Queensland's new tree-clearing laws
Widespread tree clearing and habitat loss has resulted in a serious decline in koala numbers in south-east Queensland.
Now that there have been changes to Queensland's tree-clearing laws, what will be the impacts to koala habitat in the Mackay region?
Adam Gilmour, the senior natural resource officer from DNRME will join us at our next meeting, where he will explain how the new laws work and how they will impact conservation efforts.
Also joining us will be Mark Thomas from the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) unit, who will give a presentation on the importance and benefits of Queensland Globe - an online tool that can be used to discover a trove of information and data!
Tuesday 17 July, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Mackay Environment Centre, 156 Wood St
RSVP HERE!
Walk for Water
A huge crowd marched through the main street of Mackay in the Walk for Water. Our government needs to listen to Queenslanders, and rule out wasting our water on Adani's mega-mine.
With over half of Queensland drought declared, we cannot afford to give billions of litres of water to Adani. Sign the petition to protect Qld's water now, and make sure you come along to the Stop Adani meetings on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.
You can read more about the predicted impacts to water that the Adani mine will have here.
Check out more of the great photos...
Read moreBeautiful Walk at Blacks Beach
Our next Beautiful Walk will be at Blacks Beach Reserve. Come along for a Sunday afternoon stroll through the tranquil trail to the beach. Along the way, we will walk through a diverse range of habitats such as woodland, mangrove and coastal ecosystems. Each of these habitats support a fascinating range of plants and animals.
Joining us will be guest speakers who will talk about the value of mangroves and the importance of Blacks Beach for a number of native animals, including some unusual ant species!
Where: Blacks Beach
Meet: End of Pacific Drive
Time: Sunday 24 June, 3pm - 5pm
The Beautiful Walks program has been running for 4 years and is the Mackay Conservation Group’s most popular event. The walks are held in natural locations around Mackay and highlight the environmental beauty of the region. The event is held monthly, open to the public and free to attend.
To secure your place for the Beautiful Walk, RSVP by clicking here.
Walk for Water
Adani's Carmichael mine threatens the health of ancient and precious water sources connected to the Great Artesian Basin. Regional communities rely on it this water, and Australian's everywhere want to protect it.
Adani's Carmichael mine will drain at least 270 billion litres of groundwater over the life of the mine - that's four Sydney Harbours! Read more about the predicted impacts here.
That's why we are joining together to Walk for Water and call on the Qld government to do the right thing for Queenslanders and Australians by saying no to letting Adani tap in to our water resources.
RSVP HERE
This is a really important event and part of a big push to secure water resources into the future - we need as many people as possible to come along!
Plus there will be speakers, music and a colourful parade of people - what better way to stand up for our water?!
We'll be holding regular meetings in the lead up so let us know if you would like to help make it all happen.
RSVP now so that we can keep you updated with details, speakers and so much more! And make sure share and invite your friends on Facebook!
If you can't come to the walk, make sure you sign the pledge to protect our water!
Cnr Wellington Street and Alfred Street
Mackay, Queensland 4740
Australia
Google map and directions
Media Release: Palaszczuk breaks election promise with new roads handout for Adani
Mackay, Queensland. Mackay Conservation Group has today called on Premier Palaszczuk to rule out giving Adani up to $100 million of taxpayers funds for a road upgrade for its proposed mine, noting that dedicating public funds to the coal project would break her election promise of ‘no state funding for Adani’. (“Qld Government considering funding $100m road for Adani mine, documents show”, ABC today).
Mackay Conservation Group community organiser Maggie McKeown said, “Yet again the Queensland government is actively considering giving Adani handouts to build a mine that the majority of Queenslanders do not want.
“The Queensland Coordinator General recommended Adani be responsible for road upgrades and Adani said it would pay for the upgrade. Why then would the Premier spend public funds on this project?
“Polls show that seven out of ten Queenslanders say Adani should fund its own project rather than expect a taxpayer subsidy. (Stop Adani Alliance, October 2017)
“Queenslanders want public money spent on schools, hospitals and large-scale renewable energy projects. They quite rightly do not support their taxes being used to maximise the profits of a an overseas mining billionaire.
“Adani has received special deals from all levels of government. The Palaszczuk government has been the biggest offender, offering cut price royalties, a license to take unlimited groundwater for 60 years and a license to pollute at Abbot Point Coal Terminal during Cyclone Debbie.
“Enough is enough. The Premier must today rule out this latest leg up, using taxpayers’ money,” Ms McKeown said.
Contact: Maggie McKeown 0434 837 774
Background
The RTI documents and a briefing paper can be found here.
