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LAWS INCREASE CONSERVATION/DEVELOPMENT CONFLICTS

15/11/2018

 
Starting about 10 years ago, successive governments have been making changes to legislation that has systematically reduced environmental protection. The changes are allowing development that will have unacceptable, consequential,  combined and cumulative  impacts on our natural and cultural values.

​The Bligh government kicked it off  by taking away the detailed coastal management plans, replacing them with the Qld Coastal Plan. Gone are Areas of State Significance (ASS) and its trigger 'no adverse impact' which protected places like  Clump Point/Boat Bay from the type of development that has now been approved.
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​Next came the Newman government's onslaught against environmental protective legislation sounding the death knell to the Nature Conservation Act (NCA), and the public's democratic right  to be consulted. The introduction of 'Major Projects' gave developments a status that allowed them to proceed  without requiring environmental impacts studies or public consultation. (You may remember Mr Newman and  Mr Abbott's  constant reference to 'Green Tape).
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​The
Palaszczuk ​government has joined the attack  by breaking an election promise to reinstate the environment protecting clauses in the NCA.  We are seeing the result of that broken promise as our National Parks, particularly wilderness areas now being targeted for 'high end' development with governments offering financial incentives to corporate investors. The Thorsborne Track  being the one on our doorstep. 
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A Mask Sounds the Death Knell by Odilon Redon 1882
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You can sign the petition against privatisation of the Throsborne Trail here
Along with the destruction of  environmental laws came the  restructuring of Federal and State development assessment processes. The Federal Government handed over EPBC Act assessment to the states and the state in turn has devolved ultimate decision making powers not just to local government, but to one person, the Mayor.

The crippling of environmental protection and the reluctance of the state to intervene in local council decisions is escalating development/conservation conflicts at an alarming rate.  ​
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The changes are rapidly becoming apparent in the Cassowary Coast with the local council taking a 'new broom' approach to determining the future of the region. 

Important planning documents, being developed 'in house' are rewriting the  regions vision for the future without reference to the consistent message from the community in feedback over decades of public consultation guiding the development of  plans and strategies.  The latest of these 'new vision' documents  is the Cassowary Coast Tourism Strategy. The word indigenous only  appears  three times in the document and the 
cassowary is only mentioned once in relation to being the namesake of the shire. Descriptions of some of our iconic wildlife ",..It’s not unusual to sight turtles and dugongs playing freely in the waterways ..."  as if they are tourists on holiday,  The public and important stakeholders have not been engaged for meaningful consultation.
Our serious concerns are highlighted in the presentation (see below) which was shown to the Cassowary Recovery Team in Cairns on Tuesday 13th Nov. It  finishes with a question. 
 
What are we going to do?


A recent  tourism promotion released by  Rockhampton council  was  quickly withdrawn after public  outrage  that it was  "...obvious that there has been a real shortage or a dearth of inclusive material, anything that really represents what our community is really made of..."
A recent article in  the Sydney Morning Herald  highlights the trend is widespread. Perth council has dealt with years of protests from community groups over town planning scheme amendments.  A  newly recently drafted strategy caused so much unrest the council went back to the drawing board.  Other councils are copping public revolt at "..being consulted at the end of the process, instead of at the outset..."  "... in a process nicknamed ‘Design, Advise and Defend..."

Public consultation is the cornerstone of democracy.

The community can stand up against this erosion of their democratic rights and gain back meaningful consultation to start turning around this runaway train of environmental destruction.
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See presentation

CELEBRATION AS Lot 66  PROTECTED WITH NATURE REFUGE

26/10/2018

 
Mission Beach celebrates new nature refuge
Terrain NRM Media release

​October 25, 2018

The Mission Beach community will celebrate next week when a long-running campaign to save a critical patch of cassowary habitat culminates in a new nature refuge.
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Community members are gathering on Tuesday (30 October) at Lot 66 – a section of remnant rainforest that grabbed national headlines 10 years ago when former Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett pre-empted state and local government decision-making processes to rule out plans for a sub-division.
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Queensland Trust for Nature and local conservation group C4 will unveil the nature refuge sign at the event, which is open to the public. The two organisations bought Lot 66 in 2011 after a major fundraising effort.

Queensland Trust for Nature’s Tanya Pritchard said the recent change in tenure, to a nature refuge, meant the Mission Beach community’s campaign to protect the 24ha site was now complete.
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“It’s great to see Lot 66 join the 500 other nature refuges that have been gazetted in Queensland,” she said.

