#midnorthcoast — Public Fediverse posts

Not much more to Booral besides a public school, a few churches and the Liberty servo #booral #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

Not much more to Booral besides a public school, a few churches and the Liberty servo #booral #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

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

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

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

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

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

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

The NSW coast - Bird-free concrete blocks surrounded by lawns

"A track takes us into a small area of regenerating coastal rainforest, where lilly pillies are growing, and the air is filled with the sounds of birds, frogs and insects. Flannery says this is an example of coastal protection done right. The forest was saved from development after a long-running campaign by traditional owners, the Dharawal people."

"We exit the beach via stairs that lead to a manicured grass area, bike path and a row of large houses. Flannery is unimpressed. Unlike at his home, there is no bird habitat and, unsurprisingly, no birds. "This is not my thing. This is just concrete blocks surrounded by grass. To my mind, it’s as boring as batshit.”
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/26/tim-flannery-what-were-seeing-is-the-last-gasp-of-the-patriarchy
#NSW #coast #sprawl #McMansion #lawns #suburbia #MidNorthCoast #beaches #Birds #catbird #biodiversity #conservation #ClimateBreakdown

Calls for end to logging in NSW state forests assessed for the Great Koala National Park

Koala habitat: After the "logging and everything's smashed. It's just completely obliterated"
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-24/nsw-logging-state-forest-great-koala-national-park/104821426
#NSWLogging #FCNSW #NSW #MidNorthCoast #LoggingImpacts #biodiversity #koalas #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #rapid #deforestation #destruction #ResourceFrontiers #bushfires #risks #StopNativeForestLogging #plantation #RemnantVegetation

End the destruction of native forests by logging now

"Pressure is mounting on the NSW government to end its logging of the proposed Great Koala National Park immediately. Logging by the government-owned Forestry Corporation inside its proposed boundaries has intensified...Native state forests are public assets belonging to everyone in our state..."
>
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/this-activity-is-a-real-threat-mps-piling-on-pressure-over-state-s-koala-park-promise-20241113-p5kqad.html ($ wall)
#LoggingImpacts #loggingIndustry #NSW #NSWLogging #BiodiversityCrisis #FCNSW #MidNorthCoast #BellingenLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #koalas #governance #ResourceFrontiers #SacrificeZone

The government promised a koala national park. Then their loggers moved in

"Logging inside the Great Koala National Park assessment area is four times more intense when measured by area than in nearby state forests outside the park, and environmentalists say the targeted areas are wreaking maximal environmental damage...New analysis suggests the NSW government’s own logging arm is trashing the forest inside the proposed park." >>

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/the-government-promised-a-koala-national-park-then-the-loggers-moved-in-20241104-p5knro.html ($ wall)
#logging #MidNorthCoast #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #NSW #biodiversity #wildlife #koalas #loggingIndustry #LoggingImpacts #destruction #FCNSW #breaches #SaveTuckersNob #subsidies #bushfires #risks #crime #violence #ResourceFrontiers #offsets #ClimateEmergency #governance

New research shows: "Alarmingly, climate change is making bushfires more frequent."
Logging and 'thinning' Bellingen does too.

"We excluded deliberate burns such as hazard reduction (or prescribed) burns lit by fire authorities. We also excluded places that had been logged, because they’re known to be at a high risk of severe fire – and so including them would have skewed the results."

"Clearly, we must seek to limit the number of wildfires. An obvious response is to take more strident steps to tackle climate change. But even if humanity meets this huge global challenge, it will be a long time before we see demonstrable changes in climate conditions."

"More immediate options include managing vegetation to reduce flammability. For example, activities such as logging and thinning can make forests more flammable, so such practices should be halted in these vulnerable ecosystems."

"Greater efforts are needed to conserve biodiversity that is sensitive to fire, and to conserve ecosystems at risk of collapse. We must also embrace new technologies to detect wildfires as soon as they ignite, and suppress them as quickly as possible."

https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683

Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01717-y

What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4610

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #Gleniffer #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala #SaveTuckersNob #bushfires #biodiversity #conservation

New research shows: "Alarmingly, climate change is making bushfires more frequent."
Logging and 'thinning' Bellingen does too.

"We excluded deliberate burns such as hazard reduction (or prescribed) burns lit by fire authorities. We also excluded places that had been logged, because they’re known to be at a high risk of severe fire – and so including them would have skewed the results."

"Clearly, we must seek to limit the number of wildfires. An obvious response is to take more strident steps to tackle climate change. But even if humanity meets this huge global challenge, it will be a long time before we see demonstrable changes in climate conditions."

"More immediate options include managing vegetation to reduce flammability. For example, activities such as logging and thinning can make forests more flammable, so such practices should be halted in these vulnerable ecosystems."

"Greater efforts are needed to conserve biodiversity that is sensitive to fire, and to conserve ecosystems at risk of collapse. We must also embrace new technologies to detect wildfires as soon as they ignite, and suppress them as quickly as possible."

https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683

Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01717-y

What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4610

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #Gleniffer #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala #SaveTuckersNob #bushfires #biodiversity #conservation

New research shows: "Alarmingly, climate change is making bushfires more frequent."
Logging and 'thinning' Bellingen does too.

"We excluded deliberate burns such as hazard reduction (or prescribed) burns lit by fire authorities. We also excluded places that had been logged, because they’re known to be at a high risk of severe fire – and so including them would have skewed the results."

