On the Possible Origins of an Unusual (Mid to Late Holocene) Coastal Deposit,Old Punt Bay,South‐East Australia

An unusual coarse, shelly sedimentary unit is found elevated above present mean sea level in a sheltered pocket embayment at Old Punt Bay in south‐eastern Australia. The coarse sediments, diverse microfauna, and large shelly macrofauna of mixed affinity suggest that the deposit is the result of high‐energy deposition. The deposit was previously thought to have been deposited 1000–1300 cal bp based on one shell dated using ¹⁴C and amino acid racemisation. However, additional ¹⁴C dating indicates a likely age of ～2500 cal bp . Regardless of age constraints, the presence of rock‐encrusting oyster shells and large articulated bivalves, suggests that the depositional event must have been capable of removing and transporting coarse sediments (rock clasts), bivalves, and oysters shells from a variety of seaward environments and depositing them with little abrasion, something storm waves are unlikely to do. The deposit may be tsunamigenic. If a tsunami origin is accepted, the new dating results indicate that it is possibly coeval with a tsunami event previously reported to have affected several other sites along the coast of New South Wales at c. 2900 cal bp . Consequently, this deposit provides evidence for the event at a new site and importantly, a tighter constraint on the likely date of the events occurrence. It further adds weight to the developing catalogue of palaeotsunamis that may have affected the south‐eastern coast of Australia. Regardless of the deposit's origins, if viewed from a coastal planning perspective, this deposit indicates that this part of the coast has experienced large‐scale overwash events in the past that if repeated, would be catastrophic. There are serious implications for risk management.     

Vulnerability to Bushfire Risk at Melbourne's Urban Fringe: The Failure of Regulatory Land Use Planning

The 7 February 2009 bushfires in the peri‐urban region to the north of metropolitan Melbourne heralded what many have called an entirely new epoch in terms of weather‐related disasters in Australia. A total of 173 people and 2000 properties were destroyed and, as with the 1939 fires in Victoria, a Royal Commission was subsequently instituted to inquire into the causes and responses to the fire. The Royal Commission has heard much evidence about alleged failings of fire response, communication and administration. It also considered land use planning issues and the associated regulatory framework. Using the Shire of Murrindindi as a case study, this paper argues that the location of population growth, and associated regulatory failure, are contributory, yet under‐researched, factors associated with life and property losses. The adoption of more robust planning tools which incorporate climate change considerations, we argue, is essential to anticipate and minimise the impacts of disastrous natural events such as bushfires. In the latter part of the paper, attention is drawn to a recent Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision which is groundbreaking in its use of the precautionary principle to prevent dwelling construction in an ‘inappropriate’ location as well as to some major inconsistencies between planning for flood and bushfire threats.     

SMALL STATE BEHAVIOUR: ON THE FORMATION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA STRIP

The current Israel-Palestine peace process is expected to result in a final territorial solution and the ultimate formation of a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. By all definitions, such a state would be small in terms of its population size, its areal extent, and its economic capacity. Given existing conditions, a West Bank and Gaza state would suffer from problems of structural scarcity as experienced by many other small states. This would be exacerbated were the boundaries of the new state with Israel to be closed, thus severing existing economic links. Drawing on models of small state behaviour, this paper studies the possible ways in which a West Bank and Gaza state could overcome these structural deficiencies in both the short and long-terms, including full and independent control of the state's resources, investment in industrial and construction infrastructure, and through becoming an important regional and global gateway for the Arab world as a whole. Les pourparlers actuels visant la négotiation ?un traité de paix entre ?Israël et la Palestine mèneront vraisemblablement à une solution territoriale définitive qui sera manifestée par la création ?un état palestinien indépendant. Cet état comprendrait la Rive Gauche et le territoire de Gaza. Par définition, il s'agirait ?un état dont la population, la superficie et les moyens de production seraient modestes. Étant donné les conditions actuelles, le nouvel état comprenant la Rive Gauche et le territoire de Gaza, tout comme les autres états de petite taille, ferait face à des déficiences structure!les. Si la frontière entre le nouvel état et Israël était fermée, ce qui aurait pour effet de rompre les liens économiques actuels, ces déficiences se feraient davantage sentir. Ce travail se propose ?examiner, à?aide de modèles portant sur le fonctionnement des états de petite taille, les stratégies visant à pallier ces déficiences, à court terme comme à long terme. Les stratégies à?étude comprennent: (a) la prise de contrôle totale des ressources du nouvel état par son gouvernement indépendant, (b) ?aménagement ?infrastructures dans les domaines de ?industrie et de la construction par des investissements dans ces domaines et (c) la mise en valeur du nouvel état comme porte ?entrée régionale et globale vers ?ensemble du monde arabe.