Be very wary of Brumby's Bakeries

According to media reports Brumby’s franchises have all received a head office memo suggesting that Consumer Price Index related price rises be implemented in June-July 2012 and that stores should; Let the carbon tax take the blame.

On the NSW Mid and Far North Coast Brumby’s outlets can be found at Ballina, Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Lismore, Murwillumbah, Port Macquarie and Tweed Heads.

Having been outed so publicly, the head of the Retail Food Group, Brumby's parent company, Tony Alford issued his own statement to the the stock exchange saying the comments ‘‘were not sanctioned and are of significant concern to the board’’.

The company also ordered its stores to remove Liberal Party posters and placards about the carbon tax, warning them they could face fines of up to $1.1 million if they engage in false or misleading conduct.

Brumby's prices are due to rise on 16 July and I suggest that Northern Rivers shoppers pay special attention to the amount of that rise.

In light of the base nature of both the political and corporate classes........

Herewith, a timely reminder to all economic development policy makers and resources industry ‘players’ in 2012.

Excerpt from NSW Parliament Code of Conduct for Members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council:

2. Bribery

(a) A Member must not knowingly or improperly promote any matter, vote on any bill or resolution or ask any question in the Parliament or its Committees in return for any remuneration, fee, payment, reward or benefit in kind, of a private nature, which the member has received, is receiving or expects to receive.

(b) A Member must not knowingly or improperly promote any matter, vote on any bill or resolution or ask any question in the Parliament or its Committees in return for any remuneration, fee, payment, reward or benefit in kind, of a private nature, which any of the following persons has received, is receiving or expects to receive:

(i) A member of the Member’s family;

(ii) A business associate of the Member; or

(iii) Any other person or entity from whom the Member expects to receive a financial benefit.

(c) A breach of the prohibition on bribery constitutes a substantial breach of this Code of Conduct.

Excerpt from the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption website:

Corrupt conduct, as defined in the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988, is deliberate or intentional wrongdoing, not negligence or a mistake. It has to involve or affect a NSW public official or public sector organisation.

While it can take many forms, corrupt conduct occurs when:

·     a public official improperly uses, or tries to improperly use, the knowledge, power or resources of their position for personal gain or the advantage of others

·     a public official acts dishonestly or unfairly, or breaches public trust

·     a member of the public influences, or tries to influence, a public official to use his or her position in a way that is dishonest, biased or breaches public trust.

The NSW community expects public officials to perform their duties with honesty and in the best interests of the public. Corrupt conduct by a public official involves a breach of public trust that can lead to inequality, wasted resources or public money and reputational damage…..

The full definition of corruption which applies to the ICAC is detailed in sections 7, 8 and 9 of the ICAC Act.

I note that as yet the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia has not created A Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament nor created the promised Parliamentary Integrity Commissioner. Nevertheless there are avenues open to deal with corrupt conduct within that institution.

Australia's Clean Energy Legislation Public Consultation, 28 July – 22 August 2011

Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency:

The submission period is open from Thursday, 28 July – Monday, 22 August 2011. Submissions are invited from all interested stakeholders.

The purpose of this public engagement process is to confirm that the draft bills implement the announced policy and that they do not, as drafted, create any uncertainties, ambiguities or risks of unintended consequences. The Government has also released draft commentaries on the bills, and seeks views as to whether they clearly explain the content of the bills.

How to make a submission

Complete a submission cover sheet (DOC 99 KB)
Prepare your submission. Preferred format is Adobe PDF
Email your cover sheet and submission to cleanenergybills@climatechange.gov.au
Alternatively, post your submission to:
Carbon Price Legislation Branch
Carbon Strategy and Markets Division
Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
GPO Box 854
CANBERRA ACT 2601

Draft legislation**

Clean Energy Bill 2011
Clean Energy (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011
Clean Energy Regulator Bill 2011
Climate Change Authority Bill 2011
Clean Energy (Unit Shortfall charge—General) Bill 2011
Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—General) Bill 2011
Clean Energy (Charges—Excise) Bill 2011
Clean Energy (International Unit Surrender Charge) Bill 2011
Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment Bill 2011
Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment Bill 2011
Fuel Tax Legislation Amendment (Clean Energy) Bill 2011
Excise Tariff Legislation Amendment (Clean Energy) Bill 2011
Customs Tariff Amendment (Clean Energy) Bill 2011
Note: The legislation to implement household assistance in relation to the carbon price will not be exposed in draft.

