Labor Candidate for Page Janelle Saffin, media release, 30 June 2016:
Thursday 30 June 2016
Australian Federal Election 2016: 666 apprenticeships gone under Nationals in Page
Labor Candidate for Page Janelle Saffin, media release, 30 June 2016:
666 Apprenticeships gone in Page under the Nationals
New figures released by the Department of Education show
that apprenticeship numbers in Page have fallen by 31.5 per cent in two years,
with a loss of 666 apprenticeships in the Page electorate.
Janelle Saffin, Federal Labor Candidate for Page said disappointingly
Mr Hogan and the rest of the Nationals have allowed this to happen, with these
figures replicated across Australia, with 130,000 apprenticeships gone
nationally.
The number of apprenticeships in Page dropped from 2,117
at 31 December 2013, to just 1,451 at 31 December 2015.
“The retreat from supporting apprentices and the
vocational education and training sector started with Mr Abbott and Mr Truss,
and it continues with Mr Turnbull and Mr Joyce,” Ms Saffin said.
“I am serious about investing in apprentices, skills and
training in Page.
“The Nationals have cut $2.75 billion from the skills
portfolio, including $1 billion in cuts to apprentices by scrapping the Tools
for Your Trade program and access and mentoring programs.
“How can they talk ‘jobs and growth’ and then decimate apprenticeships
and the VET sector?
“It’s vital that we train and retrain our workforce to
improve participation, productivity, and innovation. This is what will drive
growth in our region.
“Kevin Hogan and the Nationals have been missing in
action on apprenticeships and jobs.”
Ms Saffin said Labor had a comprehensive set of policies
to help apprentices, skills and training, including among other policy
measures:
• A TAFE Funding Guarantee.
• $8,000 cap on VET FEE-HELP loans per year and a VET
sector ombudsman.
• A sector-wide national review to ensure vocational
education is able to meet the
training needs of the nation.
• Establishing Commonwealth Institutes of Higher
Education to deliver new technical
and education opportunities to areas where access remains
difficult and participation is too low.
• Boosting apprenticeships across the country by:
- creating
new apprenticeship opportunities through setting a quota of
apprentices
on major
federally-funded projects.
- reintroducing
the Tools for Your Trade program at $3,000 per apprentice to
support
them from commencement to completion.
- restoring
support for Group Training organisations.
- creating
pathways into apprenticeships for 10,000 young people unemployed
people
through the Apprentice Ready program.
- piloting
a National Skills Recognition Entitlement program with 5,000
places to
help
mature-aged, retrenched workers turn their extensive work experience into
formal
qualifications.
- connecting
potential apprentices with jobs and training through an
Apprenticeships
Connect search
portal.
- appointing
a dedicated Apprentice Advocate.
“Only a Shorten Labor Government will deliver the support
for apprentices and TAFE that local residents expect and a vocational education
system that delivers a skilled workforce for the future,” Ms Saffin said.
Labels:
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Nationals,
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regional economies
Australian Federal Election 2016: friends of the Liberal Party
It is wise to be careful who you lie down with, a lesson the Abbott-Turnbull Government chooses to ignore.....
The Age, 17 June 2016:
Members of an extremist Christian sect which has covered up child sex abuse have given secret, coordinated donations to the Liberal Party.
Dozens of Exclusive Brethren members - who practice a radical doctrine of "separation" and are not permitted to vote - donated more than $67,000 to the Liberal Party on the same day in December 2010.
The donations were revealed in documents tabled at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption during its inquiry into the source of funds flowing into Liberal Party coffers.
The Exclusive Brethren, recently rebranded the "Plymouth Brethren Christian Church", was described by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as "an extremist cult" which breaks up families. But the Liberal party operatives who accepted the en masse donations described them as "friends".
The church first came to public attention in 2006 when it was revealed the group had raised and spent $370,461 to influence the 2004 election on behalf of John Howard, with whom they were close……
Good Weekend today reveals that Mr Hales ordered that some victims of child sexual abuse be paid off to keep quiet. One victim was told his abuse was a "family matter," and nothing to do with the church, even though the church had placed the child with his abuser.
In 2003, the Brethren first excommunicated and then reinstated a man to the church despite overwhelming evidence that he had sexually abused two young girls who were living with him and attending the school where he was a trustee. The Brethren ignored the girls' letters, direct to Mr Hales, in which they begged him not to bring their abuser back.
The man was later convicted and jailed for offences including sexual intercourse with a child under 10.
