Quotes of the Week

“AFTER toppling Tony Abbott in the Liberal leadership ballot on the night of September 14, Malcolm Turnbull held a news conference and then headed for Warren Truss’s office. The National Party leader was with colleagues, including his deputy, Barnaby Joyce, and party director Scott Mitchell, plus key staffers, discussing what should be included in a revised Coalition agreement. Turnbull stuck his head through the door, looked around the room, and then announced: ‘I own more cattle than all of you’.” [Herald Sun, 5 December  2015]

“But Maritime Minister Melinda Pavey said providing shore-to-ship power was expensive and would bring a “negligible reduction” in pollutants from funnels.”  [Inner West Courier, on the subject of cruise ships,18 July 2015, p5]

Reef destroying cruise ship given NSW Government permission to enter the Clarence River in October 2018

This was the NSW Berejiklian Government in roll-over-the-top-of-Clarence-River-Estuary-communities mode, courtesy of Nationals MP Andrew Fraser and Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey with the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance in an October 2017 media release:

NEW CRUISE TERMINAL FOR NORTH COAST

An investigation into a new International Cruise Ship Terminal for the NSW mid North Coast will start as part of a future transport blueprint, with Coffs Harbour and Yamba identified as potential locations.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance, alongside Member for Coffs Harbour Andrew Fraser announced the start of investigations as part of the launch of the government’s Future Transport 2056 strategy.

“This is a major step, with the need for a facility being recognised in the 10 to 20 year horizon, so early investigations can begin now”, Mrs Pavey said.

The new facility has the potential to link in with North Coast tourist hotspots and part of the process will look at how to integrate the proposed port with the wider area.

“The Cruise Industry is booming and is set to get bigger in coming years. A cruise terminal would give the region a share of that industry,” Mr Constance said.

Future Transport 2056 is Transport for NSW’s new strategy to meet our transport needs over the coming four decades and is currently seeking community feedback.

“The strategy has a strong focus on regional NSW, with an emphasis on customer needs, better connectivity and growing regions,” Mr Fraser said.

Future Transport 2056 is currently open for public feedback until December 3, 2017. To view the draft strategy, go to future.transport.nsw.gov.au. Alternately, the Future Transport team will be visiting Port Macquarie on October 30, 2017. Details on our website.

What this does not say is that Future Transport 2056 only mentions Yamba twice.

The first time in the dot point sentence; Maritime infrastructure development (e.g. Coffs Harbour/Yamba).

The second time in another dot point one liner; Coffs Harbour / Yamba cruise terminal/ infrastructure development.

In a section titled Our Customers the draft plan makes the generic one sentence statement; Improve public transport connections to arrival and departure points such as airports and cruise terminals.

The media release talks of a need for “investigation” and a plan to consult with the community in Grafton – not downriver at the  two communities most affected, Yamba or Iluka.

Despite the claims that Yamba is only a “potential” location, Roads, Freight & Maritime Minister and Nationals MP for Oxley Melinda Pavey blithely announced in the Clarence Valley Independent that the first cruise ship will moor in the Clarence River estuary in October next year:

The NSW Tourism plan outlines a commitment to a Cruise Development Plan over the next 10 years to develop the state’s tourist economy into the future,” Ms Pavey’s office wrote in an emailed response.

“The plan identifies the North Coast as being the most visited regional destination in NSW and the cruise industry offers further opportunities to strengthen that.

“There is considerable interest across industry and community in using the North Coast of NSW as a place for ships to berth.

“In fact, operators are already beginning to look at destinations such as Yamba for smaller cruise vessels. “

On this, Ms Pavey’s office said: “In October 2018, the Cruise Ship Caledonian Sky plans to stop off at Yamba as part of the Australian Coastal Odyssey.”

This will be the small cruise ship Caledonian Sky, a 26 year-old 90m long vessel which has seen better days, with a carrying capacity of 114 passengers.

Caledonian Sky

What Minister Pavey was careful not to point out is that this same small cruise ship ran aground and smashed a wide area of pristine coral reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesian Papua, in March 2017, with the damage area extending 18,882 sq. metres. The majority of this area being heavily damaged and even reefs receiving medium damage only having a 50% chance of survival .

