Floodwaters pose a risk to drivers and some residents are trapped on “islands”.(Supplied: QFES)none
More than 300 millimetres of rain caused flooding near Tully in north Queensland, with more rain predicted throughout the weekend.
The weather bureau is warning the conditions are likely to continue, with fresh falls expected between Mackay and Bundaberg overnight and into Sunday morning.
Roads including the Bruce Highway were cut. (Supplied: Alannah Dansie)
Areas between Cairns and Townsville had heavy rainfall over the last two days.
Tully, 140 kilometres south of Cairns, saw flood waters rise after 400 millimetres fell on the town.
Some residents found themselves trapped on “islands” as roads were inundated and driving became impossible.
Floodwaters continue to threaten drivers.(Supplied: Alannah Dansie)
The Bruce Highway has reopened after closing for several hours on Saturday near Tully, but floodwaters still pose a risk to drivers.
Moderate flood warnings are current for the Tully and Murray Rivers, with the Tully expected to stay above 8 metres through Sunday.
Senior forecaster Shane Kennedy said while the rain may ease in the south-east on Sunday, residents between Bundaberg and Mackay could experience significant rainfall.
“There’s the potential that we could see some severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, mostly between Yeppoon and Bundaberg,” he said.
“Though that will depend a lot on how close to the coast an offshore trough gets, and where exactly that approaches the coast.”
On Saturday night the bureau released a severe weather warning for parts of Wide Bay and Burnett, warning of very localised heavy rainfall that may affect Childers and Tiaro.
In case of severe thunderstorm, the bureau recommends exercising caution and staying indoors unless absolutely necessary.
The weather bureau warns there may be localised heavy rainfall or severe thunderstorms through Sunday.(Facebook: QFES)
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Traditional owner Nathan Baira at the Doongmabulla Springs, near the Adani mine site.(Supplied: Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians)
AceBusinessDesk – Traditional owners of Adani’s Queensland mine site have launched landmark legal action claiming the state government has breached their human rights by failing to stop potential contamination and other threats to their sacred wetlands.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Feb.17: 2024: ABC Business News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Wangan and Jagalingou leader Adrian Burragubba and youths on traditional lands near an Adani mine site.(Supplied: Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians)none
Their case relies on expert findings that the Indian coal miner may have already polluted the nationally important Doongmabulla Springs with hydrocarbons and caused a harmful decline in groundwater sources.
The Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Cultural Custodians group has asked Queensland’s Supreme Court to intervene after the government refused to suspend operations at the Carmichael mine, near Clermont.
Wangan and Jagalingou leader Adrian Burragubba with his grandson Charlie Ngalanya.(Supplied: Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians)
W&J leader Adrian Burragubba told the ABC that the springs were “central to our spiritual and cultural rights [and] under Adani’s environmental approval, it’s not allowed to pollute the springs or the aquifers”.
“We’ve got evidence that there are hydrocarbons, contaminants in the springs and aquifers,” he said.
“We just assume that the mine is having an impact on this and that it’s an emergency that the government should do something about, placing an environmental protection order on the open-cut mine to find out where these contaminants are coming from.”
Traditional owner Nathan Baira at the Doongmabulla Springs, near the Adani mine site.(Supplied: Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians)
One expert found data from Adani subsidiary Bravus showed “hundreds of instances” where declines in water quality or groundwater levels exceeded approved thresholds after mining began in 2020.
The risk of irreversible harm from mining prompted a key condition of the project’s approval, which is that spring water levels must not drop by more than 20 centimetres.
In November, W&J wrote to state Environment Minister Leanne Linard asking her to “urgently” halt mining until she was “satisfied with sufficient scientific certainty” that it posed no threat to the springs.
Her department responded by saying it accepted the springs had “spiritual significance” to the W&J but denied Adani’s data showed unauthorised impacts.
It said the limitation of any rights was “reasonable and justified” given the “numerous court decisions” around the project, including a Land Court case which led to the “closely conditioned arrangement for the conduct of mining activities”.
Ms Linard’s office and the department declined to comment.
In response, a spokesman for Bravus said the case made “widely inaccurate claims about our rigorous scientific program to study and protect groundwater in and around the Carmichael mine and at the Doongmabulla springs complex, which lies more than eight kilometres from the mine boundary and 11 kilometres from any mine activity”.
“The fact is there have been no exceedence or breaches of our groundwater conditions, with any changes in water levels recorded by our monitoring program minor ones that trigger requirements for further studies and investigations.
