#coffsharbour — Public Fediverse posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"She just brought it to the front desk and said I have rescued this sea snake."

"A New South Wales wildlife sanctuary has been forced to temporarily evacuate parts of its centre after a woman brought in a highly venomous sea snake. They are one of the most venomous snakes in the world."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-14/coffs-coast-wildlife-sanctaury-evacuated-due-to-sea-snake/105888174
#ocean #wildlife #Woolgoolga #CoffsHarbour #snake #seasnake #beachcombing

Pesticide spray drift from intensive horticulture on the the mid-north coast NSW -
Discontent in the region.

Home owners, dairy and beef producers among those concerned about how pesticide use affects their land as well as water quality on the mid-north coast

“Between 2001 and 2016 blueberry farming expanded 400% – mainly around the Coffs Harbour region.”

“This monitoring showed the continued detection of pesticides in most waterways sampled, highlighting the need for ongoing monitoring in the region.”

“Monitoring in the Nambucca valley by the EPA has detected three different pesticides in low levels in three creeks, suggesting water quality in the area is not being impacted by excessive amounts of pesticides.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/09/blueberry-farms-nsw-north-coast-rapid-expansion-development-pesticides
#Pesticides #food #beef #diary #prawns #blueberries #plantations #monoculture #rivers #water #export #runoff #pollution #neonicotinoids #imidacloprid #dimethoate #SprayDrift #CoffsHarbour #Macksville #Nambucca #Woolgoolga #conflict #violence #EPA #regulation #horticulture #industry #tourism #PeoplesHomes #TankWater #governance #MidNorthCoast #NSW #biodiversity #wildlife #extractivism

The Blueberries of Wrath on the mid-north coast of NSW
Bitter fruit: the dark underside of the booming NSW blueberry industry

"Blueberry farms have become an increasingly common sight across the rolling hills of the NSW mid-north coast...The number of people in need of ... support points to a dark underbelly of exploitation in the blueberry industry that authorities appear incapable of dealing with...It’s semi-organised crime, that is how I would describe it. "

"A NSW parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery is currently investigating worker conditions."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/04/nsw-blueberry-industry-farm-labour-loopholes-dark-underside
#food #workers #slavery #plantations #exploitation #AgriculturalIndustry #plantations #CoffsHarbour #MidNorthCoast #NSW #LabourLaw #regulation #PALM #Pacific

"... Poor pesticide spraying practices in the Nambucca Valley and Coffs Harbour regions...Chemical banned by European Union still used in Australia."

When you drive from Nambucca Valley to the Coffs Harbour regions you can see giant white plastic nets enclosing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries plantations. There are toxic chemicals on some berries, the water and the area.

"Banned chemical thiometon detected in berries sold at supermarkets."

"Blueberry farming has boomed in NSW, including in the Nambucca Valley, as minimal red tape is required to set up. Blueberry farms can be started without formal registration or oversight, making it hard for authorities to track pesticide use. Since January 2022, the EPA has prosecuted 21 pesticide-related incidents across a range of crops in local courts across NSW... The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced a review into the use of dimethoate on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-07/pesticide-review-thiometon-dimethoate-blueberries-raspberries/105701674
#food #regulation #toxins #pesticide #water #BerryIndustry #EPA #APVMA #governance #fruits #blueberries #NSW #plantations #MidNorthCoast #nambucca #CoffsHarbour #pollution #sprayDrift #dimethoate #thiometon #neurotoxins

"... Poor pesticide spraying practices in the Nambucca Valley and Coffs Harbour regions...Chemical banned by European Union still used in Australia."

When you drive from Nambucca Valley to the Coffs Harbour regions you can see giant white plastic nets enclosing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries plantations. There are toxic chemicals on some berries, the water and the area.

"Banned chemical thiometon detected in berries sold at supermarkets."

