Showing posts with label Liberal Party of Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberal Party of Australia. Show all posts
Thursday 7 May 2020
Australian Prime Minister 'Scotty From Marketing' Morrison fails to universally impress
The
Washington Post, 6 May 2020:
Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House in Canberra on
April 29. (Lukas Coch/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
“Morrison’s
sudden popularity and salvation from mediocrity is not of his own
genius. And hardly deserved. And there are several reasons why…..
Despite
bush fires being a common feature of the Australian summer, the
Morrison government was unprepared. It had ignored expert advice —
including from former fire chiefs and emergency responder leaders who
warned for months that the coming bush fire season was not only
likely to be catastrophic, but that they didn’t have the equipment,
including water-bombing aircraft to fight it. The government also
rejected scientific research that predicted the effects of climate
change would make bush fires more ferocious than in the past and
voted against an opposition attempt to declare a climate emergency.
And
then the prime minister went on vacation.
As
the biggest natural disaster in Australia’s living memory unfolded,
Morrison went to Hawaii. And when it became public, the prime
minister’s office tried to cover it up. When he finally returned
home, two days earlier than planned, it was not because New South
Wales had declared a state of emergency or that two volunteer
firefighters had died, but because of the negative publicity.
Morrison had taken an image hit…..
Now
there is the covid-19 pandemic. While volunteers were still
extinguishing fires on Jan. 25, Australia recorded its first case of
the novel coronavirus. As the number of cases began to climb, health
experts were apoplectic at the Morrison government’s refusal to
initiate a federal lockdown or cancel sporting matches. Instead,
Morrison spruiked his own plans to see his beloved Cronulla Sharks
play in the opening weekend of the National Rugby League.
Even
when the federal government finally did impose the first stage of
restrictions on March 22, it didn’t deserve all the credit. The
state’s premiers, in particular Victoria’s popular leader Daniel
Andrews, threatened to go it alone if Morrison refused to act.
The
initial stages of the emerging pandemic — like with the bush fires
— are further proof that the Morrison government’s instincts are
always political and not service-oriented or moral. A true leader
should not need to be poked into action by health professionals,
regional leaders or even a terrified public….”
Saturday 25 April 2020
Quote of the Week
"Bronwyn’s self-importance and vanity was, even by political standards, off the charts and so initially everyone doubled up laughing at the absurdity of Madame Speaker descending out of the sky like a Valkyrie to entertain a gaggle of Liberal Party supporters at a Geelong golf course." [Then Australian Minister for Education and Training & Liberal MP for Sturt Christopher Pyne speaking about his colleague Bronwyn Bishop, 15 July 2015, in "A Bigger Picture", April 2020]
Sunday 19 April 2020
What Morrison Government's recent changes to industrial relations law may mean for workers
On Thurday 16 April 2020 Australian Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Liberal MP for Pearce Christian Porter announced changes to the Fair Work Regulations in relation to the negotiation of workplace agreements.
According to Fair Work Australia the new regulations are "in place initially for 6 months" and are allegedly meant to assist businesses to remain solvent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, workers are likely to be severely disadvantaged because any changes to working conditions or rates of pay made under these new rules are permanent and can only be altered during the next formal application to vary the enterprise agreement - which can be up to four years away.
Are you on an enterprise agreement? You need to know this. Your employer can now give you 24hours notice to vote to change your agreement. What should you do? pic.twitter.com/ioI3TItgoP— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) April 16, 2020
Friday 17 April 2020
Will COVID-19 draw the poison of right-wing extremism from society?
A hopeful message from Britain....
— Tez (@tezilyas) April 14, 2020After decades of festering extremism growing under successive Liberal-National federal governments in Australia, post-pandemic will ordinary Australians use the threat of their vote to insist that the inchoate autocratic theocracy governing from Canberra change its ways and rid itself of rigid, often cruel, ideological politics once and for all?
Will voters insist government applies equal respect, access and equity to all in our society? Or will they meekly allow Morrison & Co to return to their war on the poor, the vulnerable and First Nations, with barely a murmur?
