Posted by Jim on June 4, 2010
The Greens Wide Bay candidate, Dr Jim McDonald, said today that he would believe Northern Energy Corporation had shelved the Colton Coal Mine project when there was evidence that the company had withdrawn its application for a mining licence.
He was commenting on a statement by NEC Managing Director, Keith Barker, on the ABC that the 40% super tax would make the mine non-viable.
Dr McDonald said NEC were grandstanding and attempting to hold the community to ransom.
“The company has reported up to 100 million tons of coal. That is not a marginal investment for a greenfields coalmining company.
“The fact that the Colton Coal Mine had ridden roughshod over the residents of Aldershot shows how seriously they were prepared to commence digging the mine as soon as a mining licence was granted. They glossed over the impact on the health of children living near the mine.
“They didn’t do that for a marginal investment and Mr Barker’s statement does not compute with the company’s latest ASX statement.
“NEC told the ASX in its April report of its intention to extend the resource of hard coking coal and increase the size of the mine development in parallel with the initial establishment of the open-cut mine.
“NEC is blatantly supporting Warren Truss and Tony Abbott and their opposition to the mining tax. Mr Barker has joined in a concerted, self-interested political campaign by the mining industry against the Rudd mining tax.
“The Rudd government had botched the introduction of the tax, and tripped itself up in spin, but the idea of a proper return to the Treasury on Australian resources was correct.”
Dr McDonald said that the State Government should reject the mining lease application. The best result for anyone living within 10 kilometres of the proposed mine is that it should not go ahead at all.
Posted by Jim on May 29, 2010
Coal survey maps suggest that large swathes of land from Bundaberg to the Mary Valley could end up as open-cut coal mines. This is adjacent to, and in some cases covers, tourist areas, sensitive environmental areas including watercourses and wetlands, State forests, national parks and viable farmland. It extends to the Mary Valley and the Mary River. Figure 1 is a map of the various coal basins in South-East Queensland.
Figure 1: Coal Basins in South-East Queensland
Source: http://www.dme.qld.gov.au/zone_files/coal_files_pdf/se_qld_coal_map_08.pdf,
accessed 24 May 2010
Figure 1 shows very clearly that the Maryborough Basin intrudes upon Bundaberg and Maryborough and extends as far south as Gympie and into the Mary Valley.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim on May 27, 2010
The Greens candidate for Wide Bay, Jim McDonald, told a meeting of the Maryborough Greens campaign team at a briefing on the weekend that Maryborough would soon be surrounded by a number of coalmines.
“Open-cut coalmines will change Hervey Bay and Maryborough forever,” he said. “Colton Coal Mine, the first of the mines, operated by Northern Energy Corporation, will be dug three kilometres from the town of Aldershot, a few kilometres north of Maryborough.
“The people of Aldershot are in the front line of the worst of these changes, which will be 24 hour operations, dust, noise and lights at the mine all night, property devaluation, the destruction of the amenity of the area, and the consequent effects on their health.”
Dr McDonald met with the Aldershot and Districts Against Mining committee for two hours on Saturday afternoon and heard first-hand the fears of the town for the future of their children’s health.
He said that if the Colton Coal Mine had been operating last Friday, when the winds blew all afternoon from the east and north-east, Aldershot would have experienced dust and noise of draglines and the huge mining trucks. Toxic dust would have landed on the roofs of houses, which rely on tank water.
Candidate with AADAM Committee, Campaign Director & member of Greens Maryborough Campaign Committee
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim on May 10, 2010
The Greens candidate for Wide Bay, Dr Jim McDonald, said that he didn’t expect the budget would bring much joy to the electorate.
He said the Government’s performance so far had left Wide Bay voters in the lurch.
“Where is the improvement of health services? Gympie and Maryborough hospitals need to be upgraded to service the region and take pressure off Nambour Hospital. Mr Rudd’s Health tour bypassed the electorate.
“Public patients in the west of the electorate have to travel to Toowoomba Hospital for some health services.
“This is a ludicrous arrangement that represents a failure of the Rudd and Howard Governments and the State Government.
“The region needs a decent rail system to connect it to the rest of South-east Queensland, but will Mr Swan deliver the necessary infrastructure funds?” he asked
“There is little evidence of planning for the Mary Valley. The ill-conceived Traveston Dam project ripped apart the the Mary Valley. The Federal Government needs to step in and ensure that the region becomes the food bowl for South-East Queensland. The lack of planning means no budget allocation.
“This is an immediate priority for managing food security in the face of climate change. But, the Rudd Government appears to have dropped its bundle on meaningful climate change measures.”
Dr McDonald said that a productive Mary Valley would also provide sorely needed jobs for the region.
“A responsible Budget would take a whole of region approach to sustainable job creation, infrastructure support, and improvement of services.
“There is little evidence of that,” he said.
Media Release 10 May 2009
Posted by Jim on April 30, 2010
I am pleased to be working with the team to elect Larissa Waters to the Senate. I expect her to be the first Greens Senator in Queensland.
She will make a quality Senator when she joins the competent women senators in the Greens who have made a significant contribution to the job of governance of this country.
Greens Senate Candidate Larissa Waters and Wide Bay Candidate Jim McDonald talking to the cameras
I have spent the last several weeks talking to people in the Wide Bay electorate from Murgon to Tin Can Bay and from Noosa to Maryborough.
It will be my task as the Greens candidate to bring to the fore the issues that are important to the people in the electorate.
People are sick of the spin doctors. The Greens’ polling on Climate Change makes it quite clear that people want action not spin. They want straight talking not weasel words. They want a vision for Australia not protection of vested interests. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim on April 24, 2010
It is the story out of a bureaucratic hell. Residents in Federal who were not bought out by the Queensland Government in the resumption of land for Traveston Dam are stranded on a virtual island.