"Blueberry farming has boomed in NSW, including in the Nambucca Valley, as minimal red tape is required to set up. Blueberry farms can be started without formal registration or oversight, making it hard for authorities to track pesticide use. Since January 2022, the EPA has prosecuted 21 pesticide-related incidents across a range of crops in local courts across NSW... The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced a review into the use of dimethoate on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-07/pesticide-review-thiometon-dimethoate-blueberries-raspberries/105701674
#food #regulation #toxins #pesticide #water #BerryIndustry #EPA #APVMA #governance #fruits #blueberries #NSW #plantations #MidNorthCoast #nambucca #CoffsHarbour #pollution #sprayDrift #dimethoate #thiometon #neurotoxins

"... Poor pesticide spraying practices in the Nambucca Valley and Coffs Harbour regions...Chemical banned by European Union still used in Australia."

When you drive from Nambucca Valley to the Coffs Harbour regions you can see giant white plastic nets enclosing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries plantations. There are toxic chemicals on some berries, the water and the area.

"Banned chemical thiometon detected in berries sold at supermarkets."

"Blueberry farming has boomed in NSW, including in the Nambucca Valley, as minimal red tape is required to set up. Blueberry farms can be started without formal registration or oversight, making it hard for authorities to track pesticide use. Since January 2022, the EPA has prosecuted 21 pesticide-related incidents across a range of crops in local courts across NSW... The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced a review into the use of dimethoate on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-07/pesticide-review-thiometon-dimethoate-blueberries-raspberries/105701674
#food #regulation #toxins #pesticide #water #BerryIndustry #EPA #APVMA #governance #fruits #blueberries #NSW #plantations #MidNorthCoast #nambucca #CoffsHarbour #pollution #sprayDrift #dimethoate #thiometon #neurotoxins

"... Poor pesticide spraying practices in the Nambucca Valley and Coffs Harbour regions...Chemical banned by European Union still used in Australia."

When you drive from Nambucca Valley to the Coffs Harbour regions you can see giant white plastic nets enclosing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries plantations. There are toxic chemicals on some berries, the water and the area.

"Banned chemical thiometon detected in berries sold at supermarkets."

"Blueberry farming has boomed in NSW, including in the Nambucca Valley, as minimal red tape is required to set up. Blueberry farms can be started without formal registration or oversight, making it hard for authorities to track pesticide use. Since January 2022, the EPA has prosecuted 21 pesticide-related incidents across a range of crops in local courts across NSW... The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced a review into the use of dimethoate on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-07/pesticide-review-thiometon-dimethoate-blueberries-raspberries/105701674
#food #regulation #toxins #pesticide #water #BerryIndustry #EPA #APVMA #governance #fruits #blueberries #NSW #plantations #MidNorthCoast #nambucca #CoffsHarbour #pollution #sprayDrift #dimethoate #thiometon #neurotoxins

"... Poor pesticide spraying practices in the Nambucca Valley and Coffs Harbour regions...Chemical banned by European Union still used in Australia."

When you drive from Nambucca Valley to the Coffs Harbour regions you can see giant white plastic nets enclosing blueberries, raspberries and blackberries plantations. There are toxic chemicals on some berries, the water and the area.

"Banned chemical thiometon detected in berries sold at supermarkets."

"Blueberry farming has boomed in NSW, including in the Nambucca Valley, as minimal red tape is required to set up. Blueberry farms can be started without formal registration or oversight, making it hard for authorities to track pesticide use. Since January 2022, the EPA has prosecuted 21 pesticide-related incidents across a range of crops in local courts across NSW... The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) announced a review into the use of dimethoate on blueberries, raspberries and blackberries."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-07/pesticide-review-thiometon-dimethoate-blueberries-raspberries/105701674
#food #regulation #toxins #pesticide #water #BerryIndustry #EPA #APVMA #governance #fruits #blueberries #NSW #plantations #MidNorthCoast #nambucca #CoffsHarbour #pollution #sprayDrift #dimethoate #thiometon #neurotoxins

Safety Beach is not safe for Brush Turkeys

" The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is investigating the poisoning of around 10 native Brush Turkeys at Safety Beach near Coffs Harbour, the second such incident in just two years. Laboratory testing of several dead birds collected from the area has found high concentrations of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, the same chemical detected when another group of Brush Turkeys was poisoned at Safety Beach in 2023. Chlorpyrifos is an agricultural pesticide used for insect control and is banned for domestic and urban use in NSW. "

The last one usually hears about poisoning wildlife is:

"The negligent use of pesticides in a manner that harms any non-target animal, or plant can attract penalties of up to $500,000 for an individual and $2,000,000 for a corporation."

