Antipodean Watergate: What did Tony know and when did he know it?

21 April 2012 front page

 

At 1am in the morning of 21 April 2012 The Daily Telegraph online published a series of articles and an editorial^** breaking news that the then Speaker of the House of Representatives Peter Slipper was being taken to court by a member of his staff.

 

On that same day Opposition Leader Tony Abbott issued a media release titled Statement on Peter Slipper MP.

 

The timing of this media release is now a subject of interest, as there is speculation that Abbott knew the basic facts concerning the application to the court before news broke in the Australian media.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald 13 December 2012:

 

The metadata of the media release on the Ashby matter sent by Mr Abbott's office to media outlets indicates it was "created" at 11.08pm on Friday, April 20, 2012 - before News Limited published its exclusive story on the Saturday.

Asked to explain the discrepancy between the time the document was apparently created and transmitted to the media at 9.17am on the Saturday, Mr Abbott's office said that during April the computer server timestamps were sometimes out by up to 10 hours.

AAP saw several other documents on an office computer which showed the same discrepancy.

"Our records clearly show that the press release was drafted, converted into a PDF, and issued on the morning of the April 21, 2012," a spokesman for Mr Abbott told AAP. [my red bolding]

 

Abbott’s maths just don’t add up. In endeavouring to explain away what at first glance appears to be a pre-emptive media release, he forgets to check the Internet and therefore does not discover the fact that his Statement on Peter Slipper MP media release is quoted in the published transcript of an 8am radio show a whole 1 hour and 10 minutes before the revised time he gives for transmission by his office of that same media release.

ABC AM Staffer accuses Slipper of sexual harrasment

Adam Harvey reported this story on Saturday, April 21, 2012 08:07:00

 

ELIZABETH JACKSON: The Federal Opposition has called for the Prime Minister to stand down the Parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper after allegations today that he sexually harassed a young male staffer and misused taxpayer-funded Cabcharges.

In a statement issues this morning the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, said it was "incumbent on the Prime Minister to require him to stand aside until the matters were concluded before the courts"…. [my red bolding]

Obviously the media release began its journey before the start of the business day, so when was it created, where and by whom?

 

Footnote:

^**Read extracts of the allegations made against Speaker Peter Slipper

^**Sexual harassment allegations include claims of bizarre behaviour

^**Editorial: A scandal that is no small matter

^**Crisis: Court case a slippery slope for Gillard

Update:

14 December 2012 snapshot of the document properties

of the April 2012 media release

Statement on Peter Slipper MP

supplied to Australian Parliament House by Tony Abbott

 

UPDATE 17 December 2012:

 

I have been sent the original, unedited PDFs by a journalist. Looking at the PDFs & the date formatting, it seems the date output by MS Word 2007 has defaulted to a “null time zone” format, meaning it is timestamped with the local time....

Some testing by twitter users with Word 2007 & Adobe Acrobat have confirmed that a file output by Word 2007 with a null time zone will be reverted to Zulu time upon being edited & saved in Adobe Acrobat as there is no timezone information available so Acrobat assumes Zulu time. This does mean that the original files were output at 23:08 (& 32 seconds) on 20/04/12 in the AEST (+10hrs) time zone, meaning Abbott’s office was not only aware of the impending report from News LTD, but had enough time to prepare a statement the night before. [Sortius 10 Hours of Bullshit ]

 

UPDATE 18 December 2012:

 

The Australian today; The Department of Parliamentary Services, however, backed Mr Abbott's explanations on Monday after The Australian raised the issue earlier in the day. "The date stamp on the document in question is incorrect," said a DPS spokeswoman. "The press release was created on the 21 April, 2012.

"DPS technical staff can see that the original Word document was saved at 9.07am on April 21, 2012 AEST. The document was converted to a PDF at 9.08am on April 21, 2012 AEST.
"The time on the date stamp is 10 hours behind AEST due to a technical problem."