The situation was allegedly made even worse when a tugboat helped pull the vessel to deeper waters.

According to Rappler.com, 14 March 2017:

"JAKARTA, Indonesia (UPDATED) —The government of Indonesia had harsh words for the captain of cruise vessel MV Caledonian Sky, which was responsible for destroying a huge amount of coral reefs in Raja Ampat, Papua.

The damage by Caledonian Sky which was captained by Keith Michael Taylor was devastating and irreparable," said a statement from Djoko Hartoyo of the Information and Law Bureau of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs, released on Tuesday, March 14.

"The destruction of Raja Ampat coral reefs which were developed by nature for hundreds of years was done in less than one day by Caledonian Sky and its Captain. It is simply impossible to restore that part of Raja Ampat. Fish that were normally seen in that particular were all gone."

The statement then went on to suggest that Taylor cared little about the destruction he inflicted.

Melinda Pavey’s desire to keep this incident under wraps comes as no surprise, given that this cruise ship would have to navigate a relatively narrow passage past the culturally significant coffee rock reef, Dirragun, which is now covered by Native Title.

Perhaps it is time for concerned Lower Clarence residents to start contacting the minister in order to express their views on her grand plans for the Port of Yamba at:

The Hon. Melinda Pavey MP
GPO Box 5341
SYDNEY NSW 2001

Phone:(02) 8574 7300

Fax: (02) 9339 5570

Email Link: Contact the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight

UPDATE

Taranaki Daily News, 15 February 2013, p.3:

Talking of visitors, we turn to the good folk of the cruise ship Caledonian Sky and their Wednesday visit to New Plymouth. A smartly dressed reporter at this paper had the gumption to approach a pair of these travellers to see what they thought of the city. It didn't quite go according to plan, with the English pair mistaking him for a hawker and rudely demanding identification. Come now, chaps, the reporter didn't ask you for identification. Mind you, it was obvious you were from a cruise ship. The expansive waistlines, white walk socks and boorish behaviour gave it away.

Papua New Guinea Post – Courier, 2 May 2014, p.5

TROBRIAND Islanders have threatened to "block or disrupt" future visits by tourists to protest the alleged dumping of rubbish by cruise ship.

Kudeuli and Wapaya villagers on the island of Kitava, which is part of the famed Trobriand Islands group, have alleged that the cruise ship MV Caledonian Sky dumped bags of rubbish on their beaches after a recent visit.

The villagers took pictures of empty bottles of wine, can drinks and plastic bags which they alleged were dropped off by five dinghies not far from their villages. The rubbish eventually washed up on their beaches while heavy items sank to the bottom of the ocean, the islanders claimed.

The Jakarta Post, 17 March 2017:

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has said the captain of UK cruise vessel MV Caledonian Sky, which recently ran aground in Raja Ampat, West Papua, had previously made a similar mistake, in which his vessel entered shallow waters in Medan, North Sumatra, destroying sea biota in the area.

“We have data on the ship captain’s mistake in Medan,” said Luhut on Thursday. 

[my yellow highlighting]

Are the NSW Berejiklian Government & local Nationals preparing to trash the Clarence River Estuary?

If there’s one thing the NSW Nationals can be relied on to do it is to run with any short-sighted idea which involves the threat of environmental degradation and risk to regional water catchments.

Here we have them joining the Liberals in touting what appears to be a deal done in Sydney (with no genuine local community consultation) to bring international cruise ships into the environmentally sensitive Clarence River estuary – an act which would require a significant degree of initial and ongoing dredging to maintain access, with perhaps the partial dismantling of one of the internal training walls which were built to direct flood water flows.

Even cruise operators with smaller vessels will demand a guarantee of risk free access and some form of terminal – demands which would see existing local tourism along with commercial and recreational fishing disrupted and perhaps diminished.

It seems that Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has all but forgotten that just last year he was not in favour of the last attempt to co-opt the Lower Clarence River for the personal gain of outside financial interests.

