This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
The four Saturday, 12 February 2022 NSW by-elections for Bega, Monaro, Strathfield and Willoughby are being conducted under rules where every voter is automatically being sent ballot papers in a postal vote pack.
Bega – 29.4% of enrolled voters have cast a pre-poll and 21.3% returned a postal vote
Monaro – 23.1% of enrolled voters have cast a pre-poll and 15.3% returned a postalvote
Strathfield – 16.3% of enrolled voters have cast a pre-poll and 26.4% returned a postal vote
Willoughby – 9.6% of enrolled voters have cast a pre-poll and 28.1% returned a postal vote.
Postal votes envelopes will be processed in the week after the election, but there will be no counting of postal votes until Saturday 19 February. This will make it harder to call results at the end of election night counting as so many votes are postal.
It is currently planned that the final results will be announced by the Electoral Commissioner by Friday, 11 March.
ABC 24 Hour News Channel will air ABC News NSW Byelections Special between 6pm-9pm tonight AEDST.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemicQueensland holds a state election from Monday 19 October 2020 to Saturday, 31 October 2020 and, now the Australian Electoral Commission will also be obliged to hold a by-election in the federal seat of Groom in south-east Queensland.
However, the man who is out to convince his own political party and the world that only he wins elections in Australia across the first two tiers of government, Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison (left), will apparently not be able to campaign on the ground. NZ Herald, 18 September 2020: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will be banned from entering Queensland for the duration of the state election campaign unless he is prepared to pay A$2800 ($3046) to quarantine for 14 days in a government facility. Nearly seven weeks after he last entered the sunshine state, there is no sign that the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will lift the border bans before the October 31 election. Queensland's border ban will effectively stop the Prime Minister, Labor leader Anthony Albanese and any other frontbenchers from entering the state for the duration of the election unless they are prepared to spend a fortnight in quarantine..... ABC News, 18 September 2019:
Toowoomba-based federal MP John McVeigh has resigned from politics, effective immediately. He said he made the difficult decision to quit politics so he could concentrate on caring for his wife Anita, who has been suffering from a major illness.
A federal by-election will now have to be held in the Groom electorate. Groom (Toowoombah & Darling Downs)has been held by the Liberal-Nationals Coalition since 1984 and is currently considered a very safe Liberal Party seat. The result of this forthcoming by-election will probably come as no surprise, but expect Scott Morrison to up his attacks on Labor, increase his media appearances and indulge in more scaremongering ahead of the by-election polling day.
John McVeigh (right) lost his post as federal Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government in 2018 when Scott Morrison became prime minister and been a backbencher ever since. Like many other Coalition federal MPs, Mr. McVeigh has been the subject of allegations concerning improper allocation of federal government funding.
*
Much
like the saplings in her hand, Hayley Talbot is hoping her idea to
help local bushfire-affected areas will sprout and grow tall.
Ms
Talbot, through her business Blanc Space, and project partner
ex-professional surfer Daniel Ross have created the Caring for the
Clarence project, in which 5000 trees will be planted to help rebuild
the local koala population ravaged by bushfires.
Partnering
with the NSW Government’s Save Our Species program to fund the
initiative, Ms Talbot said she wanted to contribute to the area in a
tangible way.
“I
wanted to do something that has some longevity, that would help us as
a community and help our homeland heal,” she said.
While
the effort to plant 5000 trees on private properties around the
Mororo and Woombah area may seem like a mammoth task for a group
reduced in numbers by COVID-19 restrictions, Ms Talbot said they
worked at it one tree at a time.
“I
really feel like it’s been a great example of what any community
member can do if they’re passionate and energetic,” she said.
Guided
by conservation scientists and using trees of local provenance, the
program used data from Google Earth combined with information on
koala sightings to plant areas of use to sustain the population.
“From
there it was about engaging with local property owners because every
tree we’ve planted has been on private land,” Ms Talbot said…..
