QUESTION OF THE DAY: Will Scotty From Marketing's pet National COVID-19 Coordination Commission recommend lifting the Coal Seam Gas Moratorium in place across the NSW Northern Rivers region?

"Nev Power: The Prime Minister 'rang me ... and said your country needs you.' "  [Financial Review, 3 April 2020]

On 20 March 2020 Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison created the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC) to “ coordinate advice to the Australian Government on actions to anticipate and mitigate the economic and social impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic” and “advise the Prime Minister on all non-health aspects of the pandemic response”.

This is a list of NCCC commission members and key staff for the period 23 March to 22 September 2020 with remuneration for their services where known:

Chairman

Neville Power, Deputy Chairman of Strike Energy Ltd an oil and gas exploration company – remuneration by PM&C contract $294,079.50. Power has announced he is temporarily stepping aside from his position at Strike Energy to avoid perceptions of conflict of interest. However, he appears to be retaining 12,612,885 fully paid Strike Energy shares (worth in the vicinity of $2.4 milllion) & options on 6 million more held by his own Myube discretionary investment trust.

Deputy Chairman

David Thodey, Chairman CSIRO – paid expenses only

Commissioners

Greg Combet, consultant, Chairman of IFM Investors and Industry Super Australia - remuneration by PM&C contract $118,800

Jane Halton, board member ANZ, Clayton Utz, Crown Resorts, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, US Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and

chairman of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, COTA, Crown Sydney and Vault Systems - remuneration by PM&C contract $118,800

Paul Little, property developer, Chairman and Founder of the Little Group, Chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Skalata Ventures - remuneration by PM&C contract $108,000 for 2 days per week

Catherine Tanna, Managing Director of EnergyAustralia, board member Reserve Bank of Australia and Business Council of Australia – remuneration by PM&C contract $54,000 for 1 day per week

Key Staff

Peter Harris, public policy adviser, CEO of NCCC – remuneration N/K

Executive Assistant to Chairman NCCC – remuneration by PM&C contract $73,000 paid into the same Myube discretionary investment trust as the remuneration received by NCCC Chairman.

Advisors

Andrew N. Liveris, special advisor to NCCC, board member IBM, Worley Parsons, Saudi Aramco, on advisory board of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and NEOM, controversial former Chairman & CEO of Dow Chemical and Trump supporter– remuneration N/K

For the more than $885,479 in taxpayer dollars spent on this commission over a six month period, Australia gets a website of sorts pmc.gov.au/nccc along with a Twitter account NCCCgovau and, what is shaping up to be a lack of transparency and accountability concerning advice this commission gives behind closed doors to government.

According to The Guardian on 21 May 2020:

A leaked draft report by a manufacturing taskforce advising the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission (NCCC) recommends the Morrison government make sweeping changes to “create the market” for gas and build fossil fuel infrastructure that would operate for decades.

Its vision includes Canberra underwriting an increased national gas supply, government agencies partnering with companies to accelerate development of new fields such as the Northern Territory’s vast Beetaloo Basin, and states introducing subsidy schemes for gas-fired power plants.

It says the federal government should help develop gas pipelines between eastern states and the north, and potentially a $6bn trans-Australian pipeline between the east and west, by either taking an equity position, minority share or underwriting investments.

The taskforce, headed by….Saudi Aramco board member Andrew Liveris, positions lower-cost gas as the answer to building a transformed manufacturing sector that it says could support at least 85,000 direct jobs, and hundreds of thousands more indirectly.

But it does not consider alternatives to gas, or what happens if greenhouse gas emissions are cut as promised under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Gas is usually described as having half the emissions of coal when burned, though recent studies have suggested it could be more.

The Liveris report does not mention climate change, Australia’s emissions reduction targets or the financial risk, flagged by institutions in Australia and overseas, of investing in fossil fuel as emissions are cut.

While several assessments have found renewable energy backed by storage is now the cheapest option for new electricity generation, the report says gas is “key to driving down electricity cost and improving investment in globally competitive advanced industry”.

Its focus is consistent with the NCCC chairman, Nev Power, a former Fortescue Metals chief and current board member at gas company Strike Energy, who has said in interviews that cheap gas would be critical to Australia’s future. Gas has been strongly backed by the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the energy and emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, who has argued for a gas-fired recovery from the pandemic.

According to Friends of the Earth Australia the leaked document also suggests lifting the coal seam gas moratorium in New South Wales, which is an issue I’m sure the Northern Rivers region will be keeping a close eye on. 

