The Coal Point Chronicle: June 2023

Monday, 12 June 2023

Should developments comply with planning instruments? Site meeting 16/6/23

It seems an odd question to have to repeatedly consider but the proposed five-storey, twin-block development at 114-120 Cary Street, next to McDonalds, is having a Land & Environment Court on-site reconciliation meeting at 10.30 am Friday 16 June to explore that very question.

Following a detailed assessment, in the absence of any additional information, Council has recommended refusal for this proposal (DA 1651/2022) . A total of 97 submissions, comprising 66 objections and 31 in favour, were received. Given the capital value of the proposal, the Hunter & Central Coast Panel (HCCP) became the consent authority. The HCCP has also determined to refuse the application. Key concerns include bulk & scale, traffic & safety, insufficient grounds to use clause 4.6 (exception to development standards) and potential for impacts of the adjacent wetland. The applicant decided not to respond to Council's requests for further information and instead appealed the matter to the Land & Environment Court.

Please try to attend this meeting to demonstrate the community's interest in this proposal. A show of significant community support for appropriate and compliant development over the maximisation of profit would greatly assist the court in understanding the community’s concerns.

Locals doing local things very locally and CPPA AGM

The Coal Point Progress Association (CPPA) has been around since 1946 and built our community-owned hall in 1951 as a community space. Throughout these 77 years, local volunteer members of the community have been moving and shaking to ensure services are delivered and that our area receives an equitable share of of expenditure on Council rates.

Volunteers have hosted events to create social connection such as Art & Flower Shows, Trash & Treasure Sales, and a Science Week event. Landcarers have been contributing efforts every week to protect the integrity of our unique local environment, home to several threatened species. Members have been maintaining our hall with regular working bees and undertaking sustainability-inspired renovations. All of this to support the cohesion of and maintain character of our bushland community.

On Monday 19th June, 7-8pm, the Annual General Meeting of the CPPA is being held online. The time and format have been chosen to better enable any community members who would like to be involved in the organisation but who have been prevented from participating previously, to attend. If there is interest in the later meeting time the new committee can discuss a suitable time to meet. The AGM Agenda was publicised in the May Chronicle and can be viewed here and below.

The nature of volunteering has changed over the years of the CPPA’s existence. As gender no longer defines work options, and work becomes more flexible people’s interest in volunteering has also changed. The CPPA is keen to enhance opportunities for community members to volunteer.

Whilst the majority of the current committee have expressed interest in renominating, new faces and new ideas would be very welcome. On our committee wish list are people to assist in organising social events that utilise the hall and a hall maintenance coordinator. The latter role has been carried out by Ian Dennison who is standing down from the committee. We’re also on the lookout for a volunteer auditor to review our annual accounts.

To attend the AGM please register via zoom

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

So what does the Coal Point Progress Association do?

Here are some excerpts from the annual report which will be formally presented at the AGM.

Thank you to our Members and Volunteers

The Progress Association is indebted to all the volunteers who give their time and skills to undertake community projects and to the members, whose support is vital for the organisation to be able to represent community views.

To all the volunteers who are the backbone of the CPPA thank you for managing hall bookings, undertaking hall maintenance, distributing newsletters, supporting social events, sharing photographs, massaging data, providing local insights, proffering professional expertise and landcaring our biodiverse bushland.

Thank you to the members of the community who have donated dollars to support our various activities; the Toronto Lions for their support of our kitchen repairs, the donors who give regularly to ensure the Chronicle can continue to be more widely distributed, and those that add a few extra dollars with their membership, it is very much appreciated.

Progress Hall

The Hall bookings are coordinated by Cath Fairs who has made the job her own and added promotional flair to the position.

We have had a number of new one-off hires, including a wedding. We have also had some success with the hall being used for workshop-based activities such as Yoga/mindfulness, whole day sessions and a TAFE group.

We have lost two long-term hirers for a variety of reasons. One was due to an increase in business, requiring them to access a larger hall. The positive feedback from the hirer was that the hall is a great location to trial or set up an emerging based group or activity. The other was because the hall did not meet their needs. The hirer felt that a regular cleaning service for the hall is needed, which does not fit within our current budget and is likely to be more expensive than the revenue-generated from hiring.

