Local Group Meeting – July

All welcome to join in or observe.

Agenda to follow (SEE BELOW).

You will have noted that we had to postpone the new members forum and the Dadirri Message Stick workshop due to unforeseen plumbing problems at our venue.  We will let you know of the new date ASAP.

A couple of reminders:

• The NSW Greens upper-house pre-selection opens this week.  Please check out the wonderful collection of candidates in the links you have been sent by GNSW, keep a lookout for the email with your online voting info and vote!
• Art Exhibition Opening at 1pm this Saturday 30^th at the Community Gallery at East Gosford.  The artist and Greens supporter Amanda Davies has offered to donate 25% of the profits from the sales of her artworks to the Central Coast Greens.  Let’s support her.

Hoping you can join us on Thursday and/or Saturday.

UPDATE

Here is the zoom link for the local group meeting starting at 7pm.  Hope you can join in.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87403577290?pwd=c3hTVzBkM3VqbU1aRmxFQ0ZwWmQzdz09

Meeting ID: 874 0357 7290
Passcode: 968523

And here is the AGENDA:

Appoint Facilitator: Minute Taker:

Acknowledgement of Country

Present:

Apologies: Liz Poole,

INTRODUCTIONS

MINUTES of previous meeting June 2022 (these are attached again below)

QDMs

1. PROPOSAL 1: That we accept the following expenses for running the New Members Forum on 16th July at Narara Community Centre: $135 for Hall hire, $150 for Welcome to Country by Tim Selwyn, $100 for afternoon tea catering = $385 in total.

PROPOSAL 2: That we spend $105 for a stall at Wytopia

PROPOSAL 3: That we spend $155 for a stall at Coastal Twist

Fourteen (14) responses agreed, one queried the need to hire the hall.

Proposals accepted. 6/7/22

1. PROPOSAL: The Central Coast Greens to issue a media release expressing dismay and disappointment in response to the minister’s announcement to postpone our local elections.

Central Coast Greens to call on Labor to bring the election date forward by one year, if elected to government in the March 2023 state elections.

The media release to highlight the lack of local democracy of the Central Coast, the Minister’s failure to provide plausible reasons for extending the administration and the Greens’ approach to responsible, transparent, and accountable local democracy for our region. CONSENSUS 13 responses. 13/7/22

BUSINESS ARISING

1. New Members Forum: Need to reschedule.
2. The Message Stick Workshop: ditto
3. Proposed local workshop on anti-bullying and anti-harassment as part of ensuring that Greens meetings and activities are safe spaces for all was discussed.  Chantelle will take carriage of this but.
4. Regular clean up gatherings on various parts of the coast: It was suggested that we present it as a way to get involved at the New Members Forum and test interest.
5. Young Greens on the Coast: Jake to report on progress.
6. March 23 State Election:  Secretaries will send out an email shortly outlining Campaign roles, and inviting expressions of interest in joining the State Campaign Committee from members.  They will also invite members to consider standing (noting that we cover 4 State electorates and will need a candidate for each one).
7. Market stalls – Coastal Twist Festival (27/9) and Woytopia (30/10):  Chantelle has applied for stalls at both these events.
8. Usefulness of a Central Coast Greens banner discussed. We have 4 banners with Clean Energy, Clean Politics, A Fairer NSW written on them (& multi coloured triangles design) and one Save Wyong Trees banner.  Officeworks charge $85 for the type we currently have and $65 for a new, more easily changed model.  We need to decide on artwork.
9. Art Exhibition fundraiser: On this Saturday 30^th at community Gallery at East Gosford at 1pm.  Invitation has been sent to all members.
10. Central Coast Greens t-shirt fundraiser: still following up on needed information re costs, mechanics of setting up a competition etc

REPORTS

TREASURER

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

OB POSITIONS Tom and Cath

NEW BUSINESS

1. Decision needed on the format of the August SDC:

Proposal: That the August SDC, scheduled to take place in Albury, take place via Zoom instead.  Proposed by: Inner Sydney Greens, Newcastle Greens, Lismore Greens, Byron Greens and Maitland Greens.

1. Local issues: Concern raised by a member about the toxicity of the chemical being used to kill bees in the varroa mite infested areas.  (see notes below).  Possible responses? eg to submit a Question to our relevant MP to ask of Minister for Primary Industries.
2. Kate da Costa: report on Newcastle Greens meeting re long term election plans/goals.
3. Campaigns for Do-gooder?

Meeting end.

Notes provided with agenda item on eradicating Varroa Mites:

Fipronil is one of 144 pesticides used in Australia that are banned in other countries. This slow-acting chemical can take 24 to 36 hours to kill target pests and is bioactive for up to 7 months depending on substrate and conditions, which means that fipronil can have long-term residual effects in the environment. The bioaccumulation of fipronil in soil and aquatic environments is particularly concerning given that these substances have a broad range of downstream impacts on local ecologies.
In addition to the target pests, fipronil can adversely affect “beneficial” key species as well as presenting a risk to endangered bird, fish, aquatic and marine invertebrates. Fipronil is difficult to metabolise and has a longer half life in bigger mammals in whom the chemical can alter levels of essential neurotransmitters, namely upon GABAA-gated chloride channels, dopamine in the striatum and serotonin in the hippocampus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognises fipronil as toxic to consumers given that it can have dangerous effects on the kidneys, liver and thyroid glands. In 2017, Fipronil was used in poultry farms in The Netherlands to combat lice, but the pest treatment led to the contamination of millions of eggs which were later pulled from supermarket shelves all across Europe in the interests of public health. Given the unknown impacts of fipronil on nontarget vertebrate fauna (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), the risk to wildlife from this insecticide needs to be adequately studied before this substance can be validated for its use in remote baiting. Furthermore, we need greater transparency in the measures currently being undertaken in the Newcastle area to control varroa mites. A broad spectrum approach will have vast consequences and rushing through such measures may mean the damage is already done before the public can do anything about it.

And from our border quarantine scientist:  Verroa is extremely serious, could potentially wipe out all bees and impact significantly on a large range of flora, including a large variety of food crops.  The CSIRO re currently researching methods to control the mite which don’t kill the bees.

We acknowledge that we live and work on stolen land.  We acknowledge the past and present elders of the First Nations communities who live on the Central Coast from whom we have much to learn about proper stewardship of this precious and ancient land.