C4 president Peter Rowles said ongoing protection on strategic private land was critical to connecting large areas of publicly-owned habitat. He said Lot 66, also known as Garrett’s Corridor, gave cassowaries access to seasonal coastal food supplies.
Mission Beach Cassowaries’ Liz Gallie, a major player in the campaign to save the land, paid tribute to decades of community commitment and cassowary-focused partnerships. She said other important cassowary corridors at Mission Beach also needed protection.
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Terrain NRM’s Tony O’Malley said Lot 66 was a critical link in the longest and widest east-west rainforest corridor in Australia, a stretch of land along Walter Hill Range from Mission Beach to Ravenshoe.
Terrain commissioned a report that identified cassowary corridors at Mission Beach and contributed to Mr Garrett protecting Lot 66 from residential subdivision, and helped with the partnership between Queensland Trust for Nature and C4.

“These groups have made an amazing contribution to the Cassowary Coast environmental landscape,’’ Mr O’Malley said. “We encourage governments to consider rates discounts for landowners with nature refuge agreements, as Douglas Shire does.”

Ms Pritchard called on landholders interested in conserving important habitats on their land to contact the Queensland Trust for Nature.
​

The Lot 66 celebration is on Tuesday 30 October at 4.30pm at the top of Mission Circle, off the Tully-Mission Beach Rd.
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VALE MARGARET THORSBORNE AO 1927-2018

22/10/2018

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Obituaries
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Celebrating World Cassowary Day – Wednesday 26 September

25/9/2018

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Liz Gallie. Adult cassowaries at Mission Beach in the lead-up to World Cassowary Day.
MEDIA RELEASE | 24 Sept 2018

They are the second-heaviest bird in the world, they can sprint faster than Usain Bolt, and the bloke sits on the eggs.  In the week of World Cassowary Day, there are plenty of quirky facts being shared about a bird that is struggling to survive in the region despite being a massive drawcard and a wonder to many.
The southern cassowary is listed as endangered and in Australia it is only found in North Queensland where it is most at home in lowland rainforests.
In the lead up to World Cassowary Day, on Wednesday 26 September, organisations are joining forces to raise awareness of the north’s ‘big bird’ - and its plight - across the nation and internationally.

“World Cassowary Day is going digital this year,’’ Bess Murphy from Cairns and Far North Environment Centre said.

“Cassowaries are well-known to people who live in the Wet Tropics and Cape York, or visitors to the region, but they remain unknown to those who aren’t familiar with this part of the world.  To better protect cassowaries and their world-heritage home, we need the whole world to know about them.”​

The Cassowary Recovery Team is encouraging people to visit a new website at www.worldcassowaryday.org and is asking social media users to like the World Cassowary Day Facebook page and to use the hashtag #LoveCassowaries with a special frame and filter.
They are also encouraging people to join or host an event.

World Cassowary Day 2018 is being supported by CAFNEC, C4, Kuranda Conservation, Mission Beach Cassowaries, Rainforest Reserves, Terrain NRM and the Wet Tropics Management Authority.

Terrain NRM’s Tony O’Malley said World Cassowary Day was also a way to celebrate the conservation efforts of those working to protect the southern cassowary, their home and the other unique and threatened animals of the region.
“The Wet Tropics cassowary population is estimated at just 4000 and vehicle strikes are the major recorded cause of death,’’ Mr O’Malley said.  “Cassowaries use the world heritage area plus surrounding areas including private land, so we are working together to help cassowary populations recover, including through improving and extending habitat and reducing roadkill.

“Check out the website to find out how you can help make the cassowary famous and get involved in local events.”

--ENDS--
​
For further information, please contact:  
Julie Lightfoot, Communications, Terrain NRM: julie.lightfoot@terrain.org.au, Ph.: 0427 039 117
Bess Murphy, Communications, CAFNEC: community@cafnec.org.au Ph.: 0409 696 399
Liz Gallie, President Mission Beach Cassowaries: missionbeachcassowaries@gmail.com Ph 0414 402315
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Calendar promotes 'slow tourism' for World Cassowary Day

23/9/2018

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Mission Beach Cassowaries Inc 
Media Release 24 September 2018

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​World Cassowary Day (WCD), held each year on September 26th,  is a day of celebration to draw international attention to the reasons Cassowaries are globally important and need to be protected.

