SPENCER GAINS GROUND IN FEDERAL COURT

Article provided by Ian Hampton

SPENCER GAINS GROUND IN FEDERAL COURT - Commonwealth and NSW must attend Discovery mediation meeting

At the directions hearing of Spencer v. Commonwealth on Friday 14 December, Nick Gouliaditis for the Commonwealth Government asked the Court for an order prohibiting Peter Spencer from discovery of any further Commonwealth Government documents of any category on the grounds that the Commonwealth has fulfilled the discovery of all categories as the Court has ordered.

Spencer’s counsel, Peter King responded with a blistering attack on the orders sought by the Commonwealth and State of NSW.  As a result, Justice Emmett J ruled for a mediation meeting between the parties (Spencer, Commonwealth and NSW Government), to be held early in the New Year to be followed by a directions hearing on Friday 8^th February 2013.

In his presentation, King made reference to the mosaic picture arising from the quantity and contents of the documents discovered so far, covering a period of well over 2 decades. 

The mediation meeting will enable Spencer to put on the table all categories of documents that have been sought and not produced, also documents that relate to produced documents.

This is a breakthrough for Spencer who has been frustrated by Commonwealth tactics since his historic win in the High Court in September 2010 where the finding was that Spencer should have access to the documents he needs to present his case.  Since then the Commonwealth have produced 3,500 documents; however in a great many of these documents the relevant material has been redacted, and Spencer has been denied access to many documents on the grounds of “cabinet privilege”.  With regard to the State of NSW they have only delivered 350 documents.  These documents reveal absolutely nothing and appear to have been selected on their merits as a PR exercise.  However, mediation will provide a forum for Spencer to pursue the categories not produced by the State.

There is a sense that with a consistent approach and solid research and advocacy, Spencer is starting to make headway in the Federal Court against the primary respondent, the Commonwealth.  The charter of the Commonwealth Government Solicitor (CGS) is that the CGS is a “model litigant’; in fact the CGS has been anything but – alternately claiming that there is no case to answer, that Spencer is on a “fishing expedition”, using bluster and bullying tactics as its primary courtroom tactic, delaying and delaying the obtaining and supply of discovery documents.  There are no clear tactics and it appears that His Honour, Judge Emmett J is now seeing through these tactics for what they are.

These are the same tactics used for almost 6 years by the Commonwealth Government which has incorrectly applied Section 31A of the Federal Court Rules, which the High Court in Its ruling said did not apply.  These are the tactics of a Government not interested in the truth but desperate to keep their actions, and those of their predecessors deeply hidden from the people. 

King also made reference to the recent failure of the Doha conference regarding the Kyoto Protocol in that it apparently is a failed policy and it is regrettable that Spencer’s farm should be taken among other wrongs for the purpose of a failed policy. 

 

Previous related discussions

Peter Spencer Update November 2012

Peter Spencer Update December 2012  

Peace in Tassie forests?

A follow on article to Election time takings about the Tasmanian forest peace plan as reported in various editions of the Daily Timber News from various viewpoints including that of Jan Davis, CEO of the Tasmanian Farmers& Graziers Association.

22/11/2012 Peace deal or piece deal

Multiple sources confirmed to The Australian that green and timber groups had agreed to protect more than 503,000ha of native forests while allocating 137,000cu m of sawlogs a year to industry.
The deal followed more than two years of difficult negotiation and was being voted on by the boards of the conservation and industry groups involved in the process.

…………..The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TGFA) said the deal was no deal as it implied there was give and take and said it was a sell-out for every Tasmanian.

“It is unconscionable for a group of unelected environmental groups and industry representatives to be making decisions to lock up public resources in perpetuity,” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said today.

“This is an outrage that the Legislative Council must throw out in its entirety.

“The 1600 private owners with forests covering private 27% of Tasmania’s native forest estate were given no say in this process.”

29/11/2012 Green peace, I don’t think so

Coalition Forestry spokesman Richard Colbeck said there were many other parties that significantly impacted by “this sham process, including agriculture, mining, tourism, and furniture manufacture, and they have had absolutely no say”.