This limited explanation does not explain why it was only the PC of one particular staffer which was affected and only one particular media release among the multitude Abbott sent out in 2012.





Taking the mickey out of Abbott's relentless self promotion

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's crass attempt to ride on the back of last month's devastating bushfires across New South Wales drew an almost Where's Wally? response across the Twitterverse.

His image was inserted into a good many photographs.

This happens to be my personal understated favourite. It may be the only time James Hunter Ashby and Abbott are ever sighted together.

When a secular public school goes bad......

The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 2018:

Parents at a NSW public school say they have been left "horrified" after students were repeatedly placed in scripture classes against their parents' wishes and told they needed to have an interview with a deputy principal before they could attend non-scripture classes.

The NSW Department of Education is making inquiries into a letter sent to parents by the principal of Maclean High School in northern NSW, which strongly advocates for scripture classes and appears to breach the department's policy on religious education in several instances.

Parents also said students with written permission to attend non-scripture had been repeatedly put into scripture classes at the start of every year and parents were told to provide new notes, in breach of the department's policy.

"Updated permission is required each year for your child to access this arrangement [non-scripture]," states a form attached to the principal's letter, dated February 1, 2018.

"In addition, each student wishing to be exempt from SRE [special religious education] must arrange an interview with a deputy principal to discuss the above arrangements.

"NB: If the note above is not returned then the student will attend SRE."

The Education Department's SRE policy specifically states "students are to continue in the same arrangement as the previous year, unless a parent/caregiver has requested a change".

The department's director of early learning and primary education Rod Megahey also recently confirmed that students should be placed in non-scripture "if the parents/caregivers do not return the SRE participation letter", in a letter to the director of the Fairness in Religions in School (FIRIS) group sent in November last year.

One parent, who did not wish to be named, said there was "an inequality" in Maclean High's scripture policy.

"The kids who are attending SRE don't have to have an appointment with the deputy," the parent said.

"I just feel like my voice isn't being heard and my choices aren't being respected."

The parent said they were also shocked by the rest of the principal's letter, in which he strongly advocates for scripture classes.

"I highly recommend the opportunities provided by the SRE program," the letter stated.

"The potential to develop moral and ethical positions within a framework of Christian values should not be underestimated in today's world."

A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said: "The department is following up with Maclean High School in regards to their letter."…..

Maclean High School newsletters list Mr Greg Court as Principal with Mrs Gaye Kelsey and Mr Scott Dinham as Deputy Principals.

Maclean High School employs the Think Faith SRE curriculum.

On its website the school states:

Maclean High School is a district comprehensive secondary school servicing the educational needs of the entire Lower Clarence geographical area. The drawing area includes the towns and villages of Maclean, Yamba, Iluka, Brooms Head, Lawrence, Angourie, Harwood, Chatsworth Island, Palmers Island, Ashby and Tyndale. Approximately 65% of the school population is bused daily from outlying areas.
The school has a student population of 900 students with a complement of over 100 teaching and support staff. The staff are dedicated, experienced and stable. The school core values are FRESH, standing for FAIR, RESPECT, EFFORT, SAFE and HONEST. All that we do at Maclean High School can be linked to these values. [my yellow highlighting]

Such a pity it doesn’t live up to this boast.

Policy Platforms of Candidates in the Clarence Valley Local Government Elections, Saturday 10 September 2016 - Part Two

North Coast Voices contacted as many Clarence local government election candidates as was possible and issued an invitation to supply their policy positions for our readers.

Here is the second post in this series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JOHN HAGGER

John Hagger corflute

I have worked to halt Any special rate rises (including progression of Council’s preliminary work for a permanent 41% Rates increase over 7 years).

Those massive rate rises on every home and business in the Valley damage us and do not repair the underlying problems.

According to TCorp, adoption of the proposed 41% Rates Rise:

Would still result in Council having deficit budgets for, at least, the next 9 years.

