The Coal Point Chronicle: May 2023

Monday 8 May 2023

Local events May-June 2023

Dates for Doing - visit the calendar for updates

Australian Bush: A Fibre and Textile Approach by Lake Mac U3A

Toronto Library: Monday, 08 May 2023 | 01:00 PM to Sunday, 23 July 2023 | 11:59 PM

Friday 12/5/23, 5-6pm meet the artists behind the exhibition ‘Australian Bush: A Fibre and Textile Approach ' and 'Art and Painting for Pleasure' at the Exhibition Opening

Make and Mend Space - Toronto Library

Are you interested in joining a new Boomerang Bags community?

Can you sew a straight line or use an iron? Do you have fabric you can donate? Do you want to help prevent used fabric going to landfill and being part of the circular economy?

Join the volunteers of Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhood Group for a social sewing morning at the Toronto Library. We’ll be making bags from rescued fabric to share with others.More information

Get active on the Toronto Foreshore

Fondalicious pop-up for Active Recreation Strategy - Toronto

Saturday, 13 May 2023 | 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Grab your lycra and leg-warmers and get to the Toronto Foreshore rotunda for a free morning of 80s-inspired aerobic action. Bring a water bottle and a yoga mat or towel for floor work.

More info https://www.lakemac.com.au/Events-directory/Council-events/Fondalicious-pop-up-for-Active-Recreation-Strategy-Toronto

Community Electric Vehicle Open Day

Saturday 13 May, 10am-2pm

Council Administration Building, 126-138 Main Road, Speers Point

Learn about owning and driving an electric vehicle at this free community day with:

Test rides
Talks with local electric vehicle owners
Viewings of the latest car models
Displays of electric vehicle charging from experts and installers.
Bring the whole family and enjoy the free rides, activites, pizza and gelato.

Teralba to Toronto Climate Resilience Planning | Lake Macquarie.

Lots of information and the engagement report are on https://shape.lakemac.com.au/teralba-to-toronto

The Climate Resilience team are planning to hold two information sessions in May. Please attend the option that suits you most, details below:

Option 1 : 5pm to 7pm Wednesday 17 May 2023. Venue: Toronto Library ( Cnr Brighton Ave and Pemell St – Toronto).

Option 2 : 10am to 12noon Thursday 18 May 2023. Venue: Toronto Library ( Cnr Brighton Ave and Pemell St – Toronto).

Going Circular film screening

Wednesday 17 May, 6-8pm

Landcare and Sustainable Living Centre, umali-barai-ku, 80 Toronto Road, Booragul

Get together with Sustainable Neighbourhood volunteers and other community members to celebrate National Volunteer Week with a free screening of Going Circular.
Going Circular is a film about hope from the producers of My Octopus Teacher. It tells the stories of four visionaries – 102-year-old inventor Dr. James Lovelock, biomimicry biologist Janine Benyus, designer Arthur Huang, and financier John Fullerton–whose extraordinary experiences change the way we think about humanity’s future.

Each of their stories helps us reassess what our food, our cities, our financial system and our fashion industry could look like if we transitioned to a circular system where everything is reused and nothing goes to waste.

Presented by the Warners Bay Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group, and the Munibung Hill Conservation Society, with support from the Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance and Lake Macquarie City Council.

Bookings essential at events.humanitix.com/going-circular-film-screening.

CPPA Annual General Meeting

Monday 19/6/23
7-8pm zoom

Please register to attend
For the agenda..and the updates please visit this page

All Welcome.

TASNG Monthly meeting

2nd Wednesday of the Month
5-6:30 The Hub, 97 The Boulevarde.
All Welcome.

Local Landcaring

Want to join us?
If you would like to receive weekly emails about where we are landcaring and what we will be doing email cppalandcare@gmail.com

Lots of landcare info about the reserves is available on this website

Tools & techniques provided
Morning tea at 10am

11/5 - Puntei Creek

18/5- Hampton St Link

25/5 - Stansfield

1/6 - Burnage with Green Team

8/6 - West Ridge

15/6 - Ambrose St

Crocodile Point- 1st & 3rd Wed
8:30-10am. Meet under the Fennel Bay bridge

Origin to the rescue for hall repairs!

Over the past year the CPPA has been addressing a termite attack at our community-owned hall. Newcastle Pest Services did a great job in tracking down and stopping any further munching, with a recent report showing no more activity. A thorough inspection to determine the extent of the damage has shown that there is minimal structural damage but extensive damage to architraves, window-sills and softwood structures… there’s some repair work ahead.

