Lord Howe Island Board, 3 April 2023
See also: Permanent Park Preserve fully open: LHIB
Kermadec Petrel to call LHI home once again, thanks to new project funding
The NSW Government’s Environmental Trust has funded a project to attract a rare bird species, the Kermadec Petrel, back to Lord Howe Island.
The Kermadec Petrel currently only breeds in the top third of Ball’s Pyramid. The seabird once bred on LHI around 100 years ago where it had a vital ecological role, bringing in marine-derived nutrients.
Their survival was affected after pests were introduced to the island.
Attracting the Kermadec Petrel back to LHI will enable the species to breed in larger numbers than the small available habitat on Ball’s Pyramid.
It will also facilitate further research about this little- known seabird. Also known as Pterodroma neglecta, the Kermadec Petrel was given its scientific name after being ‘neglected’ for decades. Century-old egg collector documents are being used to determine where the Kermadec Petrel used to nest on LHI.
Researchers are aiming to find an area that will allow the birds to breed successfully on LHI, while being easily accessible for surveying. It is thought that the back of Mount Gower will be an ideal habitat for the bird.
Small shelters will be used on LHI for nesting, as well as an umbrella structure to shield the birds from aerial predators since they don’t nest in burrows like other birds in the petrel family.
A sound-attracting ‘love’ machine will give the birds a love song to draw them back to the main island.
The project will kick off in October this year and will run over three years.
Road upgrade
Stage one of the long-awaited major upgrade to our roads is currently underway. It will see reseal of a section of lagoon road, including the area previously ripped and rolled.
The schedule of works (weather dependent), is as follows:
| Potential dates (subject to weather) | Road closure impacts |
| Wednesday, 28 March – Thursday, 6 April (8 days) | Full road CLOSURE. Temporary fencing will be installed on both ends of the road. Residents along this section will continue to have access- please allow around 5 minutes of additional travel time to allow machinery to make a path. Signage will be provided for businesses on this section so that tourists can access via foreshore walking track. |
| Friday, 7 April – Monday, 24 April (2.5 weeks) | Road OPEN. Residents are encouraged to use the road heavily to help with the curing process. |
| Tuesday, 25 April – Friday 28 April (1-4 days) | Road OPEN, with sections of controlled one-way traffic. During this stage, soft spots that have potentially formed will be addressed. During this stage there may be 1 day of full road closure. |
| Tuesday, 2 May – Friday, 5 May (1-4 days) | Full road CLOSURE. Residents will have access and signage will be provided to impacted businesses. |
| Monday, 8 May – until close project | Road OPEN, with some sections of controlled one way traffic. Shaping of driveways, final touches |
Works have been designed to accommodate both school holidays and weekends.
Beyond that, a return to a regular annual maintenance and reseal program will be maintained standards into the future.
Stage two of the upgrade is in a final planning and contracting phase, and further information will be available via the Board’s Householder, and website www.lhib.nsw.gov.au.
Project and funding updates
Telecommunications Network Funding
The Board has successfully secured a $875,000 grant through Regional NSW to undertake planning for and potential implementation of an improved telecommunications network for the island.
The planning phase is being scoped and potential providers have been identified. This work will help inform the Board and community of the options in relation to additional or alternative communications coverage for the island and importantly, resources to support community consultation.
Upgrade and activation of Lord Howe Island Community Hall
A further $143, 000 has been received from Regional NSW for a project to allow for additional community services to be conducted from the Community Hall.
The project aims to provide modern audio-visual technologies to improve the functionality of these spaces to be able to host a range of community and business activities.
Upgrades will include a new satellite internet service to facilitate connectivity across the Hall, along with interactive presentation and audio-visual systems, and portable multi-media equipment and infrastructure to facilitate outdoor events in the Amphitheatre.
Additional amenities include festive lighting and decorations for community celebrations and a book exchange stall.
LHI Emergency Operations Center update
In 2020 the NSW Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) Strategic Review identified Lord Howe Island as being eligible to receive funding for upgrades under NSW Emergency Operations Centres Critical Upgrade Program.
This funding is being used for an EOC communications upgrade, including mobile satellite Wi-Fi & other communications equipment for an emergency response centre, a Remote Major Trauma First Aid Kit with AED, a backup mobile generator and a communication infrastructure and radio upgrade.
Stage 1 of the communications roll-out is a like for like replacement of the previous network with an infrastructure upgrade from UHF to VHF (including an upgrade of the emergency siren system). Stage 2 (scheduled for June 23) is the full EOC communications upgrade, in conjunction with the release of an EOC communications plan (to be drafted). Planning is underway for the finalisation of the network including detailed programming and communication protocols.
Lord Howe Island Southern Precinct
Regional NSW funding $375,000 was awarded to deliver a two-stage project which builds on the previously funded Marine Strategy and Waste Management Strategy and takes the findings in both strategies to develop information required for funding decisions with the delivery of a detailed masterplan of the Southern Precinct.
This masterplan will build on the findings and recommendations from the Marine Strategy and Waste Management Strategy for the two major assets. The master plan will be a consolidated package of concept designs and costing plans to contribute to future community consultation and planning discussions.
Welcome to the new Ranger, Thomas Nixon!
A new Ranger was welcomed to the LHIB team this month. Tom is an experienced ecologist coming from Millowl (Phillip Island) in Victoria.
He has been involved in species recovery projects across Australia. Most recently, Tom developed long-term conservation plans for Wilsons Promontory Sanctuary, as well as coordinated the reintroduction of locally extinct fauna to Phillip, Churchill and French Islands.
While Tom is on the island, he will be undertaking a review of the LHI Biodiversity Management Plan and will be assisting with day-to-day Board operations and projects.
Tom is passionate about working with local island communities to achieve ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable conservation outcomes. He looks forward to getting to know the LHI community and the local environment. Say ‘g’day’ If you see Tom around, he’d love to meet you!
Board meeting Minutes now available
The open session board meeting minutes are published on the Board’s website.