UPDATE 

The Guardian, 5 June 2020: 

Officials from Scott Morrison’s department are refusing to release conflict of interest disclosures from members of the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission so they can be scrutinised by the public because the declarations are provided “in confidence”. 

The departmental pushback has come in responses to questions on-notice from the Senate committee examining the government’s response to the pandemic. 

Controversy has been escalating about the potential for conflicts of interest among the commissioners handpicked by the prime minister to provide advice at the height of the coronavirus crisis. 

The high-powered coordination commission, headed by the former Fortescue Metals chief Nev Power, has a broad remit, advising the government on all non-health aspects of its pandemic response. 

But concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency of the group’s deliberations, and the absence of a conventional governance framework for a taxpayer-funded enterprise. 

The NCCC has a budget of more than $5m.... 

The Guardian, 3 May 2020:

When the Daily Telegraph reported last week that a fertiliser plant in Narrabri being advanced by a West Australian businessman had topped the list of the projects being promoted by the National Covid Coordination Commission, there was some surprise. 

Vikas Rambal and Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers are not exactly household names, and the controversial Narrabri coal seam gas project – which would provide the cheap gas that the fertiliser project depends on – is yet to be approved by the New South Wales government.... 

Rambal has not yet sought planning approval of the $1.9bn project and the only tangible signs are press releases promising 700 jobs and a non-binding agreement with the coal seam gas project’s owner, Santos..... 

The Daily Telegraph, 24 April 2020:

Mr Rambal’s plant would create up to 800 jobs during construction and 70 to 80 permanent­ roles in Narrabri, supplying farmers in a 300km radius. “It’s a huge project,”  Mr Rambal, who is also advancing a $4.5 billion fertiliser plant in WA, told The Daily Telegraph. 

He said Mr Power’s Commission could help by picking up the phone to politicians to remove roadblocks and speed up approvals. 

Mr Taylor said making more fertiliser was a “cracking opportunity” for Australia and would help achieve the government’s goal of growing agriculture to a $100 billion-a-year industry by 2030. 

He said he was focused on making more gas available. 

“I like to think of the other side of COVID-19 as being a gas-fired recovery,” Mr Taylor said. 

“We want to see the NSW government get on with (the approvals process for the Santos project).”  In January, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wanted a final decision on the proposal by June 30. 

That now looks unlikely. The Independent Planning Commission is yet to receive a referral from the NSW Department of Planning. The IPC will take 12 weeks to make its ruling. 

It is unclear if the COVID-19 Commission is now attempting to hurry up the Department­ of Planning.....

Five-year assessment of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan released

Shorter version of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan five-year assessment – behind schedule, badly managed by governments and agencies, based on too many false assumptions, evidence of unintended outcomes, not delivering on environmental needs, past excessive water extraction admitted, key risks not properly managed, expensive and no longer fully fit for purpose so in need of reform.

Australian Government Productivity Commission, 25 January 2019:

Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Five-year assessment

Inquiry report

This report was sent to Government on 19 December 2018 and publicly released on 25 January 2019.

The report makes findings on progress to date in implementing the Basin Plan and recommendations on actions required to ensure effective achievement of Basin Plan outcomes. Most of our recommendations involve incremental improvements to the current arrangements. Others are to provide the strong foundations needed for the Plan to succeed — sound governance, good planning, and effective and adaptive management.

Download the overview

Overview and recommendations (PDF - 1085 Kb)

Overview and recommendations (Word - 490 Kb)

Download the report

Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Five-year assessment - Inquiry report (PDF - 4373 Kb)

Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Five-year assessment - Inquiry report (Word - 1938 Kb)

The lack of transparency in local government governance in the Clarence Valley has come to the attention of mainstream media

The Clarence Valley Review didn’t mince matters on  October 2014:

Clarence Valley Council will not be sharing the details of its legal proceedings with the valley’s ratepayers, if the council maintains the decision taken at last week’s council meeting.
When it came to a vote, all of the councillors (Cr Sue Hughes was absent) accepted general manager Scott Greensill’s and mayor Richie Williamson’s position – and adopted the council officer’s recommendation to receive and note the quarterly legal proceedings report.
Both men told councillors that, according to advice provided by the council’s insurance company, that the public should not be privy to those details as it could put the council’s insurance policy in jeopardy.
At the July council meeting, councillors unanimously supported Cr Karen Toms’ notice of motion (after amendments were made, including the non disclosure of names in certain cases when security and privacy issues were involved): “That Council be provided with an update report on at least a quarterly basis in relation to legal proceedings taken by or against the Council.”
When the July meeting’s minutes were published, they were done so with the following links to the council’s 10-year community plan: “Theme – Our Leadership; Objective – We will have a strong, accountable and representative Government; and, Strategy – Provide open, accountable and transparent decision making for the community.”
However, when the council’s October Corporate, Governance & Works committee papers were published, the linkage principals were changed to: “Theme – Our Leadership; Objective – We will have an effective and efficient organisation; and Strategy – Ensure Council operations are supported by the most effective internal service provision and governance structures.”
The report attached to the business item was confidential (for councillors’ eyes only), despite the business paper making no mention of this fact – this was not amended in the week between the committee meeting and the ordinary council meeting.

Meanwhile, Ballina Shire Council (BSC) regularly publishes details of its legal proceedings.
“As a public authority Council is regularly involved in legal matters,” the minutes for the April Ballina council meeting states. “This report provides an update on matters that have been subject to court action or may result in court action…”…..

At last week’s council meeting, Cr Toms questioned why two names of people involved in legal action with the council were not disclosed to councillors.
“They can be found on the Lawlink website,” she said.
Councillor Toms later told the Review that the councillors “have never been told about those cases [before receiving the report] … and we get a confidential report with the names not disclosed”.
“Why are they being withheld in a confidential document when it’s on the public record? It’s absurd that we can’t be told,” she said.
The Clarence Valley Review put a series of questions to the general manager, Scott Greensill, through the council’s media officer – a request to interview Mr Greensill was not forthcoming.
He responded indirectly with the following statement: “Clarence Valley Council general manager, Scott Greensill, said he had acted on advice from the council’s insurers that council, and therefore ratepayers, would be exposed to unnecessary risk of litigation if the information was published.

A wise man once observed that legal advice received depends on exactly what questions were asked of a legal team or of insurers and how these questions were worded – noting at the time that it is local government administration which gets to frame these questions not elected councillors.

Perhaps the difference in levels of local government transparency between Clarence Valley and Ballina Shire councils is that Ballina has an administration not mired in a culture of secrecy and antagonistic to the idea of representative democracy in local government.

As the court cases in question are a matter of public record and their hearing dates able to be accessed on the Internet, I would venture to guess that the names allegedly withheld from councillors are those cited at the October 2014 Corporate, Governance & Works Committee meeting - Gillian Bourke and Melissa Ryan, who in two separate matters have taken Clarence Valley to court.

One of the names which was probably also listed in the confidential report is that of Dr. Anne Collins who is appealing the judgment in Collins v Clarence Valley Council (No 3) [2013] NSWSC 1682 and by rights Kerry Susanne McErlean v Clarence Valley Council and Lorraine Carroll v Clarence Valley Council trading as Clarence Valley Council should also be on the that confidential list.

It seems to be the second time that Ms. Carroll has taken council to court.

Background

Transparent Local Government: Ballina Shire Council regularly does what Clarence Valley Council will not do, 20 October 2014

What on earth did Clarence Valley Council management tell the NSW Division of Local Government?

This is what the NSW Division of Local Government stated about Code Of Conduct complaints reporting:

From December 2013, councils will be required to report statistics on code of conduct complaints about councillors and the General Manager and the cost of dealing with complaints. This information is to be reported to both the council and the Division.

The numbers of code of conduct complaints received by a council about its councillors or the General Manager is often an indicator of the internal health of the organisation. Code of conduct complaints are often symptomatic of political infighting or interpersonal conflict.

This is an important accountability mechanism providing communities with an insight into whether the governing body of their council is being distracted by infighting and how much public money is being spent to deal with this. It also provides the Division with a broad overview of how councils are applying their codes of conduct which may inform future reviews of the Model Code framework.

This information in relation to each council will be made publicly available annually from early 2014.

These snapshots are excerpts the statistical information covering the 2012-13 reporting period which was supplied to Clarence Valley councillors by the General Manager on 12 and 19 November 2013:

And this appears to be what Council management told the NSW Division of Local Government and it published in its 30 June 2014 Comparative Information on NSW Local Government 2012/13

report:

Now it is public knowledge that that the information supplied to councillors on 12 & 19 November 2013 was incorrect, because on the 10 & 24 June 2014 the General Manager told councillors that:

The statistical document for submission to the Office of Local Government however had some clerical errors in it….