ACF report, A Fistful of Dollars: Adani’s Preferential Treatment by Federal, State and Local Australian Governments, Oct 2017
Mackay Conservation Group is a volunteer based organisation that was established in 1983 that works to protect Central Queensland’s environment www.mackayconservationgroup.org.au
Monthly meeting - Tuesday June 19 2018
The Mackay Conservation Group is a member driven organisation. Our monthly meetings are a great chance for members and volunteers to come together, hear about upcoming events and offer suggestions on our work.
Our guest speaker for June is the amazing Steve Fisher, the marine operations manager from the not-for-profit organisation Wild Mob. Steve will give a presentation on the valuable conservation work that Wild Mob does, upcoming projects and how you can be involved!
Tuesday 19 June, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Mackay Environment Centre, 156 Wood St
RSVP HERE!
Salties threatened by proposed Katter legislation
Crocodiles are an iconic species of Northern Australia. They were almost hunted to extinction during the mid twentieth century but in 1974 legislation protected all crocodiles from unlicensed killing.
A bill has been introduced to the Queensland parliament by Katter Party MP, Shane Knuth, that would permit crocodile hunting, egg collection, removal and relocation to crocodile reserves. The Safer Waterways Bill is based on the false premise that there is a significant problem of crocodile attack in Queensland. The explanatory notes to the bill provide a thorough summary of the intentions of the proposed legislation.
The ABC recently undertook a fact check of Bob Katter's claim that a person is killed by a crocodile every three months in North Queensland. They found his claim to be false. Since 1985 there has been one fatal attack by a crocodile every three years. Meanwhile, in the 2007-2016 period there were on average 8.5 people killed in boating incidents in Queensland, a far more dangerous activity it seems.
The Queensland parliament's Innovation, Tourism Development and Environment Committee is currently seeking submissions on the Safer Waterways Bill 2018. You can help maintain the current protections for crocodiles by making a submission before 4pm on 31 May 2018 asking the committee to*:
- reject the entire Safer Waterways Bill 2018
- call on the Queensland Government to commit to rigorous community consultation with all First Nations Peoples regarding Crocodile Management
- ensure there is increase employment and training of ‘Indigenous Ranger and Protected Area’ programs
- call on the Queensland Government to explore nature-based tourism ventures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, First Nations Peoples communities
- require further crocodile surveys to gain accurate scientific data on crocodile populations and crocodile egg health.
- require research investment into possible changes in crocodile egg mortality and survival rates to sexual maturity
- ensure there is no interference with crocodile populations through culling, removal or egg-harvesting be permitted unless conducted by authorised officers for essential public safety management, approved scientific research
- ensure there is well resourced "Be Croc-Wise" education campaign in Queensland
To be valid your submission must include your name and two of the three below:
- mailing address
- email address
- daytime phone number
Address your submission to
The Secretary
Innovation, Tourism Development and Environment Committee
Ph: 3553 6662 Fax: 3553 6699
Email: itdec@parliament.qld.gov.au
*Thanks to Michael McCabe of Capricorn Conservation Council for these points
Dana Lyons Concert - World Environment Day
Dana Lyons is a singer-songwriter and environmental activist who has spent decades working to protect forests, rivers, oceans and the climate. Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to see him in Mackay.
RSVP here mackayconservationgroup.org.au/cowswithguns
You have probably heard his hit Cows With Guns but you'll find many more thoughtful and amusing pieces in his musical collection.
Dana has come to Mackay to play this once only performance to benefit Mackay Conservation Group on World Environment Day, Tuesday 5 June. Please purchase your ticket now as numbers are very limited.
Suggested donation $10 to $20 but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. Please call Peter on 07 4953 0808 if money is an issue.
Monthly meeting - Tuesday May 15 2018
The Mackay Conservation Group is a member driven organisation. Our monthly meetings are a great chance for members and volunteers to come together, hear about upcoming events and offer suggestions on our work.
Joining us will be Fiona Paterson from the Mackay Regional Council, who will give a talk about local recycling and waste management. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the process and ask anything about recycling that you've always wanted to know!
Tuesday 15 May, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Mackay Environment Centre, 156 Wood St
RSVP HERE!
Beautiful Walk program relaunched for 2018
Beautiful Walks are back! As the new Community Outreach Officer, I’m excited to invite you to the first Beautiful Walk for 2018. It will be held at the Kommo Toera Trail, which winds through a paperbark wetland and is an area full of diverse plant and wildlife species. Guest speakers will also be on hand to talk about the importance and ecology of the area.
Where: Kommo Toera Trail. Keeleys Rd, Slade Point
When: Sunday 20 May, 3pm - 5pm
The Beautiful Walks program has been running for 4 years and is the Mackay Conservation Group’s most popular event. The walks are held in natural locations around Mackay and highlight the environmental beauty of the region. The event is held monthly, open to the public and free to attend.
To secure your place for the Beautiful Walk, RSVP by clicking here.
Read more