking-pipes-spill-oil-across-barrow-island/story-e6frg19l-1226067138923 What is the fate of animals relocated from Barrow Island? Read about it here: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/mammals-moved-to-radioactive-island/story-e6frg19l-1225832999056 And here is a report relating to an asbestos incident on Barrow Island (that would have threatened animals as much as workers): http://www.tlcwa.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1235:asbestos-bungle-on-barrow&catid=131:top-1 It should be noted that the EPA has back-flipped on its original recommendations as reported prior to the Barrow Island Act of 2003 in which it advised against the use of Barrow Island for the Gorgon Project due to the serious risk of incontrovertible damage to the island's unique and fragile ecosystem. One can only wonder why that advice was ignored and ponder why the EPA now supports the clearing of the extra 32 hectares, albeit with conditions attached including a 10% increase in environmental offsets that Chevron has no intention of honouring. Chevron has a reputation for damaging fragile environments all over the world in its relentless pursuit of fossil fuels. It was a mistake to give them the go ahead to operate the Gorgon Project on Barrow Island in the first place. The clearing of a further 32 hectares will inevitably prove an even bigger error of judgment. Expansion of gas, oil and coal projects in Australia equals expansion of widespread environmental damage. State and Federal parliaments should be urged to withdraw support from fossil fuel projects and focus instead on environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative energy sources. The photo on this page is courtesy of Bob Winters.

Yesterday I heard on the radio news that a highly regarded Indigenous Elder refused to accept his Australia Day Award. That was perfect timing for me as I have been trying to change Australia Day for the past 5 years. When I was in year 12 in 1971, my maths teacher invited me to a week long camp at Lane Cove National Park, Sydney. I did not realise what sort of camp it was initially. I soon learnt that it was the yearly camp to reunite Indigenous siblings who were still being separated and living with different White families. I made many friends there and reflected that had my cousins been born into a family with an Indigenous mother, they too would have been taken away to live with White families. I still live with the shock of what that week was about to this very day. It tore at my heart to try to comfort two precious sisters who were about to be separated again for another LONG year. That was something I have NEVER forgotten. The camp was pervaded with PANIC that last day. I feel that we all need a Commemorative Day on 26 January. There is still much healing to be allowed and this day will also include minority groups such as mine - complex trauma, people from war-torn countries, and even asylum seekers who are feeling political unrest and torture. We all carry traumatic memories that need time to heal and given the respect of the nation to give us this day each year on 26 January.We need a national, inclusive Commemoration Day on 26 January to be dedicated to the memories of all the events that brought/bring/will bring the original generations of the First Peoples in Australia, the invaders and their generations of offspring, more recent migrants and their families, and asylum seekers together to actively remember the actions of past others and to celebrate the survival of all minority groups against enormous odds. Then we need to bring everyone together into the present time with an all inclusive Australia Day on 1 September, the first day of Spring. Then and only then will Australians be able to start growing up emotionally.

(Background) The Casino to M'bah line was opened in 1894 and operated until the NSW government closed the service in 2004 despite widespread community opposition. The last service on the line was an XPT that only ran twice a day. REOPENING THE CASINO-MURWILLUMBAH RAIL LINE FOR COMMUTER SERVICES TO CREATE AN INTEGRATED PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE: •Significantly increasing population (Northern Rivers has the highest predicted population growth in NSW) •We have a high reliance on private cars. Rising petrol prices, climate change. Rail would be better for the environment by reducing our co2 emissions. •To reduce Traffic congestion at Byron Bay, Lismore, main highways, local markets and festivals. Rail would provide infrastructure to deal with Peak Tourism periods •Reduce Road maintenance (buses create more road damage than cars). •To reduce the Northern Rivers Road Toll, which is the highest in NSW. The Pacific Highway is the most dangerous road in NSW. and there is an accident on Bangalow-Lismore Rd on average once a week. We are losing far too many local lives on our roads, including accidents involving vehicles, hitch-hikers, cyclists or trucks. •Reduce the high rate of drink driving in the Byron Shire. •Many towns are currently not connected by public bus services. The Railway connects most towns to the regional centre Lismore, and to tourism hotspot Byron Bay. Connects residents to essential services. •Trains cater for elderly, disabled, wheelchairs, bicycles and surfboards •Support locals accessing Education, Housing and Employment, Community Health, Youth ,and Mental Health Services, eg. ‘Headspace' in Lismore •Will create jobs, reduce social isolation, addresses local social issues and disadvantage •Promote Northern Rivers Regional Tourism: Heritage Rail, access to recreational activities including local markets, beach, galleries, local produce, festivals, beautiful scenery, country towns, National Parks •A Rail Trail Study has been announced, but rail trails work much better when integrated with a train service, especially through our terrain and dispersed towns. •Freight HQ at Casino provides freight opportunities as the rail is adjacent to many mayor supermarkets and industrial areas, and the local area produces crops such as sugar, soybeans, nuts and coffee. Putting road freight onto rail will make local roads safer •If the High Speed Rail is built in the future between Sydney and Brisbane via Casino, rail travel times from the Northern Rivers to Brisbane will be reduced to 2hrs or less, and will be more efficient than road travel