Will they continue to support newspapers which support that class war, climate change deniers or openly racist politicians, or will they keep their money in their pockets and refuse to purchase blatant propaganda?
Will voters stay silent out of politeness when their local MP regurgitates mindless prepared talking points instead of listening to what people in his/her electorate are saying, or will they speak up loudly and firmly saying 'We are not going to take this from you anymore'?
Every citizen is invited to consider if this time of national emergency might possibly allow a reset of the relationship between the politically powerful and the population.
Is this the time we demand that democracy returns to Australia?
Friday 10 April 2020
NSW Liberal Party Minister Don Harwin fined $1,000 for deliberately breaching current COVID-19 public health order
Special Minister of State, and Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts, Liberal MLC Don Harwin - a member of the NSW Parliament for the past 21 years - was caught deliberately floughting the current COVID-19 public health order.
Liberal power broker Harwin (pictured), whose principal place of residence is in well-heeled Elizabeth Bay, was found by The Daily Telegraph on 8 April 2020 at his $1.3 million beachfront investment property.
He has apparently been travelling back and forth to his holiday home from Sydney for the last three weeks, has allegedly been entertaining at least one guest at Pearl Bay in that period and, been seen wandering in and out of stores in a shopping centre on one of those trips back to Sydney.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is refusing to sack Harwin from her ministry.
NSW Police Public Site - News, 9 April 2020:
A man has been issued a $1000 Penalty Infringement Notice (PIN) by police conducting inquiries into the circumstances surrounding his recent travels to a holiday home on the Central Coast.
Police were alerted yesterday (Wednesday 8 April 2020), that a 55-year-old Elizabeth Bay man had relocated to a holiday home at Pearl Beach, in contravention of current Ministerial Direction under the Public Health Act.
After reports he had breached the order, the man returned to Sydney today (Thursday 9 April 2020).
As part of inquiries, investigators from Central Metropolitan Region attended the Elizabeth Bay home unit and spoke with the man.
Following further inquiries, the man was issued a $1000 PIN via email just before 9pm, for failing to comply with noticed direction (Section 5 – COVID-19).
NSW Police Commissioner Fuller said the directions are in place to protect the lives of people in NSW.
“Police have been given these powers to ensure the community spread of COVID-19– which we know is devastating communities across the globe – is minimised,” the Commissioner said.
“You only need to look at the statistics to see that people are dying where appropriate measures have either not been established or are ignored.
“No one individual or corporation is above these laws – anyone suspected of breaching the orders will be investigated and if a breach is detected, they will be dealt with in accordance with the Act.
“On behalf of the community, I strongly urge those with information about breaches to contact police.”
Anyone who has information regarding individuals or businesses in contravention of a COVID-19-related ministerial direction is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.Monday 30 March 2020
Lock the Gate & Knitting Nannas Against Gas sound a warning over Berejiklian Government's sly move to take advantage of the current pandemic in order to further coal and gas industry interests
Knitting
Nannas Against Gas,
Fossil
Fools Bulletin,
25 March 2020:
NSW
Planning Minister Rob Stokes’ push for the Independent Planning Commission
(IPC) to proceed with public hearings during the covid-19 pandemic
is has alarmed groups opposed to the Narrabri gasfield and the
Vickery coal mine.
Stokes
has instructed the IPC to continue with public hearings during the
coronavirus crisis.
Lock the Gate NSW spokesperso Georgina Woods said
people could not be expected to fully engage in the assessment
process of major resource projects during a health crisis.
She
called on the Berejiklian Government to suspend the IPC assessments
of Narrabri and Vickery until the pandemic was over.
“It
is deeply disturbing Planning Minister Rob Stokes expects the
Independent
Planning Commission to press ahead with a public hearing for
controversial projects like the Narrabri gasfield and Vickery coal
mine in the context of a global pandemic,” she said.
