Since the very first Frogmouth fledged in 2020, this column hasn’t resiled from exposing the odd environmental woe. Grumbling at government ineptitude is also a hallmark.
So, when I recently tore myself away from the plush Tawny editorial suites to join an eco-protest march, I knew you’d understand.
Suitably impassioned, I’m now sharing updates on previously covered subjects – the stuff that Rupert Murdoch conveniently ignores. As one speaker at the rally said, “we have to get angry and active, or we’re gonna lose many of our natural wonders …including koalas”.
In April 2021’s issue, I criticised the Beaches Link Tunnel project which would have polluted Middle Harbour, destroyed Flat Rock Gully, wiped out Burnt Bridge Creek and despoiled bushland adjoining Manly Dam. Good News! This was canned in Sept 2023.
In March 2022, I detailed Northern Beaches Council’s plans to build a $1.8 million plastic boardwalk through undisturbed bushland at Manly Dam. Bad news, clearing has commenced.
In August 2022, I described ways people can help our environment. Good News, a new umbrella group has emerged called “Northern Beaches Climate Action Network”. They work locally to encourage profound change in our energy resources and emissions.
In June 2022, I wrote about the prehistoric “Climbing Galaxias” fish of Manly Dam and its precarious future. Bad news, Since January 2024, mud and silt has leeched from the new Frenchs Forest High School construction site into the only creek in Sydney where these fish still survive(d). They’re now presumed locally extinct.
In July 2022, I outlined the shameful decline in Koala numbers. Bad News, despite a pre-election promise of a “Great Koala National Park”, vital habitat is still being industrially logged. Housing developments near Campbelltown, meanwhile, are encroaching into one of the last healthy Koala colonies. Good News, on 13 November last year, local MP, Dr Sophie Scamps, supported by 36 environmental organisations, launched a pledge to stop native forest logging.
In November 2022, I contemplated the terrible threat to World Heritage bushland if plans to raise Warragamba dam were approved. Good News, this proposal was shelved in April 2023. I also mentioned the contentious “Lizard Rock” development proposal which (as I write) is still being determined.
In March 2023, I bemoaned the rate of land clearing, the continued use of harmful shark nets, coal mine expansions and the bi-partisan endorsement of harsh new laws against peaceful climate activists. Bad news, all this is still occurring. A slice of Good News is the uncertain future of the $3.6 billion Santos gas project in the Pilliga Forest, following a successful Traditional Owners’ legal appeal.
In June 2023, I promoted the value of native trees and the vital need to protect them in our city. Bad news, tree loss continues with a concerning spate of illegal felling and poisoning. Good news, Northern Beaches Council’s “Tree Canopy Plan” was adopted in Sept 2023 – bringing hope for better outcomes locally.
In October 2023, I criticised the new federal Labor government for continuing to endorse detrimental projects nationwide. Bad News, Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, recently approved the massive Santos Barossa Gas Project and also the removal of rare Gouldian Finch habitat at Lee Point, Darwin. Currently, 116 new fossil fuel projects are still “in the pipeline”.
Bad News. Global temperatures are now 1.1C above pre-industrial levels and, on current trajectory, are set to reach a perilous 1.5C above in the early 2030s.
Footnote: Demonstrating through Sydney streets for better environmental policies can actually be fun. And, these days, if you’re not heavily fined or incarcerated for your trouble, you’ve come out a winner.