Perhaps he needs reminding that ships that meet his specifications such as this one pictured below would still require estuary modification and shoreline development which is also unlikely to “tick any of the social or environmental boxes he once thought important.

As the average small cruise ship would exceed length overall LOA 30 metres they would all require compulsory pilotage to and from the river entrance to their berth.

Tonnage: 4,591 tons, Length: 103.7 m, Beam: 16.0 m. Draft 4.5 m, All Berths: 302.

Local residents are aware that Mr. Gulaptis has been lobbying Clarence Valley Council on the matter of cruise ships having access to and use of the river estuary. Perhaps he might like to inform us all exactly on whose behalf he has been doing this lobbying? And declare if he is receiving some form of consideration or financial benefit from such lobbying?

The Daily Examiner, 25 October 2017:

THE FIRST cruise ship that could test the Port of Yamba's passenger facilities could arrive before the end of the year, says Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis.

"I've heard there could be a cruise ship coming this year,” Mr Gulaptis said.

But he was unsure of the any details of the size or type of vessel that could be coming.

Mr Gulaptis was with the NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Melinda Pavey, and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance, yesterday when they announced Yamba and Coffs Harbour were being considered as potential international cruise ship terminals for the NSW Mid North Coast.

Mrs Pavey announced the start of investigations as part of the launch of the government's Future Transport 2056 strategy.

"This is a major step, with the need for a facility being recognised in the 10 to 20-year horizon, so early investigations can begin now,” Mrs Pavey said.

The new facility has the potential to link in with North Coast tourist hotspots and part of the process will look at how to integrate the proposed port with the wider area.

"The cruise industry is booming and is set to get bigger in coming years.

"A cruise terminal would give the region a share of that industry,” Mr Constance said.

Despite the minister's optimism, Mr Gulaptis said there were lot of obstacles to overcome.

"Just where passengers would embark and disembark is not known,” he said.

"Goodwood Island could handle the size of the vessels, but its facilities have been used for live cattle exports and it's well away from Yamba.

"The only other place I can think of is at the marina on the other side of the wall, where the fishing boats moor.”

He said any use of the river would need approval of its owners, the Yaegl People, and the ships could not impact the Dirrangun reef, which was sacred to them.

He said the vessels would be much smaller than the big cruise liners.

"I think the maximum draught at Yamba is about five metres, so that should limit the size of the vessels to no bigger than 5000 tonnes,” he said.

The prospect of cruising liners coming to Yamba alarmed environmentalists such as Iluka's Ian Gaillard, who was a vocal opponent of a proposal that emerged last year to build a megaport in the Clarence Estuary.

He said people may think cruise liners coming to Yamba could represent progress, but in reality, it would be a retrograde step.

"Cruise ships bring with them some of the worst excesses of modern life,” he said.

”The danger for the local populace is that once these things are established, they change the amenity of the place forever.”

NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey is obviously confident that she and her cronies will be able to expand Port of Yamba by stealth.

Perhaps someone should remind her that Northern Rivers communities tend to jealously guard the existing aesthetic, environmental, cultural, social and economic values of their waterways and lands.

Like Chris Gulaptis, last year Cr. Jim Simmons was mindful of the environmental and cultural issues associated with dredging the entrance to the river and estuary.

Look at him now..... 

Clarence valley mayor Jim Simmons reckons Yamba would be a great cruise ship destination.

Clarence Valley’s new mayor Jim Simmons was quick to jump on board the idea to support Yamba and Grafton's tourist credentials. “Oh yeh, we’d give it  a go at Grafton.  We’ve got the best beaches up here and I think Coffs Harbour has had its fair share of things and it’s time other places got a go,” he says.

Water rorting continues in the Murray-Darling Basin aided and abetted by the NSW Nationals

And local government and commercial interests in the Murray-Darling Basin have the hide to cry that they are water deprived and should be allowed to dam and divert water from the Clarence River catchment until that coastal system is a pale shadow of its vibrant self.

The Guardian, 4 August 2017:

The New South Wales regional water minister, Niall Blair, has quietly granted himself the power to approve illegal floodplain works retrospectively.