The Brethren have issued a number of legal threats in recent weeks to try to stop the Good Weekend story being published. In a statement it said it was "misinformed and plainly wrong" to suggest the church had a problem with sex abuse. The Church "considers any abuse of any member of society abhorrent," the statement said.
Documents tabled at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption's Operation Spicer show 62 separate donors, all known members of the Brethren church, sent donations to the Liberal Party's alleged slush fund, the Free Enterprise Foundation.
Each donation was in individual amounts of $1500 or less, and appeared on a document labelled, "Friends".
According to the NSW Electoral Commission, the Free Enterprise Foundation was used to "channel and disguise" donations "by major political donors, some of whom were prohibited donors" to the Liberal Party. While individually the Brethren were not "major" donors, together their contribution was well above the legal disclosure threshold. It suggests they may have deliberately tried to avoid any need to disclose their collective contribution…..
Brethren members run highly successful businesses, a network of charities, and received $26.6 million in government funding for their private school system…..
Read the full article here.
Malcolm Turnbull says he has "no criticisms or complaints" to make of the controversial Exclusive Brethren and is happy for the extremist Christian sect to continue donating to the Liberal Party…..
Mr Turnbull says he has no problem with the sect and religious groups are entitled to manage their own affairs….
"I've got no criticisms or complaints about that organisation," he said. "As you know, everybody is free to make political contributions."…..
The Exclusive Brethren - recently rebranded the "Plymouth Brethren Christian Church" - practice a radical doctrine of "separation" and are not permitted to vote.
Brethren members cannot eat or socialise with "worldly" people, and excommunicated members are usually prevented from seeing their families, including their own children.
The group's wealthy leader, Sydney-based Bruce D. Hales - known as "the Elect" - has told his members to maintain an "utter hatred" of the outside world.
He recently addressed a sermon to a mentally tormented young member of his flock saying it would be better to "finish yourself off" with poison than communicate with members of his own family.
Fairfax Media has revealed Mr Hales ordered that some victims of child sexual abuse be paid off to keep quiet…..
The
Age, 19 June
2016:
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull's Wentworth electorate appears to operate an
under-the-radar donations fund, with little disclosure of what it earns,
from whom, or how it's spent.
A Fairfax Media
investigation has revealed the Wentworth Forum, a fundraising vehicle
that raised $1.4 million during Mr Turnbull's first stint as Liberal Party
leader, appears still to be active, despite claims by a spokesman for the
Prime Minster "the forum ceased to operate in 2009".
Other donors report
putting cash into the "Wentworth FEC", although that body itself does
not report receipts or distributions.
Australia's patchwork
and opaque disclosure regime makes it virtually impossible to make sense of how
much money is flowing in and out of Mr Turnbull's electorate's fundraising
entities.
About 20 of Australia's
richest 200 people, including billionaires Kerry Stokes and Frank Lowy, kicked
in to the Wentworth Forum between
2007 and 2009, with membership then costing up to $55,000.
Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull's Wentworth electorate appears to operate an
under-the-radar donations fund, with little disclosure of what it earns,
from whom, or how it's spent.
A Fairfax Media
investigation has revealed the Wentworth Forum, a fundraising vehicle
that raised $1.4 million during Mr Turnbull's first stint as Liberal Party
leader, appears still to be active, despite claims by a spokesman for the
Prime Minster "the forum ceased to operate in 2009".
Other donors report
putting cash into the "Wentworth FEC", although that body itself does
not report receipts or distributions.
Australia's patchwork
and opaque disclosure regime makes it virtually impossible to make sense of how
much money is flowing in and out of Mr Turnbull's electorate's fundraising
entities.
About 20 of Australia's
richest 200 people, including billionaires Kerry Stokes and Frank Lowy, kicked
in to the Wentworth Forumbetween
2007 and 2009, with membership then costing up to $55,000.
"The Wentworth
Forum" maintains an active Australian Business Number and is a trading
name owned by the Wentworth Federal Electoral Conference (or FEC, a structure
that incorporates all party branches located within the Prime Minister's
federal seat).
The forum's website remains
live, listing former party treasurer Michael Yabsley as honorary chairman and
linking to Mr Turnbull's and the party's websites. Its domain registration
was updated by an employee of the Prime Minister's private company, Turnbull
and Partners Pty Ltd, last year.