As the CPPA owns the hall, the maintenance, and repairs rests with the CPPA. Each year we regularly raise enough funds to cover all the regular costs associated with owning a property - rates, insurance, electricity, water and general maintenance.

When something extra is required, we seek funding from other sources, usually grants. We’ve achieved some amazing renovations over the past decade through Community Building Partnership (CBP) grants. Underfloor insulation, air conditioning, solar panels were installed, and a rainwater water tank added and plumbed into the toilets. These were all initiatives to ensure the long-term sustainability of services to the hall and improve the comfort of hall users.

In 2022 a CBP grant to address the termite damage, undertake the repairs, and address the lack of storage at the Hall was unsuccessful. Since then, the CPPA Committee has been seeking other funding options.

In the past month a very exciting offer of $8000 of financial assistance has come through the Eraring site Community Support program.

This grant will make possible the repairs to the termite damage and, in the process of repairing, enable installation of more storage within the kitchen area to provide better facilities for regular hall users. Sincere thanks to the Origin – Eraring team for coming to our repairing rescue.

It will now be up to our members and community supporters to physically make the repairs happen.

A scope of works has been developed and the CPPA is seeking support from members, the wider community or local community groups to assist in undertaking the repair and storage project.

(The picture is looking towards the end needing repairs.)

1. Investigate (done)

Investigate to get best appreciation of extent of structural damage.
Measure up for cupboard dimensions

2. Design: (soon)

Design specifics of two new cupboards - one in corner west of new laundry sink (nominally for cleaning materials/brooms etc) plus big one opposite west window where the servery hatch will be closed.

3. Demolish Day (Sunday 14 May, & Mon-Tue if needed)

Prepare the space (empty cupboards, rotate fridge, lift flooring...).
Disconnect & cap plumbing and electrics. (May need to install a temporary arrangement to turn hot water on in case it’s needed).
Strip out cupboards, architraves, old window & hatch.
Strip wall linings as far as needed to access/reinforce damaged structural timber.
Remove debris (some/all to bulk waste? some to tip?).

4. Repair (Skilled trades needed)

Install supplementary framing (reinforce damage, close up hatch/ window/ door).
Sheet and plaster walls (both sides).
Fix damaged skirting / architraves / window-sill (on hall side as well as kitchen).
Install (old?) base unit + (old? new?) benchtop + new sink.
Connect plumbing and electrics.

5. Furnish (Skilled trades and painters required)

Build 2 cupboards (probably build on site rather than pre-build/carry / install).
Painting (hall side as well as kitchen).

6. Extra

Depending on what we find at west hatch, decide how far to strip / repair east hatch to achieve better counter and taller opening to reduce stooping.

7. Celebrate

Social gala function to launch the new space and thank our sponsors / supporters.

The CPPA needs community helpers to make the repairs happen. If you can lend a hand with any part of the project please get in touch so we can keep you updated about progress and requirements.

Ian: 0412 083 130 or cppatreasurer@gmail.com

Suzanne 0438 596 741 or email cppasecretary@gmail.com.

If you are able to assist on Sunday 14 May for the demolition session, please let us know ASAP. If need be we might be back on Mon-Tue.

The CPPA Annual General Meeting (AGM) is looming.

This year at 7pm, on Monday 19th June, we’ll be zooming in for an online AGM session, to optimise access for any interested community members.

You can log in to see what we’ve got up to over the past year and offer suggestions for the year ahead and even join the committee, new people are always welcome.

There’ll be a few formalities. One of them is to amend the Association’s Constitution to allow the Committee some discretion to adjust the membership fee.

The Constitution currently states that membership fees “will apply equally to all members”. However, this doesn’t account for Life members, who don’t pay a membership fee, the discounts available for multiple year memberships or any complimentary memberships that the CPPA may provide.

To cover these instances the words “and will apply equally to all members” is proposed to be removed.

Of course, all the regular items will be on the agenda: the annual report, the financial report, the election of committee members and thanks to those that will be moving on.

Some pre-emptive thanks are given to:

Veronica Lund who’ll be stepping down as our auditor after five years of annually checking our accounts. The CPPA voluntarily audits its accounts as a good governance process. If you would like to volunteer as our annual auditor please get in touch.

Ian Dennison, who after 12 years on the committee will be playing a lot more golf. Ian has been Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and committee member over this period. His attention to detail, organisational excellence and expertise in most things will be sorely missed.