A Wentworth Group scientist, Jamie Pittock, has accused the NSW government of actively undermining the Murray-Darling basin plan as revelations have continued about the state government’s management of the river system.

Since Four Corners report raised allegations of water theft and secret meetings between a senior NSW water bureaucrat and a small number of irrigators,Blair is under increasing pressure over his water responsibilities.

This followed Daily Telegraph reports that the Nationals MP had been urging his Liberal colleague, the environment minister, Gabrielle Upton, to change the Barwon-Darling water-sharing plan retrospectively to favour large irrigators. He said the change was needed because of an error in the rules.

It has now come to light that Blair gazetted a Barwon-Darling valley floodplain management plan which gives him power to approve flood works built illegally even if they do not comply with requirements prior to the plan.

Under clause 39 of the new Barwon-Darling valley plan, a flood work that does not comply can be approved if “in the minister’s opinion” it is for an access road, a supply channel, a stock refuge or an infrastructure protection work

.

A spokesman for WaterNSW said three relevant applications from the Barwon-Darling region had been received since the change but none had yet been approved.

The NSW Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham called on the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, to remove the water portfolio from the National party after the regulation changes came to light.

“This is disgraceful example of the National party giving away free water to their big irrigator mates,” Buckingham said. “Many of these areas are so flat that even a 10 to 20cm bank can divert a huge amount of water into an irrigation dam and away from natural waterways.

“It’s a massive gift of water to the big irrigators. If we want to recover the water in the future then taxpayer will have to hand over huge amounts of compensation for what were illegal constructions.”

A spokeswoman for Blair said the gazettal was a “significant legacy issue” required to create a process where unapproved works could be properly and transparently assessed. She said to be considered, works must not have been previously refused and would still need to be assessed under certain criteria.

“Supply channels are one of the types of existing works that clause 39 indicates that we will accept application for,” the spokeswoman said. “Just because they are existing, doesn’t mean that they will be approved, just that they can apply. This approach is being rolled out through all floodplain management plans.”

Pittock, an associate professor in the Fenner school of environment and society at the Australian National University, said the revelations showed NSW was systematically white-anting the Murray Darling plan.

“The ‘rule error’ and other questionable dealings between wealthy irrigators, government officials and politicians in NSW highlight how the intent of the basin plan can be frustrated by those hostile to its implementation at the state level,” he told Guardian Australia.

“Changes of regulations in NSW have allowed irrigators to take erstwhile environmental flows by allowing greater pump capacity and earlier extraction based on river heights such that commonwealth-purchased environmental water in Queensland in not ‘shepherded’ through New South Wales to the lower Murray.

“Consequently towns like Broken Hill, pastoralists and Aboriginal communities, as well as the environment, have been starved of water.

Bottom line - Mike Baird resigned before he could be pushed

This is Mike Baird’s announcement of his immediate resignation as NSW Premier and intended resignation as the Member for Manly.

Ex-investment banker Mike Baird entered the NSW Parliament on 24 March 2007 as a Liberal Party member of the Opposition.

Once the Coalition won government he first became Treasurer (2011), then Minister for Industrial Relations (2012), until becoming Premier, Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Western Sydney in 2014 then jettisoning Infrastructure from his portfolio list in 2015.

He spent less than three years as premier and in that time his popularity with voters has markedly declined on the back of a sustained push to privatise government assets, the implementation of bad planning legislation which restricted a community’s ability to resist inappropriate development, poor funding decisions which impacted on women fleeing domestic violence and unpopular policy choices such as restricting opening hours for bars and clubs but not casinos, the controversial attempt to ban greyhound racing, forced local government amalgamations and the botched $16.8 billion WestConnex plan along with its compulsory acquisitions  – to name just a few.

The fact that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards a decision to curb the growth of coal seam gas exploration and mining was also a mark against his name in many rural and regional areas, while scandals reduced confidence in the state-run public hospital system on his watch.

So it is no surprise that Baird decided to jump when an opportunity presented itself rather than be pushed unceremoniously from the premier's chair.