Would not result in catching up with the infrastructure backlog and

Would still leave Council Unfit for the Future.

I am strongly opposed to:

Any diversion of the Clarence.

The Yamba Mega Port.

Any plans for CSG mining in the Clarence.

My Aim is:

A Council that is part of the local Community.

The repair of the trust deficit that has developed under the current Council.

A Council that lives within its means.

A Council that reduces its debt burden below the suggested maximum of $110 Million Dollars as soon as possible.

Council debt is currently in excess of $135M.

An open, accountable, and transparent Council.

A Council that truly reflects Community wants and aspirations Not dictates to it.

A level playing field for All People.

Greater Encouragement of Sustainable Business and Local Jobs that do not destroy the beautiful environment we are part of.

We are currently one of the poorest Local Government Areas in NSW.

A healthier economy increases the quality of life options available to People and the number of services that can be provided.

A renewed focus on Council buying local would help as would a level playing field, increased transparency, reduced up-front fees, and a Council with a ‘Can We Help’ outlook.

Ensuring Our Public water supply stays in Public hands.

To do this the new Penstock at Nymboida, which has been offered to Council by Essential Energy, needs to be included on Council’s asset register.

We are facing some very serious challenges in Our Valley.

Our Council has been judged as Not fit for the Future.

Our local economy could do so much better than it is.

And our Council has saddled itself with a debt burden that exceeds its own loans policy.

Some of our current Council will tell you everything is fine but that we need a 41% Rates Rise and a reduction in services.

That does not sound like any definition of ‘fine’ that I am familiar with.

There is a Better Way.

We have so many assets that are Un-Used and are just adding to Our maintenance costs.

The sale of some of those to bring our debts back to sustainable levels and to catch up on the infrastructure backlog buys us some time.

Sustainable development is the longer-term solution as is ensuring Council lives within its means.

It is Not up to local People to be constantly paying for Council’s mistakes.

It is up to Council to adjust their behaviours and actions to what the People of the Valley want and can afford to pay.

Text and image supplied by John Hagger

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DEBRAH NOVAK

Debrah Novak

I am excited to announce that I am a candidate in the Clarence Valley Council

election. I have worked hard for the Clarence Valley for over thirty years in a

variety of volunteer and paid positions. One of my proudest moments was having

this work recognised in the form of a nomination for Clarence Valley Citizen of

the Year in the 2016 Australia Day Awards.

It is this desire to work hard for our community that has lead me to nominate for

the Council elections and step up my contribution to the Clarence Valley.

There is hard work and tough decisions ahead for both Council, and our

community. Local infrastructure backlogs, unfair rating structures, the South

Grafton depot, lengthy DA approvals, lack of accessibility to councillors, a

proposed mega-port in Yamba and poor communication between Council and

the Community are all issues that need to be addressed.

I am putting my hand up to have a go and apply my work ethic for the next four

years towards laying the foundation for the future of the Clarence.

I don’t pretend to know everything and know I am in for a steep learning curve

should I be elected. To be honest, I can’t promise an extensive amount of political

experience to bring to the Council table, but the Council already has plenty of

political experience. Maybe now is the time it needs something different.

I can’t promise political expertise, but I can promise to be someone who will

listen respectfully to all, no matter their opinion or background. I can promise a

voice that has been in the area a long time and knows what it is like to raise

children and start a business locally. I can promise a voice that supports common

sense, getting back to basics and not spending beyond our means or slamming

local residents with a special rates variation.

I won’t be telling you how to vote nor will I be giving any other candidates my

preference vote. If I am fortunate enough to be elected I will professionally work

with whomever else you elect on the day.

My vision for the Clarence Valley is for everyone to be inspired to be part of the

conversation so that we may confront our issues together and as best we can. If I

am elected to Council, I intend to start that conversation as soon as possible.

Text and photograph supplied by Debrah Novak

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARTY WELLS

Marty Wells

MY 2020 VISION

Running on the under 45's ticket for Clarence Valley Council, MARTY WELLS

has his sights set clearly on the future, by focussing on a 4 year plan.