“To replace the volumes lost with plantation timber will take decades and also approximately 100,000ha of land, most likely agricultural land, of which there is about 650,000ha in the State,” he said.

“Not only will the greens campaign against the conversion of farm land to plantation, they will continue to campaign against the native forest sector,” Senator Colbeck said. “That is why Bob Brown and Peg Putt have taken up more senior positions in Markets for Change, which opposes all native forest harvesting.”

29/11/2012 Forestry deal worth billions togovernment

It is predicted the Federal Government could see a $7 billion windfall from Tasmania's forestry peace deal. The chance for the windfall comes after the Commonwealth committed $300 million to the deal, which reduces native forest logging. Source ABC News

Climate law expert Andrew MacIntosh, from the Australian National University, believes the deal could raise billions for the Commonwealth through international carbon credits.

He told Radio National that new rules come into effect when Australia signs the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

"The one that's relevant here is that any reduction in native forest harvesting below the levels in the 2000's results in the Australian Government getting credits," he said.

11/12/2012 Tasmanian farmers reject ‘peace plan’

Jan Davis, CEO of the Tasmanian Farmers & Graziers Association (TFGA) doesn’t mince words when it comes to describing the fallout from the drawn out forestry peace talks/deal in Tasmania. Source: Timberbiz

“We don’t learn from past experience in this State,” she said. “The main thing that got up everybody’s nose with the Gunn’s pulp mill episode was that due process was not followed. And here we go again.

……………“Just because somebody has promised a bucket of money if a deal is done before Christmas isn’t a reason to accept a dud outcome,” she said.

“Decisions of this magnitude need to be assessed on the basis of triple bottom line outcomes – economic, social and environmental. We’re told this ‘deal’ delivers environmental outcomes, despite the fact that more and more research shows that lock-up-and-leave approaches actually result in decreased biodiversity outcomes.

Peter Spencer Update December 2012

Ian Hampton has provided the following media release

PETER SPENCER FIGHTS ON IN FEDERAL COURT, SYDNEY THIS FRIDAY 

Peter Spencer will be back in the Federal Court, Queens Square, Sydney at 10 AM this coming Friday for a directions hearing of Spencer v. Commonwealth of Australia. 

Spencer’s case will not be assisted by the decision on 26 November by the Federal Court of Appeal upholding parliamentary privilege over four categories of Cabinet documents sought by Spencer, claiming that the subject of the documents is current and contentious.  This decision flies in the face of the unanimous decision of the Full Bench of the High Court in September 2010 that Spencer should have access to the documents he needs to present his case.

 

RELATED ISSUE

Last week in Doha, Australia signed up to the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol agreement.  It is ironic that Australia’s ability to continue meeting its Kyoto commitment target has been solely on the back of the enforced (and unpaid for) storage of carbon in native vegetation on private farms that is at the core of Spencer’s case.

 

Previous related discussion

Peter Spencer Update November 2012

 

 

Later published related discussion

 

SPENCER GAINS GROUND IN FEDERAL COURT

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Unpopular Causes

A very well written article was brought to my attention today from a very surprising source. It appears that both sex workers and farmers are unpopular causes.

In her blog in the article, The sex work activist at thelive export rally: an explanation, “delectable_detriment”” relates her experience of attending a rally in support of farmers, specifically farmers dependent upon live exports and the reaction from those d_d usually associates with whom she refers as 'bleeding heart lefties'.   

 Upset, and to be honest, stunned. You see, the majority of people I have relationships with on Twitter are 'bleeding heart lefties', drawn together by our shared passion for social justice. Not all of them vote 'left', mind you. Many of them are conservative voters. But they mostly subscribe to small-L liberal social values, including compassion and understanding for marginalised communities like refugees, sex workers, Indigenous peoples, the queer community, people living with HIV, etc. They fight for the rights of these various groups to be heard, especially in the political arena, on the basis that EVERYONE deserves to be involved in policy that will ultimately affect their lives and/or livelihoods, no matter how 'unpopular' that group is with voters.

Everyone, it seems, except farmers.

I found d_d’s article to very insightful. The parallels may not at first be apparent but she highlights a few including Four Corners expose of the two industries.