Then a long silence...
>>
https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/epamedia/250820-epa-investigating-second-poisoning-of-brush-turkeys
#birds #wildlife #ornithophobia #biodiversity #pesticides #Chlorpyrifos #organophosphate #CoffsHarbour #NSW #beach

Environmentalist Mark Graham barred from Forestry Corp offices after protest

"Justice Richard Weinstein granted bail on the condition that Mr Graham not travel within half a kilometre of the Forestry Corporation offices."

"Justice Weinstein remarked that a Forestry Corporation vehicle was akin to "a red flag to a bull" for the defendant. It's a very volatile situation up there."

"Mr Graham will return to Coffs Harbour Local Court on September 17."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-20/environmentalist-mark-graham-bail-coffs-harbour/105587574
#LoggingAndLandclearing #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #biodiversity #CoffsHarbour #climatedisruption #ProtectProtest

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 182330Z AUTO 24009KT 9999 // OVC054 12/09 Q1030 RMK RF00.0/000.0” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbour #australia #coffsharbourairport #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 182300Z AUTO 23011KT 9999 // SCT056 BKN067 OVC097 12/10 Q1030 RMK RF00.0/001.2” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbour #australia #coffsharbourairport #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl

Australia’s addiction to mega roads continues despite the spectre of climate change.

" The stream of projects shows Australia’s approach to urban transport is stuck in the car-obsessed past. It’s an approach at odds with state planning policies that prioritise other less-polluting transport modes, such as train and tram extensions, bike lane infrastructure and better pedestrian footpaths.

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned, roads hinder national efforts to meet climate targets. They “lock in” emissions, by establishing long-term infrastructure that commits societies to greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come...Globally, roads account for 69% of transport emissions, and this is growing. "
>>
https://theconversation.com/australia-why-are-you-still-obsessed-with-freeways-when-theyre-driving-us-away-from-net-zero-262129
#cars #vehicle #pollution #GHG #climate #roads #highways #CarDependency #MobilityDesign #Sprawl #PacificHighway #CoffsHarbour #bypass

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 102130Z AUTO 24009KT 9999 // FEW039 BKN065 13/10 Q1025 RMK RF00.0/005.0” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbour #australia #coffsharbourairport #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl

Developing Coffs Harbour foreshore will amount to a ‘desecration of the land’, traditional owners say

"We need to have cultural spaces preserved, and no one is listening."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/aug/10/coffs-harbour-foreshore-development-traditional-owners
#CoffsHarbour #NSW #MidNorthCoast #coast #sprawl #JettyForeshore #Gumbaynggirr #IndigenousPeoples #consultation

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 052200Z AUTO 20003KT 9999 // FEW074 13/11 Q1020 RMK RF00.0/000.0” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbour #australia #coffsharbourairport #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl

Along the NSW and Queensland coast there are stunning beaches lined with multi-million-dollar homes and polluted creeks

"Burgess Creek runs from Noosa Junction to the beachfront. Burgess Creek runs 5 kilometres from heavily commercialised Noosa Junction to the otherwise idyllic beachfront, and contains signs warning against swimming and human consumption. Burgess Creek does contain treated sewage effluent. Signs indicate "creek water contains treated sewage effluent", but compounding issues include fertiliser run-off, historic landfill sites, erosion, invasive flora, animal excrement and household run-off."