“These have been completed and have consistently shown natural variations in weather conditions and water use by pastoralists have caused fluctuations in groundwater levels where they have occurred far from the open-cut mine.
“This is evidence of the checks and balances in place to protect groundwater are working well.
“Evidence of hydrocarbons in water samples collected kilometres from the mine have similarly not been caused by mining operations but were found to be localised to casing materials for water sampling wells.”
The W&J custodians have sought judicial review of the government’s decision, arguing it is at odds with its own Human Rights Act.
The legislation, passed in 2019, recognises the distinct rights of Indigenous people to “conserve and protect the environment and productive capacity of their land, territories (and waters)”.
The W&J will ask the court to send the government back to the drawing board to make a decision that protects the springs.
“Because it’s a novel case, there are no precedents,” Mr Burragubba said.
“It’s very costly but we intend to bring the Environmental Protection Act into line with the human rights of First Nations people.”
The W&J custodians are using the same legal team which successfully fought Clive Palmer’s Waratah coal proposal on human rights grounds.
They commissioned independent expert reports from Griffith University’s head of civil and environmental engineering, Professor Matthew Currell, and Flinders University Professor Adrian Werner.
‘Marked increases’ in hydrocarbons
Professor Currell said the miner’s explanations for “water level and quality exceedences โ which discount the possibility of mining impact โ are not robust and, in some cases, appear to contradict the data”.
For example, Adani had cited below-average rainfall at the site when climate data showed that was not the case, he said.
Professor Currell said there had been “marked increases” in the presence of hydrocarbons “likely associated with coal material” found in groundwater “since mining activity commenced”.
“The occurrence of C10 to C40 hydrocarbons in multiple water samples collected from various springs in the Doongmabulla Springs Complex โฆ requires a clear, scientifically supported explanation,” the report said.
“These detections of hydrocarbons potentially indicate a contribution to spring flow from a coal-bearing aquifer (such as the Permian sediments targeted by mining), which would contradict the Bravus groundwater conceptualisation and modelling.”
The nationally important Doongmabulla Springs complex is about 7 kilometres from Adani’s Queensland mine.(Supplied: Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians)
The report by Professor Werner questioned the reliability of Adani’s predicted impacts on the springs.
It said shortcomings in the miner’s modelling included “limited field measurements of springs within the region of impact of the mine” and assumptions about spring flows that were “not realistic”.
Adani appealing environmental order
The government has already been taken to court by Adani over an environmental protection order it made last year in relation to the springs.
The order prevents underground mining until the company can show its plans will not cause the springs’ water level to drop by more than 20 centimetres.
Adani is appealing the order in the Queensland Planning and Environment Court, saying it does not intend to start underground mining for another 11 years.
It says its modelling shows the impact on the springs from its present open-cut mining will not breach the limit.
The government told the W&J last month it would review the expert reports and “the issues raised by [Professor] Currell and Professor Werner to determine if there are any matters additional to those already identified by it, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia”.
“If circumstances change and the department becomes aware of potential risks to the springs as a result of open-cut mining, it will take appropriate action,” said Rob Lawrence, deputy director-general of the environment department.
Mr Burragubba said the W&J were loath to trust the government to protect the springs.
“Every government in the history of Australia has failed Aboriginal people and this government’s not going to do anything,” he said.
“And so that’s why I have to use what’s available to me, what mechanisms are there, and if it’s to do a judicial review and we use courts, then so be it.”
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AceBreakingNews – Superintendent Armitt said the woman had tried to drive through floodwaters at the Malbon River causeway on Cloncurry Duchess Road โ a remote road connecting Mount Isa with the Phosphate Hill mine.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the Brisbane CBD recorded 135mm of rain in just six hours on Friday morning.(ABC News: Chris Gillette)none
Mount Isa Police District Superintendent Tom Armitt said police are investigating the circumstances around the 28-year-old woman’s death, after her vehicle was found partially submerged in floodwaters near Mount Isa.
A mustering helicopter spotted the vehicle in trouble and called emergency services.
“There was only about a foot of water over that road but the current was so strong it washed her vehicle away,” Superintendent Armitt said.
“Emergency crews from the QFES (Queensland Fire and Emergency Service) had to be called in to reach the vehicle and the victim.”
A spokesperson for Incitec Pivot Limited, which has a manufacturing plant at Phosphate Hill, confirmed the woman was an employee.