People
will miss having say on projects
“The
Covid-19 outbreak is upending the lives of people globally and New
South Wales is no exception.
People
are frightened, and understandably so – the last thing many want to
do is gather publicly, or miss out on their opportunity to have their
say on these highly damaging projects.
“The
Planning Minister cannot possibly expect the Commission can
adequately
or fairly undertake public consultation in this context.
“People
in rural New South Wales have limited internet capacity and in towns
and cities we are bracing for further disruption while we put all our
efforts into limiting the spread of this virus.
“The
Planning Minister needs to put public health and basic fairness first
and allow the IPC to suspend its consideration of the Narrabri
gasfield and Vickery coal mine until the pandemic has passed and
people are able to fully participate, as is our right.”
Read
the full article at
https://knitting-nannas.com/fossil_fool.php?id=138
Saturday 28 March 2020
Saturday 21 March 2020
Joke of the Week
Labels:
Liberal Party of Australia,
Scott Morrison
Wednesday 4 March 2020
One aspect of Scott Morrison's personal war on the poor and vulnerable becomes the subject of a legitimate study
“Income
management quarantines a portion of social security payments, placing
these funds in a special account that can only be used to pay for
essentials such as food and bills, and cannot be used to purchase
alcohol or tobacco. Compulsory income management was first introduced
to Australia - and, indeed, the world - in 2007 as part of the
Northern Territory Emergency Response (‘the intervention’), and
has been through several incarnations in the decade since. A
comparable policy - ‘money management’ - was introduced to New
Zealand in 2012.
While
numerous government evaluations of income management have been
undertaken in Australia, their findings have been inconsistent.
Stakeholders and politicians alike have called for a rigorous and
independent study of the program to better understand its impacts.
To
date, no evaluations - independent or otherwise - have been conducted
into money management in New Zealand.
This
project therefore represents the first large independent study of
compulsory income management in Australia and New Zealand. It
investigates how income management has developed as a policy, how it
is being implemented by service providers, and how it affects the
lives, choices and autonomy of benefit recipients.
A
key aim of this study is understand the lived experiences of those
who are subject to compulsory income management, and feed these
findings back to policymakers.” [About
The Study,
February 2020]
COMPULSORY
INCOME MANAGEMENT ‘DISABLING, NOT ENABLING’, STUDY SHOWS
Restricting
where and on what social security payments can be spent does more
harm than good, according to the first large, independent study into
Compulsory Income Management (CIM) policies in Australia.
The
University of Queensland’s Professor Greg Marston said the majority
of participants using the BasicsCard or Cashless Debit Card reported
practical difficulties making purchases and paying bills, which
introduced new instability into their lives.
“Income
management proponents say it can stabilise recipients’ lives and
finances, and our study found some people have experienced these
benefits,” Professor Marston said.
“However
many more people have faced additional financial challenges because
of the policies.
“Many
also found their expenses had increased as they were blocked from
participating in the cash economy and burdened with new fees and
charges.”
The
study team said CIM had often been framed as an intervention to
strengthen benefit recipients’ independence, build responsibility
and help transition people away from “welfare dependency” and
into work.
Professor
Marston said previous evaluations had raised significant concerns
about the capacity of income management policies to meet their stated
objectives, yet income management continued to be expanded.
“There
have been recent moves to extend the Cashless Debit Card across the
Northern Territory, but our findings show that CIM has in fact
weakened many participants’ financial capabilities and autonomy,”
he said.
“To
manage their finances, many participants have become reliant on
family members, service providers or automatic payment systems.”
Researcher
Dr Michelle Peterie said the study was unique for its focus on
individuals’ and communities’ experiences with the Cashless Debit
Card and BasicsCard.
“These
voices have frequently been lost or ignored in the policy debate,”
she said.
Dr
Peterie said the research showed a voluntary, opt-in form of income
management could have a place, however the social, emotional and
economic costs of continuing with a compulsory, widespread system
outweighed the benefits.
