We post most of our news on Twitter. This page also provides additional detail on some articles we publish that are not already in the public domain.

nghenvironmental is excited to announce that we are to be a major sponsor of the inaugural Australasian Network for Ecology and Transport (ANET) conference to be held in Coffs Harbour in July 2014.

ANET is 'a professional network for all people involved in the planning, design, construction, maintenance and research of linear infrastructure and the environment.' The charter of this association is extremely relevant for us, with much of our work being related to transport and linear infrastructure.

For more information about the ANET Conference, please go to the official conference website.

The Bates Bridge in Snowy River Shire was opened on 27th April 2013 by Mayor John Cahill. A procession of cars was led off by this blast from the past. Click for the pic and more details. Shire Wire Snowy River Echo May 2013

In a 1957 article Surveying for Wind Power in Australia (Institute of Engineers, Australia Journal, March 1957) L.F. Mullett wrote:

"Machines up to 5 megawatt capacity driven by 300-ft da turbines appear to be theoretically possible, with an estimated installed cost of about £ 200,000 pounds and capable of producing some 17 million kiolowatt hours annuarlly at a cost of about 0.2 pence per kilowatt hour (10 Shillings per megawatt hour) in a wind of 24 m.p.h. annual mean speed"

According to www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualPreDecimal.html in the year 2011 £ 200,000 pounds would be $5,632,055.75, and 10 shillings would be $14.08

The Review of Australian Wind Industry 2011 identifies development costs of a wind turbine as $1,100,000 to $2,000,000 per megawatt hour (MWh).

Power purchase agreement currently prices in the range of $90 to $120 per MWh.

Read the original article: Mullett, L.F. (1957) Surveying for Wind Power in Australia; Institute of Engineers, Australia Journal, March 1957.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife (NPW) Act 1974 protects Aboriginal objects and Aboriginal places in NSW. Under the Act, it is an offence to do any of the following things without an exemption or defence provided for under the NPW Act:

• A person must not knowingly harm or desecrate an Aboriginal object.
• A person must not harm or desecrate an Aboriginal object or Aboriginal place (strict liability).

Harm includes to destroy, deface or damage of Aboriginal object or Aboriginal Place, and to move an object from the land on which it has been situated.

Penalties for these offences are high for both individuals and corporations (up to $275,000 for individuals or $1,100,000 for a corporation). Further, for individuals, the penalties are doubled under circumstances of aggravation, such as if the offence was committed in the course of carrying out a commercial activity, or if the offence was the second or subsequent occasion on which the offender was convicted of such an offence.

Application of due diligence, however, provides a defense against prosecution of a strict liability offence if they, having applied due diligence, later unknowingly harm an object without a permit. To help individuals and organisations exercise due diligence, the OEH has prepared the Due Diligence Code of Practice for the Protection of Aboriginal Objects in NSW. This details a process that, if followed, can be used to demonstrate due diligence.

Prosecution under the recent changes to the NPW Act is an individual risk. Consent authorities, including Councils are not required to inform applicants of the need to exercise due diligence, or whether there is a risk that their proposal may impact on indigenous heritage. All people planning development activities within NSW therefore need to be aware of the potentially serious ramifications of an offence under the indigenous heritage protection provisions of the NPW Act, and the available defenses.

To find out more, visit the OEH website:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/licences/achregulation.htm

And for a summary of penalties:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/cultureheritage/npwact/10703npwfacts3.pdf