Minimal advertising for hall hire has occurred during the second half of the financial year, due to repairs being undertaken in the hall, which runs the risk of impacting on the usability of the hall for some hirers. An advertising campaign to promote hall usage will be undertaken once hall renovations have been finalised or plans formalised.

Though our application for a Community Building Partnerships grant to improve storage, renovate the bathrooms to improve accessibility and address the discovery of a rather significant termite infestation was unsuccessful, we were successful in applying for a smaller $8000 donation from the Eraring Site Community Support program using the fully-scoped proposal we had prepared.

Ian Dennison and a trusty band of volunteers, identified the scope of the termite damage in the kitchen and have prepared the area for the professionals to perform their magic.

The landcare team have recently planted the roadside bank in front of the hall with natives -Lomandra, pigface and a prostrate Banksia - to reduce the need for maintenance mowing on steep slopes, next to Skye Point Road.

The CPPA changed energy providers from Powershop (which had been taken over by Shell) to Diamond Energy which has the best ‘green credentials’ and aligns with the CPPA’s sustainability objectives.

Communication & Advocacy

Development Applications

Updates for current development applications were listed on the back page of each edition of the Chronicle. Submissions by the CPPA were lodged for

DA 2075/2021 44-46 Brighton Avenue
and DA1651/2022 114-120 Cary St Toronto

Submissions lodged by the CPPA:

Follow up naming of two unnamed public reserves to ‘Tiirabeynba’ and ‘Nikinba’
LMCC Dogs in Open Space Strategy
Gurranba Reserve - ongoing erosion due to informal car movements, seeking a solution and an update on the plans for the reserve
Nominations for Blue Plaques NSW- submitted and successful.

Advocacy

Signatory to Open letter to Hon Dr Jim Chalmers on the sale of Vales Point Power station

The Chronicle

There were nine editions (322-330) of The Chronicle produced in the past year. These were hand delivered to 2370 households in Coal Point, Carey Bay, Kilaben Bay and sections of Toronto by21 volunteers. A donation drive has been running to support the expanded distribution with the $1000 raised covering much of the printing costs for the Kilaben Bay -Toronto areas.

Suzanne Pritchard produces the newsletter from articles sourced from members of TASNG, TAG, local groups, and members of the community. It is formatted for print and web along with an e-newsletter version emailed to the CPPA members and network. The social media outlets are the CPPA, TAG and TASNG Facebook pages.

The topics which attracted the most interest according to the website analytics included the new Flight paths over Toronto (23/7/22), the DA at 114-120 Cary Street (23/7/22) and The Toronto Foreshore Town Green update (24/9/23). Regular updates were provided on the activities of TAG, TASNG, Landcare, Neighbours Noticing Nature, Council’s Plans, and their strategies that were open for community comment and DAs In Play.

The website had 4134 users, 4070 of whom were new and 7692 views, providing an opportunity to share local information beyond the reach of the printed newsletter.

The Progress Association’s Facebook page has 604 followers (up from 562 last year) and 538 likes (up from 495 last year). Facebook users are 73% women and 27% men. Most of the posts are articles posted from the Chronicle website, it is another avenue to connect with the community when immediacy and reach is required.

A sample of posts from the past three months saw the early morning ANZAC day post reach 912 people, the ‘hall all dressed up for a wedding’ reaching 384 people, Landcare posts proving popular and reaching 150+ people, and posts with links to the bushland gardening resources (184) along our local wildlife carer’s details (247) also demonstrated interest among the community for our local environmental pursuits.

The sponsorship spaces were well subscribed throughout the year with only one space in the eight additions not being sponsored and complimentarily filled by Catherine Wroe, our local wildlife carer.

Sincere thanks to our enduring and regular Chronicle sponsors: Matthew Cook Plumbing, Ross McGrath Electrical, Westlakes Trophies & Engraving, Carey Bay Cellars, RA Mackay Yacht Brokerage, The Jetty Man, Triggs Motors, Shields Auto Repairs, Burrell’s Landscape Supplies, Altitude Real Estate, Toronto Electrical Contractors, Ozone Sails & Rails, Shane’s Seafood, The Boulevarde Denture Clinic, Kevin Edden Building, Latina body by Julz, Carey Bay Servo, Anne Davies, The Goods Café, Carey Bay Laundry & Ironing and Carey Bay Servo.