“The
overwhelming finding is that compulsory income management is having a
disabling rather than enabling affect on the lives of many social
security recipients,” Dr Peterie said.
“This
was true across all of our research sites.”
Professor
Marston said a policy approach that focused on providing employment
and training opportunities and ensuring accessible social services
and affordable housing would be a better starting point for creating
healthy, economically secure and socially inclusive communities.
The
research involved 114 in-depth interviews, conducted at four trial
sites (Playford, Shepparton, Ceduna and Hinkler), and a mixed-methods
survey of 199 people at income management sites across Australia.
ENDS
Full
study can be accessed at
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bff47d1da02bc49ad4e890b/t/5e54c6934eb2985cbbf830a5/1582614180484/Hidden+Costs+Report+-+FINAL.pdf
Image: The Conversation, 26 February 2020 |
Sunday 1 March 2020
Australian Prime Minister Morrison gives full amnesty to employers who have stolen all or part of their employees superannuation
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), media release, 24 February 2020:
With daily revelations of wage theft dominating the start of the new parliamentary year, the Morrison Government has today passed a bill which will waive penalties for employers who have stolen superannuation from workers.
The bill protects employers from prosecution by the ATO for any theft of superannuation back to the birth of the system, regardless of the size of the theft or the intent of the employer.
This is an unprecedented move by a federal government – blanket pardoning of a serious contravention of federal law, with no caveats or limits.
The Government has said publicly that if employers cannot determine the extent of their theft before the end of the amnesty, it will be extended.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President Michele O’Neil: “We are living through a national crisis of wage theft and superannuation forms a significant part of this issue. Instead of punishing the employers who have been stealing money from their employees, potentially for decades, the Morrison Government has waved them through without any penalty whatsoever.
“This law will recover a tiny fraction of the billions in super estimated stolen since the beginning of the system and will do nothing to change behaviour in the business community.
“The Government has had seven years and has done nothing to help workers with unpaid super. Workers need their right to Super included in the National Employment Standards so that repayment can be easily pursued and have super paid at the same time as wages.
“The best way to stop wage and super theft is to allow unions to once again conduct compliance checks in workplaces to end this epidemic of ripping off workers.
“This is a shameful act by a Government which it seems will stop at nothing to cater to employers at the expense of working people.
“The ACTU will continue to explore all available legal avenues to ensure that working people get the money they are owed and that thieves are held accountable for their actions.”
The amount of unpaid super owed to workers in Australia was estimated in 2018 to be at least $5.9 billion and wages theft by employers was thought to total $12.8 billion.
Monday 24 February 2020
‘Grant from Auditing’ dropped ‘Scotty from Marketing’ right in it and the net result is a strong stench of corruption emanating from the Morrison government
New
Matilda,
14 February 2020:
Summer
rains finally fell on large parts of New South Wales this week. They
didn’t fall everywhere, and much of inland Australia is still in
drought, but enough rain fell where it was needed to allow weary fire
authorities to announce that the New South Wales bushfires were
finally contained.
For
different reasons, Scott Morrison has also had a difficult summer, so
the Prime Minister would no doubt have been pleased the bushfire
emergency he so badly mishandled is now receding. With Parliament
back and the serious matter of COVID-19 Coronavirus to attend to,
Morrison could be forgiven for thinking that February would be the
month where the government could regain the political initiative.
But
that’s not happening, because the government finds itself mired in
a series of corruption scandals.
The
key issue, as it has been for weeks now, is the sports rorts affair.
As we now know, roughly $100 million in sports grants were
distributed in a completely corrupt manner by former Sports Minister
Bridget McKenzie before the 2019 federal election.
The
scandal blew up after the National Audit Office released a
devastating report into the orgy of pork barrelling.
The
government’s initial response to the Audit was to try and downplay
it: a variation of the classic “nothing to see here, folks” line.
Morrison himself argued many times that no rules had been broken and
that all the projects funded in McKenzie’s dodgy process were
eligible.
