#coffsharbour — Public Fediverse posts

Idyllic rural NSW is a hotspot for motor neurone disease

"Our recent mortality paper shows that if you live in rural and regional Australia, you are 40 per cent more likely to die from motor neurone disease. This cannot be genetic."
"Much attention will be focused on MND hotspots which include regional centres such as Griffith, Leeton, Wagga Wagga and Narrandera in the Riverina where rates of the degenerative illness are estimated to be five to seven times the national average. Other areas of concern include Tamworth, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-01/mnd-notifiable-disease-starts/107097432
#environment #diseases #MDN #NSW #CoffsHarbour #PortMacquarie #RuralNSW #MidNorthCoast #water #pollution #ExtremeHeat #runoff #HABs #pesticides #epidemiology

40 safety breaches in SafeWork NSW blitz on Coffs Coast, Riverina farm businesses

"Labour-hire firms and agribusinesses across the Coffs Coast and Riverina have been issued with more than 40 safety notices in a SafeWork NSW blitz after allegations of slavery in the fruit-picking industry."

"The workplace safety watchdog has identified dozens of safety issues across labour-hire firms and agribusinesses operating on New South Wales fruit farms in the wake of serious modern slavery allegations in the fruit-picking industry." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-31/safework-blitz-on-modern-slavery-coffs-coast-riverina-farms/107096906
#IR #CoffsHarbour #Food #work #slavery #blueberries #MidNorthCoast

Making hostile spaces The dispersal of non consumers

* At an intersection of numerous car parks, retail industry and an amusement industrial complex in Coffs Harbour there is a small green space with benches and birds. People and birds rest there and have their lunch.

Some time ago the amusement & drink giant piped ongoing unpleasant, loud music over the small green island and the abundant car parks.

The intention of the outdoor speakers distributing noise pollution is/was to engage in then 'dispersal' of ‘loitering' non customers.

This loud and repetitive ‘music’ is also known as "aggressive" or "defensive" architecture. This design in mostly public spaces is intended as a form of 'organised abandonment' (Ruth Wilson Gilmore) of the poor and the unhoused.

Often the exclusionary design acoustic ('steady-state spam’) is combined with other anti homeless devices (anti-homeless spikes furniture) which function to keep members of the public out of public spaces.

With increasing inequality, that is non spending consumers, the system is increasingly employing hostile practices. Privately owned public spaces such as walkways, plazas, arcades and small parks have to ensure the safety of their customers and staff. Non-consumers have no place in this scheme.

* "Woolworths has installed outdoor speakers at its Darwin city store to play the supermarket's 'Fresh Food People' jingle on repeat in a bid to deter loitering.” >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-25/darwin-city-woolworths-looping-jingle-anti-social-behaviour/107073330
* "The NSW Police Force is currently running an Australian-first trial in Moree (an area with a high Indigenous population) using rooftop drones to "fight crime" in the area, controlled by people hundreds of kilometres away at Bankstown Airport." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-26/automation-and-repression-the-two-go-hand-in-hand-daron-acemoglu/107063582
#HostileArchitecture #PublicSpaces #inequality #privatisation #ShoppingCentres #dispersal #FirstNationsPeoples #biopolitics #surveillance #CCTV #PervasiveTechnologies #UAVs #NoisePollution #IndigenousPeoples #DesignApartheid #governance #CoffsHarbour

Focus on Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Valley

"NSW modern slavery report calls for urgent reform to protect migrant workers."

"A NSW parliamentary report into modern slavery has detailed "harrowing stories of mistreatment and harm..The report asked the government to investigate allegations of systemic labour exploitation in Coffs Harbour and the Nambucca Valley."

"NSW Anti-slavery commissioner Dr James Cockayne said in a statement the report was "informed by evidence from almost 100 witnesses across NSW, including victim survivors of modern slavery, and 60 submissions"." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/nsw-anti-slavery-report-urgent-reform-to-protect-migrant-workers/107003130
#exploitation #PALM #MidNorthCoast #HorticulturalIndustry #blueberries #CoffsHarbour #NambuccaValley #food #harm #slavery #plantations #regulation

Court fines Bucca blueberry farmers $100,000 for building an illegal dam

"The unauthorised dam construction disrupted a creek and removed native vegetation on a property in Bucca, north of Coffs Harbour."