An email inquiry sent
via the site was answered within hours, but, in his reply, Mr Yabsley said he
had not been involved in party fundraising since 2010 and "the Wentworth
Forum has not operated since 2009". Mr Yabsley recently told the ABC's Four Corners that
he had known of illegitimate fundraising by the Liberal Party, and called for
root-and-branch reform.
The Wentworth FEC – like the broader party itself – is an unincorporated entity, a structure not-for-profit experts say is risky for an organisation handling significant sums of money. They have no reporting obligations, cannot hold assets in their own name, cannot be sued and may not pay tax.
Neither the Wentworth
Forum nor Wentworth FEC make funding disclosures to the Australian
Electoral Commission as an "associated entity", unlike many other
fundraising bodies associated with current senior Liberal ministers.
However, according to
disclosures by donors to the NSW Electoral Commission,
"Wentworth," "Wentworth FEC", "Malcolm Turnbull"
or the postal address of Mr Turnbull's electorate office, received a number of
political donations…..
What Labor's Janelle Saffin promises to deliver and fight for when it comes to local community & telecommunication infrastructure in Page
Labor Candidate For Page Janelle Saffin, media release, 18 June 2016:
SAFFIN ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM FOR PAGE
Janelle Saffin, Labor candidate for Page, today announced a Labor Government would provide a $2.9 million Community Infrastructure Program to build and upgrade sport and recreational facilities for local families on the North Coast and Northern Rivers.
Ms Saffin said the program was designed to allow more people to enjoy healthy, active lifestyles, and to build more connected communities.
“Modern technology means that people are spending more time on computers and electronic devices – and less time being physically or socially active – than ever before.
“This is having a pronounced impact on the way our communities function – with fewer people getting involved in local organisations such as sporting clubs or community groups.
“It’s also having an impact on our health, with the alarming rise of chronic conditions such as diabetes.
“That’s why it’s so important that we invest in facilities that encourage people to get out of their lounge rooms, being active and social, and participating in community life.
“The Community Infrastructure Program will not only improve regional sporting facilities, it will ensure local families have access to playgrounds, parks and trails.”
Page Community Infrastructure Program
o
Woolgoolga
Surf Life Saving Club - $1.2 million
o
Rushworth
Park soccer complex upgrade - $1 million
o
Broadwater
Skate Park - $210,000
o
Casino
to Lismore Rail Trail feasibility study – $65,000
o
Woodburn
Riverside Adventure Playground - $250,00
o
Casino
Showgrounds Canteen Facility - $180,000
o
Woodburn
Riverside Pontoon - $110,000
o
Colley
Park Sports Centre - $150,000
Ms Saffin
said a Labor Government would continue investing in local infrastructure as a
priority.
“Unlike
the Nationals, Labor believes that investing in local communities is more
important that giving tax cuts to multinationals.
“I will
always advocate for our local needs, because modest investments can make a
major difference to community life.
“Labor is
delivering on health, education, skills, training, and jobs. Labor has
announced important programs like Work Futures to tackle youth unemployment,
and renewable energy hubs that will have a significant impact on our local
economy.”
Ms Saffin
said she would also fight to deliver funding support for a range of other
important local projects, including:
o Alstonville Swimming Pool upgrade - $4m
o Albert Park Baseball Complex upgrade - $4m
o Oakes Oval upgrade (1.4m)
o Replacing wooden bridges in Kyogle - $5m
o Woolgoolga Multi-Purpose Centre - $2.5m
o Sustainable Economy Jobs Officers - to be employed within local councils $3m
o Small Towns & Villages scheme to upgrade local community facilities and encourage use of solar energy - $3m
o Grafton Men’s shed - $350,000
Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Stephen Jones and Labor Candidate For Page Janelle Saffin, joint media release, 28 June 2016:
Shadow Minister for
Regional Communications, Stephen Jones, and Labor candidate for Page, Janelle
Saffin, today announced that a Shorten Labor Government will provide funding to
fix mobile blackspots in the Northern Rivers and North Coast region of NSW.
Fixing mobile black
spots by building critical infrastructure will save lives and improve mobile
communications for residents and businesses in regional NSW.
Stephen Jones said that
only Labor was committed to improving the administration of the Mobile Black
Spot program across Australia.
“Labor will not only
match the Turnbull Government’s promises on mobile black spot funding, we will
actually improve the administration of the Mobile Black Spot program and give
priority to regional areas of Northern NSW prone to natural disasters, like
bushfires and floods,” Mr Jones said.