[The
Daily Telegraph,
1 July 2020]
*
Clarence
Valley local government area now eligible for federal government
drought
support
administered by St. Vincent de Paul until end of 2020. [Queensland
Country Life,
2 July 2020]
One
of the largest capital works programs ever seen in the Clarence has
passed through council, and is set to provide a $70.6 million
investment in local roads and infrastructure during this financial
year.
At
Clarence Valley Council’s June 23 meeting councillors voted to
adopt the 2020-21 budget, paving the way for a significant economic
boost to the region.
“A
significant capital works program totalling $70.6 million has been
agreed for the 2020/21 financial year,” Clarence Valley Council’s
general manager Ashley Lindsay said.
“The
key features are $22 million to road and bridge infrastructure
projects and approximately $32 million allocated to open spaces,
community facility and building projects.” Mr Lindsay said an
additional $5.2 million will be generated from the final year of a
three-year special rate variation which commenced 2018/2019.
“The
majority of these funds will be spent on roads and infrastructure
asset renewals.
“This
is the final year of council’s four-year financial improvement plan
adopted in June 2017, which lays the foundations for the long-term
financial well being of the organisation, and the services,
facilities and infrastructure it provides for the community,” he
said…. [The
Daily Telegraph,
3 July 2020]
COVID-19
Pandemic
*
44% of all those in residential aged care who caught COVID-19 and 9%
of older people receiving care services in the home died as a result
of this viral infection [Australian Dept. of Health, 5 July
2020]
* COVID-19 growth rate graph
[ABC News, 9 July 2020]
Liberal
Party Politics
*
Finance
Minister Mathias Cormann, the man who revived Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
“economic girly man’’ insult in the Australian political
lexicon and privately called Scott Morrison “narcissistic” is set
to quit politics sparking a cabinet reshuffle.
Australia’s
longest serving Finance Minister has denied growing speculation he
will quit politics for months, but has responded with notable silence
to three reports in the last month that he plans to resign.
But
his departure also is set to remind voters of the ongoing leadership
fallout within the Coalition over the ascension of Prime Minister
Scott Morrison and his increasing popularity, dominance and control
of the government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last
month, there was even speculation that he might return to Europe in a
diplomatic posting for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development.
But
the Belgian-born Liberal senator told friends he is more attracted to
making some money in the corporate sector. [News.com.au,
3 July 2020]
*
By the
end of this year we will be half-way through this current term of
government.
Having
decided not to recontest the next election, I can confirm that I have
advised the Prime Minister that the end of this year would be an
appropriate time for an orderly transition in my portfolio.[Australian
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Statement,
4 July 2020]
*
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY: It's only taken PM Scott Morrison a little over 23
months to quietly push Dutton-supporter Mathias Cormann out of the
Australian Parliament. Who is next?[@no_filter-Yamba,
5 July 2020]
*
The NSW Liberal Party has appointed a former ICAC executive to
investigate claims the minutes of the local branch of Prime
Minister’s right-hand man Alex Hawke were doctored to secure his
power base.
In
the most significant development
since the scandal was first revealed by News Corp almost two years
ago, the party office has confirmed in an email sent to affected
branch members on Friday that it has enlisted the former head of the
corruption watchdog’s investigations unit, Michael Symons, to head
up the internal inquiry.
Liberal MP Alex Hawke. Picture: Kym Smith
The
party head office has been in internal turmoil since being made aware
of allegations that Mr Hawke’s factionally-aligned heads of the
Baulkham Hills branch in his electorate of Mitchell changed the
minutes to block the memberships of 10 new conservative members.
Had
the new members been recorded accurately at the meeting — held in a
western Sydney funeral home — Mr Hawke’s Centre Right faction
would have lost control of the branch, potentially putting his
preselection in jeopardy.
Control
of branches is critical
in influencing Federal, State and local government preselections. At
a State level, the Baulkham Hills branch is critical for NSW Police
Minister David Elliott. [The
Daily Telegraph,
5 July 2020]
Eden-Monaro
Federal By-election
*
At 7:30pm on Saturday 4 July 2020, when First Preference vote
counting ceased for the night in the NSW Eden-Monaro federal
electorate, it was apparent that an est. 62,22%
of voters were not having a bar of Scott Morrison & his hard
right Lib-Nats government. [Australian
Electoral Commission,
4 July 2020]
At
the same time in bushfire ravaged little Cobargo at least 59.68%
of local voters refused
to give the Morrison Government candidate their First Preference
vote.