Bardon Parade at Arthur and Elizabeth Exley Bridge.(ABC News: Kelsie Iorio)none
Our thoughts are with our employee’s family and friends at this very sad time,” the spokesperson said.
“We have offered our employee’s family ongoing support. We are also supporting our colleagues. We will continue to liaise with relevant authorities as required, including Queensland police.”
Severe weather warnings for the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane areas have been cancelled, but the Bureau of Meteorology says rain is still expected to continue through Friday and into the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said 197 millimetres of rain was recorded in the Brisbane suburb of Rosalie, 189mm in Mt Coot-tha, 173mm in Bowen Hills and more than 160mm around the city in the early hours of Friday morning.Flooding at Hardings Road in Elanora on the Gold Coast.(ABC News: Steve Keen)noneAn Ibis walks across floodwaters at Hanlon Park in Stones Corner.(ABC News: Kelsie Iorio)noneKedron Brook after heavy rainfall in Brisbane.(Supplied)noneBubbling water main near Bardon Latrobe Football Club.(ABC News: Kelsie Iorio)none Memorial Park at Bulimba.(Supplied)none
‘Technical error’ delayed weather alerts
In a statement, Brisbane City Councillor Fiona Cunningham apologised to residents after a “technical error” resulted in weather alerts not being sent out to residents for hours after the BOM issued its first severe thunderstorm warning.
Ms Cunningham said the error with alert operator Weatherzoneโs system resulted in some overnight alerts going out late.
“We have expressed our strong disappointment to Weatherzone who have operated the system since 2015,” Ms Cunningham’s statement read.
“Weatherzone has assured us that the technical error has now been fixed and we apologise to residents.”A car stranded on a flooded road near the M1 at Helensvale on the Gold Coast.(ABC News: Julia Andre)none
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the city’s disaster management team had been engaged as a precaution and that, while the deluge was predicted to ease on Friday afternoon, “mother nature is unpredictable”.
“The forecast was around 20mm but early this morning we had already copped 100mm and I couldn’t take any additional chances that it may escalate like it did on Christmas Day,” he said.
“If it’s flooded, forget it. Go and have a cup of tea, let it subside or take an alternative route.”
Cr Tate criticised the BOM for initially underestimating the amount of rainfall the region would receive.
“I think post these storms they need to look at any other software that can give them more accurate modelling,” he said.
“Why didn’t you just tell us we were going to hit 100mm first up?”Loading…
BOM forecaster Laura Boekel said weather warnings were issued as soon as it became clear that forecasts were becoming more severe, which was in the early hours of Friday morning.
Disaster coordinator Mark Ryan said parts of the Gold Coast hit hard by damaging storms over the Christmas period were experiencing localised flooding.
“We’re finding the catchments are reacting a little bit different with some of that debris still flowing down there,” he said.
Worst rain in Brisbane since 2022 floods
Earlier on Friday, forecaster Steve Hadley said it had been Brisbane’s “wettest day since 2022”, although there has been significantly less rainfall comparatively.
“On that day back in February, which had massive flooding effects, there were places on that day that had more than 300mm, quite widespread,” he said.Loading…
“So, a different sort of day, but the wettest one since then.
“It’s been a bit surprising how heavy it has been.
“We thought it would be less than a 10 per cent risk of being heavy this time yesterday, but it just appears that the easterly flow has sort of caused a trough and that’s converging right upon Brisbane and helping with the uplift of that air … we’ve got an upper trough above us as well.”
Energex said more than 1,000 homes lost power on the northern Gold Coast, but it has since been restored to most properties. The cause of the blackout is under investigation.A car submerged in floodwaters in Helensvale on the Gold Coast.
Tropical Cyclone Lincoln forms in Gulf of Carpentaria
Flood-ravaged Burketown received at least 130mm overnight with rain persisting on Friday, while the remote Indigenous community of Doomadgee recorded 110mm.
Authorities said it could still take two days for the bulk of the water from catchments to flow into gulf communities.
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AceNewsDesk – The worldโs coral reefs are close to 25% larger than we thought, Queensland academics Mitchell Lyons and Stuart Phinn have revealed
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Feb.16: 2024: Insights News: Mitchell Lyons is Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland; Stuart Phinn is Professor of Geography, Director โ Remote Sensing Research Centre, Chair โ Earth Observation Australia, The University of Queensland: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Dr Eva Kovacs tows a GPS on the Great Barrier Reef. Allan Coral Atlas, CC BY-SA: This article first appeared in TheConversation and is republished here under Creative Commons Licence: Published: Thursday February 15, 2024:
By using satellite images, machine learning and on-ground knowledge from a global network of people living and working on coral reefs, the scientists found an extra 64,000 square kilometres of coral reefs โ an area the size of Ireland.