That
approach proved unsustainable, as the media turned its attention to
the grants program and uncovered multiple instances of highly dubious
decision-making. Huge grants to fancy rowing clubs in Mosman, grants
for female change rooms to clubs with no female players, grants to a
shooting club that McKenzie herself was a member of, grants that
sporting clubs boasted about before even receiving them – the more
journalists dug, the worse things seemed.
The
Audit report was always going to be difficult to wriggle away from.
The report set down, in black and white, a devastating series of
findings about the sports grants program.
An
established funding program was subverted by a “parallel process”
of political decision making inside McKenzie’s office, quite
transparently driven by political interest. Questions were raised
about the program’s probity by senior bureaucrats, only to be
batted away by McKenzie and her staff. A colour-coded spreadsheet was
even drawn up, one that had nothing to do with the merits of the
funding applications, and everything to do with the Coalition’s
re-election strategy.
As
former senior New South Wales judge Stephen Charles QC argued, this
was not just ministerial misconduct; it was corruption.
So,
after weeks of defending her, Morrison bowed to the inevitable and
sacked McKenzie. After a hastily convened investigation by Morrison’s
hand-picked Secretary of the Department of Prime Minster and Cabinet,
Phil Gaetjens, McKenzie was sent on her way.
On
the day he sacked McKenzie, Morrison announced that Gaetjens’
report found that McKenzie had erred, but that the program itself was
sound. Exactly how Gaetjens managed to come to that conclusion is
something that has puzzled journalists and onlookers. If the program
was sound, why was McKenzie sacked for rorting it? And if McKenzie
rorted it, how could the program be sound?
Just
to make matters more opaque, Gaetjens’ report was never released,
with Morrison claiming that it was a cabinet document. He therefore
kept it secret. It’s marvellous stuff, this open government
business…..
In
scathing testimony, Auditor-General Grant Hehir and senior auditor
Brian Boyd demolished the government’s position with a few
well-chosen lines.
Were
all the grants eligible, Senator Eric Abetz asked Boyd? No, answered
Boyd.
In
fact, as many as 43 per cent were not eligible. Boyd went on to
explain why. Some applications were late. Some projects had started
their work before they signed the funding agreement. Some had
actually finished the work.
As
Boyd told the Committee, “If you’ve completed your work, or in
some cases — as in this one — you’ve even started your work
before a funding agreement is signed, you’re not eligible to
receive funding.” Oops.
It
got worse. We also found out that the Prime Minister’s office was
intimately involved with McKenzie’s office in drawing up the dodgy
list of grant recipients. Auditor-General Hehir told Senators there
were “direct” communications between Morrison’s office and
McKenzie’s, including at least 28 versions of the now-notorious
colour-coded spreadsheet that laid out the various sports grants by
marginal seat.
The
Auditor-General described a process where key advisors from Morrison
and McKenzie’s offices haggled over which projects to fund, using
the spreadsheet as the basis for their decisions.
To
say this looks bad for the Prime Minister is an understatement. He
has been caught out in a particularly ham-fisted cover up, one that
looks all the more ill-judged now the facts have come to light. Given
the level and detail of communication between his office and Bridget
McKenzie’s, it’s hard to see how he can plausibly argue he wasn’t
privy to the rorts…..
Read
the full article here.
Saturday 22 February 2020
Quote of the Week
"Love does no harm to a neighbour,” instructs the Bible, “therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.” The god invoked to oversee the religious discrimination bill avers such radical lefty chat. Instead, Voltaire’s suggestion that “If god [does] not exist, it would be necessary to invent him” describes the Liberals’ preferred “religious” entity with some prescience. It’s a small and petty, vengeful creature that squats in medical trauma and old bigotry, a deity conjured of conservative political resentment, and convenience." [Columnist Vanessa "Van" Badham, writing in The Guardian on 12 February 2020 on the subject of the Morrison Government's Religious Freedom Bills]
Thursday 6 February 2020
Political Donations 101: cause and effect 2019-2020
THE CAUSE: Reliance on political donations
Individuals and corporations making large or regular political donations are rarely giving money for philanthropic reasons - they usually want something in return.