**At the time of posting not all secondary DCC&EE links were functioning. Hopefully that will be rectified soon.

Australia's other CPI is not looking too flash

"IF, AS an Australian citizen, you perform an act of bribery offshore, you can be fined $1 million, jailed for 10 years and your company can be fined $10 million, which all sounds very proper except that nobody has ever been prosecuted."

James Kirby is not impressed with the fact that Australia doesn't appear willing to use its own laws to nab corrupt individuals and companies - and neither am I.
According to Transparency International (Australia):
The overwhelming majority of the world's leading exporting nations is failing to fully enforce a ban on foreign bribery, reveals Transparency International's (TI) 2009 OECD Anti-bribery Convention Progress Report.
The fifth edition of the yearly report shows that just four of 36 countries party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention are active enforcers. There is moderate enforcement in 11 and little to no enforcement in the 21 remaining countries. Such performance throws into question governments' commitments and threatens to destabilise the definitive legal instrument to fight international bribery.
In 1997, the member states of the OECD adopted the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Hailed as a landmark event in the fight against international corruption, the Convention represented a collective commitment to ban foreign bribery by the governments of the leading industrialised states, which account for the majority of global exports and foreign investment. The Convention entered into force in 1999 and now has 38 parties.

This is what it also said about Australia:
"Australia's slide in its standing as a non-corrupt nation has been halted in the latest international rankings of 180 countries released today by the global anticorruption organisation, Transparency International. Australia has risen to eighth spot from ninth in 2008 in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), halting a slide since 2002 when it was considered the least corrupt country in the world. The Chief Executive of Transparency International Australia, Michael Ahrens, said Australia held top spot in 2002 before the exposure of dealings by the Australian Wheat Board with the Middle East, notably the Iraqi Government of Saddam Hussein. New Zealand has now replaced Denmark at the top of the world list as the country perceived as least likely to allow corruption. In the important regional breakdown of the CPI, Australian ranked third for the Asia- Pacific Region behind New Zealand and Singapore. The CPI is a composite index that draws on 13 expert and business surveys to measure the perceived levels of public sector corruption in a given country. Most of the 180 countries in the 2009 index still scored under five on a zero-to-10 scale, with zero perceived as highly corrupt and 10 to mean low levels of corruption; so the corruption challenge remains undeniable in the region and elsewhere. Highest scorers in the 2009 CPI were New Zealand (9.4) Denmark (9.3) Singapore and Sweden (9.2), Switzerland (9.0), Finland and Netherlands (8.7) and Australia, Canada and Iceland (8.7). Fragile, unstable states that are scarred by war and ongoing conflict scored lowest, notably Somalia (1.1), Afghanistan (1.3) Myanmar (1.4), Sudan (1.5) and Iraq (1.5). Mr Ahrens said the German based headquarters of Transparency International has reported that as the world economy shows a tentative recovery and some nations continue to wrestle with ongoing conflict and insecurity, it is clear that no region is immune to corruption...."

Poll results from Transparency International

We're laughing now but......

We can laugh at the joke and say never happen or only in America, but.......

Murray Hill Incorporated is Running for Congress
Corporations are people too!

Until now, corporations only influenced politics with high-paid lobbyists and backroom deals. But today, thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, corporations now have all the rights the founding fathers meant for us. It was their dream to build the best democracy money can buy.

That's why Murray Hill Incorporated is taking democracy's next step — running for Congress. Join us and build a vision for the future we can all be proud of. Vote Murray Hill Incorporated for Congress!
Vote Murray Hill Incorporated for Congress!

Get a load of the U.S. Supreme Court judgement which caused this tongue in cheek announcement that Murray Hill is fielding a candidate at the next American election.
Apparently the American courts have moved one step closer to according corporations full citizenship rights by giving companies the same First Amendment right of free speech as a person - therefore a right to unlimited spending on political advocacy during election campaigns.
Score in 'The Best Free Speech That Money Can Buy' Contest:
U.S. Government 0 Big Business 10

Snapshot : Murray Hill Inc video