Logan and Albert Conservation Association

The protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage is in the interest of all Queenslanders, and effective legislation is central to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, traditions and customs are celebrated and protected.

The Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) is reviewing the performance of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003. Submissions must be received by 28 February 2009.

To comment online go here

INQUIRY INTO SMART GROWTH AND TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT TO REDUCE CAR DEPENDENCY IN SEQ was announced on 21 November 2008. Submisions close 16 January 2009.

The Travelsafe Committee of the 52nd Parliament is inquiring into Smart Growth and Transit Oriented Development to reduce car dependency in South East Queensland. In this inquiry the committee will investigate and report on:

• Car dependency in South East Queensland;
• The influence of town planning and urban design on travel needs and choices;
• The benefits of Smart Growth and Transit Oriented Development to reduce car dependency, encourage travel by other transport modes and improve sustainability in South East Queensland; and
• Measures governments should implement to overcome barriers to these forms of development in South East Queensland.

Black Duck Valley is closed to customers. This petition to The Honourable Judy Spence Minister Department of Sport and Recreation has been started by individuals hoping to continue the operation of the facility: Petition Online link.can be accessed and signed here. Black Duck Valley has been a sports and recreational facility for motocross riders. Queensland population, particularly in the south-east, has grown exponentially, and sales of motocross bikes has also increased, but riders now have fewer facilities then a few years ago. Not all people are unhappy about the closure as this archived information shows.

Henry Tuttiet journalist from the Jimboomba Times reported the concerns of local residents who have used the motocross park Black Duck Valley facilities for many years. It is also a concern that illegal trail bike riding in Logan City may increase as a result of the closure of this popular motocross park .

The popular park, located outside Gatton, has been forced to close down after it was unable to find insurance options to cover the park and the riders using it. Before its closure, the park was popular with trail bike riders who could legally ride on the 1500 acre property without worrying about police or disturbing nearby residents. The closure comes at a bad time for park operators and users, both of whom were gearing up for a busy Christmas period.

It is understood a group of concerned mayors from south-east Queensland, including Logan Mayor Pam Parker, Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale and Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones, have joined forces and plan to meet with Premier Anna Bligh to discuss future options for the park.

The Great Artesian Basin has provided water for inland areas of Australia since 1878. Basin water is extracted through bores and is the only source of water for mining, tourism and grazing in the states of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia states, as well as the Northern Territory. The underground water returns $3.5 billion a year from farming, mining and tourism, says the Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee.

Recently the Australian Science Media Centre hosted a Background Briefing session which is available online. Web users can read and hear three experts discuss the issues. John Hillier's presentation is available here. There has been an enormous decrease in the pressure flow from 1800-2000 - without the addition of new needs for the planned coal extraction at Wandoan. The sleepy farming community is presently under the microscope for coal mining and a section of the Melbourne to Darwin inland rail. Planning is underway to construct the rail line from Wandoan to the port at Gladstone.

Lynn Brake's presentation is available here and shows us that the water is 2 million years old. 

A 15-year Great Artesian Basin Sustainability project started in 1990 aims to protect the water supply and the hydraulic pressure necessary to access it. Today, there are still some 3,000 bores which pour water into 21,130 miles of open bore drains, with 90 per cent of the water evaporating in the outback heat. But more than 1,052 bores have now been controlled and tens of thousands of miles of open drains removed and pipelines laid, saving 272 gigalitres of water a year. Andy Love, from Flinders University in Adelaide said that an expansion in exploration and mining activities in the area will place increased demands on securing groundwater allocations for economic development. Clearly a balance between development and environmental protection needs to be achieved.

However, this is not possible without increased knowledge about the amount of groundwater that can be safely extracted.

This article Australia's climate change plan needed to aim higher was written byDr Barrie Pittock, PSM is the former leader of the CSIRO Climate Impacts Group, and lead author of the IPCC, and author of Climate Change: the Science, Impacts and Solutions (CSIRO Publishing, 2009).

The Logan and Albert Conservation Association is very disappointed with the Rudd government's current position. As an individual we can each exercise our  power by joining a local action group whose collective power and pupose is to bring about national reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Australian Conservation Foundation ACF has extensive coverage of Climate Change issues, feature articles and reports which can be accessed from this page. The media release Households to foot the big polluters' carbon bill is a difficult pill to swallow. The analysis by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors reveals that "The corporate compensation expected to go to just one company, Rio Tinto, over two years is more than the Federal Government's entire renewable energy fund."

This is not aceptable for me. Is it acceptable for you? GetUp's Spot the difference! campaign is available here if you'd like to participate.