The fault lines in the NSW Coalition were already beginning to publicly surface when a number of National MPS put a motion to conference for a gasfield-free Northern Rivers in 2015, crossed the floor rather than support the abolition of greyhound racing in 2016 and were joined in disunity by certain Liberal backbenchers who began to mutter against excessive land clearing laws and hospital funding that same year - now in 2017 we see the Nationals pushing against further council amalgamations.

ABC News, 20 January 2017:

New South Wales premier-in-waiting Gladys Berejiklian is likely to be the state's next premier, but she is already facing pressure from the Deputy Premier to scrap council mergers in regional areas.

Ms Berejiklian is the only person to put her hand up for the top job, after Transport Minster Andrew Constance bowed out of the race today and offered her his full support.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has used Premier Mike Baird's resignation yesterday as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean for the coalition.

This includes a demand to end forced council amalgamations in regional NSW.

The Nationals leader, who took over from Troy Grant in November after the party lost the previously safe seat of Orange, said they would no longer be taken for granted.

"We will no longer be forcing local government mergers and that will be the first course of business," Mr Barilaro said.

"I want to make it absolutely clear to the incoming leader of the NSW Liberals and that is that the NSW Nationals no longer will be taken for granted.

"Today I draw the line in the sand that the NSW Nationals won't just accept the crumbs from the Liberal party table."

Last year there was speculation that Baird would retire in 2018 ahead of the March 2019 state election.

It’s highly doubtful that he would have made it to that March general election without a leadership challenge and it looks suspiciously like he finally recognised the no-win position he finds himself in with the electorate.

There is nothing left but for him to do but collect his lucrative parliamentary pension and perks then move on to a second go at a private sector corporate career. 

Laughing at the Nationals and Kevin Hogan in Page

If there’s one thing Australians can do better than most it is burst the pretentions of the political class and this effort in The Northern Star on 15 June 2016 is a classic example:

Casino theatre

WIKIPEDIA says an amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek meaning "on both sides" or "around" and meaning "place for viewing".

The conundrum facing Kevin Hogan was: What does a politician seeking re-election promise to a town that has everything?

He took into account that all streets are already fully kerbed and guttered with more than adequate drainage. The main roads are all constructed to a standard suitable for B Double transport and the area has a superior internal public transport network with splendid connecting links to surrounding areas. The sometimes four-hour wait for ambulance transfer between hospitals can be considered adequate under NSW existing standards.

Stand by Casino: Mr Hogan has announced (NS 9/6) if he is re-elected he can commit 500,000 denarii, to match a similar amount from RVC, to supply the town with a 1000 tiered-seat amphitheatre so that picnicking families can enjoy "... carols by candlelight, opera under the stars and outdoor movies ...".

The Dept of Employment spokesman, Jobson Grothe, said that when construction is approved expressions of interest will be called for stonemasons to submit plans and quotes.

KEVIN RUFF,

Casino

Kevin’s promise of bread and Circus Maximus for the populace found on his website:

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan today said a re-elected Coalition Government would commit to the construction of a $1 million amphitheatre in Casino.

“This is great news for the Casino community and will provide a place for locals to come together in celebration,” he said.

Richmond Valley Council mayor Ernie Bennett welcomed the project and said the council will be matching the Federal Government’s $500,000 grant

“This new amphitheatre will be a great community asset for Casino,” he said.

The new amphitheatre will have tiered levels ensuring all visitors have a good vantage point to participate in community events, such as Carols by Candlelight, Opera Under the Stars or outdoor movies.

“Casino is a wonderful town but there really isn’t anywhere were a thousand or so people can comfortably come together,” Mr Hogan said.

“We know community spaces like this where families can have a picnic while watching a movie or singing Christmas carols, helps to strengthen the ties that bind us as a community.”

A re-elected Turnbull/Joyce Government will contribute $500,000 to the project, with Richmond Valley Council matching the amount.

Boy the Wonder Cat wants to know “Will there be lions?”