"Two farmers have been fined $100,000 for building an unapproved dam on their property at Bucca, north of Coffs Harbour.The pair has now received regulatory approval for the dam and no orders for its removal or demolition were made." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/bucca-blueberry-farmers-fined-for-illegal-dam/107003136
#water #extractivism #rivers #artificialisation #harm #NSW #MidNorthCoast #blueberries #HorticulturalIndustry #regulation #CoffsHarbour #Bucca #LandClearing

Vulnerable workers bearing the cost of providing Australia with cheap food

"Across Australia's fruit and vegetable industry, Fair Work Ombudsman investigations have repeatedly uncovered widespread non-compliance...: systemic worker exploitation, forced labour, debt bondage and, in some cases, human trafficking and servitude."

"In Coffs Harbour, 61 per cent of growers and labour hire companies inspected were found to be breaching workplace laws, including underpaying workers. The figure rose to 72 per cent in the Riverina and 83 per cent in Victoria's Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley....Oz Group, a co-operative representing more than 140 berry growers across NSW's Mid North Coast, said in its 2020 statement it "does not accept any form of slavery-like practices within the co-operative or throughout its supply chain".However, in its 2025 statement, the co-operative said, "addressing modern slavery requires ongoing effort and collaboration" and it remained "committed to continuous improvement"." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-04/australias-hidden-modern-slave-labour-workforce-exposed/106968610
#exploitation #work #ForcedLabour #food #slavery #CoffsHarbour #HorticulturalIndustry #governance #regulation #ModernSlaveryAct #TokenisticLaw #NSW #MidNorthCoast #blueberries

Sapphire Beach housing

"Flames swept through Coffs Harbour's most expensive house on Tuesday night, just weeks after the vacant headland home was approved for demolition...Under approved plans, the sprawling 15-bedroom, 15-bathroom home with a 7-car garage would be replaced by a contemporary home of the same floor space."

"The luxury beachfront property (had) fallen into disrepair and the station officer on scene spoke to the police officer, who said it's known for vandalism and sort of progressed down to arson." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-22/two-fires-one-night-sapphire-beach-mansion/106944642
#housing #demolition #arson #CoffsHarbour #SapphireBeach #NSW

Motorised bikes
First they put e-bikes on the market, then it is a long wait for regulation of illegal high-powered 'motorbikes' on shared pathways and beaches.

There has been "...alleged antisocial and criminal behaviour involving a group of youths riding e-bikes in the Moonee and North Sapphire Beach areas."

"The claims echo concerns being raised in communities right across the state. For many locals, the issue isn’t just legality. It’s safety on shared pathways residents once felt confident using every day." >>
https://coffscoast.newsofthearea.com.au/technology-outpaces-the-law-on-e-bikes
#pedestrians #motorists #Ebike #safety #regulation #beaches #MooneeBeach #NorthSapphireBeach #Sawtell #CoffsHarbour #NSW #MotorVehicles #MobilityDesign #ActiveTansportInfrastructure
#MidNorthCoast #SapphireBeach #NorthSapphireBeachPlayground #parenting #AntisocialBehaviour #DissocialBehaviours #crime

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 260030Z AUTO 23013KT 9999 // SCT041 BKN052 BKN060 16/13 Q1031” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “SPECI YCFS 242244Z AUTO 23013KT 9999 // FEW014 BKN076 OVC089 14/14 Q1031” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Swamp wallaby sighting on Giidany Miirlarl, (Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve.) >>
https://coffscoast.newsofthearea.com.au/swamp-wallaby-sighted-on-muttonbird-island

How did the marsupial managed to get onto the island through such a hostile environment? Wallabies rapidly disappear from the #CoffsHarbour landscape.
#Muttonbirds #MuttonBirdIsland #biodiversity #wildlife #birds #seabirds #shearwaters #wallabies #dogs #GiidanyMiirlarl

Image: Walkway to the island. The hot 'rockery' used to have flowering native trees full of singing birds. At the end of the walk: pigeons torn apart by wo/men's best friend.

