President's Report for the Management Committee Meeting of 19 July, 2008.
Tara Cameron
1. Meeting with Bob Debus, Monday 7 July.
Brian, John and I attend the meeting and discussed:
1. Commitments of the Federal Government for funding the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (GBMWHA) - particularly in-holdings and weed and feral fauna eradication.
2. National Ban needed on the Sale of all Weeds which are listed as 'Weeds of National Significance' or listed as a 'key threatening process'for any listed threatened species.
3. Bells Line of Road Expressway proposal, Mt Vic by-pass, and Federal funding; also the implications of the Federal infrastructure studies for major rail/highway corridors from Melbourne through Dubbo to Brisbane, and Sydney to Dubbo.
4. Federal policy on thin plastic bags and deposits on PET bottles
5. Concessions that favour 4wd vehicles; the taxation treatment of company vehicles and leasing; the funding of infrastructure that encourages trucking transport; the disproportionate cost of diesel fuel and the need to have a system whereby registration and insurance costs are exponentially progressive and reflect a combination of weight*size*fuel consumption.
6. The 'carrying capacity' of Australia - dispense with the taxation and other incentives that encourage population growth - recognise that the world's carrying capacity has been exceeded and that genetic modification will not resolve global food shortages.
7. Federal policy on Global Greenhouse Emissions - the need to implement Garnaut's findings and not succumb to short-term politics - e.g. easing the price of petrol by reducing excise, over-funding clean coal at the expense of comparable funding for renewables. This is the time for the Government to hold true to its stated concerns about global greenhouse emissions and climate change.
8. The role of commercial exploitation of National Parks and the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in particular.
Matter for Discussion: Feedback on meeting with Bob Debus. Tara, John and Brian.
2. Save our Springwood meeting
I spoke at the Save our Springwood community meeting on Monday June 30 . The Save our Springwood Committee have requested a meeting with me to answer questions about the environmental impact. I have accepted their invitation for the 21 July.
3. Increased Tourism/Commercialisation in National Parks
You will have all seen my emails regarding this issue. We have done a letter to the editor in the Gazette, a flyer in Hut News, stalls, and an email call for submissions - thanks to everyone who made this happen. Brian attended another joint groups meeting on Friday 11 July.
Campaign objectives
The groups (Consoc, NPA, Colong, NCC, TEC, TWS) have developed the following objectives:
1. to obtain government formal reaffirmation of the core principle that the primary function of national parks and other protected areas under the NP&W Act and the Wilderness Act is for the conservation of ecosystems, native species and essential ecological processes.
2. to maintain the processes that help to achieve the aims of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974, including transparent and consultative park planning, professional park management, and to obtain formal government commitment to the full range of existing community participation processes;
3. only to encourage tourism in national parks that is ecologically sustainable and appropriate, and which does not compromise the nature conservation values which these reserves are intended to protect.
4.to seek the adoption of measures and strategies that offset the environmental impacts of increased visitor numbers to national parks by decreasing the environmental impact of each visitor - thus not increasing current levels of total visitor impact.
5. to encourage tourism that puts people in touch with nature and awakens their interest in and appreciation of the environment and the need for nature conservation.
6. to encourage the siting of built tourism developments - accommodation, resorts, roading and associated infrastructure - outside national parks rather than within them, so as to protect the park environment and maintain as far as possible the natural landscapes that attract visitors to our national parks.
7. to maintain wilderness areas free of commercial uses and to keep these areas for self reliant recreation in accordance with the management principles of the NSW Wilderness Act, 1987.
8. to ensure that funds generated by tourism activities are spent on conservation management within the parks estate, and do not replace or substitute core government funds.
9. to encourage tourism operators to share and respect these objectives.
10. to ensure that support is given to these objectives in submissions to the Tourism Taskforce; and
11. to support these objectives in statements to the media, government and the public.
In brief: goals - Reaffirm legislation on the basis of nature conservation as priority
- Better managed parks with more resources needed to do so.
- Support for our vision in public
Further Consoc involvement
Keith has approached us about having a joint Consoc/Colong meeting about the issue in the Blue Mountains. We will also talk to Kerrie Fryer about the issue at our monthly meeting.
Matter for discussion -Taskforce on Tourism and National Parks, campaign directions and public meeting. Tara and Brian.
4. Meeting with General Manager of BMCC, 5pm, Thursday 24 July.
To be attended by Ann Cantwell (Landuse), David Hall, John Haydon, Chris Yates and Lisa Scott-Smith (Groundwater).
Issues to be discussed:
1. LEP 1991 Review
2. Enforcement/Compliance
3. Living near the Bush booklet
5. Meeting with Barry O'Farrell, Lee Rhiannon, Wednesday 30 July.
To be attended by John Haydon, David Hall and I. We have sent them both a 2 page briefing note covering the following issues:
1. The Planning Legislation
2. The North West Subregional Strategy
3. The Rivers Alliance - Rivers SOS
4. Public Lands Rationalisation
5. Tourism in National Parks
6. Gardens of Stone Stage 2 Proposal
Matter for discussion: Meeting with Lee Rhiannon and Barry O'Farrell.
Tara Cameron Page 4 19/07/2008