I'm so over the Nationals fudging unemployment statistics during this federal election campaign

This was what voters were presented with when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull came into the Northern Rivers to try and shore up Nationals MP for Page Kevin Hogan.

Echo NetDaily, 17 June 2016:

The prime minister will be campaigning in the marginal Nationals-held seat of Page on Friday, announcing a jobs and investment package.

Kevin Hogan holds Page with a 3.1 per cent margin over former Labor MP Janelle Saffin.

The coalition is desperate to hold Page, which is developing a reputation for being bellwether seat.

The region has one of the worst unemployment records in the state, with youth unemployment nearing 20 per cent in some areas.

The coalition hopes the $25 million investment will give businesses incentives to invest and help boost employment in the region, not to mention boosting their chances of re-election.

It includes providing business innovation grants to help adopt new technology, upgrading local infrastructure and delivering targeted skills and training programs for regional shortages.

Kevin Hogan quoted in the Echo NetDaily on the same day:

Page MP Kevin Hogan welcomed the announcement.

‘The jobless rate in the Clarence Coffs area has fallen to 4.2% – well below the NSW and national average (4.95% and 5.5% respectively),’ Mr Hogan said.

‘Since July almost 2500 people in Page have found on-going work through the Coalition’s Jobactive programme. But more still needs to be done.

‘I set up a local Job Strategy Group over six months ago to bring companies looking to expand to the North Coast. This package will certainly be an incentive for those businesses that have been thinking about making the move but aren’t ready to commit,” he said.

So is Hogan right about unemployment levels on the NSW Far North Coast and the Page electorate in particular?

Here are the facts which he appears to want to fudge by quoting the much broader statistical region – Clarence-Coffs – which extends as far south as the Bellingen area.

The March Quarter unemployment rate for all persons (released 10 June 2016) in relevant local government areas:

Tweed LGA – 7.6%

Richmond Valley LGA – 10.7%

Ballina LGA – 6.1%

Byron LGA – 9.3%

Kyogle LGA – 10.6%

Lismore LGA – 9.4%

Clarence Valley LGA - 6.5%

Coffs Harbour LGA – 5.3%

In the March quarter 2016 this is the number of people these percentages are estimated to represent in the Page electorate :

Ballina – 7,430 people

Ballina Region - 7,999 people

Casino - 5,044 people

Casino Region - 3,225 people

Evans Head – 2,180 people

Kyogle – 3,419 people

Lismore – 7,769 people

Lismore region – 8,166 people

Grafton – 8,756 people

Grafton Region – 7,406 people

Maclean-Yamba-Iluka – 6,880

Coffs Harbour North –  8,711 people

In April 2016 the Youth Unemployment Rate (15-24 years of age) for both the Clarence-Coffs and Tweed regions was 11.9%.

In May 2016 the Youth Unemployment Rate (15-24 years of age) for New South Wales was  11.4%.

The National unemployment rate for all persons in May 2016 was 5.6% and the NSW rate was 5.1%.

And if readers want to know all Coalition's Job Active "ongoing-work" - I refer them to an excerpt from this previous post:

For that amount of money the Abbott-Turnbull Government expects the Jobactive scheme to have placed 380,000 jobseekers in often wage-subsidised employment in 2015-16, at a cost of est.$2,500 per placement covering Employment Fund expenditure, service fees and outcome payments.

Unfortunately 68% of these placements are likely to last only 4 weeks before the person is unemployed once more. I suspect the percentage of temporary jobs is so high because this allows service providers to bill the government again and again for ‘helping’ those same job seekers find other temporary jobs once the initial placement dissolves into thin air and, via the $1.2 billion national wage subsidy pool potentially allows employers to 'churn' new employees on short term contacts so that employers receive financial benefits from the pool but employees are unemployed at contract's end.

None of the departmental employment sustainability measures encompass positions lasting longer than six months, so it is unclear as to whether there is a genuine expectation that job service providers will assist in finding permanent employment for anyone.

In July 2015 when Jobactive Australia commenced, the real national unemployment rate was probably running at est. 8.7% and by March 2016 it had climbed to est.11% according Roy Morgan Research vs ABS Employment Estimates (1992-2016).

