Battle Lines for the Kowmung Battle Lines for the Kowmung Blue
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Guest Speaker World Heritage Nomination The guest speaker at the Society’s Great news!! The World Heritage submission for general meeting on Friday 31 July will be the Greater Blue Mountains has been completed and Gaye Spies, a leader and a pioneer in the sent to UNESCO in Paris for assessment. bush regeneration movement. The Greater Blue Mountains nomination covers an Gaye will talk about the Sugarloaf area of over one million hectares, that is about the size Creek bush regeneration project, an of Belgium or half the size of Ireland. The area is unusual and difficult task which was started made up of Nattai, Kanangra-Boyd, Blue Mountains, species. The whole campaign in 1985. At Castlecrag. it covers the whole Wollemi, Gardens of Stone and Yengo National Parks to raise the wall is based on sub-catchment and different ecosystems and the Thirlmere Lakes. fear and lies about the real including rainforest and waterfalls. The significant features of the area includes its effects of the wall-raising The meeting at the Conservation Hut, geological features — the escarpments, and its option and the spillway option Wentworth Falls, starts at 7.30 pm. biodiversity including its large variety of eucalypts. which has been adopted by the Visitors are welcome. There are 4 criteria for natural heritage and 3 for State Labor Government. cultural heritage. The Greater Blue Mountains area, we The Carr Government’s Bushcare Group on Tuesday believe, satisfies 6 out of 7 criteria. We are hopeful of decision in February to Here is your chance, leisure walkers a successful outcome at the meeting of the World construct a side spillway for and others busy on Mondays, to come and Heritage Committee in December. Warragamba Dam is the right see what the Valley of the Waters Bushcare There are already 11 World Heritage sites around decision. Progress towards Group is doing, and to give a hand. In July Australia including the Tasmanian Wilderness, Uluru, construction must be made we are going to try out a Tuesday instead Kakadu, Frazer Island, and Great Barrier Reef. What this year, well before next of our usual Monday morning working day. makes this area significantly different from the other year’s State election. Bring morning tea and gloves. Tools sites is its proximity to a major capital city. A huge amount of public are provided. There will be a variety of A successful nomination will be a great draw card money will be wasted if the weeds to pull and dig out, and while we for tourism and will lead to a greater appreciation of the dam wall is raised. work we will enjoy the bush, the company, very special values of the local area and cultivate local Regrettably, it appears more and the birds. Meet 9 am on Tuesday 21 pride. We can also expect to benefit from improved of our resources may have to July at The Conservation Hut . More info: planning and management of the region along with the be applied to combat the Jessica 4757.2783. availability of additional State and/or Federal funding. campaign of misinformation Kids’ Club ——— Bird Walk with which the Kowmung wilderness is being attacked. The next Kids' Club activity will be an option. early morning bird walk with Carol BMCC should call a public meeting Blue Mountains First Probets, on Sunday 19 July, at Catelina early about this proposal if there is to be It appears that Councillors will be Park, Katoomba. any hope of a compromise. Meanwhile, under more pressure to vote in an environ- Meet at the car-park off Gates Avenue BMCS members need to talk to the more mentally responsible way from now on. opposite the swimming pool at 8 am. receptive among our Ward Councillors Councillors Henson and Gaul spoke at Bring morning tea, drink, and if you have about the dangers of the development. them, binoculars and a field guide. More a highly successful launch of the new info: Jessica 4757.2783. Blue Mountains First group on Saturday Battle Lines for the Kowmung 27 June. Over 250 concerned residents at Skyway Hype A meeting of Society representatives the launch showed that they are ready to with Liberal Macquarie MP Kerry Bartlett, work to get many more councillors of that Described by a BMCC planner as one brought the unfortunate news that Kerry of the largest Development Applications in quality elected if existing pro- supports the raising of the Warragamba development councillors do not lift their the City’s recent history, the Scenic Dam wall. The support by several Skyway-Railway proposal will be game. prominent Liberals, including NSW leader There was rousing applause for State controversial. Peter Collins, for the raising of the dam BMCS has objected on many