Hanging Rock is a local and international icon of immense cultural, social, environmental and economic significance. From the Bushranger "Mad-Dog" Morgan, the countless picnics (some more successful than others), Leonard Cohen, Rod Stewart and the Boss, the Rock continues to reinvent itself into our communities folklore. On a clear day visitors to the Rock can be heard calling gleefully for our eternally lost "MIRANDA". On the 28/8/2013 the Macedon Ranges Shire Council approved a motion (4 votes to 4 [on casting]), which was affirmed (5 to 4) on 4/9/2013 to invite private investment and development of 5.8 hectares of the Hanging Rock precinct, and to undertake additional related development and works. The Council’s resolution: (a) bypasses the Council's own Community Consultation Framework, denying residents and stakeholders the opportunity to have their say (b) directs the development to include (per the Hanging Rock Development and Investment Plan): - a conference and function centre - a 100 room accommodation facility - a well-being centre and day spa - an unspecified number of "Creek Apartments" - a permanent stage and event structure - yoga and adventure facilities on the Hanging Rock Reserve. We have in good faith engaged with Council for six months since the original motion asking for due and proper process and encouraging community consultation. We have presented a petition of over 5,000 local signatories; we have found numerous inconsistencies in Council’s data and serious issues with their business case, but our Council persists unabated. The scope and scale of development proposed is not in keeping with the cultural heritage and environmental significance of Hanging Rock. The social, environmental and economic impacts on the greater Macedon Ranges region do not seem to have been fully investigated. At the very least these issues deserve rigorous debate and the Macedon Ranges community, as well as all the patrons, visitors and supporters of Hanging Rock across the world deserve to be heard. Thank you, and please help us have our say!

Unless you are a 'deniersaur', the planet is dying. And if you are, it still is. We urgently need to; • Transfer from fossil fuelled private vehicles to public transport, which has greatly reduced energy needs per passenger mile. • Power this public transport by renewable sources. • 'QR to Casino' is one of the easiest ways to achieve this. Reinvigorating an all but abandoned line (Northern Rivers Line) will transform transportation between Casino and Brisbane, greatly enhancing the 'value' of the region. • Northern Rivers has long been beholden to special interest groups who do not want shoppers to have easy access to Brisbane, or who think that the North Coast does not need Public Transport, as other lines connect to Brisbane - from the 'Sydney' & 'NSW Government' point of view. • It is time Northern Rivers residents had a say. • A road tunnel is currently being built on the Pacific Highway west of Byron Bay - cost ~ approximately 1 billion dollars - this is about the SAME COST as re gauging & electrifying NR line, & connecting it to GC Line / Brisbane. • Ask NR residents would they prefer to have the Byron tunnel, or a direct electric train to the Gold Coast & Brisbane? • Reopening the NR line as a serious rail line - no longer 'once a day to the big smoke', but 'integrating the region, on the hour'* will considerably reduce road traffic, making roads safer and making existing roads capable of handling all regular traffic. NR residents can then commute to Brisbane - 'Relaxing by Rail'! • The land use and residential pattern of the NR area has evolved around the North Coast rail line. Development of the Pacific Highway then caused the line to be closed, due to competition. Now that the highway follows the coast (eg Yelgun to Chinderah bypass), those towns and villages on the NR line route are poorly serviced. Reopening the NR line on that route will correct this situation. • 'Synergy' means that each new station added to a rail line or network, benefits all of the other stations. That, e.g., Burringbar would be (ultimately) connected to Bendigo, benefits both stations. Short lines eg GC line, or worse, short lines with limited service (once per day of the old NR line) are of significantly reduced usefulness. • Integrating these lines to become 'QR to Casino', & powered by sugar cane bagasse, overcomes these difficulties. * Approx 40 trains per day run from Brisbane to the Gold Coast. Initially, about 1 train per hour should be enough for the NR section -