In November 2013 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) seasonally adjusted combined unemployment and underemployment rate (underutilisation) was 13.5% and by February 2016 this combined rate was 14.2%.

In September 2013 the average number of weeks an unemployed person spent looking for a job was 39, with an est.134,400 people looking for 52 weeks and over.

Under the Abbott-Turnbull Government by March 2016 the average number of weeks had risen to 46.2, with an est. 181,700 people looking for 52 weeks and over. [Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery, Mar 2016] 

In June 2014 an est. 123,800 15 to 24 year-olds were looking for full time or part-time work. By March 2016 the number of young people in this category had risen to 133,000. [ibid]

The Brotherhood of St. Laurence reported on 14 March 2016 that some rural and regional areas were grappling with youth unemployment rates above 20 per cent.

Richmond-Tweed (including Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Lismore, Mullumbimby) in the NSW Northern Rivers region had a youth unemployment rate of 14.5% in January 2015 and by January 2016 this rate had risen to 17.4% [Brotherhood of St Laurence, Australia’s Youth Unemployment Hotspots: Snapshot March 2016, p. 3]

Australian Federal Election 2016: Nationals Nathan Quigley losing votes one Inbox at a time

I received this copy of a recent email exchange from an incensed Northern Rivers voter, upset with the political data mining involved in delivering the National Party message into his Inbox.

Especially one that informed him that Kevin Hogan favoured a far-right, homophobic, religio-political group (founded by Rev. Fred Nile) as the second preference on his How To Vote cards.

This reader's email to North Coast Voices was accompanied with the final comment "What a pack of b*stards!!!"

The email exchange..........

From: [redacted]  <redacted>
Date: 25 June 2016 at 7:16:09 PM AEST
To: Nathan Quigley <nathan@nswnationals.org.au>
Subject: Re: In one week…

Excuse me Mr Quigley,

I don't recall communicating with you.

How did you obtain my email address?

[Redacted contact details]

On 25 Jun 2016, at 3:41 PM, Nathan Quigley <nathan@nswnationals.org.au> wrote:

In one week Australians will vote in one of the most important elections in a generation. We'll have a choice between staying on course with an experienced government under Malcolm Turnbull - a government with a plan to keep our economy strong - or a gamble with deeper deficits in an uncertain world under Bill Shorten and Labor. That's why it's important for every single voter to go to their polling location informed.

So please download the "How to Vote" flyer below and take it with you when you vote.

Correctly filling in your ballot is ESSENTIAL to ensure we have sound management in Canberra and a strong local voice for the Northern Rivers and Coffs Coast.

Please share this email with your friends so they know how to vote as well.

Nathan Quigley State Director – NSW Nationals P.S. Remember, we need your support. Please CLICK HERE to download your "How to Vote" flyer for Page.

This message was sent from the NSW Nationals and authorised by N Quigley, Level 2, 107 Pitt St, Sydney. Click here to unsubscribe. [if!vml]>&lt[endif]&

UPDATE

From: Matt Kay [mailto:Matt.Kay@nswnationals.org.au]
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2016 12:15 PM
To: [redacted] <redacted>
Subject: RE: In one week…

Hi [name redacted],

It was supplied by Kevin Hogan’s office. I’ve unsubscribed you from our list.

Cheers,

Mat

Australian Federal Election 2016: the Nationals funding bandwagon rolls on along NSW North Coast

National MPs and candidates on the NSW North Coast are rolling out the funding promises with a vengeance now the old 2013 Debt & Deficit Disaster campaign slogan has been hidden under the bed.