Sometimes it is access to a prime minister or premier, sometimes access to a particular minister and sometimes it is a barely concealed bribe in order that the donor gets a specific outcome from a particular government.
The
Guardian,
3
February 2020:
The
Liberal party received $4.1m from a single donor before the 2019
election, one of the largest amounts in political history, dwarfing
former leader Malcolm Turnbull’s $1.75m gift before the 2016
election.
The
donations, revealed in Australian Electoral Commission disclosures
published on Monday, are second only to the $83.3m donated by
Mineralogy Pty Ltd to Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.
Both
major parties also took significant sums of money from the fossil
fuel industry, including multinational giant Woodside, something
environmentalists say explains government inaction in the “face of
a rolling national emergency driven by climate change”.
The
$4.1m donated to the federal Liberal party and its state branches was
given in multiple instalments by Sugolena Pty Ltd, a company linked
to philanthropist Isaac Wakil, who made his fortune in the clothing
industry and invested heavily in property, with his wife Susan,
around the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont…..
The
Liberals declared $22.6m in donations Labor $18.2m. Total receipts,
which include all donations regardless of the $13,800 reporting
threshold, other payments, returns from financial investments and
loans, amounted to $165m for the Liberals and $126m for Labor.
Australia’s
weak donation disclosure system continues to mask a huge chunk of
political financing.
Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that $1bn in party income has not been disclosed between 1999 and the last reporting year, almost 36% of total party financing.
Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that $1bn in party income has not been disclosed between 1999 and the last reporting year, almost 36% of total party financing.
But
the disclosures that have been made continue to show the significant
influence of the fossil fuel industry in Australian democracy. Clive
Palmer’s Mineralogy, which gave $83,681,442 to Palmer’s United
Australia Party, was by far the single biggest fossil fuel donor.
An
analysis by the Australian Conservation Foundation found a further
$1.89m in fossil fuel donations to Australian political parties.
“This
data explains why even in the face of a rolling national emergency
driven by climate change and community demands for change, the
government continues to defend and promote the industries that are
the root cause of the problem,” ACF’s economy and democracy
program manager Matt Rose said.
“Serious
donations reform is needed now to make sure our political system
works for the benefit of all Australian, not just those with the
biggest wallets.”
The
biggest fossil fuel donor to the major parties was Woodside,
Australia’s biggest LNG exporter. It gave $135,400 to Labor,
$136,750 to the Liberal Party and $11,190 to the Nationals. The gas
industry lobby, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration
Association (APPEA), was also a significant donor. [APPEA donated a combined total of $24,990 to the federal Liberal and Nationals parties]
Prime
minister Scott Morrison recently identified gas as a key “transition”
fuel for Australia’s economy, saying “we need to get the gas from
under our feet”.
He also recently struck a a $2bn deal with the New South Wales government to increase gas supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector…..
He also recently struck a a $2bn deal with the New South Wales government to increase gas supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector…..
The
federal Liberal party also declared two donations from Adani Mining
Pty Ltd totalling $50,000….. [the Australian Electoral Commission identified a combined total of $97,300 as donations directly from Adani Mining Pty Ltd to the federal Liberal and Nationals parties]
Carmichael
Rail Network, another wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Australia,
gave $50,000 to the federal Liberal party and $100,000 to the
Nationals….. [my red annotations]
THE EFFECT: Requirement to fulfil the terms of the unwritten contract between a political party and its donors
Within the 8 months following the May 2019 federal election the Morrison Government acted to benefit certain of its donors in the gas industry sector.
Santos Limited which had donated a combined total of $42,723 to federal Liberal and Nationals coffers in 2017-18 went on to donate another $78,854 in 2018-19, with this result......
Within the 8 months following the May 2019 federal election the Morrison Government acted to benefit certain of its donors in the gas industry sector.