It followed exactly the same formula - avoid facts and stakeholders, show emotive imagery of worst case scenario - and had exactly the same results. Moral outrage ensued. The public peeked into a world they have NO understanding of, found it distasteful and screamed BAN IT.

On both issues, the voices of primary stakeholders are being actively silenced. On both issues, people with precisely ZERO knowledge of the respective industries are driving policy changes and 'moral outrage' is driving community support. And on both issues, people whose personal belief systems are offended by the subject matter are flatly refusing to even ACKNOWLEDGE the other side of the story, let alone listen to it.

Go follow the link, I hope you are pleasantly surprised.

Preventive Burning

In my previous post, Hookswood Rd Fire, I expressed my frustration at the incompetence of Qld fire & rescue who took control of all efforts to fight a fire and by their inaction causing a big fire to grow to something far more dangerous and destructive. I was also angry to learn from those who were on the scene on the Sunday, Monday and first thing Tuesday before I was called in as part of the Downfall Creek rural fire volunteers, of 3 occasions were the fire could have contained as a small fire and that on 2 of these occasions the opportunity wasn’t taken because of blindly following of the rule book by Qld fire & rescue.

Having hours of inaction on my hands during Tuesday and hearing the outrage of my fellow rural fire volunteers I made sure that their views became known to the media. These two articles are the result –

 Heat on resourcingas fire threats intensify

More RFS review forQld

This image above was developed from the NAFI web site gives the perfect illustration of why preventive burning is very important. http://www.firenorth.org.au

The image also shows what sectors of the fire the Downfall Creek brigade played a part.

On Tuesday night our crew joined others to back burn to save property of a family. The Qld fire & rescue incident controller would have had a heart attack if he knew that we went to the lead of the fire yet many km’s away. The sky glowed red, thick smoke billowed overhead and the roar of the fire was enough to strike fear. Earlier we had sighted a spot fire start up 1km in advance of the fire front. We knew of nothing that would stop this fires advance. We left that location to go back to burn a wide band around the house and buildings.

The Downfall Creek rural fire brigade operated within the Barakula State Forest at the western flank of the fire from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday night. The forestry fire fighters were on the eastern side of the fire on the Wednesday and could only bring equipment to the western side on the Thursday. When the forestry workers shift changed soon after dark on Thursday we learnt from the shift supervisor what stopped the fire front from going any further. On Wednesday night he was just off to the east of the lead of the fire front. At 3am the fire was still crowning, that is burning in the tree tops, when it hit an area that had a preventive burn back in September. In the image above it is the peach colour area. The fire lost its ground fuel source and bit by bit died down to a halt.

Look at the image to see how few preventive burns have occurred in the fires path, both in privately held land and the state owned state forest. There was a large fuel build up in this area. You don’t need to be Einstein to know that fuel load plus hot temperature plus ignition equals destruction. More needs to be done to encourage cool burns in August and September.

Photo - Wens night in Barakula State Forest

 

UPDATE #1

In this article from September 2009, Guest post: Barakula state forest to be converted into a national park , retired forestor Peter Lear warns of the  inevitable destructive fire event occuring.

 

Roading systems are allowed to revert to scrub and very little controlled burning is done. Fuel build up will eventually lead to fire which in the case of Barakula will destroy 100 years of sustainable forest management in the cypress forests. Barakula endures regular periods of severe fire risk, so it is not a matter if fire will occur but when it will occur. The resultant devastation will be dependent on previous controlled burning regime and the management of the particular wildfire, which is very difficult without good access (roading) and trained staff.

 

A previous article in which Brian Bahnisch writes about Barakula

 

 

UPDATE #2

Related article published 21st Jan 2013, Alien Environment Fuels Firestorms by Viv Forbes



Green energy - is the answer Blowin' in the Wind

HOW “green” is wind power? That’s a relevant question in light of the carbon tax back-flip  by PM Julia Gillard to promote alternative energy.

Maybe Bob Dylan was a generation too soon when he sang " the answer my friend is blowin' in the wind... " or maybe he had a crystal ball.

My forebears the Vikings harnessed the wind to explore and settle parts of the globe others could only dream of for another few centuries, but times change.