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 170000Z AUTO 34007KT 9999 // NCD 20/14 Q1029” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Malnourished and sick kangaroos, isolated by urban sprawl on New South Wales's Mid North Coast

"...The kangaroos were chronically malnourished because they could not find enough to eat in an area bordered by ocean, the nearby Emerald Beach settlement, and the Pacific Highway. Our theory is that ongoing development … the M1 being upgraded and an increase in suburban dwellings, that this population is isolated." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-24/sick-kangaroos-coffs-coast-look-at-me-now-headland/106597450

First the thylacine, the others a bit later...

#biodiversity #wildlife #EasternGreyKangaroos #habitat #kangaroos #marsupials #CoffsCoast #CoffsHarbour #LookAtMeNowHeadland #EmeraldBeach #sprawl #tourism #PacificHighway #roads #harm #MidnorthCoast #StarvingWildlife

Image: Coastal sprawl - No place for endemic wildlife on the Mid North Coast of NSW

Slips, trips and fall risks from ubiquitous dogs

In dog-friendly Australia it seems the non-native canine is the most dominant species. They are allowed to roam the (dog-free) beaches, the national parks and (pet-friendly) workplaces, flats, cafes, restaurants etc. If not straying, then they are on long or flexible, extendable leashes stretching across hallways and footpaths.

This trip-and-fall risk is human-unfriendly. The health, safety, and well-being of the bipedal companions is not considered. Pet dogs pose hygiene issues, potential zoonoses and allergy risks. The mental well-being of bite victims and phobia affected can trigger distress.

Foreman, A.M.; Glenn, M.K.; Meade, B.J.; Wirth, O. Dogs in the Workplace: A Review of the Benefits and Potential Challenges. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050498
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/5/498

Image: Dog-friendly Coffs Central Shopping Centre, trip and fall hazard for customers

#Dogs #hazards #pets #PublicSpaces #Workplaces #falls #Food #zoonoses #hygiene #CoffsHarbour #cafes #Bellingen #PetRelatedInjuries #hospitalisations #DogFriendly

Pacific Highway has the most dangerous drivers in NSW >>
https://nambuccavalley.newsofthearea.com.au/pacific-highway-has-the-most-dangerous-drivers-in-nsw

#cars #motorists #CoffsHarbour #PacificHighway #NSW #roads #RoadTrauma

Image: Pacific Highway, No road is ever wide enough

Oh no!
The Big Banana tourist attraction in Coffs Harbour has been the subject of anti-Israel graffiti. >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-07/police-investigate-big-banana-vandalism-under-new-hate-laws/106538610
#CoffsHarbour #graffiti #HateSpeechLaws

Court makes landmark decision after illegal logging in NSW state forest
"Trees were illegally felled in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, north of Dorrigo." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-01/wild-cattle-creek-state-forest-illegal-logging-court-decision/106514766
#loggingIndustry #FCNSW #harm #crime #Coffsharbour #Dorrigo #NSW #biodiversity #Gumbaynggirr #FirstNationsPeoples

Why is Australia so reliant on foreign oil?

“We’re completely dependent on imported fuel.”

“We’ve spent a lot of money, especially in places like Victoria and Sydney, building up large motorway networks, large road infrastructure, without any kind of thinking about whether that’s an optimal approach”..."A focus on servicing new growth areas with public transport would help buffer cities against future shocks."

“Some of us are motivated by the impact of transportation and the consumption of fuels and energy on the environment. But many of us are much more strongly motivated by the impact on our hip pocket. And sometimes also the impact in terms of the security of our country.” >>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/19/australia-fuel-energy-solutions-foreign-oil-reliance-prices
#cars #roads #FossilFuel #dependency #climate #coffsharbour #highways #war
Image: Pacific Highway dreaming of endless cheap oil

Mobility design for all

The cost of doing b̶u̶s̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶/ transport should factor in wildlife bridges /corridors at reasonable intervals. When they can construct 40,000-vehicle-a-day conveyor belts through wildlife ecosystems, then they could ensure mobility for koalas, gliders, swamp wallabies and wombats too.
Elsewhere motorways are being retrofitted to allow animals to move safely between fragmented sections of bushland. >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-22/cawleys-bridge-wildlife-crossing-retrofit/106365756

Coffs Harbour bypass >>
https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/projects/coffs-harbour-bypass
#biodiversity #wildlife #mobility #WildlifeBridges #MobilityDesign #roads #highways #CODB #cars #PacificHighway #RoadTrauma #CoffsHarbour

Traumatic landscapes of plastic, pollution and exploitation

The coastline of Spain is known as the ‘Sea of Plastic’ ("Mar de Plástico”) It is the world’s largest plastic greenhouse complex with 350 square km of fruit and vegetables grown by immigrant labour for the horticultural industry. >>
https://www.behance.net/gallery/22272681/Mar-del-Plastico#

Could we do the same thing to the coast of NSW?
NSW Greens to move bill to let councils better regulate berry industry as it continues rapid expansion

“People move into these beautiful valleys for the lifestyle and the environment but then wake up one day and within months they are looking at an industrial-scale blueberry farm."