"When they took the sewage out to sea, it was a revelation because there was no more crap coming back on to the beach."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-02/burgess-creek-bondi-solution-for-brown-water/105594070
#sewage #pollution #sprawl #NSW #coast #sanitation #SewerSystems #crap #waste #runoff #wasteland #weeds #creeks #rivers #water #wildlife #Noosa #CoffsHarbour #beaches #civilisation
Images: Coffs Harbour Jetty Dune care and a polluted creek for wildlife.

Aviation weather for Coffs Harbour airport (Australia) is “METAR YCFS 282200Z AUTO 31004KT 9999 // NCD 09/06 Q1017 RMK RF00.0/000.0” : See what it means on https://www.bigorre.org/aero/meteo/ycfs/en #coffsharbour #australia #coffsharbourairport #ycfs #cfs #metar #aviation #aviationweather #avgeek #airport vl

Koala exclusion fencing mowed down my motorists

The newly built Koala exclusion fence along Hogbin Drive, Coffs Harbour is already destroyed by motorists at various places. No repairs are in sight for the 'fauna exclusion fence'
>>
https://www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/Your-Council/Newsroom/Media-Releases/Making-things-safer-for-Coffs-Harbour-koalas-on-the-go
#koalas #wildlife #CoffsHarbour #HogbinDrive #roads #cars #RoadTrauma #NSWKillingKoalas

Remember the Urunga wetlands waste tailings rich in antimony, arsenic, lead and cyanide?

"For five years in the 1960s and 1970s, antimony and other heavy metals leached from an ore processing plant into the melaleuca wetlands. The wetlands used to open up into a moonscape of light grey sand with not a single bit of vegetation."
>>
https://www.crownland.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-07/Urunga-Wetlands-fact-sheet.pdf
https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-5357%2120190227T035916.488%20GMT

Now they want to go for Wild Cattle Creek 'high-grade and high-tonnage' antimony-gold mining >>
https://www.listcorp.com/asx/tmg/trigg-minerals-limited/news/acquisition-of-globally-significant-antimony-project-3091939.html

A Clarence Catchment Alliance community meeting

is being hosted by the Bellingen Environment Centre,
with Blicks River Guardians and Lock the Gate Nambucca,
from 2pm on Friday May 31 at 16 Cudgery St, Dorrigo.
>>
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/clarence-catchment-alliance-community-meeting/
#NSW #Dorrigo #Urunga #remediation #CoffsHarbour #mining #antimony #gold #extractivism #harm #WildCattleCreek #WCC #water #contamination #wetlands #rivers #waterways #freshwater #MarineWater #platypus #biodiversity #BellingenShire

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred sparks call to cyclone-proof homes as far south as northern NSW

"The research is really clear that cyclones and severe weather events are coming south along the Queensland and Australian coastline, and that our severe weather events will become more severe... Professor Steve Turton, a climate change expert with Central Queensland University, said homes and buildings outside traditional cyclone zones should now be subject to cyclone ratings, including in south-east Queensland and even northern New South Wales. I would suggest it needs to go down to at least Coffs Harbour." >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-23/ex-tropical-cyclone-alfred-weather-preparation-storm-resilience/105074460
#FossilFuels #plasterboard #housing #cyclone #climate #infrastructure #NSW #storms #floods #disaster #CoffsHarbour #MidNorthCoast

Highway expansions and road widening
How America (Australia) Can Break Its Highway Addiction

"After a century of rampant roadbuilding, the U.S. highway network is ubiquitous, dominating the American landscape in bucolic rural settings as well as dense urban ones. Rather than being a tool for mobility, it has become a monument to an auto-centric lifestyle that fouls the air and depletes the public coffers. Neither the country nor the planet can afford to keep expanding it."

"At the federal level, even asking questions about the collective climate impact of highway building appears verboten."
>>
https://slate.com/business/2024/08/construction-traffic-cars-driving-transportation-highway.html
#Sprawl #roads #highways #expansion #cars #automobility #industry #asphalt #Motordom #MobilityDesign #ClimateBreakdown #pollution #NSW #CoffsHarbour #bellingen #GlenifferRoad

Forestry Corporation NSW logs 1.44 hectares within Bindarri National Park

"Bindarri National Park is home to birds, wallabies, possums, quolls, koalas, platypus, owls and bats. It lies next to Orara West State Forest, which Forestry Corporation manages and it claims the error was made because a timber plantation that sits on the border was rezoned and split between the two parks in 1999."