Even
after they appear to have been not so subtly threatened:
the
residents of Cobargo – the centre of a tragedy in January – swung
to the Liberals on Saturday night. Perhaps
this is a bushfire effect in the sense locals accepted the
government’s core message during the campaign: the fire clean up
will move much faster if you send Fiona Kotvojs to Canberra, rather
than a member of the opposition. [The
Guardian,
5 July 2020]
*
By
early
Sunday
evening
61.71% of all voters in Eden-Monaro who cast a formal vote had
refused
to give the Morrison Government’s candidate their First Preference
vote. So the inevitable happened…..
I'm pleased and honoured to be elected the next Member for Eden-Monaro.
Research
economist discovers ‘Scotty From Marketing’ Morrison’s economic
playbook
So,
a short recession’s not enough. You want to create a prolonged
depression, right?
Perhaps
you run businesses that specialise in disaster capitalism. Maybe you
want to suckle at the teat of a dying fossil fuel industry for a
little longer. It could be that you miss the social division and
inequality of the Victorian era. Maybe you’re just a jerk.
Whatever
your motivations, this guide will take you through the basic steps of
pushing an already struggling economy into a full-blown crisis…
Read
the full article here.
[The
New Daily,
5 July 2020]
About
endangered flying foxes
“Their supermarket has been destroyed...and there isn’t another one within flying distance”. The Grey-Headed Flying Fox is being threatened with extinction by the effects of climate change, their future looks grim. 📸 #AnnetteRuzickaPhotographypic.twitter.com/zDGac9XrQJ
The
orange roughy fishery, which some have dubbed the "posterchild
of fishery mismanagement", has been the subject of debate since
the 1990s when stocks collapsed after just 20 years of commercial
fishing.
It's
a fish that can live for more than 140 years and can't breed until
around 30 — and conservationists say its unusual biology should
make it off-limits to commercial fishing.
But
industry groups say they've learnt from past mistakes and can harvest
orange roughy sustainably.
Now,
acting on behalf of an Australian trawl-fishing interest group,
US-based consultancy MRAG Americas Inc has recommended the fishery be
given sustainability status.
The
consultancy handed down its recommendation last week to MSC, an
international non-government organisation that certifies the
sustainability of fisheries based on the sustainability of the
exploited fish stocks, maintenance of the fishery ecosystem, and
responsible management.
Objections
were raised by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and
conservation group WWF but were dismissed on a technicality,
according to AMCS spokesperson Adrian Meder.
Mr
Meder said the report contains a number of flaws that show a lack of
understanding of the biology of the species and fishery.
"It's
the shonkiest piece of greenwashing I think I've seen in my entire
career. It gets the basics wrong on so many levels," Mr Meder
said…..
Orange
roughy facts
Researchers
have caught orange roughy up to 149 years of age, making them one of
the longest-lived fish species. It's estimated that individuals may
live up to 200 years.
They
don't reach sexual maturity until around 30 years of age and by fish
standards, don't produce a lot of offspring.
Orange
roughy live between 700 metres and 1500 metres deep. They roam
across seabeds but congregate on underwater shelves and seamounts to
breed, meaning they can be easily caught in large numbers.
The
fish are caught by bottom trawling, usually across seamounts.
They
live in cold water, and in Australia are mostly found off Tasmania,
Victoria and the Great Australian Bight.
Commercial
fishing for orange roughy began in earnest in the 1970s, with the
biggest extractions taking place in New Zealand waters followed by
Australia.
They're
also found in the waters of Namibia, Chile, in the Atlantic and
south Indian Ocean, however stock data is limited in many of these
places.
The
flesh is pearly white and delicate. [ABC
News,
5 July 2020]
Pauline
Hanson labelled residents in the nine public housing estate towers
"drug addicts" and "alcoholics" who can't speak
English, in an interview this morning on Channel Nine's Today Show.