grounds wall, is one of the saddest chapters in Independent MP and Manly Councillor including the lack of a geo-technical report Liberal Party History. Peter McDonald who told the meeting despite the area being prone to cliff The raising of the wall would do how he and his companions had worked collapses, non-conformity of the proposal irreparable damage to the unique for more than 12 years to bring about a to planning instruments, and the intrusion Kowmung River Valley, home to the “Green” Manly. of the proposed ‘Steepo’ gondola ropeway Camden White Gum and other exquisite and a 600-metre boardwalk into sensitive rainforest in Kedumba Valley. “Hut News” , the newsletter of Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc. There is potential loss of passive P.O.Box 29, Wentworth Falls, 2782. Phone 4757 1872. Fax 4757 1753 recreation values of the Blue Email [email protected] Web page: http//www.pnc.com.au/~bmcs Mountains National Park tracks near President: Imre Gahl, Ph.4784-3286 First Vice President: Don Morison, Ph:4759.2471 Katoomba Falls due to screams and Second Vice President: Heather Coster {Ph:Work 4759-1247, Home 4759.1837, vibrations from the proposed Orphan Membership Secretary: Ross Coster {Fax 4759-1095, Email [email protected] Correspondence Secretary: Mary Shaw, Ph:4757-4133; Treasurer: Ivica Buc Rocker operation. Meetings Secretary: Kevin Bell, Ph:4787-6436 Email: [email protected] A Blue Mountains Gazette article Land Use: Jim Warburton, Phone 4759-1312; Bushwalks: Jim Wallace, Ph:4784-3305 that treated the proposals as a ‘fait Plant Nursery Manager: David Coleby, Ph/Fax:4784-1395 Projects: Marion Hawley Ph:4784-1933 accompli’ suggests that this is going to Projects: Philippa Fincher,Ph:4787-6436 Email: [email protected]; Kathy Gott,Ph:4739-8124 be yet another knock down — drag out Publicity: Catriona Gillies, Ph:4782-1235; Bushcare: Helga Esamie, Ph:Mobile 0418-397-117 Education: Jacqueline Reid, Ph: 4739-8485; Bushfire Rep: Hugh Paterson, Phone 4751-2303 struggle with the same old faces Newsletter : Christine Davies, Phone 4787-7246 Fax 4787-7777 Email: [email protected] supporting the ‘Develop at Any Cost’ Hut News , No. 132, July 1998 — Page 1. Sludge Trucked to Lithgow Membership Enquiries: The Society is Sydney Water have recently been keen to have new members who are claiming that all of the sewage sludge concerned about the welfare of the Blue Mountains natural environment. Contact extracted from Sydney's sewage is being membership secretary, Ross Coster: Work "re-used in agriculture". (02)4759.1247, Home 4759.1837, Fax One of the projects for re-use is 4759.1095, Email [email protected], or spraying the sludge from Cronulla Sewer- write to PO Box 29, Wentworth Falls 2782. age Treatment Plant (STP) onto the pine plantation at Newnes Plateau. We have written to Sydney Water and State Forests for Macquarie informs us that “The official objecting to this process, but have been re- position of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Space Piracy assured by both authorities that sludge is Party is that it supports a second airport for In 1996 there were 3,430,000 environmentally safe and that water quality Sydney, but has not determined whether it dwellings in Australia with three is being monitored and has not suffered. will support or oppose Badgerys Creek as bedrooms, and 1,460,000 with four Another recently approved re-use is the desired site until the finalisation of the bedrooms or more, so the Australian dumping of 30,000 tonnes of sludge per EIS process.” Bureau of Statistics tell us. For 17 million year from the North Head STP into an “You may be aware that the Australian people, that’s a lot of bedrooms, abandoned quarry at Capertee, north of Labor Party at its National Conference in especially when you throw in an extra Lithgow. The site is in the catchment of Hobart in January this year changed its 2,060,000 one or two bedroom dwellings. the (relatively pristine) Turon River. platform on transport issues to delete Economist Ross Gittins has stated that We are writing to Sydney Water and Badgery’s Creek as the favoured site for a the size of the average Australian home Lithgow Council objecting to this dumping second airport. This move was made after grew by 25% between the 1960s and the on several grounds: 30,000 tonnes per year strong protests by Party members in 1990s. Why do we need so much indoor equates to 2,000+ truck movements in each Western Sydney who feel very strongly space? Partly, no doubt, it’s to house direction, just for the North Head sludge; that Badgerys Creek is now not a suitable some of the energy-hungry commodities Neither the Great Western Highway nor site for the airport. The Party is also deeply that more people own in the 1990s.