Ask any sailor slicing through waves on a fast tack while the sails strain and the wake stretches silently behind… Clean and green - there’s nothing quite like harnessing the wind, until some yob in a power boat or jet ski, blasts past and shatters the harmony.

Unfortunately, wind power as an alternative energy source seems just like that.

Backed by Greens - inspired government subsidies and tax breaks, it is supposed to play a key role in meeting Australia’s Renewable Energy Targets of 20 percent by 2020, but there is ample evidence to suggest it is unreliable, uneconomical and very unfriendly to the environment.

 Experience from places investing heavily in wind farms such as Denmark and California, shows they are inconsistent power generators, needing back-up from conventional energy sources.

 Studies have also raised serious concerns about human health, and a devastating effect on bird life.

According to the American Bird Conservancy, www.abcbirds.org , new draft voluntary US federal guidelines focussing on wildlife impacts of wind energy will result in continued increases in bird deaths and habitat loss.

“Bird deaths from wind power are the new inconvenient truth. The total number of birds killed and the amount of bird habitat lost will dramatically increase as wind power build-out continues across the country in a rush to meet federal renewable energy targets,” the organisation’s vice-president, Mike Parr said.

The Telegraph in Britain reported results of a study claiming wind turbines could cause heart problems, tinnitus, nausea, panic attacks and headaches among people living nearby. Dr Nina Pierpont, a New York paediatrician, said she was convinced vibration and noise emitted by wind turbines could produce a range of symptoms she had named "Wind Turbine Syndrome".

She recommended they should not be built closer than 2,000 metres to housing. 

Another damning indictment of wind farms involves pollution created in forging rare earths into the powerful magnets they utilize to generate electricity.

The Mail Online reports this has contributed to a “vast lake, a hissing cauldron of poison” in northern China,where seven million tones of toxic waste is dumped each year.

Is that green or brown? Maybe a smart meter coming your way will provide some answers on energy usage if we follow Victoria’s lead. Meanwhile debate ranges on another site about the merits of smart meters – are they really energy smart or part of some huge UN plot to infiltrate our lives and take over the world.  The conspiracy theorists seem to have the numbers there, but in any case subsidizing wind farms doesn’t seem too smart or clean or green and so far it hasn't provided alternative jobs for redundant miners and others out of work in the aluminium industry, as their unions were promised. (See earlier post, 'Irony as green energy firm goes broke'.)

Favourite Driving Roads

20 years ago, perhaps 15 - maybe even only 10? whatever else they offered, my favourite roads would have provided enough solitude (and safety, in every sense of the word) that one didn't really feel antisocial by giving the loud pedal a bit of a tickle. I have always loved sporty cars - still do, nearing 75 - and my brother and I are part of a 4 generational collection of revheads. Well at least on the male side. But those days are past, and now great drives certainly have to feature (relative) solitude and of course scenery, some nice curves - you know the story - but not foot music!

Some of my favourite drives, not specifically in order, include the following. Sorry, no room for pics:
. The Black Stump Highway, past the quaint pub at Tambar Springs, from Mullaley (west of Gunnedah), through Coolah and down to Dunedoo. Must have the longest, unbroken series of 95 kmh advisory signs on gentle, sweeping curves in the world.

. Thuderbolt's Way, from Gloucester west of Taree, through Barrington, Walcha and up to Uralla on the New England Highway. Love the lengthy warning signs reminding motorbike riders that they aren't in fact on a racetrack. What a challenge to them all, that is!

. The magnificently formed Mulligan Highway savannah way, from Mareeba through Mt Molloy and over the Annan River Gorge, past the hugely mysterious Black Mountains, up to Cooktown.

. Bells Line of Road from Richmond west to Lithgow. Not that I have driven it for many, many years, and I doubt there is much of a solitude aspect now!

. Another great ridge road, from Hamliton to Coleraine, through Major Mitchell's "Australia Felix". Coming into Hamilton, the views of the Southern Grampians are magnificent.

There are many more - the back road from the Western Highway, down around the intriguing Mt Emu to the Hamilton Highway, the 'top of the world' ridge roads radiating from Millaa Millaa, the Omeo Highway - and I haven't even mentioned SA, WA, Tassie or the NT!
Cheers  al