“This next Council will have to uphold a commitment to revitalise

the entire region by the year 2020, and I've got the vision to

maintain that energy.”

His main policy is structurally sound and simple: Keep our children

                          HAPPY        HEALTHY        HERE

“Anyone aged 14 now will be eligible to Vote at the next Election

Are they happy now? Are we listening to them?

What would they consider important if they wanted to be happier?

Families need to feel that Council will cease talking over their heads

and build realistic programs, to remind us all that we care about kids.”

Mental health has long been an issue of importance locally, and one that Marty feels

continues to be swept under the rug, or even addressed with only half-hearted concern.

“My work within a number of community groups has granted me insight into

how much pressure there is to achieve more than previous generations,

and how easily upset our youth can get without proper support.

We must identify the real causes behind the genuine cases of mental illness,

and act now. Not in two years time: right now.”

Marty believes that change is paramount, in order to give the Valley hope.

“We can't expect our kids to just nod and agree with us.

The current council has done almost nothing to retain the attention of

our Under 30's for long term prospects and growth. They have used social media

more as a platform to pat themselves on the back, which negates the real purpose:

To provide a two-way means of communication with all of our residents,

from all situations.”

By 2018, Marty would like to see the graduation rate from Year 12 increase to 35%

and to review previously unsuccessful plans to build a University within the Valley.

Text supplied by Marty Wells and photograph from @mwells.cvc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANDREW BAKER

Unknown artist’s impression of Andrew Baker

I was fortunate enough to be born, raised and to live in Maclean until 15 years old. Since then I’ve lived and worked around the Clarence Valley at Grafton, South Grafton, Maclean, Woodford Island, Mountain View, Lawrence, Ashby and Harwood Island - interrupted by 4 years in the Pilbara Iron Ore industry at Shay Gap. I started property development in Maclean in 1985.

Studying accountancy for 2 years made me realise I should become a Real Estate Agent. I completed the 3-year licensing course in 1990. In 1989 I started my own Real Estate Agency in Maclean. At the same time, cane farming for 11 years at Sportsman’s Creek from 1992 included 3 years elected director to the board of one of the top 250 Australian businesses at the time, the NSW Sugar Milling Cooperative.

I’ve attracted success, failure, achievement and support from wonderful people many times along the way. At the 2012 council elections I offered my open-book life experience to  voters. I was humbled to be then elected as councillor.

Now I’m one of 4 councillors with one shared vision and imperative - to repair the council financial failings.

And to do that without penalising the ratepayers by the proposed 41% rates increase.

We strongly believe increases above rate-pegging IS NOT the answer. A 41% rates increase will merely hide the problems for a while longer.

4 councillors, Jim Simmons, Karen Toms, Margaret McKenna and I, agree on one vital issue – fix the council financial situation without excessive rates increases. We’ve made no other promises, agreements or undertakings to each other. Each of us reserves the right to disagree on any other issue.

These 4 councillors opposed the recent 6.5% increase. 4 in a council of 9 isn’t enough. By one vote. We’ve pushed hard for conservative alternatives to be considered. 5 councillors hell-bent on rates increases, more rates increases, and ‘slug the ratepayer’ have consistently rejected any serious examination of alternatives!

As councillors we don’t need to ‘discover’ the failings. We’ve been told. By the Independent Pricing And Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), by the Office of Local Government (OLG), by NSW Government Treasury Corporation (T-Corp) and by council’s debt management consultant Ernst & Young (E&Y).

The experts tell us council is; Financially weak, financially unsustainable, Not Fit For The Future, Not spending enough on Infrastructure Maintenance, above “Moderate Risk” Debt Range by $15 million to $50 million, and way over the “Conservative” Debt Levels Range by $50million to $75million as reported by E&Y February 2015.

And we’re unnecessarily spending reserve funds on a big new depot.