Thanks are also given to the Chronicle Crew. Tony and Barbara Dynon, Harvey Mitchell and Nico Marcar for coordinating the delivery and the deliverers, Robyn & John Gill, Nicole Haigh, Dianne Onslow, Jenell & Noel Heslop, Heather McRae, Tony & Bernie Lowther, Ian Dennison, Nico & Chris Marcar, Sue Burrough, Lois Simpson, Steve Dewar, Rod Mellor, Howard Dick, Robyn & Roy Garrett, Andrea Gill, Jennifer Wood, Maryanne & Lindsay Cartwright and Bob & Linda Ireland.

Activities of the Association

Toronto Area Sustainable Group (TASNG)

The CPPA’s collaborative relationship with the TASNG continues by supporting and promoting our shared values via the Chronicle, collaborating on funding applications and projects and extending the Chronicle distribution to cover the TASNG boundaries.

A major collaboration this past year was the Community Car Boot sale which saw 40 car boot sellers set up in October on the first sunny weekend for a while. The numbers of community members present were fewer than anticipated, possibly due to a clash on the weekend with the Coal Point School fete. The concept was seen as a good one and the logistics and site capacity proved to be suitable for such an event in the future.

Toronto Action Group

The CPPA continues to be an active member of the Toronto Action Group, a coalition of local community groups and residents that emerged to champion a community-focussed outcome for the Toronto foreshore.

There have not been regular meetings this past year as the Toronto Foreshore masterplan rolls out.

Landcare

The Landcare crew of 4-8 regulars gathered every Thursday when it wasn’t raining, 8am-noon, to enjoy the company of like-minded locals, engage in physical activity, and regenerate our biodiverse bushland.

The committed landcare crew consists of Lois Simpson, Rod Mellor, Wendy Davidson, Harvey Mitchell, Kath Gall, Nico Marcar, Roslyn Cornish, Nicole Haigh, Suzanne Pritchard, Craig Dewick, Jenny Rome, with several other semi-regular visitors.

Several of our team were recognised for their efforts at the Lake Macquarie Landcare Environmental Excellence in Landcare Awards.

Local Legend Awards for a Landcarer who has made a regular and colossal contribution for more than two years were bestowed upon Rod Mellor and Nico Marcar.

Wendy Davidson was honoured with the Carl Fulton Memorial Community Education Award for spreading the Landcare ethic within the community.

Our local landcare leader, the amazing Lois Simpson, was awarded with the John Hughson ‘Soaring with the Eagles’ Award for a Landcarer who has made a regionally significant contribution but also is a local champion, educator and has been around for 20 years.

During the 2022 calendar year, only 250 plants were planted, a tribute to the natural resilience of many of the sites where once the weed threats are removed the natives re-emerge.

During 2022, despite a lot of rain, 42 landcaring sessions garnered 935 hours (859 hours last year) of on-ground endeavours by the dedicated team.

Our Landcare Team cares for 10 local reserves with ‘a guardian’ allocated to plan and coordinate the activities for the landcare session, and generally keep an eye of the reserve.

The approximate percentage of time spent at each reserve during 2022 was

2% at Ambrose St
16% at Burnage Reserve
25% at Puntei Creek Reserve
15% at Gurranba Reserve
14% at Hampton St Link
5% Kilibinbin- (Laycock St South)
9% at Stansfield Reserve
2% at Threlkeld Reserve
8% at the West Ridges
2% at Yarul Reserve

Treasurer's Report

The Financial report will be presented at the AGM and the complete Annual Report is available to download.

If every day was World Environment Day (June 5 ) what could we do?

The Theme for World Environment Day this year was Solutions to Plastic Pollution.

We have seen a lot of positive action on reducing plastics, but the truth is that we all need to do more and turn off the tap on plastic pollution at the source.

