Call for royal commission over water thefts
A river runs through us
THERE was standing room only as about 100 people filled the meeting room at the Garden Hotel on Monday night, calling for a Royal Commission into the alleged mishandling of public money through the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
Dubbo Macquarie Bushcare’s Mel Gray, the driving force behind the Dubbo event, said the roll-up “exceeded all expectations”.
She told the crowd how important it was that the struggling Darling Barwon River had enough water in the system to ensure constant connectivity with the Macquarie River via the iconic, and heritage listed, Macquarie Marshes.
“There are breeding sites for birds that come from the other side of the world – it’s hard enough to fly on a plane from the other side of the world, let alone using your arms,” Ms Gray said.
“A healthy river is a resilient river that can handle times of drought and bounce back as strong as ever.
“We have a responsibility to speak up for the health of our river,” she said.
The meeting was held under the backdrop of existing claims of mass water theft along the Barwon River, and more recent allegations of illegal groundworks near Goondiwindi along the Macintyre River for the purposes of backing up flood waters for unmetered harvesting.
River ecologist Bill Johnson was a member of Monday night’s panel, his words on ABC national TV from a week ago resonating with local fears.
“Even though that’s a big operation it is still only one of many and there are many on the Macintyre River, there are many on the other rivers in the northern basin – all of those rivers in an arc, from the Paroo, the Condamine, Barwon, all the way around in a big circle down to the Macquarie near Dubbo, flow into the Barwon-darling,” Mr Johnson said.
“This sort of work is happening on all of those flood plains right across the northern basin so it’s profoundly significant.
“It is unacceptable that with Barnaby Joyce holding both the Water and Agriculture portfolios, we are faced with a situation where fox is in charge of the henhouse,” he said.
Inland Waterways David Harris runs the River Repair Bus and told the crowd how all disruptions of the natural processes, including water theft and artificial river barricades, had been decimating the numbers of native fish for decades.
Carp to be killed and evaluated
RESEARCH to better understand the economic impact of carp and expected benefits and costs associated with carp control in Australia is now underway to inform development of a plan for the control of the pest fish species in Australia.
Principal Investigator Dr Peter Chudleigh of Agtrans Research says the project will consider both market-related issues such as changes in water treatment costs, and non-market costs and benefits such as changes in recreational fishing experiences and biodiversity.
“We will identify the benefits and costs to different industries and community groups relating to reducing carp numbers,” says Dr Chudleigh.
Pre-poll fight
A FAIR scuffle across the road from Dubbo pre-poll booth was a source of interest on Monday morning.
Two police were in a dicey situation, using capsicum spray to keep potential attackers off their backs as they attempted to arrest two people.
I was over the road and dashed across Macquarie Street in case police needed help, glad to see council candidates Greg Mohr and Dayne Gumley hard on my heels.
In the end police reinforcements arrived quickly including western region commander Geoff Mckechnie – that impresses me when a boss boasting the rank of assistant commissioner runs to a fight to back up his troops.
White balloons not luft balloons
TOMORROW (Friday, September 8) Wellington Information and Neighbourhood Services will be holding a White Balloon Day; it’s all about helping kids to keep safe.
The event is to raise awareness of how important it is to support survivors of child sexual assault.
Morning tea will be at 10am – that’ll cost you a gold coin donation and while you’re there you can try your luck with the lolly-jar guessing competition.
Stem Schools hit town
TWO preschools in Dubbo will be among the first in Australia to be introduced to science, technology, mathematics and engineering (STEM) through play-based digital learning program.
Parkes MP Mark Coulton said the preschools were among 100 selected to be part of a nationwide pilot.
“These preschools will receive free workshops and will be the first to use the ELSA apps and resources to incorporate STEM practices into their preschool program,” Mr Coulton said.
“We want to help children explore new ideas and skills in science, technology, engineering and math that will in turn boost their literacy and numeracy.”
Mr Coulton said the first app will introduce the concepts of sorting, ordering, patterns and representations through activities including creating decorations and organising food onto different plates, all within the theme of ‘celebration’.
Domestic violence pathways
DOMESTIC and family violence victims living in the Orana Local Area Command (LAC) will now have a single contact point to access the support they need with the commencement of a new Safer Pathway site this month.
Minister for Police and Member for Dubbo Troy Grant and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Pru Goward announced today that Safer Pathway will become operational this month with the first Safety Action Meeting (SAM) taking place on Thursday, September 21, at Dubbo Police Station.
Full stop
OFFICERS from Western Plains Traffic and Highway Patrol have been targeting risky driver behaviour at level crossings in support of a campaign in the state’s Central West this week.
The enforcement campaign is aimed at reinforcing level crossing safety in the area around Wellington with a particular focus on Mumbil and Stuart Town.
The campaign will continue until September 15, 2017.
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