The experts have told us what to do. We should; spend less, live within our means, spend on maintenance of infrastructure - not new things and, manage the excessive debt.

Financial sustainability without excessive rates increases will need strong leadership by at least 5, preferably 9, councillors.

As a voter you can start the process of building sensible financial control without massive rates rises. You can do that by voting;

Text and cartoon supplied by Andrew Baker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Growing dirt pile is getting closer to NSW O'Farrell Government Resources and Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher - Part Three

 

It would appear that the Ashby virus is spreading……………….

The Sydney Morning Herald 19 May 2012:

POLICE are investigating a claim Senator Bill Heffernan assaulted an employee of Chris Hartcher, the NSW Energy Minister, in an alleged homophobic attack at a fractious Liberal Party meeting on the central coast.

Ray Carter, 67, has accused Senator Heffernan of assaulting him and, according to sources, vilifying him over his sexuality at a gathering of party members in the federal electorate of Robertson.

Senator Heffernan was acting as an emissary of Tony Abbott at the Breakers Country Club at Wamberal on May 3. A Liberal source said the pair had been seen to physically clash on two occasions during the evening and also alleged that Senator Heffernan had aimed ''homophobic slurs'' at Mr Carter. In a statutory declaration, Mr Carter alleges Senator Heffernan hit him on his shoulder, causing him to fall into his seat, and later saying to him: ''I didn't know you were a poofter.''……..

Mr Carter, who has been suspended from Mr Hartcher's electorate office over a donation scandal, waited nearly a fortnight to report the allegation to Gosford police.

 Part One here.

Culleton's political & legal capers continue

Former grain acquisition agent for AWB Limited and former One Nation senator Rodney Norman "Rod" Culleton had a two days……

Click on image to enlarge

News.com.au, 19 December 2016:

“Rod Culleton is a pain in my backside. I am glad to see the back of him.”

Senator Hanson said she had not asked him to resign previously, and said she would stick by him. But now she’s changed her tune.

“He asked if I wanted him to resign. Previously, with his legal cases, he has asked if I wanted him to resign. I have said that I would stick by him, but this time I said yes because I believe that he did not comply with section 44, section 2 of the Australian Constitution.”

She added that he had been asking for money from the party.

“That is what he is angry about. He is going to court today for bankruptcy. He is trying to get the money for that,” she said…..

He accused Senator Hanson and her chief of staff of trying to force him to resign and wielding control over his office.

“The PHON leader’s rants against me have been accompanied by demands for my resignation and control over diaries, office management and staffing by Senator Hanson and her chief of staff, James Ashby,” he said. “The irrational dictates have caused only distrust and disunity.”

The embattled senator is facing legal battles, including one case before the High Court, which could render him ineligible as a parliamentarian.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December 2016:

The judge ordered a number of brief adjournments and it took more than an hour for the hearing to recommence.

Once back in court Senator Culleton asked how proceedings could continue to which Justice Michael Barker responded "I'm running this court, not you." 

But in a bizarre turn of events police arrived at court to forcibly remove Bruce Bell and Frank Bertola, the two people alleged to be in breach of VROs…..

Earlier, Senator Culleton, who is representing himself in the case, took to the stand to cross examine the police officer who handed him his bankruptcy papers.

He asked the officer how he had responded to the notice to which Sergeant Matthew Scott said: "You put your hands in the air and said 'I'm not f---ing taking that."

Senator Culleton responded, saying: "Given my experience with you guys maybe I thought I was going to get Tasered."  

The former One Nation representative was in court to challenge a three-year-old court judgment ordering him to pay $205,000 in damages to former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester.

"If you're not going to remove them, I will stand down," Senator Culleton said during a brief spell in front of the judge before walking out on proceedings.

"If you're not going to address the issue, I will remove myself, I need my wife here now. I will not be bullied."