“Mr Turnbull’s Mobile
Black Spot program just isn’t up to scratch. There are some locations, such as
Maclean, Wooli, Summerland Way and Woodenbong, that should have been funded but
were not.
“We must do more to help
regional communities when it comes to mobile black spots. This is vital
infrastructure that people rely on,” Mr Jones said.
Labor candidate for
Page, Janelle Saffin, said local communities have waited too long to have
better or any mobile phone coverage.
“Mobile phone coverage
saves lives in an emergency and is central to the daily life of our region,” Ms
Saffin said.
“Many parts of our
region are vulnerable to flood and bushfire, so these services are very
important to the community.
“The lack of coverage is
particularly problematic for the elderly members of our community who rely on
these connections to stay in touch with family and friends.
“Of the 499 mobile
towers funded in Round One of the Mobile Black Spot program, as of 4 May 2016
only 21 had been switched on.
“A Shorten Labor
Government will ensure that the roll out continues and is focused on the getting
better coverage for Northern NSW," Ms Saffin said.
Wednesday 29 June 2016
Climate policies of the major parties in 2016
Climate
policy is one of the areas where there are very substantial differences between
the major parties.
Many
people concerned about Australia’s inadequate climate policy hoped that the
change of Prime Minister would lead to a more effective climate policy. However,
the Liberal and National sceptics are still controlling the Government’s
climate policy with the aim of doing as little as possible to reduce the
nation’s carbon emissions while claiming that the Government is taking the
matter seriously.
A
couple of events illustrate what a problem this is for Turnbull, the man who
apparently still believes that climate change is a major concern which needs to
be addressed. Statements in April from two
senior Coalition Ministers – Attorney-General George Brandis (Liberal Party)
and Nationals Deputy Senator Fiona Nash highlight the division in the
Government over this area. Both claimed
that the science on climate change was not yet settled. And a NSW State Liberal Council meeting in
early March passed a resolution calling on the federal government to “arrange and hold
public debates/discussions” between scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change and “independent scientists” (presumably climate sceptics). More than 70% of the delegates apparently
supported this motion. This indicates a
high level of climate scepticism amongst NSW Liberals.
A
further illustration of lack of interest in or commitment to the climate issue
may be seen in a recent National Party booklet - Protecting and improving our environment - available
in the Page electorate. This discusses
the party’s policy in a variety of environmental areas but makes no mention of
climate change or its impacts. Surely
one of the greatest environmental and economic threats to our nation should
have been worthy of a mention! Obviously
Fiona Nash is not the only National who does not believe climate science is
“settled”.
It
is no wonder that the Coalition’s policy on climate change is so weak given the
division in their parties over the issue.
The Coalition has committed to a target of a 26-28% reduction relative
to 2005 levels by 2030. They claim these
reductions are to be achieved through their “Direct Action” policy which
involves auctioning emissions reduction projects to the cheapest corporate
bidder. It’s a scheme involving paying
polluters - from taxpayer funds - to limit pollution. And these polluters are industries which have
already had many years to clean up their acts.
Environment
Minister Greg Hunt claims that the Government’s targets for 2020 will be
achieved but does not acknowledge that this will only happen because of surplus
credits Australia still has for land clearance. “Direct Action” alone will not
do it.
The
Labor Party presents a united front on the need for strong climate action and has
a much stronger policy for addressing climate threats. It has pledged reductions of 45% over the
same time frame. It intends to achieve
the reductions through an emissions trading scheme and also has plans for a
significant boost to the development of renewable energy, a sector which
contracted during the Abbott prime ministership.
The
Climate Change Authority believes that large reductions are necessary,
recommending cuts of 40%-60% by 2030 relative to 2000 levels. So Labor’s target is more in line with their
recommendations than is the Coalition’s target.
The
climate issue has not been a major one during the election campaign. Understandably the Coalition wants to focus
on what it believes are its strengths – and climate change policy certainly is
not a strength because of party division and the weak policy Turnbull inherited
from Abbott.
Labor
has endeavoured to raise the climate change profile in the campaign with its
policy. Predictably the launch of its
proposal for an emissions trading scheme saw a Liberal scare campaign about Labor’s
climate policy which has been debunked by The Guardian’s Lenore Taylor[1]. She concludes her article with: “And the
barren, stupid climate wars and dumb fact-free scare campaigns are a guaranteed
recipe for a terrible economic and environmental failure.”
