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Posted 27 August 2009
Ian Kiernan and Greg Piper Launch "Turning Toronto Green"
Ian Kiernan, chairman of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World, joined Greg Piper today in launching a project aimed at reducing the use of disposable plastic bags in Toronto. The event at Toronto Town Square ran from 10:00am until midday, with Ian Kiernan and Greg Piper officially launching "Turning Toronto Green" at 11:00.
Mr Kiernan and Mr Piper started the handout of 4,400 purpose-made "Turning Toronto Green" reusable bags that are being given to shoppers.
Coles Toronto also provided reusable bags through their checkouts at no cost between 11:00am and 1:00pm, while Woolworths handed out bags to the crowd.
The launch included presentation of awards to prize-winners in a poster competition involving local schools.
From 10:00am there were displays on a range of environmental themes, with music provided by Fennell Bay Public School Choir and the Toronto Public School band 'Marimba'.
The campaign against plastic bags was first suggested by Carey Bay resident Henry Wellsmore and became a joint project of Greg Piper and the Toronto Tidy Towns Committee.
Greg Piper thanked Henry Wellsmore and the local businesses who sponsored the new reusable bags.
"It was great to have so many school pupils involved today," Mr Piper said. "They will be responsible for our environment in the future and in the meantime they will be reminding their parents about reusable shopping bags."
Ian Kiernan has a long history of involvement with Lake Macquarie. "It's great to see the improvement in the lake," he said. "It's a great reward for everyone involved."
According to Mr Kiernan, Australia produces more than 1.3 million tonnes of plastic every year - more than 71kg for every person.
"For the fifteenth consecutive year, plastics made up the majority of rubbish collected on Clean Up Australia Day 2009," he added.
Posted 14 August 2009 Offer TAFE Teachers a Fair Deal Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, has called on the NSW Government to make TAFE teachers a fair salary offer. Teachers have been offered 12.48% over three years, the equivalent of 4% per year. In exchange, the Government wants teachers to increase their class time by 10.4%. The NSW Teachers Federation has calculated that these increased hours could instead provide 500 new jobs. "We all know that these are tough times, but there's no reason for the Government to make such a one-sided offer," Mr Piper said. "I understand why teachers reject it." According to Mr Piper there have been significant savings in recent years through reductions in course hours and increases in class sizes. "I understand teachers have already agreed to changes on time credits and penalty rates as part of the first 2.5%, so the increase in teaching hours is not a reasonable request just to top this up to 4%." "I have written to the Minister for Education asking her to reconsider the offer and make it more equitable". Posted 11 August 2009 Somersby fields rejected, but more attention to air quality needed Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, today welcomed the announcement by Planning Minister Kristina Keneally that the Somersby Fields sand quarry has been rejected. According to Mr Piper this was the only responsible course of action, because of the impacts the mine would have had on the adjoining school and the broader community. Mr Piper had declared his intention to debate the issue in Parliament and is pleased that there is no longer a need to do this. "The proposal relied on outdated information on air quality and the impacts of respirable silica dust," said Mr Piper. "Somersby residents are concerned about existing air quality problems, so understandably there was great concern about a any new source of dust." According to Mr Piper, air quality issues have become the important emerging issue when it comes to considering the impacts from mining and quarrying. "Fine respirable dust is proven to have significant health impacts, but we don't yet have an air quality standard for it," Mr Piper added. "It is becoming clear that there are huge health costs attached to this sort of development and the Government has a duty of care to protect people." "People in dust-affected communities are voicing their legitimate concerns and the Government must make health a higher priority than mining and quarrying." "I congratulate the Minister for listening to the genuine concerns of Somersby residents." Posted 11 August 2009 State Funding Channelled into Lake Macquarie Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, today welcomed the announcement of $858,000 in state funding for improvements to Lake Macquarie. The Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, has confirmed that Lake Macquarie City Council will receive $750,000 for estuary management and $108,000 for floodplain management. According to Mr Piper, the health of the lake has improved dramatically under the Lake Macquarie Improvement Project. The project has only recently wound up after ten years of joint funding by council and state government. "It's been shown that the past damage to Lake Macquarie can be reversed, so this new funding will provide a real and ongoing benefit," said Mr Piper. "There is still more to do, so the state funding is great news." The estuary management funding will target streambank stabilisation and vegetation, protection of wetlands and saltmarsh and improvements in water quality, "Mr Piper said. "These projects will help restore natural systems and deliver ongoing environmental improvements to the lake," Mr Piper said. According to Mr Piper, the floodplain funding will be used for solving existing flooding problems and preventing new ones under Council's Floodplain Management Plan. Posted 4 August 2009 Community support for Lockyer-Dunstan Children  In the wake of a tragic house fire on the Morisset Peninsula Greg Piper, Mayor and Member for Lake Macquarie, has teamed up with Bonnells Bay Progress Association to offer long-term support for four orphaned brothers, all under 10. The aim is to encourage members of the public to make tax-deductible donations.
According to Mr Piper, there has been a strong outpouring of support for the boys after the tragic loss of their father, Mark Dunsdon.
"The community has been quick to offer support for Zacharia, Talon, Marcus and Solomon," Mr Piper said. "I'm investigating how this good-will can be maximised and channelled to provide the greatest benefit."
"I would like to see a trust fund established
so that members of the public can make
tax deductible donations,"
Mr Piper Added. "I've been told that the Bonnells Bay School and
local businesses have already started
collecting donations for the boys.
I'm sure that many in the community
would like to help if it can be made
easy for them."
"The Bonnells Bay Progress Association is looking for assistance with establishing a trust fund and I am keen to see this happen," Mr Piper said. "As soon as the trust fund is established I'll have the details on my website at www.gregpiper1.com"
Current options for donating goods are:
Posted 24 July 2009 Greg Piper wants Open Cut ban made clearer In the wake of the dumped Olstan auger mining proposal Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, has asked for strengthening of the State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) that prohibits open cut mining in Lake Macquarie. In a letter to the Minister for Planning, Mr Piper has asked for the SEPP (Mining, Petroleum Production and Extractive Industries) 2007 to be modified so that proposals for unusual mining projects such as Olstan will not rely on legal and technical arguments to determine their permissibility. According to Mr Piper, a clearer distinction must be drawn between surface and underground mining methods so that there can be no doubt about what can be included in any new proposals. "I have no doubt that the implicit intention of the SEPP was to exclude high impact surface mining techniques within the city," said Mr Piper. "With the Olstan proposal now withdrawn I believe it is timely and imperative to support the spirit of the SEPP by further clarification." "The Olstan proposal generated a lot of concern in the community," Mr Piper added. "If there is a clear indication that communities will be protected from the impacts of surface mining this need not happen again." "I believe that the community generally accepts underground mining, but sees proposals such as Olstan inappropriate in a populated and developing area." AUGER MINE PROPOSED FOR LAKE MACQUARIE Centennial Coal's proposed Olstan project near Blackalls Park would extract coal by auger mining, which is a process of drilling into coal seams often associated with open cut mining. The current proposal is based on a possible interpretation of underground mining operations allowable under the State Environmental Planning Policy prohibiting open cut mining in the city of Lake Macquarie. There has been a strong reaction from the local community over issues such as dust, noise, loss of bushland and damage to creeks. Information on the proposed auger mine is here. An example of an auger mining operation is at http://www.coalaugering.com/fassifern.pdf |
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