A legal hearing involving West Australian senator Rod Culleton descended into chaos on Monday morning with the embattled politician delaying proceedings by refusing to take to the court room.

Less than 24 hours after resigning from Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party, Senator Culleton demanded an adjournment in Federal Court in Perth - claiming two people in attendance were breaching violence restraining orders, taken out by his wife Ioanna.

Earlier, Senator Culleton, who is representing himself in the case, took to the stand to cross examine the police officer who handed him his bankruptcy papers.

He asked the officer how he had responded to the notice to which Sergeant Matthew Scott said: "You put your hands in the air and said 'I'm not f---ing taking that."……

@abcnewsPerth

NOTE:  The matter of  Bell v Culleton [2016] as it now stands in the High Court of Australia can be found at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCATrans/2016/289.html

Predictions for 2013

* Biggest under the radar problem for Federal Labor in 2013 - Robert John "Bob" Carr.

* Most troublesome MP for Federal Liberal Party in 2013 – Anthony John "Tony" Abbott.

* Most likely political scandals next year –

Abbott’s political plots

who knew of James Ashby's plans and who funded his court case

the relationship between past and present MPs or their advisers and mining companies operating in New South Wales

super trawlers in Australian waters

NSW Health performance

Cardinal George Pell if his congregation don't manage to gag him during the Federal Government royal commission into child sexual abuse

The Australian newspaper's rightwing shenanigans

the entire federal general election campaign from start to finish

The 2013 Australian Federal Election may be over but the circus will continue.......

Palmer United Party Leader Clive Palmer's electoral status may still be in doubt but Mal Brough has been confirmed as elected to the Australian Parliament, so there is now a little extra sting in the tail of this court case.

Sunshine Coast Daily 5 September 2013:

CLIVE Palmer has issued a Supreme Court writ seeking more than $800,000 in damages from Fisher LNP candidate Mal Brough.

The billionaire Palmer United Party candidate for Fairfax alleges Mr Brough made statements to the Press which effectively claimed he had lied to Australian voters and that he had done so for his political gain and that of his fledgling party.

In a statement of claim issued in the Supreme Court this morning Mr Palmer stood by his own statements that Mr Brough approached him last year to fund the James Ashby sexual harassment suit against sitting Member for Fisher Peter Slipper who is standing as an independent against Mr Brough.

Mr Palmer's legal team yesterday emailed Mr Brough asking him if he had solicitors on whom the writ could be served. The email said if no response had been received by 11am today it would be taken that Mr Brough wanted the writ served personally on himself.

The writ seeks $355,500 in general compensatory damages and a further $450,000 in aggravated compensatory damages and costs.

Even though bushfires are still burning across the Clarence Valley support and recovery planning has begun

Since 5 September 2019 the Clarence Valley Local Government Area has been affected by major fire activity.

At the Clarence Valley Council ordinary monthly meeting on Tuesday, 26 November 2019, councillors gave this mayoral motion unanimous support.

SUMMARY 

This Mayoral Minute aims to acknowledge the community loss from the bushfire emergency and provide further assistance from Council to help the Clarence Valley community recover in the fire effected areas which have been impacted since Friday 8 November. These fires are unprecedented in our area, like nothing we have seen before and as I write this Mayoral Minute fires are threatening the communities at Tullymorgan, Ashby and surrounds, Woombah and Iluka. 

The message to our community is that recovery is going to take a long time. Not all recovery work can start in all areas as we need to think about safety around fires that are still going. Don’t expect things to be fixed as fast as you might expect. We have to be patient. We need to look after each other and make sure that everyone in our community is safe.....

COUNCIL RESOLUTION – 05.19.006 
Mayor Simmons 

That Council 

1. Convey our deepest sympathy to the fire affected communities who have recently lost houses and other buildings and the large financial impact the fires are having on our farming community especially the beef industry. 