While
there might not be much stomach for effective climate action in the Coalition
parties, a recent survey has found that the concern about climate is more
widespread in the community than it was five years ago. Deborah Cotton[2] from the Sydney University of Technology found
that 75% of people believe it is an important global issue and that 57% of
respondents want Australia to act on climate change irrespective of whether
other countries do or not.
“Inter-generational
theft” was a term used by the Coalition during the first year or two of its current
term. They used it in connection with
budget deficits. We do not hear this
term now that the Coalition itself has increased the budget deficit
substantially. However, “intergenerational
theft” could be applied to what will be happening to future generations as a
result of weak responses to the climate emergency. The impact of our lack of
action now will place an intolerable burden on future generations.
If
the Coalition is returned to Government, there will be a need for a vigorous
campaign to force it to adopt much stronger measures to cut our emissions and
do our share in the global effort to restrict the extent of global warming. The
big question is whether Malcolm Turnbull will have the courage to stand up to
the dinosaurs in his party and to act in the national interest and the
interests of future generations of Australians.
Hildegard
Northern Rivers
28th June 2016
______________________
______________________GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration. Longer posts will be considered on topical subjects.
Labels:
climate change,
Federal Election 2016
Where does the Liberal Party find these people?
Another two Liberal candidates at the 2 July 2016 federal election joins the growing list of political blunderers who are presenting themselves to electors across the nation.
ABC News, 22 June 2016:
A Liberal candidate has been caught out threatening violence against people who describe the European settlement of Australia as Invasion Day.
The candidate for the safe Victorian Labor seat of Gellibrand, Ben Matthew Willis, wrote on his Facebook page on January 22 that people who describe Australia Day as Invasion Day needed, "a high five in the face. With a chair".
Herald Sun, 21 June 2016:
A LIBERAL Party candidate pushing for better road safety is in hot water after he was linked to a hoon video.
David Mulholland, 29, who is running in Jagajaga, in Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs, was involved in the production of a video featuring a man surfing on the bonnet of a car.
Mr Mulholland, who is facing off against incumbent Labor MP Jenny Macklin, edited the video for a university student competition and shared it on his YouTube page.
A Liberal Party spokesman said he did not appear in the film, which was made almost 10 years ago. It has since been removed.
Related posts
Laughing at the Nationals and Kevin Hogan in Page
If there’s one thing Australians can do better than most it is burst the pretentions of the political class and this effort in The Northern Star on 15 June 2016 is a classic example:
Casino theatre
WIKIPEDIA says an amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek meaning "on both sides" or "around" and meaning "place for viewing".
The conundrum facing Kevin Hogan was: What does a politician seeking re-election promise to a town that has everything?
He took into account that all streets are already fully kerbed and guttered with more than adequate drainage. The main roads are all constructed to a standard suitable for B Double transport and the area has a superior internal public transport network with splendid connecting links to surrounding areas. The sometimes four-hour wait for ambulance transfer between hospitals can be considered adequate under NSW existing standards.
Stand by Casino: Mr Hogan has announced (NS 9/6) if he is re-elected he can commit 500,000 denarii, to match a similar amount from RVC, to supply the town with a 1000 tiered-seat amphitheatre so that picnicking families can enjoy "... carols by candlelight, opera under the stars and outdoor movies ...".
The Dept of Employment spokesman, Jobson Grothe, said that when construction is approved expressions of interest will be called for stonemasons to submit plans and quotes.
KEVIN RUFF,
Casino
Kevin’s promise of bread and Circus Maximus for the populace found on his website:
Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan today said a re-elected Coalition Government would commit to the construction of a $1 million amphitheatre in Casino.
“This is great news for the Casino community and will provide a place for locals to come together in celebration,” he said.
Richmond Valley Council mayor Ernie Bennett welcomed the project and said the council will be matching the Federal Government’s $500,000 grant
“This new amphitheatre will be a great community asset for Casino,” he said.
The new amphitheatre will have tiered levels ensuring all visitors have a good vantage point to participate in community events, such as Carols by Candlelight, Opera Under the Stars or outdoor movies.
“Casino is a wonderful town but there really isn’t anywhere were a thousand or so people can comfortably come together,” Mr Hogan said.
“We know community spaces like this where families can have a picnic while watching a movie or singing Christmas carols, helps to strengthen the ties that bind us as a community.”
A re-elected Turnbull/Joyce Government will contribute $500,000 to the project, with Richmond Valley Council matching the amount.
Boy the Wonder Cat wants to know “Will there be lions?”
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