newsletter no 3 - 25 April 08

Hi Folks
What can we do about Woolworths?? John Cummings of NARGA (Nat Assoc of Retail Grocers of Aus) recommended we GET POLITICAL; ie lobby Don Page, Justine Eliot, Frank Sartor and Ray Darney (below).

INFO STALL SUCCESS: Don Page (I went to see him today) was very interested in a sketch map provided by Station Street resident to Renee on the Info Table. This resident had had a visit from 2 Wws reps this week to “explain the new proposals”. Sketch showed new location of proposed Wws further north on the site with loading bay now on the north side. This means trucks will travel deeper into residential area. Don Page took this seriously and said he will tell Sartor that our community wants input into Section 94 Variance of DA and that this needs to be looked at by Traffic Committee (BSC; RTA & police).

From Don’s website www.donpage.com.au : "My vision for the electorate is that we create a sustainable future for our community. This involves creating employment, whilst protecting the beauty and environmental integrity of our area. It is not a case of jobs or the environment - it is a case of jobs and the environment."

Jolly good, Don. Let’s support each other in this vision. Your message to Don will help! Don.Page@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Also, Ray.Darney@byron.nsw.gov.au who is BSC Chief of Planning said at our public meeting that “the Minister would ensure that the (Woolworths) proposal is renotified. I would expect that the Minister would put plans on display at Council’s Administration Building”(Darney’s Q & As are on our website under “Documents”) Darney needs to be reminded that we want to have our say when DA is revised (Section 96 Modifications) this is our chance to object!

You could, most importantly, write to the Minister who approved this DA: office@sartor.minister.nsw.gov.au (sample) Dear Frank – please will you let us know before you pass any Section 96 Modifications to Wws DA 32-04-2006. We want to see the plans on display at BSC first. Yours truly.

WALMART & ALDI IN OZ: From The Australian 24.4.08: A RUDD government plan to lower food prices by easing the way for major international retail chains to enter Australia has drawn fire from economists and retailers who argue it will make little difference to the cost of groceries at the checkout……Later in that article: “The peak body representing Australia's largest retailers, the Australian National Retailers Association, said the move would not increase competition because it did not address the underlying problem, which was a lack of new supermarket sites. John Cummings, the chairman of the National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia, which represents 4500 independent retailers, said the proposal would make no difference to grocery prices. "For an international player to get into the Australian market and compete with Coles and Woolworths, they would need to find 750 supermarket sites around Australia, and that just simply is not going to happen," Mr Cummings said.

I often get calls and emails from people – here is one:
USA MACAS IN LISMORE WWS “I went shopping in Lismore Central Woolworths. Amongst other items , I was after some raw macadamia nuts. I was appalled to see that the nuts were sourced from the USA. At least I would expect a modicum of political correctness on the part of woolies that would see them source their macas at least locally, given its importance to our local economy. Guess not!” John, Eltham

Wws are wanting to update their image to be more 'socially responsible': http://www.woolworths.com.au/vendors/news/announcements/greensmkt.asp "Woolworths is committed to building sustainable and environmentally friendly retail developments while continuing to provide local communities with an enjoyable shopping experience." - that's extraordinary!!

Woolworths installing self-service check-out terminals in all new stores – (perhaps they will need to revise their job figures for the Mullum proposal)http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/business/woolies-price-checks-checkout-chicks/2008/04/21/1208742882358.html

On-line petition to boycott Coles & Woolworths http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/boycott-coles-and-woolworths/sign.html
We are currently looking at putting in our own on-line petition.

ETHICAL SHOPPING- free on-line edition of New Internationalist magazine http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/386/422/1787/2/2/0/

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY?? The following link is a video about GM seeds in India, particularly BT cotton which is causing the suicides of hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers. Vandana Shiva, physicist and social activist, quotes corporate biotech salesman: “to us it doesn’t matter if the crops don’t do well because they will just come back for more of our seed; the failure of agriculture is a market success for the Corporation.” http://www.livevideo.com/video/D8AFEBAA8DAF4AF7B758953A09880B34/zegee-com-unnatural-selectio.aspx

FREECYCLE your junk instead of landfilling! Freecycle initiatives in 85 countries – who wants to start a group here? http://au.news.yahoo.com/080421/19/16k2v.html

WOOLLOOMOOLOO community garden: green therapy for schizophrenia
http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/green-therapy/2008/04/22/1208742924107.html

TRANSITION TOWNS explained in free on-line edition of Resurgence: http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/389/425/3137/3/36

Relocalisation (local) movies: Each Tuesday, 7.15 for 7.30 sharp start; tea and bickies, + $5 donation Tues. 29th April; 'How to Save the World'. Bio-Dynamic farmer Peter Procter (from NZ) is now living in India and doing great good works. Many, huge BD compost heaps, we can organise this in our shire! The community's waste is our resource! See Calendar on our website www.mullumaction.org for more details.
Happy surfing – just watch out for sharks.
Deborah