A "penalty will likely further hit the beleaguered state-owned company’s bottom line – on Friday, it revealed its native forestry business has lost $29 million over a single year. It said a key reason for its woes was legal action and protests against its operations. Although Victoria and Western Australia have shut down their state-owned logging companies, the Minns government has backed Forestry Corporation, which controversially logs endangered koala and greater glider habitat."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-to-shut-down-controversial-business-after-illegal-act-in-national-park-061722075.html
https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/bindarri-national-park/map
#NSWLogging #crime #FCNSW #breaches #NSW #CoffsHarbour #ResourceFrontiers #NationalParks #Bindarri #koalas #biodiversity #climate #governance

The tyranny of automobility and sprawl

While the Bellingen /Gleniffer area is transitioning from an ‘idyllic tourist town’ into a ‘normal Aussie suburb’ (of Coffs Harbour), road congestion gets everyone stuck in traffic.

Car dependent motorists in their SUVs and bloated oversized trucks demand more and wider roads, larger car parking and a right to pothole-free roads for their 'sports utility vehicles’.

Extreme commuting for the necessaries of life are conducted in big private vehicles powered by fossil fuel. An aggregate of ugly big-box stores (large format retail, Coffs) with hostile giant car parks deliver what consumers desire. These consumption hubs are mostly inaccessible to pedestrians and can be dangerous ‘non-places’ (Marc Augé).

The mobility design of old school traffic engineers responds to the sprawling expansion with more of the same: more roads, wider roads and bypassing the last bypass. They call it ‘upgrades’.

As the latest $2.2 billion highway or forest road ‘upgrade/s’ are blasting their way through the landscape, they are silent about the ‘public bads’: the destroyed biodiversity habitat, the downgraded neighbourhoods, the violence and the polluted biosphere.

The ‘normality’ of automobility, or the 'car in the head' in petromodernity together with regulatory inertia make a transition to alternative land uses, energy systems, mobilities and ways of being a challenge.

#sprawl #suburbia #mobility #cars #roads #JevonsParadox #externalities #automobility #pollution #biodiversity #ClimateExtremes #FossilFuels #Petromodernity #GlenifferRoad #CoffsHarbour #Bellingen #SettlerSociety #liveability

Australian biodiversity conservation and 'fighting the government.'

"A rare legal win for an ecologist over a violent confrontation with NSW loggers exposed years of intimidation from corporate forestry representatives and law enforcement ."

"In environmental science circles, state surveillance and persecution of an ecologist whose findings refute or debunk state land management practices surprises no one. Last year, the International Science Council, a body representing more than 250 organisations, summarised that “the findings of environmental scientists … have long triggered censorship, intimidation, harassment and even violence when these challenge economic interests, political agendas, or ideologies”. It reported that scientists “have been physically attacked, wrongfully detained, and killed for their research and advocacy … threats and attacks are widespread in virtually all fields examining human impact on the environment”.

"A 2021 joint university study of Australian environmental scientists found more than half employed in industry or government “are routinely constrained in communicating scientific evidence on threatened species, mining, logging and other threats to the environment”. In some cases, “scientists self-censor information for fear of damaging their careers, losing funding or being misrepresented in the media. In others, senior managers or ministers’ officers prevented researchers from speaking truthfully on scientific matters...In all logged states, time spent fighting the government has overtaken the fieldwork time of ecologists and forest researchers."
>>
https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2024/june/katherine-wilson/combative-nature#mtr
#NSWForestry #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #breaches #violence #GumbainggirCountry #activism #ecology #conservation #science #researchers #Koalas #ThreatenedSpecies #extractivism #mining #logging #defamation #surveillance #CivilDisobedience #CoffsHarbour #Gondwana #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #ExtinctionCrisis #BiodiversityCrisis #democracy #governance #Australia