If you would like to attend the AGM please register and the login details will be forwarded. This is the registration link

Agenda of Annual General Meeting of the CPPA

Monday 19th June , 7pm via Zoom

Acknowledgement of Country
Attendance & Apologies
Confirmation of minutes of Annual General Meeting held 26/6/22
Review of actions from previous AGM
Motion: To amend the Constitution Part 2- Membership, Section 8 to read:
A member of the association must pay to the association an annual membership fee. The amount of the fee will be determined by the committee from time to time.
For existing members, the fee for each financial year is due by 31 March of that year. For new applicants the fee is due on application to join the association, but where an application is approved after 1 October the fee paid will cover the balance of the current year plus the full following year.
President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Questions to the Committee/Motions
Appointment of Auditor
Nomination of Returning Officer
Election of Office Bearers and up to 6 other Committee members
Confirmation of Public Officer
Close of meeting

A nomination form is available for financial members to join the Committee.

An update from The Eraring Power Station Community Forum

The Eraring Power Station Community Forum reconvened on 3rd May for the second meeting this year. It was eye opening to see the amount of activity that is being proposed to meet the August 2025 exit from coal-fired power generation.

There were several reports presented at the forum.

An overview of the proposed multinational purchase of Origin was given. A “Binding Scheme Implementation Deed” has been signed and support gained from the Origin Board to progress with the sale. The new owners bring significant investment funds - $20billion, -which will also support Origin’s fast tracking of renewable energy projects.

An update on progress towards the 80% coal ash recycling goal was presented. New interstate markets for coal ash are being explored and uses such as engineered filling of mine voids and road construction are being investigated. A need to invest in plant machinery to optimise extraction was identified.

The trial of stone columns to stabilise the Ash Dam wall was explained and deemed a viable solution to improve the dam safety to comply with the Dam Safety Act of 2019. The design works are 75% complete.

An overview of the Eraring Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) was provided. The BESS will provide 460MW charge/discharge for 2 hours.

A high-level overview of the Eraring Power Station Transition Road Map to meet the August 2025 coal-closure was presented. This process must negotiate a complex operations transition around closure processes, maintenance, and community needs. A detailed baseline understanding is being developed, identifying features of the site within a regulatory, technical, and repurposing context.

Defining the opportunities for the coal closure-transition is still an active process. Yet to be determined is a vision for the site, identification of opportunities, any risks and their mitigation and any trade-offs. The next forum meeting will include a brainstorming session for possible uses of the site.
Once potential uses and opportunities are identified, detailed planning of business cases, investment and environmental and engineering planning will be undertaken.
The final stage of the Transition process will be the decommissioning of coal-fired power generation and rehabilitation and repurposing of the site for future use by Origin.

More information on Eraring's website about the current projects.

The minutes of the Eraring Power Station Consultative Committee also provide some detail of the various projects

Be a Voice for Generations

The theme for 2023 National Reconciliation Week, 27th May-3rd June is ‘Be a Voice for Generations’.

The theme is all about encouraging all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives. In recognising the work of generations past, and working towards the benefit of generations future, if we all act today, we’ll end up with a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

Two people who locally advocated for a more just and equitable society, albeit 200 years ago, were best friends Biraban, a bilingual Aboriginal man and leader of Newcastle/Lake Macquarie’s first nations peoples, and the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, a British missionary sent to convert the local people to the word of God. Their names may sound familiar, two of our local reserves are named after them.

National Reconciliation Week is a time to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation throughout our community.

Such an opportunity for learning is provided in the 1hr documentary Biraban and Threlkeld : Finding the Third Space, available on YouTube.

Biraban and Threlkeld captured songs, poems, ceremonies and dreaming stories, and represented Aboriginal people, whose testimony could not be accepted because they could not swear an oath on the Bible, in court. Together, they undertook the first systematic study of an Aboriginal language anywhere in the country and created the first ever translation of the Bible into an Aboriginal language. It’s also the first time an Aboriginal language was printed. Their work was so thorough that it is still being used to this day to reconstruct language. The film uses decades of research and is told using both First Nation and European historians, academics and linguists.

The CPPA used the Awabakal Dictionary- Community edition to propose a name for one of our reserves. Nikinba, meaning place of coal, is the suggestion for the reserve we refer to as Stansfield, locally identified as that is where you can access it from, it currently has no formally recognised name.