That brings the total size of the planetโs shallow reefs (meaning 0-20 metres deep) to 348,000 square kilometres โ the size of Germany. This figure represents whole coral reef ecosystems, ranging from sandy-bottomed lagoons with a little coral, to coral rubble flats, to living walls of coral.
Within this 348,000 kmยฒ of coral is 80,000 kmยฒ where thereโs a hard bottom โ rocks rather than sand. These areas are likely to be home to significant amounts of coral โ the places snorkellers and scuba divers most like to visit.
You might wonder why weโre finding this out now. Didnโt we already know where the worldโs reefs are?
Previously, weโve had to pull data from many different sources, which made it harder to pin down the extent of coral reefs with certainty. But now we have high resolution satellite data covering the entire world โ and are able to see reefs as deep as 30 metres down.
We coupled this with direct observations and records of coral reefs from over 400 individuals and organisations in countries with coral reefs from all regions, such as the Maldives, Cuba and Australia.
To produce the maps, we used machine learning techniques to chew through 100 trillion pixels from the Sentinel-2 and Planet Dove CubeSat satellites to make accurate predictions about where coral is โ and is not. The team worked with almost 500 researchers and collaborators to make the maps.
The result: the worldโs first comprehensive map of coral reefs extent, and their composition, produced through the Allen Coral Atlas.
The maps are already proving their worth. Reef management agencies around the world are using them to plan and assess conservation work and threats to reefs.
Our maps have three levels of detail. The first is the most expansive โ the entire coral reef ecosystem. Seen from space, it has light areas of coral fringed by darker deeper water.
Then we have geomorphic detail, meaning what the areas within the reef look like. This includes sandy lagoons, reef crests exposed to the air at low tide, sloping areas going into deeper water and so on.
And finally we have fine detail of the benthic substrates, showing where you have areas dominated by coral cover.
Coral canโt grow on sand. Polyps have to attach to a hard surface such as rock before they can begin expanding the reef out of their limestone-secreting bodies.
Some of our maps include fine detail of benthic substrates, meaning where coral is most likely to be and the substrates (seafloor) available to the polyps, such as existing coral, sand, rubble, or seagrass.
Itโs a crucial time for the worldโs coral reefs. Weโre discovering the full extent of shallow water reefs โ while other researchers are finding large new black coral reefs in deeper water.
But even as we make these discoveries, coral reefs are reeling. Climate change is steadily heating up the sea and making it more acidic. Coral polyps canโt handle too much heat. These wonders of biodiversity are home to a quarter of the oceanโs species.
In good news, these maps are already leading to real world change. Weโve already seen new efforts to conserve coral reefs in Indonesia, several Pacific island nations, Panama, Belize, Kenya and Australia, among others.
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Steven Miles becoming premier means for the first time in 40 years, there is no Palaszczuk in the house. (AAP: Darren England)
AceBreakingNews – It was an apt observation from the Speaker Curtis Pitt as Queensland MPs chatted and jostled their way into the chamber for Tuesday’s first parliamentary sitting day of 2024. It was just like the first day of school.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Feb.14: 2024: ABC QLD News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Just like excited โ or perhaps nervous โ schoolkids, newly-minted ministers looked for their seats.
Ms Palaszczuk’s absence โ and the presence of a new leadership team โ seemed to energise the Labor side.
Labor’s ‘renewed vigour’
Or at least that’s the impression the new Premier Steven Miles is keen to give.
“A renewed vigour and focus on the people of Queensland,” is how he described it, while the opposition laughed in response.
This was his opportunity to try to reset a long-term government heading into an election year.
To that end, Labor will this week introduce legislation to lift Queensland’s emissions reduction targets and it’ll set up a parliamentary inquiry into supermarket pricing.
Steven Miles becoming premier means for the first time in 40 years, there is no Palaszczuk in the house. (AAP: Darren England)
But when you’ve already had nine years in office, it can be hard to move on from the past.
And therein lay the opposition’s Question Time strategy โ peppering the premier with questions about the government’s record, especially on crime.