After
widespread backlash across the morning, Channel Nine released a
statement to announce that Hanson won't be joining the Today Show in
the future…..
The more than a little petty and spiteful, Messrs.
Lim Kim Hai, John Sharp, Lee Thian Soo, Neville Howell, Chris Hine, James
Davis and
Ronald
Bartsch remain
firm in their refusal to continue to fly Rex Express small passenger
jets into Grafton Airport in the Clarence Valley.
Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison uses the old excuse that 'Jen & the girls deserve a break' to bolt out the backdoor once again * It appears that 'Scotty From Marketing' has been away on holidays for most of the last six days and intends to keep holidaying for another six to seven days.
IMAGE: Found on Twitter
* "As you know, it is a school holidays and Jenny and the girls will be taking some time on the outskirts of Sydney....We have technology where I can be with them and continue to take briefings, calls and meetings in dealing with the situation whether it be Victoria or the other situations in the country.
"As a dad, I will take some time but at the same time I can assure you we will remain absolutely focused on the things we need to focus on next week." [9 News, 10 July 2020]
Morrison holidaying in a crisis *again* proves he doesn't regard it as a serious job. He's there for the power, not the service.
That he's not getting chased with cameras says a similar thing about our political press.
Scott Morrison was ALREADY on holiday with the family and Twitter busted him AGAIN. Not that you heard anything from the MSM. Now he has been busted, he says he won’t be with them full time in wish washy words. I call BS. #auspol
The Lincoln Project states that its mission is to: Defeat President Trump and Trumpism
at the ballot box. A fascinating aspect to this project is that it is a super PAC* which was created by conservative and registered Republican voters. It has been running strong political attack ads since January 2020. This one targets Trump and the evangelical Christians who support him..... https://youtu.be/yoglNFN5-Js While this ad targets a Republican senator who voted to acquit Trump of both articles of impeachment....... https://youtu.be/PgmXzmwaDhU
NOTE * According to the US Federal Election Commission; "Super PACs are independent expenditure-only political committees that may receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other political action committees for the purpose of financing independent expenditures and other independent political activity."
The Guardian, 18 August 2019: The vast majority of Australians (84%) support new laws to ban political parties and candidates from making “inaccurate and misleading” claims, according to a new poll for the Australia Institute. On Sunday the progressive thinktank released a discussion paper canvassing options for truth in political advertising laws, following reports of widespread misinformation in the 2019 election campaign and calls from MPs including independent Zali Steggall and Liberal Jason Falinski for new minimum standards. The paper noted that truth in advertising laws operate in South Australia, where the Electoral Commission can request material be withdrawn and retracted and financial penalties apply, and New Zealand, where the media industry is self-regulated by an advertising standards body. It argues that industry bodies including Free TV Australia and the Advertising Standards Bureau could regulate truth in advertising, preventing the Australian Electoral Commission from being drawn into the contentious political process of adjudication. “Several models for increasing the truthfulness of election campaigns are available to policymakers,” it said. “They are popular and proven to work in other jurisdictions.” The paper includes results from a Dynata survey of 1,464 people conducted in the last week of July, with a margin of error of 3%, that found 84% of all voters want truth in advertising laws, with support in Labor, the Coalition and Greens all above the 84% level. Most respondents supported a range of penalties including fines (62%), forcing publications to retract claims (60%) and loss of public funding (54%). Criminal charges were supported by 42% of respondents.
Respondents were unsure who should be the arbiter of truth, with support split between the judicial system (27%), electoral commissions (26%) and industry bodies (21%), with 15% unsure and 7% suggesting a new panel of experts. The survey also found 90% support for the proposition that newspapers, TV channels and social media networks should run corrections if they publish inaccurate or misleading ads.....
North Coast Voices no longer allows the Facebook Button sited at the end of each blog post to activate when it is clicked on by a reader.
This button has been deactivated because it has become clear that Facebook Inc. is not now and has never been a corporation genuinely committed to principles of digital privacy and security of Internet users' personal information and other associated data.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
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