#midnorthcoast — Public Fediverse posts

The Bulahdelah Visitors Centre #bulahdelah #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

The Bulahdelah Visitors Centre #bulahdelah #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

Outside buildings at the Courthouse housed the goal and police station #bulahdelah #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

Outside buildings at the Courthouse housed the goal and police station #bulahdelah #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

The former court house is now the Courthouse Museum operated by local volunteers and open on Saturday #bulahdelah #midnorthcoast #nsw #au #bentsabout #latergram

The former court house is now the Courthouse Museum operated by local volunteers and open on Saturday #bulahdelah #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

Logging the Promised Land, Bellingen/ Gleniffer

Promised Land Forest! Tuckers Nob, 250 ha, 130ha clearfall, 120 ha thinning.

Stakeholder Consultation - Remnant Forest Protection & Tuckers Nob Forestry Operations Compartments 8, 10, 11, 12, 17 18 >>
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TuckersRemnantsSurvey-Residents

How NSW Forestry converts native forest to plantations , Dr Tim Cadman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wY9HzWwEvs

Unfortunately most residents and Friends groups use (closed) proprietary social media platforms, owned by the parent company of Meta Platforms
#SaveTuckersNob #FriendsOfTuckersNob #BellingenLogging #NSWLogging #NSWForestry #loggingIndustry #loggingIndustry #loggingImpacts #biodiversity #remnants #wildlife #koalas #harm #Gleniffer #Bellingen #PromisedLand #NSW #MIdNorthCoast #SaveChristmasHoles

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

Two men have drowned in the Never Never River on the NSW Mid North Coast.

"Emergency services were called to John Locke Place at Gleniffer, north of Bellingen, at about 6:45pm on Sunday following reports of people struggling in the water. Police were told three men, all believed to be aged in their 30's, began to struggle soon after entering the river."

"The two men were pulled from the water but were unable to be revived and died at the scene. A crime scene has been established and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-men-dead-bellingen-drowning/106269014

AUDIO: Two die in drowning on NSW Mid North Coast >>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/two-die-in-drowning-on-nsw-mid-north-coast/106269500

#Gleniffer #Bellingen #drowning #NeverNever #JohnLockePlace #NSW #rivers #NeverNeverCatchment #MidNorthCoast #tourism #CPRChart #swimming #heatwaves #crime

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

"Indigenous people here speak of the lack of memorials on this land.
But every bordered property is a site for dark tourism in Australia.
Dark tourism is the effort to seek out destinations of violence and devastation, but it is not hard to see genocide from our front door in this country...Tim Rowse has called the “ongoing colonial encounter sometimes called ‘Australia’”
>>
https://theconversation.com/dark-tourism-is-attracting-visitors-to-war-zones-and-sites-of-atrocities-in-israel-and-ukraine-why-240119

Gumbaynggirr Country is located on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. It is also known as the Bellingen/ Gleniffer Valley and has curated three reserves in the 21st century with memorials which are all named after white settlers:

The Arthur Keough Reserve (Never Never River) is named after the first settler pioneer families to arrive in the Gleniffer Valley.
http://www.bellingennow.com/about/index.html

Angel Gabriel Capararo 'modernised' the Promised land.
http://www.bellingennow.com/Angel_Gabriel_Capararo/index.html

Earl Preston reserve was named after a settler who arrived in 1929
http://www.bellingennow.com/Earl_Preston/index.html

Nothing about the massacres and the poisoning to death of local Aboriginal people.

Colonial Frontier Massacres, Australia, 1788 to 1930
https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/map.php
https://howlinginfinite.com/2021/03/22/dark-deeds-in-
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189773560
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_poisonings_of_Aboriginal_Australians
#GumbaynggirrCountry #Bellingen #Fernmount #Gleniffer #TheDrive #MidNorthCoast #IndigenousPeoples #massacres #memorials #tourism #DarkTourism #violence #TuthTelling #denial #SettlerSociety #colonialism

Waterways contaminated with "forever chemicals"
The fate of Bellingen's platypuses

"An Australian-first study found perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in the liver of deceased platypuses collected from numerous rivers in eastern NSW. PFOS is toxic to humans and has been linked to some cancers."

"Scientists from Western Sydney University (WSU) have discovered perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in the livers of eight deceased platypuses collected from numerous eastern NSW rivers, from the north coast in Bellingen to the alps of Jindabyne."

"All eight wild platypuses collected from NSW waterways over the past two and a half years returned results with concentrations of some PFOS in them, ranging from 4 micrograms per kilogram (µg/kg) to 1,200 µg/kg — some of the highest concentrations of any species in the world."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-20/australia-first-study-finds-forever-chemicals-in-platypuses/104244072

Platypus Survival - Inspired by True Events
https://bellingenarea.blogspot.com/2023/11/platypus-survival-inspired-by-true.html
#platypuses #Bellingen #rivers #creeks #water #NSW #PFOS #pollution #sentinels #PerfluorooctaneSulfonate #FirefightingFoam #contamination #monotremes #wildlife #chemical #FoodChain #MidNorthCoast

Koala habitat on the Mid-North Coast of NSW logged

"Up to 19,000 hectares of forest in the proposed Great Koala National Park is at risk of destruction by Forestry Corporation NSW before April next year."

“It is untenable that so much has been destroyed, and will be destroyed in the coming year, before these areas have been assessed. ..The new analysis reveals Forestry Corporation is continuing its desperate attempt to take as much timber as possible before the park is protected."

“Leaving 95% of the proposed park vulnerable to logging is simply not good enough to ensure the survival of koalas in the wild."
>>
https://www.nature.org.au/loggers_attempting_to_make_park_unviable_as_koala_sanctuary

"The Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales has developed this interactive MAP to show past and planned logging in the proposed park that has been identified as home to one in five of the state’s koalas.">>
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=d3b1708ba5d041fa87ab1353413fb0bf
#TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #MidNorthCoast #NSWLogging #NSWForestry #FCNSW #SaveTuckersNob #biodiversity #climate #destruction #Australia

A 2020 NSW parliamentary inquiry found koalas would be extinct in the state by 2050 without urgent action.

"Governments continue to permit the clearing of koala habitat, including for native forest logging operations on the mid-north coast and in areas that have been promised for conservation in a proposed great koala national park."

“We’re in one of the most biodiverse, rich areas on this continent, but historical clearing has seriously degraded the area."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/03/koala-thief-leaves-claude-eastern-forest-nursery-lismore-nsw
#Koalas #LoggingImpacts #LandClearing #NSWForestry #MidNorthCoast #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob #governance #biodiversity #extinction makers

Forestry Corp cops $500,000 penalty for illegal logging

"This arrangement stems from an incident involving the confirmed illegal harvesting of 17 protected trees in Coopernook State Forest on the NSW mid-North Coast."

A "Penalty comes while Forestry Corp has been issued with Stop Work Orders at Tallaganda and Flat Rock State Forests because of inadequate wildlife surveys before logging commences."
>>
https://1earthmedia.com/forestry-corp-cops-500000-penalty-for-illegal-logging/
#NativeForests #NSWForestry #NSWLogging #TallagandaSF #tax #surveys #breaches #contractors #MidNorthCoast #WildlifeAct #biodiversity #ClimateActionNow