Action Thread about HighBanking in NSW

Here is a link as to what is going on.
We have just released this so have a read.
Yes, We really need members because if we do not have
any response to this department.
We are really going to ramp things up.
A small summary of what has been achieved is within
the Document.
Bloody good outcome for a Group that has only been
running for 5 Years.

http://www.napfa.net/upload/170708 Letter to members4.pdf

Interesting that this link provided by Tathradj is called 'Letter to members'. Good thing I scan this forum to find out what's happening

As a member of NAPFA this is the first I have seen of it (the letter to members) ...as it was not emailed to me as a member (and I assumed not shared with other members) ..yet I get an email from NAPFA about renewing my membership that I commenced last month and which will expire at the end of the year.

As a side note there seems to be no capacity in NAPFA to provide individuals with an annual renewal anniversary or prorata membership dues for less than a calendar year.

So Yes, Nottodeep, it seems that if you join now you will get 3 months membership for the annual fee and then it expires end of December this year.

The Letter to Members is actually pretty good but in effect says that NAPFA has pushed the concern to the highest level and while it's not clear who that is (Premier...Minister...??) that is great and let's hope it gets a response. The letter to members then suggests that if there is no response then the matter will somehow escalate even more...maybe to someone even higher ???

I am still somewhat amazed that the letter to members suggests this regulation banning power operated tools for "processing" happened in 2010 and was included in the Regulation dated 2016...but yet there is a continued suggestion is this is a new development by the authorities. What seems to be 'new' is the enforcement edict.

I support the push by NAPFA to get a better outcome on this matter but also think they need to engage a bit more with the very membership base they are seeking to grow .

Tathradj,
Please PM me your personal details and I will check the Data base to ensure they are correct.
The letter was emailed out a few days ago.
As outlined in the notes, We had not a happy time with the " Regulator. "
This is the reason we called for every one to have a bit of patience so that the relevant departments could
be given time to come together for a positive outcome.
Any type of protest in the wrong vein actually could reverse what has been already achieved.
We did not want to start a major protest so we have been working in the back ground on quite a few
strategies.
Yes, The " Mechanical Processing " rule was snuck in 2010 and that was the catalyst for the formation of NAPFA.
We have fighting that with Ernest for the past few years.
The papers on what constitutes high banking and the equipment surrounding the activity was put together over a
10 Month period and was designed to satisfy the relevant departments .

In other words, We put a bloody lot of work into it while submitting proposals, Lobbying National Parks, Gazetting
fossicking districts, etc.
More to come.
Doug

Tathradj said:

Here is a link as to what is going on.
We have just released this so have a read.
Yes, We really need members because if we do not have
any response to this department.
We are really going to ramp things up.
A small summary of what has been achieved is within
the Document.
Bloody good outcome for a Group that has only been
running for 5 Years.

http://www.napfa.net/upload/170708 Letter to members4.pdf

Click to expand...

gee the forum is quiet without the banker ive noticed mate ey, I am busy with work and training but I do have
an alternative designed in my head and finaly today I got time to visit a fabricator and have a chat..

MikeB05 said:

Interesting that this link provided by Tathradj is called 'Letter to members'. Good thing I scan this forum to find out what's happening

As a member of NAPFA this is the first I have seen of it (the letter to members) ...as it was not emailed to me as a member (and I assumed not shared with other members) ..yet I get an email from NAPFA about renewing my membership that I commenced last month and which will expire at the end of the year.

As a side note there seems to be no capacity in NAPFA to provide individuals with an annual renewal anniversary or prorata membership dues for less than a calendar year.

So Yes, Nottodeep, it seems that if you join now you will get 3 months membership for the annual fee and then it expires end of December this year.

Click to expand...

The email from NAPFA about renewing membership should have had this letter as an attachment/link to it. Mine did.

NAPFA may correct me here but in the past membership has been pretty flexible with them i.e. if you joined now it would go through to December 2018 (not 2017) giving you 14 months membership - pretty sure that would still be the same but like I said NAPFA may correct me.

Thanks Guys,
MikeB05, Tathradj & mbasko

But of particular importance, which has yet to be answered.
Of all the submissions to the various departments by NAPFA or and other association in relation to fossicking.
Which ones received a positive outcome ?
known submissions

• August 21, 2017 - VEAC Central West Investigation[/*]
• August 14 - Submission into Plan of Management Review of Cottan-Bimbang, Cells SCA and National Parks[/*]
• May, 2017 - Submission to support Regulation changes to allow highbanking[/*]
• May 19, 2017 - Submission on Plan of Management for Sturt National Park[/*]
• May 15, 2017 - Submission into review of Travelling Stock Routes[/*]
• Nov 2016 - Submission on Plan of Management for Copeland Tops State Conservation Area[/*]
• May 2016 - Comments on Draft NSW National Parks Policy on fossicking[/*]
• June 2015 - Sluicing paper to Department of Resources and Energy[/*]
• September 26, 2014 -- EL requirement for fossickers[/*]
• Submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into tourism in local communities.[/*]
• Submission to NSW National Parks about Tuena-Crookwell State Conservation Area Plan of Management.[/*]

I can not find any responses to members regarding the above - that why i ask

Why is this so important - because if none of these well written submissions . have had any real effect - (we all need to look for options)

I truly would love to help and find an approach that works.
If i get an positive update as Mbasko suggests about the membership i will join NAPFA today... if not we will wait till Jan.