"Clearly, we must seek to limit the number of wildfires. An obvious response is to take more strident steps to tackle climate change. But even if humanity meets this huge global challenge, it will be a long time before we see demonstrable changes in climate conditions."

"More immediate options include managing vegetation to reduce flammability. For example, activities such as logging and thinning can make forests more flammable, so such practices should be halted in these vulnerable ecosystems."

"Greater efforts are needed to conserve biodiversity that is sensitive to fire, and to conserve ecosystems at risk of collapse. We must also embrace new technologies to detect wildfires as soon as they ignite, and suppress them as quickly as possible."

https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683

Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01717-y

What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4610

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #Gleniffer #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala #SaveTuckersNob #bushfires #biodiversity #conservation

New research shows: "Alarmingly, climate change is making bushfires more frequent."
Logging and 'thinning' Bellingen does too.

"We excluded deliberate burns such as hazard reduction (or prescribed) burns lit by fire authorities. We also excluded places that had been logged, because they’re known to be at a high risk of severe fire – and so including them would have skewed the results."

"Clearly, we must seek to limit the number of wildfires. An obvious response is to take more strident steps to tackle climate change. But even if humanity meets this huge global challenge, it will be a long time before we see demonstrable changes in climate conditions."

"More immediate options include managing vegetation to reduce flammability. For example, activities such as logging and thinning can make forests more flammable, so such practices should be halted in these vulnerable ecosystems."

"Greater efforts are needed to conserve biodiversity that is sensitive to fire, and to conserve ecosystems at risk of collapse. We must also embrace new technologies to detect wildfires as soon as they ignite, and suppress them as quickly as possible."

https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683

Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01717-y

What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4610

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #Gleniffer #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala #SaveTuckersNob #bushfires #biodiversity #conservation

New research shows: "Alarmingly, climate change is making bushfires more frequent."
Logging and 'thinning' Bellingen does too.

"We excluded deliberate burns such as hazard reduction (or prescribed) burns lit by fire authorities. We also excluded places that had been logged, because they’re known to be at a high risk of severe fire – and so including them would have skewed the results."

"Clearly, we must seek to limit the number of wildfires. An obvious response is to take more strident steps to tackle climate change. But even if humanity meets this huge global challenge, it will be a long time before we see demonstrable changes in climate conditions."

"More immediate options include managing vegetation to reduce flammability. For example, activities such as logging and thinning can make forests more flammable, so such practices should be halted in these vulnerable ecosystems."

"Greater efforts are needed to conserve biodiversity that is sensitive to fire, and to conserve ecosystems at risk of collapse. We must also embrace new technologies to detect wildfires as soon as they ignite, and suppress them as quickly as possible."

https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-is-bringing-bushfires-more-often-but-some-ecosystems-in-australia-are-suffering-the-most-211683

Logging elevated the probability of high-severity fire in the 2019–20 Australian forest fires
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01717-y

What environmental and climatic factors influence multidecadal fire frequency?
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4610

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #Gleniffer #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala #SaveTuckersNob #bushfires #biodiversity #conservation

Bellingen - Tuckers Nob proposed logging/ clear felling Information Meeting

To the community of Tuckers Nob State Forest and any residents concerned by proposed Industrial Logging of Compartments 26/27 you are invited to a meeting by Friends of Tuckers Nob at

Gleniffer Hall
Thursday 17 of August at 6 pm

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #catchment #RosesRd #GlenifferRd #trucks #traffic #noise #dust #Gleniffer #meeting #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #woodchips #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala

Bellingen - Tuckers Nob proposed logging/ clear felling Information Meeting

To the community of Tuckers Nob State Forest and any residents concerned by proposed Industrial Logging of Compartments 26/27 you are invited to a meeting by Friends of Tuckers Nob at

Gleniffer Hall
Thursday 17 of August at 6 pm

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #catchment #RosesRd #GlenifferRd #trucks #traffic #noise #dust #Gleniffer #meeting #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #woodchips #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala

Bellingen - Tuckers Nob proposed logging/ clear felling Information Meeting

To the community of Tuckers Nob State Forest and any residents concerned by proposed Industrial Logging of Compartments 26/27 you are invited to a meeting by Friends of Tuckers Nob at

Gleniffer Hall
Thursday 17 of August at 6 pm

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #catchment #RosesRd #GlenifferRd #trucks #traffic #noise #dust #Gleniffer #meeting #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #woodchips #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala

Bellingen - Tuckers Nob proposed logging/ clear felling Information Meeting

To the community of Tuckers Nob State Forest and any residents concerned by proposed Industrial Logging of Compartments 26/27 you are invited to a meeting by Friends of Tuckers Nob at

Gleniffer Hall
Thursday 17 of August at 6 pm

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #catchment #RosesRd #GlenifferRd #trucks #traffic #noise #dust #Gleniffer #meeting #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #woodchips #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala

Bellingen - Tuckers Nob proposed logging/ clear felling Information Meeting

To the community of Tuckers Nob State Forest and any residents concerned by proposed Industrial Logging of Compartments 26/27 you are invited to a meeting by Friends of Tuckers Nob at

Gleniffer Hall
Thursday 17 of August at 6 pm

#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #fire #risks #water #Bellingen #catchment #RosesRd #GlenifferRd #trucks #traffic #noise #dust #Gleniffer #meeting #Gumbaynggirr #MidNorthCoast #logging #BellingenLogging #TuckersNobSF #woodchips #GKNP #ClearFelling #koala