2. Again acknowledge the amazing ongoing efforts of the RFS, Community Services and other emergency agencies, including our own Council staff, response to the fires and thank all the volunteers both locally, nationally and internationally who have come to the Clarence Valley’s aid, and also acknowledge the ongoing State and Federal Government recovery support. 

3. Subject to public notice in accordance with Section 356 of the Local Government Act provide $16,500 to the Nymboida Canoe Centre to support its role as a community driven recovery hub (which they are currently funding from their resources which are fast running out), with this funding to particularly help with power, their water treatment facility (supplying emergency water to the Nymboida community), dust suppression on the canoe centre internal road network ($5,000) and will enable a booster antenna to be fitted at the centre ($1,500). 

4. Arranges to supply for free a one off potable water replenishment to fire affected households in the RFS mapped fire zones capped at 7,000 litres (estimated to be one months normal household water supply at a cost of around $180 a load) with residents to register for the water delivery and Council allocate $60,000 from accumulated general fund surplus for this purpose. 

5. Lobby the State and Federal Government, local members, the local and state recovery committees to reimburse Council for the water tank refill in 4 above. 

6. Work with the Canoe Centre to establish a Blaze Aid camp (note the State Government has already indicated that funds will be made available for Council to help fund the camp) and the Blaze Aid Vice President Christine Male has indicated a camp will be established shortly. 

7. Work with Coffs Harbour City Council on a possible Blaze Aid camp at Glenreagh or Nana Glen. 

8. Liaise with Blaze Aid with regard to possible activities and potential other sites in the Clarence Valley. 

Voting recorded as follows: 

For: Simmons, Kingsley, Baker, Ellem, Clancy, Novak, Williamson, Lysaught, Toms 

Against: Nil

BACKGROUND 

Council at the October meeting allocated $6,000 to both the Ewingar Hall Committee and the Dundurrabin Community Hall Committee to fund community driven recovery in these areas. At Ewingar a booster antenna was installed, $2,000 given to the community to help run the Ewingar Rising event and it was arranged to refill the water tanks. In addition a Blaze Aid camp has been established at Ewingar with $40,000 support from the NSW Office of Emergency Management- Council has arranged out of these funds for food supplies and cooking, a generator and fuel to power RV air conditioning, water tank refilling and shortly porta loo hire. 

No similar request has been forth coming from the Dundurrabin community, although this is likely to be coming shortly. 

KEY ISSUES 

Filling of water tanks emptied to fight individual house fires by house owners (note not RFS) has fell through the assistance cracks. Many in the fire affected areas who were able to save their house only did this by exhausting their tank water supplies, which now not only provides issues around living in the house but the ability to fight future fire’s. My minute is seeking Councillors support for Council to approve a one off free 7,000 litre replenishment paid by Council (estimated as one months supply). 

The Nymboida Canoe Centre has become the local community recovery hub ably led by Gray Stride and a team of local volunteer co-ordinators for different recovery areas. The Nymboida community has suffered major house (over 80 destroyed) and grazing land loss due to the fires. These fires are like nothing we have ever seen before. It will take an incredible effort from everyone to work together to rebuild our community and this minute aims to support this community led process. The addition of a mobile booster antenna, help with the power bills and running the water treatment plant at the centre (supplying emergency potable water), dust suppression on the canoe centre internal road network, as well as other incidental costs is needed urgently as the canoe centre’s resources are rapidly being exhausted. The booster antenna is needed to improve the Telstra reception at the centre which will also be used by Blaze Aid and the Office of Emergency Management etc for outreach. 

I also will be asking for State and Federal Government assistance under the disaster provisions to fund the water tank supply initiative and reimburse Council. I do note on this RFS will refill tanks (and dams) when they used them to fight fires and Local Land Services supply emergency water for stock. 

The minute also aims to obtain Council’s endorsement to set up a Blaze Aid camp at Nymboida and alerts Council to another possible one at Glenreagh. The State Government has indicated they will give funding support to help establish the Blaze Aid camp at Nymboida, they gave Council $40,000 for Ewingar.