Mate theres been plenty of positive steps for a young association.
For example the September 26, 2014 -- EL requirement for fossickers submission has resulted in a number of new NSW Fossicking Districts which remove the need for EL holder permission. The number & areas are tabled in the letter above.
The submission into Tourism helped raise our profile in NSW & was also a contributor to enabling more NSW Fossicking Districts being gazetted.
The submissions into various NSW National Parks drafts/reviews, while still a work in progress, has at the least made NSW National Parks aware we are a valid recreational group & for the first time ever they have made a draft policy & called for our comments (May 2016 - Comments on Draft NSW National Parks Policy on fossicking). A small but significant step which still remains to be seen what final outcome is achieved. Without NAPFA nothing at all would have even been given consideration for us & we would have not been given any consideration whatsoever IMO.
NAPFA also pushed for & got an easier, online system put in place for NSW State Forest Fossicking permits.
On a local level NAPFA were also instrumental in preventing the sale of a parcel of Crown Land on the Turon River Sofala that is used for camping, fossicking etc. I believe this has resulted in a review & change of policy with Crown Land sales now with more community consultation to be made.
All submissions made have had a positive outcome in giving us a voice on these issues or reviews where previously we had none. Anything else is a bonus!
The biggest positive outcome is we now have a united voice that is progressively making inroads. It won't happen overnight & it won't happen with unorganised individual actions all pulling in seperate directions. For $25 a year it is cheap & its worthwhile supporting.

Thank You Mbasko.. :Y: :Y:
Sounded better coming from some one else.

I dont disagree, with any of what you have stated. and thanks for taking the time to respond.

A recommendation would be NAFRA have a dedicated page made where responses from the department or where a mention in any draft documents can be advertised to its members.

This way you can keep members fully aware of all results both positive and negative.

As for the real issue with HIGHBANKERS.. it should be extremely hefty fines for those the leave our rivers damaged. If all use them with spirit for which they were designed and return the rivers to a nearly natural state .. without leaving piles of rock/gravel or undermined riverbanks then we would be better position to take on all departments that wish to ban them for ever.

The government is just biased toward Big business (miners) - by having ago at us, the resource department -takes the focus from the real issues (THE SUPER OPEN CUT PITS) that will never be return to there natural state or even filled in... if the miner pulls up stumps tomorrow the pit will enter care and maintenance until it is abandoned and becomes some other government of the times issue.. of then saying well we were not in power then so we are not responsible....lmao

but if my $25 will help the fight, i am in !

so on the membership question ?
will it expire in Dec or be good for the whole year..?

NAPFA do send out periodic updates & put them on the website here:
http://www.napfa.net/NAPFA-News.html
Remember these people are volunteers not fulltime paid administrators so they do a bloody fair job in maintaining things & producing new submissions in between their real jobs, family commitments, hobbies etc. now.
I take my hat off to all of them! Can no doubt be a thankless task at times.

Hopefully someone from the committee can answer your membership expiry query ASAP.

nottodeep said:

so on the membership question ?
will it expire in Dec or be good for the whole year..?

Click to expand...

Hi there nottodeep -- we should have made this clearer in the letter that went out to members:

the renewal for members is for the 2018 year.

However if you are a new member joining from 1 October, then your membership will run through to the end of next year - giving you 15 months of membership. So if you join now your membership does not expire in December 2017 -- but it will expire in December 2018. We don't run a pro-rata system and felt that 1 October was a reasonable renewal cut-off point for membership, given that it coincided with our annual AGM mailout.

While we did send an email out to members, please note this will be followed up with a hard-copy mail-out within the next week or so as there are quite a few members who don't have email, or whose email may not function for some reason (such as changed email address or spam settings on the recipient's computer).

The hardcopy mail-out will contain member specific contact information for them to amend if details have changed.

cheers

stephen
President NAPFA

Thanks Guys, for all the answers.
What i am most glad of is that i did not get flamed for asking what i deemed valid questions.
(however- your thoughts may have been different, your pen was kind)
To me that shows a type professional attitude that needs the support of new members.

Will apply today..
hope i am accepted

No question is a bad one nottodeep.
It is hard to convey a proper tone of voice
behind a Keyboard. :8
You will find us a friendly bunch of people in
real life. :Y: :Y:

This is exactly what motivated me to develop the piece of equipment I'm working on now. It's hand held, not powered,or mechanical in nature and will get through the gravels and sand much quicker that the traditional classifying and panning. But I won't be showing it off to the prospecting public until it's fully tested and tweaked. I'm still waiting for someone to offer to sell me 2 grams of fines so I can finish the testing off at home before heading out......but no one replied to my post.....lol.

Mate i am to in love with my gold to help out

I missed the perfect opportunity on Sunday. The NSW Minister for highbanking was in the pub here in Hill End. Unfortunately I didnt find out till yesterday, otherwise I would have had a nice little chat to him about the situation and would have offered to take him out and show him how highbanking is done for real

Wonder what he was there for. ?
Greeny meeting. ??????
Or a Yogi meetup.

20xwater said:

gee the forum is quiet without the banker i've noticed mate ey, I am busy with work and training but I do have
an alternative designed in my head and finally today I got time to visit a fabricator and have a chat..

Click to expand...

20x
can't wait mate
I am guessing interesting and workable

He was up here on a Arts matter meeting with one of the famous artists that live up here. I was having a drink with the artist yesterday arvo and he mentioned that the Minister was his guest on Sunday.

NeilM said:

20xwater said:

gee the forum is quiet without the banker i've noticed mate ey, I am busy with work and training but I do have
an alternative designed in my head and finally today I got time to visit a fabricator and have a chat..

Click to expand...

20x
can't wait mate
I am guessing interesting and workable

Click to expand...

well so far I got a quote of $750 just for the bare shell (of the standard model). its not at the top of my to do list atm coz its going to cost a fair bit
to build if I get a fabricator to build it. same prob as last time.. mig or tig or lol

This thread has completely run out of steam...seems the highbanking issue in NSW has fallen off the radar with no change in the regs...NAPFA picking up some new members who are probably none the wiser and nothing much really being said by anyone. Relative calm