The statistical document was forwarded as required to the Office of Local Government.

The Office of Local Government has not yet published the collective statistics for NSW.

The Office of Local Government has been advised of the errors and an amended statistical return has been provided.

Council has been advised by the Office of Local Government that the correct statistical information has been now included in their records.

The Office of Local Government in the near future is expected to publish the collective statistics for Code of Conduct complaints which will include the correct statistics for Clarence Valley

Council.

This may leave the reader as puzzled as I – for the Code of Conduct complaints have gone from two complaints with one investigated and action taken to two complaints investigated requiring action and the cost has risen from $14,900 to $19,900. While the false statistical report of 12 and 19 November 2013 (which implied that disciplinary action had been taken against a councillor) apparently still stands on the official record.

What on earth did Clarence Valley Council management actually tell the NSW Division of Local Government?

Is this a threat? One Clarence Valley councillor thought so

This is a snapshot from the ordinary monthly minutes of Clarence Valley Council on 24 June 2014 of a motion which was ruled out of order by the mayor:

And this is the rather extraordinary warning given to nine elected councillors which appears to have caused the motion, a copy of which is also in the same minutes:

This is the original notice of motion which caused the General Manager such angst when it was considered by the Governance & Corporate Committee on 10 June 2014: 

Unfortunately in all the argument about motions, the Committee's recommendations appear to have fallen through a hole in the floor, never to be seen again. 

At the time of writing this post the incorrect data in the attachment in question is still up on the council website at http://clarence.nsw.gov.au/cp_content/resources/14.167-13%281%29.pdf:

Clarence Valley Council's Code of Conduct (March 2013) can be found here.

Clarence Valley Council Mayor determined that local government will not be transparent or accountable

The motion moved and lost (laid out in Points 1,2, & 3 and the casting vote below) clearly shows that Clarence Valley Council Mayor Richie Williamson is determined that even his fellow councillors will not know how much council has spent on investigations and industrial relations court cases over the last three years. A period which co-incidentally appears to roughly equate with the time Scott Greensill has been general manager.

[Snapshot from Clarence Valley Council Monthly Meeting Minutes, 24 June 2014]

Clarence Valley Council's economic management

Clarence Valley Council is preparing to increase farmland, residential and business property rates across much of the local government area, but is quarantining Grafton and South Grafton CBD businesses from these increases for the next four years.

Apparently this particular council is pleading income poverty.

Well if this little tale of the economic management of just one of this council’s own Grafton properties is anything to go by, is it any wonder?

The Daily Examiner 11 May 2012:

TENDERS for Grafton's art gallery cafe closed earlier this week without a single expression of interest being received by Clarence Valley Council.

Council's manager of assets George Kriflik said that the only option would be to readvertise.

The art gallery cafe has been the home to Georgie's Cafe for the past 11 years and has been the subject of lengthy negotiations due to a proposed rate increase by council.

Mr Kriflik said that due to a confidentiality agreement between the parties involved, he was not able to disclose many of the details of the lease or negotiations, but he did confirm the previously quoted figure of a 40 per cent rent increase was an error (The Daily Examiner, April 17), with the original increase being closer to 33 per cent.

"After a re-valuation the rate was reduced to a 14.5 per cent increase," Mr Kriflik said.

However, this too was declined by the lessors and resulted in the current cafe operators deciding to move on.

Suddenly at the end of June 2012 the council has vacant commercial space where it previously had an income which it never denied represented full market value. Still it somewhat optimistically expected The loss of income from the current lessee will be offset by the new lessee under a new lease arrangement [Clarence Valley Council Ordinary Meeting 17 April 2012, Minutes].

By July 2012 Clarence Valley Council did indeed have a new tenant at what was then rumoured to be a bargain basement priced three year lease with renewal options having only CPI rent increases attached - which saw it losing income and the restaurant turning into a daytime only café with limited opening hours.

However, in June 2013 that tenant also departed and was replace by Cr. Jeremy Challacombe’s son Murray and his daughter-in-law who took over the bargain basement lease to run the gallery café.

Three tenants in just under a year and how much money is council down? Possibly those valley residents facing yet another rate hike will never know, but mention of $20,000 per annum is being tossed around some dinner tables.

Few Lower Clarence ratepayers are impressed with the Grafton-centric attitude of council as it is and this is merely the icing on a huge dissatisfaction cake.