There are many things that we as an individual can do– from asking the restaurants we visit to stop using plastic straws, to bringing our own coffee mug to work, to pressuring our local authorities to improve how they manage our city’s waste. We need to adopt new habits to limit our plastic footprint.

Shop Sustainably: Next time you are out shopping, choose food with no plastic packaging, carry a reusable bag, buy local products, and refill containers to reduce your plastic waste and effect on the environment.

Try a Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Become a zero-waste champion. Invest in sustainable, ocean-friendly products- reusable coffee mugs, water bottles and food wraps. Consider options like menstrual cups, bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. These will help you save money and the lake and ocean too.

Travel Sustainably: When you are on holiday, try to watch your single-use plastic intake. Refuse miniature bottles in hotel rooms, take your own reusable drinking bottle and use reef-safe sunscreen, without microplastics.

Be an advocate for change: Ask your local supermarkets, restaurants and local suppliers to ditch plastic packaging, refuse plastic cutlery and straws, and tell them why. Pressure your local authorities to improve how they manage waste.

Dress Sustainably: The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. “Fast fashion” is so last year. Consider sustainable clothing lines, vintage shops and repair your clothes when possible.

Choose plastic-free personal care products: Personal care products are a major source of microplastics, which get washed into the oceans straight from our bathrooms. Look for plastic-free face wash, day cream, makeup, deodorant, shampoo and other products.

Tour around Eraring Power Station & Investment fund applications open

The CPPA has recently regained a seat on the reinstated Eraring Power Station Community Forum. The Forum group consists of

local residents’ groups from around the Eraring site keen to maintain the environmental buffer the station’s assets provide and high standards of the environmental quality of the surrounding air and water,
business and employment-focussed groups keen to ensure that a transition to new employment opportunities is provided when the station ceases firing coal in 2025,
local and state government representatives looking to ensure synergistic solutions are found for the site and opportunities are developed,
local scout stalwarts driven to protect the legacy of the scouting movement in the area,
landcarers and community organisations within the Westlake corridor between Morisset to Toronto and
Origin representatives with expertise in the stations’ operations, performance and environmental impact.

This group was recently provided with an opportunity to tour the site to get a better understanding of the scale of the operation and the extensive assets both physical and environmental.

CPPA President, Suzanne Pritchard had a seat on the tour bus and this is what she saw.

There’s no doubt that the Eraring Power Station operation is big. It’s the biggest coal fired power station in Australia, providing a quarter of the country’s electricity from Queensland to Tasmania. Everything about it is big. The 200m high stacks that stamp the station’s presence in the landscape and beyond, the buildings that hold the barrels of balls that crush the coal to smithereens so it can be blown into a very fiery furnace and burnt. The mountain of coal that is reshaped and shovelled 24/7, enough to keep the lights on for 2-3 months if no more coal was added to the pile. What looked like a tonka toy-sized truck on this big black mountain when viewed from our vantage point as we approached the ash dam, turns out is the largest shovelling vehicle that is made.

The ash dam, which holds the by-product from the burnt coal that boils water to turn the turbines, has a convoy of carriers that truck it across the landscape and level it out. Layers of ash discharged and deposited since the station began operations in 1984.

The view from on top of the ash dam wall overlooked Myuna Bay. The now closed Sport and Recreation camp did look very small indeed and very vulnerable if a dam wall collapse was to happen. The worksite to install stone columns and the preparations for the buttressing to prevent such an event were underway.

The water-cooling system that diverts around 11 billion litres of salt water a day to cool the turbine turning steam is formidable and includes a 4 km canal that we criss-crossed on our tour. This fast-moving foamy torrent returns 99.9% of this water to the Lake. Watching it plunge down a swirling vortex to continue its 2 km underground journey out into Myuna Bay was quite a meditative experience and put a full stop on the tour of the scale of Eraring’s operations.

The Eraring Community Investment Fund

The Eraring Community Investment Fund has $5million to invest locally between 2023 and 2032 to support communities impacted by the future closure of Eraring Power Station.

It will be prioritising projects that deliver an enduring community benefit and includes categories such as community well-being, community resilience, economic transition and diversification and environmental protection and outdoor amenity.

Applications need to be lodged by 18 June for the first round.