This year (WCD) has gone digital to showcase the Cassowary and the conservation efforts of people working to protect them, their home, and the other unique and endangered animals of the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics Rainforests.
Local environment organisation Mission Beach Cassowaries (MBC) will be joining the celebrations with the launch of  their 2019 calendar which presents the special features of Mission Beach in spectacular images promoting the 'Mission Beach - naturally' branding.
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​"Our aim is to present Mission Beach for the points of difference that make it a premier nature based  'slow tourism' destination based on protection of the natural  environment and the cassowary". said Mission Beach Cassowaries president Liz Gallie. ​​

​"Slow tourism is an emerging tourism  market  for  people looking to spend longer in a destination and to experience becoming  'part of a community'.  It is also associated with a low carbon footprint so helps achieve a more ecologically sustainable  future.  It s about  ‘doing things in the right speed’,  ‘changing the attitude towards speed’ and  ‘seeking quality over quantity’". 
As visitor numbers to Mission Beach increase, MBC is concentrating their efforts  on presenting a strong message for Mission Beach to become known as a 'Slow Down Town' to help secure the future of the  important  population of cassowaries.

"Mission Beach is already known  as a place to chill out  so promoting it as a 'slow tourism' destination  is a perfect fit" " Slow down on the way in and slow down when you get here. Liz emphasised.

"Also, as new people settle in our town, they might appreciate the beauty but not realise just how special  Mission Beach is, or what they can do  to  help protect it in the long term." 
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"We ask that drivers take special care when travelling through cassowary habitat" said Liz. "A cassowary  could be on the road just around the next bend or over the next crest"
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All funds raised from the sale of the calendars will go toward the 2019 Mission Beach Community Cassowary Festival.

​The calendars are available to buy online at www.missionbeachcassowaries.com  or call 0414 402315

Find out more about  World Cassowary Day on www.worldcassowaryday.org.
​
Ends
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Photo Liz Gallie
For more information contact;
Liz Gallie
missionbeachcassowaries@gmail.com
​0414 402315
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Mission Beach Master Plan

28/8/2018

 
The CCRC is inviting you to have  input into the Mission Beach Master Plan the outcome of which will set the tone and direction of Mission Beach into the future.  It will determine the character and identity of our town and how it is perceived by locals and visitors.
 
This survey is open and just as relevant for visitors as locals.

It is not about just making  it look pretty. 
​It is imperative that  protection of the natural environment is the priority consideration. 
We have the opportunity to reinforce the community message that has been consistent and documented over decades of community consultation and  involvement.   Mission Beach - naturally!  


You can complete a short survey online on the CCRC website,  or
  • Email the project team at: enquiries@cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au;  Re: Mission Beach Strategic Masterplan
  • More information on the CCRC website here.​

​See below our comments based on the 'Mission Beach - naturally!' branding
​Read  MBC Submission here


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Inaugural Mission Beach Cassowary Festival a huge success

4/6/2017

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Go to the festival website for full coverage of the fun community event
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New promotional booklet - 'Mission Beach, naturally'

30/10/2016

 
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Media release  
An exciting new publication promoting Mission Beach will be launched on Thursday, 3rd November 2016

Mission Beach Cassowaries Inc (MBC) successfully applied for funding to produce a website and free booklet designed to entice international and national visitors to experience the natural environments of Mission Beach.

Terrain’s Tony O’Malley said “Terrain supported this project because it gets tourism and conservation working together for increased nature-based tourism business opportunities and environmental awareness”.

Titled 'MISSION BEACH - naturally', the 20-page booklet highlights the spectacular natural and cultural features that make Mission Beach a World Heritage Area.


Read More

Celebrating Cassowaries and achievements

21/9/2016

 
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The Daintree is gearing up for a great day this  Saturday Sept 24th to celebrate World Cassowary Day (WCD). 
 
In 2015 WCD was  held at Mission Beach with the highly successful event attracting  over 3000 people including  celebrity guests the Threatened Species Commissioner  Gregory Andrews and  Wildlife campaigner Bob Irwin.

Last year the  Mission Beach WCD steering committee put together a wish list to help protect the cassowary.

Since then a lot has been achieved. (see below)



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Trial  Cassowary Crossing

9/9/2016

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From left, Alex Smith (alexsmith.tv), Kym Charlton (TMR), and local resident Jason Shearer
The Transport and Main Roads (TMR) department media team  visited  the  Cassowary Coast this week  ahead of a traffic management trial planned for the worst cassowary  road death  hotspot on  to Mission Beach. 

It is hoped the outcome of the trial will help understand more about how the unnacceptable number of cassowaries being killed on Mission Beach Roads can be addressed. Kym and Alex saw first hand the difficulty cassowaries have crossing roads and were impressed by the community action in response to 2 of Yellow Knees three chicks being another road statistic despite the best efforts of TMR and  the community to alert drivers  of the likelihood of  the birds regular crossing of the road.
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