Sitting MP Kevin Hogan in the Page electorate:

$1.8 million for a boardwalk along Maclean's Riverside Precinct

$200,000 on CCTV coverage of Grafton and South Grafton business districts

$5,300 for the purchase and installation of two reverse cycle air conditioners in Casino's Community Men's Shed 

$1 million for rebuilding the Woolgoolga Surf Life-Saving Club

New mobile phone towers at Ramornie, Nammoona, Yorklea and Kyogle

$2 million to replace wooden bridges in Kyogle

$500,000 towards an ampitheatre at Casino

Federal candidate for Richmond Matthew Fraser:

$1 million for a second story on Kingscliff's Salt Surf Life Saving Club

Sitting MP Luke Hartsuyker in The Cowper electorate:

$12,000 for Capacity Building for Sustainable and Biological Farming in the Bellingen/Coffs Harbour region

$45,400 Local Blueberry Industry Market Segmentation Research to improve targeting of behaviour change tools for Best Practice

$12,000 in grants for Coffs Harbour community radio station CHYFM

$27,695 training grant for Macksville business Mid Coast Trucks

$4,700 Reap Coffs Harbour

$4,460 Pregnancy Care Coffs Harbour
$1,619 Coffs and Woolgoolga Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Group
$3,950 Sanctuary Australia Foundation

$2,250 Special Needs Support Group
$4,004The Friends of the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden
$2,500 Swimming North Coast – Coffs Harbour  

$2,800 Boambee East Community Centre

$3,333 South Coffs Community Garden  

Somewhere in all this is Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s $25 million promise to the Northern Rivers and Mid-North Coast - rather vaguely called the Coalition jobs package for NSW North Coast and aimed at new, creative and innovative local businesses in the Page, Cowper and Lyne electorates. 

Of course all these businesses, from Taree and Port Macquarie up to Lismore and Ballina, will be competing with each other for a slice of this relatively small amount of money.

* My apologies to North Coast Nationals MPs and candidates if I omitted any funding pledges which have been made to date, but that's the sort of thing that will sometimes occur when election campaign press releases aren't sent out to social media.

Saffin promises Labor will establish a headspace centre in the Clarence Valley

Shadow Minister For Families And Payments, Shadow Minister For Disability Reform & Member for Jagajaga Jenny Macklin and Labor Candidate For Page Janelle Saffin (pictured above), joint media release, 14 June 2016:

LABOR WILL ESTABLISH A HEADSPACE CENTRE IN THE CLARENCE VALLEY

Shadow Minister for Families and Payments, Jenny Macklin and Labor candidate for Page, Janelle Saffin today announced that a Shorten Labor Government will provide funding for the development of a Headspace Centre in the Clarence Valley which will provide assistance to young people experiencing mental health issues.

“There is a clear gap in mental health services in the Clarence Valley, and this $1.8 million in funding will address that gap by ensuring local young people can access the help they need,” Ms Saffin said.

“Establishing a Headspace Centre will give young people in Grafton and the Clarence Valley the same support as people in Coffs Harbour and Lismore.”

Ms Saffin said the Clarence Valley community had been rocked by the death of 11 young people from suicide in just 12 months.

“There are a number of factors behind the high levels of youth suicide and mental health problems on the North Coast. These include high levels of unemployment, cuts to other youth services, and substance abuse.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to this reality and pretend it’s not happening. Ignoring the mental health needs of young people is effectively casting them adrift.

“That’s why I am so passionate about this issue, and so determined to make sure all young people in the Northern Rivers and North Coast have access to services such as Headspace.

“I have fought for the Headspace service for our region, and secured the Lismore Headspace. I have since argued that the Clarence Valley needs one as well, and if I am elected I will deliver it.”

Shadow Minister for Families and Payments, Jenny Macklin, said regionally delivered and funded services were vital to preventing mental illness and building stronger, more resilient communities.

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And Nationals MP for Page for the last three years, Kevin Hogan scrambles to catch up……

The Daily Examiner, 15 June 2016, page 6:

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan said an array of extra mental health services were about to be provided in the Clarence Valley due to extra resourcing.

"Mental health is a very serious issue, every suicide in our community a tragedy," he said.

"Following a community meeting in December last year I organised a Consultation Workshop on May 23. This brought together local agencies to decide how the extra resources should be allocated in the Valley.

"There will be an outreach of Headspace from Coffs operating in the Clarence before the end of the year. There will also be more resources allocated at the acute care level.

"Many good mental health services exist in the Clarence Valley. It was identified that many people were not aware of the current services."