At Thursday's council meeting, Nick Daking's notice of motion to declare a
Climate Emergency was not in dispute or not inappropriate for discussion by a
council, nor was the outcome - we are not asking people to be rocket scientists
to understand why there is more lava spewing out of the earth, more destructive
winds, more drought, record temperatures, and the more relevant here - MORE
FLOODS - across the planet.
SO WHAT IS IN QUESTION, THEN? To put it bluntly, the sheer
stupidity of approving a development application to place buildings that will
have thousands of students and staff on site in a flood prone area, as well as
a large car park which will be IN FRONT OF A FLOOD LEVEE! Great Universities
are built to withstand the test of time. At a time when the Vikings were
exploring North America, Oxford was built with Cambridge Uni less than 100yrs
later. Does anyone seriously think that UTAS Inveresk made of sticks will see
out even half of THIS century? There is no need for the big bad wolf to come
and huff and puff with climate change well underway. Perhaps if the DA was
changed to turn the building into Noah's Ark, there would be hope....
With Cr Daking stating, "This is why our climate motion
will send a strong message to state and federal governments, make it impossible
for them to ignore..." one has to ask if those who live in glass houses
should not throw stones when it comes to approvals impacted by climate change.
SO THEN. WHO WILL PAY when (not if, but when) Inveresk area
floods again and LCC chooses to allow the DA to go ahead?? Who will pay when
Errol's properties are inundated (he was was wise to put them under the hammer
before they go under the water). What of the millions spent on Riverbend Park,
which lead to a budget overrun? What of the millions of dollars worth of
vehicles in the new Automobile Museum that will be turned into oversized Tamar
mud flavoured choc wedges.
WHO WILL PAY for the insurance hikes after this catastrophic
event? Who will pay for the clean up bill? Who will pay to bus the students to
another site such as the Hobart campus? Who will pay for the students to go
back home for the rest of the year because they can't continue to use
University facilities that are specific only to Launceston? Who will reconcile
the senseless loss of life and ask "Why on earth did we move..."
The Launceston City Council has for almost 5 years bowed,
scraped (and as we found out recently) directly assisted UTAS in getting their
plans, spruiking the proposterous, and giving away millions of dollars of
ratepayers assets in land, inevitably pushing up rate hikes. YET IF THE COUNCIL
ACCEPTS CLIMATE CHANGE AND ALL THAT IT BRINGS, THEY MUST REJECT THE PROPOSAL
FOR UTAS INVERESK. PERIOD.
I urge Invermay residents to show their dissatisfaction in
numbers. Keep an eye out in the media for notices for the development
application seeking comment and lodge your objections. One thing you can be
sure on, it will be worded to keep you off the scent. Reject the lies and
deception that we have endured for the last 5 years from proponents along with
more changes to the plan than I've had baked dinners.
The voicing of my objections over the last few years (along with
many others) are now coming to fruition.
Just like our climate emergency, it's time to act before it's too
late. Not unlike the process a copilot must take if he realises the pilot is
making a dangerous decision "Captain, You must listen!"
J
FROM THE EXAMINER City of Launceston council is already working towards becoming more sustainable, but a newly-adopted motion is set to take it to another level.
On Thursday, the council became the first council in the state to unanimously declare a climate emergency. Two other councils in the state have also declared emergencies, but have had some councillors not support it. ...............
The Launceston motion was put forward by councillor Nick Daking. It called for the implementation of an action plan to become 100 per cent carbon neutral by 2025, the implementation of an action plan to move towards 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 and to engage and work with the community, business and not-for-profit sectors to reduce community emissions................
The council will also write to state and federal parliamentarians to voice its declaration of an emergency. ...............
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Tasmania parliament fails to declare climate emergency ...............
As a result of Thursday's motion, the council has called for an audit into the council's current impacts, general manager Michael Stretton said.
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"Specific initiatives will be identified as part of that work," he said.
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"The City of Launceston has oversight of a range of relevant issues in Northern Tasmania like public street lighting, stormwater management, waste and recycling management, and energy requirements in our major regional facilities; we therefore have many levers that can potentially be pulled in the future."
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The council has already implemented a number of strategies to help reach those targets.
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These include capturing methane gas at its Mowbray landfill site, its Food Organics Garden Organics service for green waste, the installation of electric vehicle recharging stations and LED street lighting.
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Solar panels have been installed at the Launceston Aquatic Centre, along with smart energy systems installed at many of its facilities.
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About 30 councils across Australia have declared a climate emergency. City of Hobart and Kingborough councils are the only other Tasmanian councils to declare an emergency. Break O'Day Council has debated the topic twice.
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