"Faehrmann’s bill will call for mandated buffers between intensive horticulture farms and homes and waterways, as well as strict controls on spraying, runoff and irrigation and greater monitoring of produce for pesticides."

"Blueberry farming is rapidly expanding beyond Coffs Harbour, where it began several decades ago, into the Nambucca Valley and the Kempsey area to the south, and west toward Grafton and Bellingen."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/31/australia-berry-industry-bill-nsw-greens
#rivers #water #extractivism #pesticides #MidNorthCoast #ChinasOrchard #horticulturalIndustry #regulation #runoff #pollution #plastic #PALM #blueberries #SeaOfPlastics #TraumaticLandscapes #NSWCoast #NSW #CoffsHarbour #Nambucca #Kempsey #Grafton #Bellingen #residents #habitability #NSWLogging

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “YCFS 282230Z AUTO 19008KT 9999 // FEW039 SCT048 25/18 Q1018” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “YCFS 242300Z AUTO 03014KT 9999 // NCD 28/23 Q1009” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Bored fossil fuel enthusiasts are burning rubber, microplastics and toxic chemicals on the Mid North Coast.
#Cars #CarMinds #PetroMasculinity #pollution #noise #toxins #stormwater #BellingerRiver #roads #SchoolHolidays #climate #Bellingen #CoffsHarbour #MidNorthCoast #governance #antisocial #UnsafeBehaviour

Modern slavery in Coffs Harbour?
Where does the fruit for Christmas come from?

"Migrant workers have given evidence in Coffs Harbour at a NSW parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery...More than 100 reports of migrant workers being exploited across Coffs Harbour in the past two years."

"The Coffs Coast is the nation's largest producer of blueberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-13/modern-slavery-migrant-hearings-in-nsw/106130342

Modern slavery au
https://www.modernslavery.gov.au/
#CoffsHarbour #NSW #IR #work #fruit #food #PALM #workers #exploitation #plantations #LabourMobility #HorticulturalIndustry #blueberries #ModernSlavery #PacificNeighbours

Christmas hamper contextualised with fruit from the plantations of the Coffs Harbour coast, ChatGPT

机场Coffs Harbour (澳大利亚)航空天气 是 “YCFS 020500Z AUTO 15011KT 9999 // ////// 23/11 Q1011” : 查看上的含义 https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/zh #coffsharbour # #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #航空气象 #avgeek vl

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “YCFS 152300Z AUTO 06007KT 9999 // NCD 24/20 Q1006” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “YCFS 152230Z AUTO 31005KT 9999 // BKN120 23/19 Q1006” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbourairport #airport #coffsharbour #australia #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek vl

Spotted-tailed quoll out of habitat

"Residents have reported sightings of a spotted-tailed quoll at the Coffs Harbour Marina."
There are concerns for the animal's welfare due to a hostile environment of roads, sprawl, dogs and fishing gear.
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-23/vulnerable-spotted-tail-quoll-spotted-at-coffs-harbour-marina/105923582
#CoffsHarbour #wildlife #quoll #dogs #sprawl #NSWLogging #fishinggear #MuttonBirds

The road to climate action is a 4 lane highway through the biodiversity of the Amazon.

Why Brazil is Building a Mega Highway in the Amazon Forest >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxWAtUgfp6I

Had a déjà vu feeling here regarding the local Gleniffer Road widening and the Coffs Harbour Bypass Highway.

#FossilFuels #CoalGas #roads #biodiversity #GlenifferRd #PacificHighway #CoffsHarbourBypass #coffs #NSWLogging #forests #destruction #harm #climate #FossilFuels #roads #highways #CoffsHarbour #GlenifferRoad #NSWLogging #biodiversity #wildlife #COP30 #deforestation