Dr Jim McDonald, the Greens candidate for Wide Bay, said, “They are surrounded by the new route of the Bruce Highway between Curra and Cooroy, land owned by the Queensland Government bought up for Traveston Dam, and power lines.
“And after years of pea and thimble planning on the route, a highway designed to skirt what would have been the Traveston Dam has decimated their community.
“The Queensland Government decided with indecent haste on the route nearly two months before the Federal Minister for the Environment canned the Dam.
“Federal residents made it clear in submissions that they preferred upgrading the existing route. The Department of Transport and Main Roads has steamrolled the community. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim on April 22, 2010
Greens candidate, Dr Jim McDonald, said “There will be no preference deals in Wide Bay for the Federal election.”
He was responding on comments yesterday by the National Member for Wide Bay, Hon Warren Truss and National Senator Ron Boswell.
The National Party parliamentarians said that there might be a pre-election deal between Labor and the Greens.
“Senator Boswell and Mr Truss are guilty of misinformation,” he said. “At the last Federal election, the Greens made no preference deals with any party in Wide Bay and the Nationals have made no approach to the Branch for talks on any issues.
“Wide Bay Greens have already decided not to preference any party at the next Federal election. The Branch is adamant that there should be no preference deals because of Coalition lack of environmental policies and Labor’s policies on refugees. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Jim on April 13, 2010
Gross population figures by themselves are irrelevant. Whatever number Australia reaches by 2050 or 3000, the present growth trend will take Australia beyond the projected 35 million in Treasury’s forecasts.
The discussion about how big Australia’s population has to be, first, can we sustain the number? That means: do we have enough water? Do we degrade the environment by digging more coal pits and pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere? What efficient infrastructure do we need to reduce our reliance on oil to provide rapid and convenient transportation? What directions should education planning take to provide a skilled workforce that is not reliant on immigration? What technological developments that do not degrade air quality or add to toxic waste production can assist the necessary growth in productivity. To what extent can government encourage the necessary research? How do we go about protecting and utilising the most productive land for food cropping when so much has been alienated by urban spread? Should we expand the protection of forests and to what extent should we expand existing plantations?
The population question generates questions on a very wide range of policy issues and that is why Bob Brown’s call for a review is the most savvy response to the current discussion. However, if the discussion continues on in the vein of Gerard Henderson’s commentary, it will be nothing more than a fatuous focus on political spin. The future of the Australian population is not a one-dimensional question that political spin will resolve. The nation’s future requires a whole-of-picture approach and neither Mr Rudd nor Mr Abbott have demonstrated the vision for the future, which our politicians owe us all.
Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 2010 [unpublished]
Posted by admin on April 12, 2010
The Australian Greens said today that Kevin Rudd’s aged care announcement doesn’t address the drivers of the aged care crisis and is designed to get his controversial hospital plan over the line rather than to address the key sustainability problems in aged care.
“What is needed from the Rudd Government is a comprehensive approach to solving the myriad problems in aged care – simply providing more beds and interest free loans for some of those beds does not address the shortfall in the cost of providing care,” said Senator Rachel Siewert today.
“This demonstrates the Rudd Government simply doesn’t understand the aged care crisis.”
“We are already seeing bed licenses not being taken up by aged care providers – simply putting more beds out there isn’t going to solve the problems unless the underlying affordability issues are addressed,” she said.
“What is needed is a commitment to bench-marking and meeting the real cost of providing care. This means for example a real increase in care funding and an increase in wages for aged care nurses and care providers.”
“Many aged care facilities are old and their infrastructure is deteriorating, but aged care providers cannot access the funding they need to renovate and upgrade existing beds. Furthermore, the interest-free loans in this package appear to only apply to some new beds and not renovation.”
“If the Federal government is intent on taking over aged care it will have to seriously lift its game. We’ve seen an erosion in real terms of the value of federal aged care packages – which means that people being cared for at home are receiving fewer hours of care from the same packages.”
“Aged care reform is about much more than just beds and moving people out of hospital. If we want to reduce the growing cost of care, then we need to put much more effort into helping people stay out of hospital or residential care for longer by helping them maintain their health and mobility in the first place.”
“An aged care system focused on crisis response will always be playing catch-up and spending more money to deliver poorer outcomes.”
“If the Commonwealth wants to take over aged care then they need to demonstrate a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of the aged care crisis. The community can have no confidence that the Federal Government can do a proper job of delivering quality affordable care until they see a detailed plan for comprehensive aged care reform,” Senator Siewert said.
Posted by admin on April 5, 2010
The Prime Minister’s appointment of a new Population Minister to investigate population strategy must be matched by action said Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown.
“After so many years of government failure on this issue I welcome the Prime Minister’s move to take up Australian Greens’ call for a comprehensive national investigation into population strategy,” said Senator Brown.
“But the announcement today means any action to address urgent population issues will now be put off until after the federal election, at the earliest.
“In 2008 I called on the Government to establish a population policy and the Greens currently have a proposal for a national population inquiry before the Senate.
“The work by the Greens follows 15 years of failure by successive federal governments to implement the results of the last national population inquiry delivered in 1994 by Barry Jones.
“Australia cannot support a population of 35 million by 2050 as discussed by both the Prime Minister and the Opposition.
“The major parties population growth plan is outstripping Australia’s infrastructure and environmental capacity and affecting quality of life.
“We cannot wait until after the election for action.
“The Greens have already proposed immediate action the Government can take to manage population, including:
- Increasing Australia’s overseas aid budget by 0.7 percent of our GDP with more funding for literacy and reproductive health
- Reducing skilled migration while increasing our humanitarian and investing in skills and training.”
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