Santos Limited which had donated a combined total of $42,723 to federal Liberal and Nationals coffers in 2017-18 went on to donate another $78,854 in 2018-19, with this result......
According
to Lock
The Gate Alliance on
31 January 2020:
The
‘energy deal’ announced today between NSW and Federal Governments
looks designed to unleash coal seam gas drilling in north-west NSW,
threatening drought-affected farmers and allowing Santos to drain 37
billion litres of groundwater.
Crucially,
it will do little to bring down greenhouse gas emissions due to its
reliance on dirty, polluting unconventional gas.
Media
reports indicate the NSW Government has been compelled by the
Commonwealth to make a commitment to supply 70PJ of gas for the east
coast market in exchange for up to $2 billion in Federal funding for
renewable energy and unquantified reduction incentives.
The
volume of gas mentioned in the deal is similar to the amount Santos
expects to produce at its proposed water-hungry Narrabri coal seam
gasfield.
To
facilitate the creation of one
or more gasfields
in
north-west New South Wales the Berejiklian Coalition Government held a second hearing into the NSW Chief Scientist’s recommendations on coal seam gas in NSW on 4 February 2020.
As the Berejiklian Government failed to act on the Chief Scientist's original recommendations, this second hearing was a cause for concern......
Lock
The Gate Alliance,
3 February 2020:
CSG
hearing round 2 must deliver more than just hot air
The
holding of a second hearing into the NSW Chief Scientist’s
recommendations on coal seam gas in NSW is evidence the Berejiklian
Government is not prepared to deal with the repercussions of the
destructive industry, according to Lock the Gate Alliance.
The
hearing, to be held tomorrow, is only happening because the
Government was unable to properly answer questions about CSG at the
original hearing, held in December last year.
Lock
the Gate NSW coordinator Georgina Woods said it was even more crucial
than ever now for the Government to answer questions about its
forgotten promises on coal seam gas, given the state and federal
governments look poised to sacrifice the north west following last
week’s energy deal announcement.
“It
was deeply troubling to watch government representatives scratch
their heads when asked basic questions about their oversight of this
damaging industry at the last hearing. It demonstrated an alarming
lack of attention to the serious risk coal seam gas poses to
groundwater in North West NSW,” Ms Woods said.
“Last
week’s energy deal with Canberra has raised the very real risk that
state and federal governments will run roughshod over the facts and
heap political pressure on planning authorities to approve Santos’
destructive Narrabri coal seam gas proposal.
“This
inquiry has shown how unready and unaware the Government is for the
environmental, social and economic damage that will inflict.
“There
is still time to stop Santos’ Narrabri gas project from puncturing
holes in a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, one of
western New South Wales’ most precious groundwater resources. There
is still time to make this important area a no-go zone for coal seam
gas and safeguard the water resources of north west New South Wales.”
Ms
Woods said it was clear from the last hearing that major
recommendations made by the Chief Scientist had not been implemented.
“The
biggest gaps include failure to provide a three-tiered environmental
insurance scheme, failure to establish a standing expert committee,
and failure to develop systems that can detect cumulative impacts of
the industry on precious water resources,” she said.
“There
are 11 expired and unused legacy coal seam gas licences languishing
over the farmland, towns, and precious water resources of the
drought-stricken north west that have never been through the
Government’s new system for assessing areas for gas exploration.
“The
NSW Government is leaving farming communities in the north west
exposed to unforeseen and irreversible loss or contamination of water
resources and other environmental and health impacts from the CSG
industry.
“We
need a reset from the Government that prioritises water security,
people, and the needs of future generations and that means stopping
the Narrabri gasfield.”
Brisbane Times reported on 3 February 2020 concerning the Adani Group's strategically timed donations:
On April 5, $12,500 was donated to the Liberal Party; that was four days before then-Environment Minister Melissa Price signed off on the groundwater management plans for Adani's central Queensland mine.
Another $100,000 was donated to both parties in the month after Ms Price gave final federal approvals to the mine.
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