“A crisis that is impacting Queenslanders at home, in their businesses, on the streets, in every part of this state,” Opposition Leader David Crisafulli told parliament.
But it’s not enough for the LNP opposition, who are prosecuting the argument that Labor only has itself to blame for the crime “crisis”.
“Since the Labor government changed criminal laws in 2015-16, serious repeat youth offenders have doubled, car theft has jumped 116 per cent and break-ins have risen by 54 per cent,” LNP Deputy Leader Jarrod Bleijie told the house.
But in pursuing Labor’s record, the LNP somehow opened the door to its own past.State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace
Grace attacked the opposition’s public sector cuts.(AAP: Darren England)
Even though nine years have passed since the LNP was last in power, Labor has kicked off the new parliamentary year marching back down its well-worn path of attacking the opposition for their unpopular cuts to the public service.
“They cut Q-build workers by 1,600. That’s what they did,” State Development Minister Grace Grace said.
“So don’t come in here lecturing us on this side of the house with the policy and record that you had.”
It may be a new parliamentary year, but the past is never far behind.
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AceNewsDesk – An elite team of Queensland Police Service (QPS) intelligence officers is successfully targeting youth offendersโ online activities, with more than 140 charged so far.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Feb.13: 2024: QPS Media News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
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The Digital Intelligence and Community Engagement (DICE) team was established mid-2023.
Through intelligence driven strategies, the officers target offenders seeking notoriety as they โboast and postโ or livestream their crimes online.
Since DICE began operations, 144 young people have been charged with the aggravating factor of social media boasting in relation to the unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Assisting police investigations, the DICE team has generated more than 600 investigative leads including identifying 65 alleged offenders resulting in charges.
DICE provides QPS with enhanced identification of offenders and victims through social media and other community platforms as well as improved reporting and recording of criminal offences, including the use of this information to apprehend and prosecute offenders.
Further DICE operations include sharing vital safety information to relevant online community social media pages, including during disasters, and community crime prevention efforts.
Minister for Police and Community Safety Mark Ryan said the new online team helped strengthen the police response to youth crime.
โTo have a team of specialist intelligence officers dedicated to tracking criminal activities online, positions QPS at the forefront of modern policing,โ he said.
โAs technology and criminal trends change, police will continue to adapt, to ensure thorough investigations to arrest offenders and protect the public.
โThere is no place for this type of behaviour and criminal offenders that are seeking notoriety online will be targeted and charged.
โThis is one of many increased penalties aimed at keeping Queenslanders safe.โ
Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said:
The functionality assisted with police investigations, helping identify potential offenders and gathering evidence to assist with prosecutions.
โTo steal a car is criminal and reckless, but to brag about it on social media is heartless and brazen,โ he said.
โDICE officers work around the clock to track down these offenders who flaunt their criminal escapades online.
โAlthough our DICE team is new to operations, already dozens of victims of crime have found justice thanks to their efforts and the efforts of detectives in identifying, locating and arresting 144 alleged offenders.
โQPS is committed to continuing our efforts to address youth offending from every angle.โ
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AceBreakingNews – Two police officers have sustained injuries, one a serious slash to his arm, following a vehicle intercept at Carole Park in Ipswich early this morning (February 11).
The police helicopter had followed the car across several south Brisbane suburbs before tyre deflation devices were used to bring it to a stop on Boundary Road at the intersection of Antimony Street in Carole Park, just after 1am.
It will be alleged that as police approached the car, a passenger emerged with a knife and slashed a Senior Constable from the South Brisbane District across the arm, causing a serious injury.
Three people from the car were taken into custody and the officerโs colleagues provided immediate first aid to the wound.
It will further be alleged a second officer sustained a cut to his finger while affecting the arrest and both officers were transported to hospital for treatment.
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Detectives from the Ipswich Criminal Investigation Branch have charged a 31-year-old Cherbourg man with acts intended to resist lawful arrest, and he will appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, February 12.
The driver of the car, a 25-year-old Goodna woman, has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, evading police, five counts of stealing and four counts of unlicensed driving.
She is also scheduled to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, February 12.
Neither officerโs injuries are considered life-threatening and support services are being provided to them. No further information is available at this time
Editor says Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external sites or any reports, posts, or links. Thanks for following, as always; I appreciate every like, reblog, retweet, and comment. Thank you
Editor says Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external sites or any reports, posts, or links. Thanks for following, as always; I appreciate every like, reblog, retweet, and comment. Thank you
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