The Option G West Petrie Bypass offers: • Direct travel route with no stops • Highest reduction of congestion • Highest road capacity improvement • Highest improvement to road safety • Connected road links • Does not traverse existing built up residential areas • Improved flood immunity • Closure of Youngs Crossing not required for construction • Moderate comparative cost • Staged construction options • Limited property acquisitions required Option G is the most appropriate option for this bypass. Please support Moreton Bay Council's decision to implement Option G Detailed MBRC web site is at the following address http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=118793 Map showing route and impact through Old Petrie Town and surrounds [PDF 625KB] http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/uploadedFiles/common/projects/west-petrie-bypass-route.pdf GHD Refined Report http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/uploadedFiles/common/projects/WestPetrie-OptionG-Report.pdf Community Update #2 http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/uploadedFiles/common/projects/WestPetrieBypass-CommunityUpdate2.pdf

Palm oil is a versatile vegetable oil that is used in around 50% of our everyday goods - it is used in food, cosmetics, candles and even biofuels. Unfortunately, in 2007 the UN stated that palm oil plantations are the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Malaysia and Indonesia. Aside from the huge annual loss of rainforest systems, the clearing and burning of these areas has two major implications: 1) the burning contributes enormously to CO2 emissions and 2) due to clearing, the abundant and vibrant biodiversity in the Indo-Malay rainforests are replaced with a silent monoculture of Palm and this is most often a brutal transition. Wild Orangutan populations in connection with palm oil plantations have been in the spotlight in recent years. "According to the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP), at least 1,500 orangutans were clubbed to death by palm oil plantation workers in 2006 alone. According to the UN, there is a risk that no wild orangutans will remain outside of protected areas by 2020" (Rainforest-Rescue.org). Please stop buying products that contain palm oil or palm oil products. We must save our Orangutans, we must save our rainforests, we must save our Earth.

Leichhardt Council has a good reputation for its Bicycle Strategy. The number of residents and families who use bicycles is growing strongly. All parties have supported funding the plan in the past, but Liberal and Labor councillors cut to zero the $400,000 budget for new projects for 2013/14. Much has been achieved in the last 6 years but several major links and many smaller but useful works remain to be completed, and women and children are under represented in bicycle counts due to lack of safety concerns. The Bike Plan is being updated this year. Renewed regular funding is vital to complete and improve the cycling network, so the coming generation can cycle safely and easily around Leichhardt.

Australia's CSG industry is a threat to our land, our water and our climate. The rapid expansion of CSG in Australia has been marred by insufficient, unsatisfactory environmental assessment, putting our environment at risk. Despite intense media scrutiny, government has failed to intervene. Not even a damning Four Corners report on the environmental assessment of two of Australia's biggest CSG projects was enough to prompt adequate action. Without Government protection, giant CSG companies will continue to threaten our communities and farmers' rights over their own land. People are banding together to provide the vital resistance government is failing to deliver. In communities across Australia, people are doing everything they can to protect their water, their land and and their livelihoods. We need to bring these communities together to form a national movement and demand real action be taken. To effect the change Australia desperately needs, we need to bring communities together and pressure government for real, legislative change.

The proposed development of ten houses at 458 Bonogin Road has commenced with tree clearing without council approval. The Bonogin Valley community have had no advance notice of the development or received representation by council to engage with the community providing advice regarding environmental management from loss of trees and bush nor the impact to the natural habitat of species living in this designated area. The Bonogin Valley community wish to fight this encroaching move to develop small blocks in this bush environment which is also prone to flooding. As a community we fear this could be the beginning of other sub-division developments of a similar nature taking over our beautiful Bonogin Valley, thus turning our valley into a suburb of close density housing.

This is very important in the protection of our community assets (North Pine Country Park) and wildlife particularly our highly valued Koalas and their habitat. For further information please visit Facebook page NO to option G and or Moreton Bay Eco-Alliance