Date: 8 April 2023 at 8:41:18 am ACST
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Subject: Daily Links Apr 8
Daily Links will return on Monday
Post of the Day
Hugh Possingham
Australia has embarked on an experiment to create a market for biodiversity. No, we’re not talking about buying and selling wildlife, although, sadly, there is a black market for that. This is about repairing and restoring landscapes, providing habitat for threatened species and getting business and philanthropy to help pay for it.
On This Day
April 8
Easter – Christianity
Passover (Pesach) – Judaism
Nuzul Al-Qur’an – Islam
Ecological Observance
National Plitvice Lakes Day – Croatia
Climate Change
Record-breaking sea temperatures set to bring supercharged storms
The global average sea surface temperature has hit a record high of 21.1°C, which could lead to fiercer hurricanes and typhoons.
Can trade wars help save the climate?
Robinson Meyer
Competition, not cooperation, has driven the bulk of climate progress over the past few years.
National
Australia’s climate battle has moved on – leaving deniers behind
Michael Mann
Notwithstanding some absurd outbursts from the fringe, the fight is now over what form climate change action should take
Labor’s conflicted climate change policies
Jeremy Webb
There is something but not much to celebrate over the safeguard compromise. It may well ensure we reduce our emissions by 43%. But the Labor government’s continued permissive attitude to new fossil fuel projects is in blatant disregard of the IPCC’s pathway to a 1.5C limit on global warming.
Here’s how lawyers can save us from the climate crisis [$]
Emma Elsworthy
Australia is second only to the US for its surging number of climate litigation. It does work, but perhaps not in the way you might think.
Victoria
We love it, but we’ve outgrown it. Melbourne, it’s time for a difficult conversation
Patrick Elligett
Planners say Melbourne needs to become a polycentric city to thrive. Until recently, few people wanted to talk about it.
New South Wales
Riverina irrigator fined $156,000 after more than $1 million of water stolen during drought
Dean Troy Salvestro has been convicted of stealing $1.1 million worth of water in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
While the former NSW government was in caretaker mode, mining giant Santos was given approval to reactivate four wells in the NSW north west for coal seam gas exploration, but local farmers are vowing to fight the decision.
Nura Diya animals and plants help highlight connection to country at Taronga Zoo
Native animals will soon help people better understand the connection between Indigenous people and their country.
ACT
An investigation into a large fire that destroyed Canberra’s only recycling centre has found batteries in household waste were probably at fault.
ACT reserves to close during feral animal cull [$]
Pest species such as pigs and deer will be targeted by ACT Parks in several regions from next month as part of an effort to protect vulnerable nature reserves from the impacts of feral animals.
Concern for loss of facilities as Weston Creek tackles Territory Plan [$]
The need for more affordable housing is undeniable, but so is the prioritisation of community spaces, resident group says.
Queensland
Coal seam gas waste plan risks washing ‘5m tonnes of salt into the Murray-Darling Basin’
Critics say a proposal to dispose of salt from waste brine by burying it in lined landfill is ‘not a long-term solution’
Critical section of Inland Rail link in limbo amid cost blowout
The government has committed to a section but will commission an independent cost assessment before deciding the future of the rest.
Off the rails: At $31 billion, is Inland Rail the biggest waste of public money in history?
The cost of Australia’s largest rail project has doubled to an “astonishing” $31.4 billion and is riddled with problems such as major delays, environmental challenges and inexperienced project managers.
‘Not the solution’: MP fears native title peace plan won’t work [$]
Signs warning residents and tourists away from native title land near a popular beach are being considered to help resolve a fiery dispute that has divided a small Queensland community.
Dingo attacks are rare – but here’s what you need to know about dingo safety
Bill Batema
Australia has an ambivalent relationship with dingoes – to some they are almost magical representations of our arid landscapes, responsible for holding back a tide of foxes and feral cats, as found in some studies.
South Australia
Adelaide tram commuters facing nine-month line closure during $400m upgrade
Adelaide’s longest tram route could be out of action for up to nine months, leaving commuters facing alternative transport options as $400 million overpass construction work is carried out.
Tasmania
Desperate mission to save a Tasmanian songbird [$]
They’re one of Tasmania’s rarest songbirds, and now new research has shed light on the movements of the 40 spotted pardalote.
Call to exclude finfish farming from northwest coast & islands
Media release – NW Tas for Clean Oceans
All three multi-national salmon companies have publicly stated they are not intending to apply for finfish leases on the northwest coast of Tasmania.
Threatened Takayna hosts Australia’s largest art activism event
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation
Art for takayna, an immersive field trip for artists into one of the world’s last wild places is underway in Tasmania’s northwest. For the seventh year, 100 artists will visit takayna’s threatened World Heritage value rainforests, wet eucalypt forests, wild coast and heathlands to both capture its beauty and share it with the wider world.
Northern Territory
Native title determination a bittersweet victory for Anangu people of Central Australia
A native title determination recognising commercial rights for the first time in Central Australia has been settled seven years after the claims process got underway.
A mining company had big plans for this NT town, until locals pushed back
A gold mining exploration licence application for the township of Adelaide River, south of Darwin, has been withdrawn following community backlash.
Chief Minister’s Department deleted ‘petrochemicals’ references from Middle Arm websites
Emails from the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet show staff were ordered to remove the word “petrochemicals” from government websites relating to the controversial $1.5 billion Middle Arm project, which the Opposition has called “censorship”.
Western Australia
Water serpent sees off billionaire family’s bid to corral flow of sacred river
Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s weir project has been blocked after a tribunal found it risked killing or harming a water serpent spirit revered by traditional owners, or causing it to become angry.
McGowan to Alcoa: No mining that threatens Perth’s water supply
WA Premier Mark McGowan, normally a vociferous supporter of mining, has made clear to US bauxite miner Alcoa that anywhere that threatens Perth’s dams is a no-go.
Sustainability
A fork in the road: States will determine the future of us transportation pollution
How states spend federal infrastructure funding will either increase or decrease climate pollution from transportation — the choice is theirs.
Plastics touching our food may be making us gain weight
Adrienne Matei
Hormone-disrupting chemicals are entering our bodies. We eat 44lbs of plastic in our lifetimes
Nature Conservation
Hawaii considers visitor charge to combat environmental cost of tourism
Hawaii wants the 10 million tourists that travel to the US state every year to help pay for upkeep of its natural environment by way of a licence or pass to visit state parks and trails
With deep-sea mining applications set to open, fears grow for the Pacific
With applications set to open for companies to mine the depth of the Pacific ocean, leaders call for a suspension to the controversial practice.
Finally, there’s something to unite Britain – disgust at what is happening to our waterways and seas
Gaby Hinsliff
To force action on Britain’s sewage-blighted rivers and beaches, we need to kick up a new great stink.
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