Blog
SoE 2021 and Coasts
SoE 2021 and Coasts The 244 page Coasts chapter in the 2021 Australian State of the Environment Report has four key findings on Australian coasts: 1) they are a zone of concentrated biodiversity and productivity; 2) they are under pressure; 3) they will be profoundly...
Human Rights and Beaches
Human Rights and Beaches On my first visit to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina in 1964 I encountered beach racial segregation. It was quite a shock. African Americans had their own section of the beach where white Americans did not go; to see African Americans elsewhere...
Coastal Walks and Local Councils
Coastal Walks and Local Councils I am a great fan of the SBS program “Scenic Coastal Walks with Kate Humble”. It is shown on Thursday evenings and beautifully captures the contrasting delights of the British coastline and the wonderful opportunities the public has in...
EPBC Act and Regional Landscape and Resilience Plans
EPBC Act and Regional Landscape and Resilience Plans The new Australian Government is well positioned to pick up the challenges from the Samuel review of the EPBC Act and the IPCC’s adverse comments on Australia’s institutional performance in managing climate risks. A...
29th NSW Coastal Conference
29th NSW Coastal Conference At last the NSW coastal family has managed to come together in person. Hopefully the days of hybrid and online conferences are over. Old and new faces gathered close to the shore at Mantra on Salt, Kingscliff in far northern NSW. Our hosts...
Lament for Estuaries?
Lament for Estuaries? Over the past few years I have had the opportunity of participating in deliberations related to the health of certain Australian estuaries including coastal lakes. It has opened my eyes even more to an array of concerns that are captured by the...
East Coast Floods 2022
East Coast Floods 2022 Devastation in recent months along the east coast as a result of floods is not new. Back in 1974, Moss Cass, Minister for Environment in the Whitlam Government, pronounced in no uncertain terms “flood plains are for floods”. He was referring to...
East Coast Weather ‘Traffic Jam’
East Coast Weather ‘Traffic Jam’ Repeated storms of autumn along the east coast are not something new. I was struck by an account in The Australian 27/3/22. Reference was made to a meteorological “traffic jam” as the cause of our flooding woes. This statement was in...
VALE: PAUL BISHOP
VALE: Paul Bishop When I joined the Department of Geography at Sydney University in 1985, it was a pleasure to meet Paul Bishop who had just completed his PhD at Macquarie University. He had an adjoining office with another tutor, Peter Cowell, and it was obvious that...
IPCC Throws Down the Gauntlet on Australian Institutional Deficiencies
Exposure and vulnerability of various natural and human systems to climate change are discussed at length in the latest IPPC report (6th Assessment Report on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation). IPCC again used the “burning embers” diagram to highlight levels of...
Recent federal coastal initiatives – February 2022
Recent federal coastal initiatives - February 2022 In recent weeks there have been two initiatives that place the Australian Government back into coastal management in a direct way. While these are most welcome, it will be important to monitor how they are implemented...
Resourceful ‘lucky’ country
Resourceful 'lucky' country Blessed by natural resources (Meroo Lake, south coast NSW) There are at last two reasons we can claim to be a “lucky” country – a shared and rich cultural heritage and a unique natural resource inheritance. This endowment from First Nations...