Chinese Violet creeping in to Toronto

Our local Landcarer Wendy shared: “On Wednesday morning I found a “pretty” flower when walking the dogs along the Greenway. I took it home, and to the Landcare Centre- Umali barai-ku on Wednesday afternoon. While waiting for a meeting to progress I picked up a copy of Weeds of the Hunter Region, and there it was on page 16 - Chinese Violet, Asystasia gangetica subsp. Micrantha… it was an important find. Professional teams have since been out on two occasion to get rid of it.”

This plant is on the National Environmental Alert List and more pictures and information can be found here. Here’s a snapshot of why it’s a worry.

Chinese violet is a fast-growing perennial creeper that forms sprawling mats. It normally grows to 1 m high. However, if climbing over vegetation, it can reach 3 m in height. Vines may die back after releasing their seeds.

If left to run rampant it can:

smother and outcompete native plants,
reduce food and shelter for native animals, and
smother garden plants and lawns.

All infestations are currently subject to destruction programs, as required under the Biosecurity (Chinese Violet) Control Order 2017. Early detection and eradication will prevent Chinese violet from spreading.

It spreads by seeds and plant parts. Small fragments of stems can take root at each node when they come into contact with moist soil. Most infestations have started from dumped garden waste or garden escapees. Plant parts can also be moved by earth-moving machinery, slashers and mowers and vehicles.

Do you like to get out and about to relax?

One of the recurring issues around our community is the lack of infrastructure for walking safely, riding safely, accessing the Lake for a swim or our reserves for a walk.

Lake Mac Council is preparing a Lake Macquarie Active Recreation Strategy, which aims to provide a strategic framework and action plan that enables a coordinated and collaborative approach to support participation in active recreation for liveability, health and wellbeing.

Active recreation is defined as physical activity for the purposes of relaxation, health and wellbeing or enjoyment which can be self-directed or facilitated by a provider or organisation.

Council wants to make sure that the Active Recreation Strategy is based on a strong understanding of the needs and priorities of the community.

So if you’d like to walk on a path and not the road, bike more safely with road markings, perhaps have a track around a reserve or better access to the Lake for a swim, there’s an opportunity to ‘Have Your Say” and get local issues under consideration.

There’s an interactive map when you can put suggestions on specific locations and/or a survey that takes about five minutes to complete.

Feedback survey closes on 31 May 2023.

Fondalicious pop-up for Active Recreation Strategy - Toronto

Saturday, 13 May 2023 | 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Grab your lycra and leg-warmers and get to the Toronto Foreshore rotunda for a free morning of 80s-inspired aerobic action. Bring a water bottle and a yoga mat or towel for floor work.

More info https://www.lakemac.com.au/Events-directory/Council-events/Fondalicious-pop-up-for-Active-Recreation-Strategy-Toronto

Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood News

An update from the TASNG Chair -Steve Dewar

The TASNG team have been very active over the past few months, helping out around our community!

We have tackled the graffiti on the wall of Toronto Dentists and are looking into an aboriginal mural for the space!

We have mounted a campaign to get McDonald’s to have recycling bins and recycling labels on drive-through and delivery meals.

We hosted a stall at the Wellbeing and Health Festival recently held at the Toronto Foreshore. We are supporting Biraban Land Council to get a Toronto Foreshore Biraban/Threlkeld Memorial.

We are clearing the invasive species from the Endangered Ecological Community at ‘Crocodile Point’, adjacent to Fennell Bay Bridge.

Finally, congratulations to Woolworths for getting rid of the 15 cent plastic bags. We are monitoring other shops that are still giving out single use plastic bags. Compostable or biodegradable plastic bags still take years to break down!

Graffiti Blasters - Joanne Schumacher

To help in tackling graffiti around town TASNG have commenced an Anti-Graffiti Campaign, promoting the importance of a graffiti-free neighbourhood. Graffiti is costly to a business’ presence, is destructive to property & sends a message that the community is not concerned about its neighbourhood.

A community meeting highlighted that individuals and local businesses were concerned and active in keeping our neighbourhood graffiti free by removing graffiti quickly, helping in maintaining a safe, secure & attractive environment.

For more information about graffiti removal supplies contact our local businesses, The Paint Place and Mitre 10.

DAs In Play 16/3/23 to 7/5/23

The CPPA endeavours to provide a summary of active applications in our area as outlined in the table at right.
Please consult LMCC’s website for a full listing: