Monday 21 January 2019
Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety now underway
Commencing in
2016-17 when Australian Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison was then just the Federal
Treasurer he cut $472.4 million from Aged Care funding over four years, then
followed that up with a $1.2 billion cut over the same time span.
When deteriorating
conditions in nursing homes around the country began to be reported in the
media and the Oakden scandal came to light in 2017, concerned citizens began to call for a royal commission.
The Liberal
Minister for Aged Care and Liberal MP for Hasluck Ken Wyatt was of the opinion that such an inquiry would be “a waste of time and money”.
Once Scott
Morrison realised that ABC Four Corners was about to air an exposé on aged care provision he quickly changed his mind and announced the Royal Commission into Aged Care
Quality and Safety on 16 September 2018.
The Royal Commission
into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established on 8 October 2018
by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency
General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd).
The Honourable
Richard Tracey AM RFD QC and Ms Lynelle
Briggs AO have been appointed as Royal Commissioners…
The Commissioners are
required to provide an interim report by 31 October 2019, and a final
report by 30 April 2020…
The Commissioners were appointed to be a Commission of inquiry, and
required and authorised to inquire into the following matters:
a. the quality of aged care services
provided to Australians, the extent to which those services meet the needs of
the people accessing them, the extent of substandard care being provided,
including mistreatment and all forms of abuse, the causes of any systemic
failures, and any actions that should be taken in response;
b. how best to deliver aged care services
to:
i.
people with disabilities residing in aged care facilities, including
younger people; and
ii.
the increasing number of Australians living with dementia, having regard
to the importance of dementia care for the future of aged care services;
c. the future challenges and opportunities
for delivering accessible, affordable and high quality aged care services in
Australia, including:
i.
in the context of changing demographics and preferences, in particular
people's desire to remain living at home as they age; and
ii.
in remote, rural and regional Australia;
d. what the Australian Government, aged
care industry, Australian families and the wider community can do to strengthen
the system of aged care services to ensure that the services provided are of
high quality and safe;
e. how to ensure that aged care services
are person‑centred, including through allowing people to exercise greater
choice, control and independence in relation to their care, and improving
engagement with families and carers on care‑related matters;
f. how best to deliver aged care services
in a sustainable way, including through innovative models of care, increased
use of technology, and investment in the aged care workforce and capital
infrastructure;
g. any matter reasonably incidental to a
matter referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) or that [the Commissioners] believe
is reasonably relevant to the inquiry.
A preliminary
hearing was held in Adelaide on 18 January 2019.
At this
hearing the Commissioner Tracy stated
in part:
The
terms direct our attention to the interface between health, aged care and
disability services in urban, regional and rural areas. These issues
necessarily arise because of Australia’s changing demography. We are also
required to look at young people with disabilities residing in aged care
facilities and do our best to deliver aged care services to the increasing
number of Australians living with dementia. Part of our task is to examine
substandard care and the causes of any systemic failures that have, in the
past, affected the quality or safety of aged care services. We will consider
any actions which should be taken in response to such shortcomings in order to
avoid any repetition. This will necessarily involve us in looking at past 25
events. There have been a number of inquiries which have considered matters
that, in certain respects, fall within our terms of reference. We are not
required by the Letters Patent to inquire into matters which we are satisfied
that have been, is being or will be 30 sufficiently and appropriately dealt
with by another inquiry or investigation or a criminal or civil proceeding. As
a general rule, we do not intend to re-examine matters which have been
specifically examined in previous inquiries. We do, however, expect to examine
the changes and developments which have followed previous inquiries, as well as
the extent to which there has been implementation of recommendations from those
inquiries. Where we have different views, they will be made known.
According to ABC
News on 18 January 2018: Out of almost 2,000 Australian aged care
providers invited to shed light on the sector ahead of the royal commission,
only 83 have been forthcoming with information, the Adelaide inquiry was told.
The
Guardian on
18 January reported: Counsel assisting Peter Gray said the
commission had received more than 300 public submissions since Christmas Eve
and 81% concerned provision of care in residential facilities, with staff
ratios and substandard care the most common themes. The
federal health department has also passed on 5,000 submissions it received
before the commission’s terms of reference were set.
Commission will continue to accept submissions until at least the end of June
2019.
Details on how to make a submission can be found here.
Labels:
aged care,
elder abuse,
Health Services,
human rights,
neglect,
royal commission,
violence
USA 2019: crazy continues to be order of the day (Part Three)
A look at the US politician so many Australian Liberal and Nationals MPs and senators admire and seek to emulate....
Daily
Kos, 12
January 2019:
Most of Donald
Trump's $35 million in real estate deals in 2018 came with a huge political footnote
attached to them. A Forbes analysis found the largest deal, yielding
$20 million to Trump, came from the sale of a $900 million
federally subsidized housing complex in Brooklyn in which the
Trump Organization had a 4 percent stake.
The Department of Housing &
Urban Development had to approve the sale. In other words, the Trump
Organization, which is still owned by Trump, needed permission from HUD, which
reports to Trump as pr*sident, to turn a profit through a Brooklyn real
estate deal. And guess what: HUD greenlit the deal.
Trump also took
in another $5.5 million from 36 units sold in a 64-story Las Vegas
tower. The catch? About a third of those units were bought by buyers hiding
behind limited liability companies so they wouldn't have to disclose their
identities. In 2017, USA Today reported that during the two
years before Trump became the GOP nominee, only 4 percent of Trump’s building
units were acquired by LLCs. So now that Trump's pr*sident, anonymous
people are lining his pockets with real estate purchases cloaked through LLCs.
Remember when Trump made
a big show of stacking up all the paperwork he was signing in order to supposedly clear up his conflicts of
interest and forfeit management of his businesses? Yeah, he's still
getting that money.
Labels:
conflict of interest,
corruption,
Donald Trump,
ethics
Sunday 20 January 2019
South Australian Liberal Government attempting to erase state Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin from memory
However this Royal Commission did not convene until after the March 2018 South
Australian general election at which time a Liberal Government was in power.
This same Liberal Government headed by SA Premier and Liberal MP for Dunstan Steven Marshall is now trying to come to the aid of the beleaguered Berejiklian and Morrison governments (facing their own elections in March and May 2019) by attempting to make Royal Commission correspondence, hearing transcripts
and final report fade from view as soon as possible.
This move is not going down well with the Royal Commission.......
Murray-Darling
Basin Royal Commission Report update
18 January 2019
The Murray-Darling Basin
Royal Commission report is being finalised to deliver to the South Australian
Governor by 1 February, 2019.
There has been an
exchange between the Commissioner, Bret Walker SC, and the Attorney-General’s
Department (AGD) in relation to the public release of the report.
The AGD indicated on 17
January 2019 that the Commissioner’s report will be made available on the
website for the Department for Environment and Water. The Commission has also
been advised that the Commission’s website (containing transcripts of hearings,
Commission exhibits, and other documents) will remain “live” until 30 March
2019, following which an archived copy of the website will be held by the
National Library.
By way of response dated
18 January 2019, the Commissioner:
ADVISED that the report
should be released immediately after delivery to the Governor as the “public
interest demands it”;
CALLED for the
Commission’s website to remain available to the public for a year after release
of the report to provide key background information and permit full
understanding of the Commission’s report, and
ADVISED he would be
willing to accept a limited extension of time for the Commission to consider
and report on the recent issues concerning fish kills in the Lower Darling
River.
The Commissioner said
that “the public expenditure on the Basin Plan (and this Commission) is such
that the only legitimate expectation is that my findings, conclusions,
recommendations and the reasons for them should all be available to be read,
considered and criticised, once I have delivered the report ... The national
implications of the report’s subject matter are also a reason for the report to
be made available for consideration and criticism without delay”.
The relevant
correspondence is attached.
Level 9 East, 50
Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000
For more information
please contact:
GPO
Box 1445, Adelaide SA 5001
Catherine
Hockley Email: mdbroyalcommission@mdbrc.sa.gov.au
Media/Communications
Adviser Telephone: 8207 1483
Email:
Catherine.hockley@mdbrc.sa.gov.au Toll free: (from landlines) 1800 842 817
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See the
correspondence here
South Australian
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has responded to the Commissioner's letter. See
the correspondence here
Australian Federal Election Campaign 2018-2019: the lying continues......
Trump acolyte
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
promised a presidential-style election campaign and he is delivering .
Like US President
Donald Trump, Morrison is lying shamelessly……..
The
Guardian, 14
January 2019:
Scott Morrison has
elevated an obscure bill to ban cosmetic testing on animals to one of the top
two legislative priorities for the Coalition in 2019, according to his office.
Speaking to ABC News
Breakfast on Monday, the prime minister cited “environmental legislation …
[that] is important for native species” as among the government’s priorities
for the new year, second only to national security.
There is no major
environmental legislation before parliament and the prime minister’s office was
unable to immediately identify what he was referring to.
Morrison’s comments also
caught conservation groups offguard.
Five hours later, a
spokesman for Morrison told Guardian Australia the prime minister was
“referring to the agricultural
and veterinary chemicals legislation amendment”.
The bill – introduced by
the agriculture minister, David Littleproud, in October – makes
minor changes to the regulatory scheme for agricultural and veterinary
chemicals to provide simpler processes for chemicals of low concern.
The federal policy
director of the Wilderness Society, Tim Beshara, told Guardian Australia the
bill had “stuff-all to do with native species”, a sentiment echoed bythe
Australian Conservation Foundation nature campaigner, Jess Abrahams.
An hour after this story
was published, the prime minister’s office clarified the first statement was in
error and claimed Morrison had in fact been referring to the Industrial
Chemicals Bill 2017.
That bill establishes a
new regulatory scheme including banning animal testing for new chemical
ingredients of cosmetics from 1 July 2018. It passed the lower house and was
introduced to the Senate in October 2017 but appears not to have been debated
since then.
Abrahams said: “As far
as we are aware, the main government policy relating to native species is the
plan for a one-stop shop for environmental approvals, which would have the
effect of weakening environmental protection.”
“The government also has
a targeted review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Act for farmers, which could also weaken protection of the environment.”......
In September a Senate
inquiry investigating fauna extinctions heard that a large proportion of staff
working in threatened species management rated
the government’s performance as “poor or very poor”.
The union representing
staff said 91.3% of those who responded to a survey said the government was
doing poorly or very poorly in fulfilling domestic and international
obligations to conserve threatened fauna and 87% believed the adequacy of
Australia’s national environment laws – the EPBC act – was poor or very poor.
Beshara accused the
government of failing its statutory responsibility to fund and implement
endangered species recovery plans. He called on the government to put “some
serious funding towards saving some endangered critters and plants”.
“I am more than happy to
brief the prime minister on what the government needs to do for native species
if he would like.
“He might be surprised
to know that the
Darling River crisis is only one of many ecological crises happening
in Australia right now on his watch. It’s a real mess out there.”
Labels:
elections 2019,
lies and lying,
Scott Morrison
Saturday 19 January 2019
Tweets of the Week
Yep, they stopped the boats in Tilpa.#MurrayDarlingBasin #auspol #watertheft #fishKill pic.twitter.com/YQ2vmwwDt5— River Country (@RiverCountryFoE) January 18, 2019
Believe it or not, when the rivers full the need a levee bank at the top of this ramp.— River Country (@RiverCountryFoE) January 18, 2019
Tilda, NSW#FishKill #MurrayDarlingBasin pic.twitter.com/5dSboH3WyN
Friday 18 January 2019
State of Play: Australian Water Wars in 2019
Time lapse images of part of the Lake Menindee system in the Murray Darling Basin drying up through mismanagement, 2016 to 2018.Lake Menindee in 43 images pic.twitter.com/bHCn06EXfN— Chris Rawlins đźš™ (@ChrisBH011) January 16, 2019
It won't be long before multiple talking heads from the Liberal and National parties will be penning opinion pieces in national newspapers and popping up as guests on radio or television accusing those who are acutely concerned, about water sustainability and the plight of the Murray-Darling Basin, of bashing the poor hardworking farmer and telling us that all irrigators are ethical individuals who are only trying to feed the nation.
Now that may be true of some, it probably isn't true of many and it is definitely not true of all irrigators.
The amount of water being taken from Murray-Darling Basin rivers is eye watering.
According to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA); Irrigated agriculture in the Basin consumes about 60% of Australia’s available water.1
Again according to the MDBA, by 2017-18 this 60% was being harvested by only 9,200 irrigated agricultural businesses.
In 2017 the National Water Account stated that total surface water and groundwater entitlements in the Basin equalled 19,374 gigalitres.
In 2017 the National Water Account stated that total surface water and groundwater entitlements in the Basin equalled 19,374 gigalitres.
The whole Murray-Darling Basin receives just 6.1 per cent of Australia’s distribution of water run-off and the MDBA admits that approximately 42% of this surface water run-off is diverted from Basin river systems primarily by irrigators.
Professor Sheldon of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University states that more than 50% of average water inflows into the Murray and Darling rivers are extracted for irrigation.
Overall, the Murray-Darling Basin contains 77,000 km of rivers, with flows said to total some 35,000 gigalitres on average.2 A figure which now appears unreliable.
At the beginning of the 2017–18 water year, the total volume of held water for the environment was nominally about 2,871 gigalitres (in long-term available water terms).3
Professor Sheldon of the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University states that more than 50% of average water inflows into the Murray and Darling rivers are extracted for irrigation.
Overall, the Murray-Darling Basin contains 77,000 km of rivers, with flows said to total some 35,000 gigalitres on average.2 A figure which now appears unreliable.
At the beginning of the 2017–18 water year, the total volume of held water for the environment was nominally about 2,871 gigalitres (in long-term available water terms).3
Science has been telling the Federal Government and the governments of Qld, NSW, Vic and SA that Murray-Darling Basin rivers cannot sustain the rates of water extraction they have been experiencing since the second half of last century and more water needs to be returned to the rivers as environmental flows.4
Government does not appear to be listening. Probably because implementing an effective response to years of mismanagement of Basin water resources would mean reducing the over allocation of water rights by commencing a policy of permanently buying back at least 7,000 gigalitres of water entitlements from irrigators and reducing the annual amount of water their remaining water entitlements represent.
Here are just three examples of excessive water consumption in the face of declining national water security.
WEBSTER
Webster Ltd (WBA):
“Webster owns a diverse portfolio of
over 200,000 megalitres of water entitlements, stretching from southern
Queensland, through New South Wales to northern Victoria and Tasmania. It’s
also fundamental to our strategy of streaming water to areas where we can
generate greatest return for each megalitre of water applied….. we are
able to extract further value by exploiting opportunities in water markets. A
significant component of this entitlement holding resulted from the acquisition
of Kooba along the Murrumbidgee and the subsequent acquisitions of Tandou and
Bengerang with significant water entitlements in the Murray Darling Basin. Our
portfolio is a complementary mix of high and general security water with
supplementary and groundwater entitlements. This scale, diversity and surety of
our water holdings underpins our competitive advantage…”
Webster states
that its “primary crop focus is on cotton, using technology and expertise to
maximise yield and water efficiency, with capability to produce over 200,000
bales of cotton annually”.
Chris Corrigan is the Chairman Webster Ltd and Joseph Corrigan is the Alternate for Chris Corrigan.
Corrigan
(formerly Managing Director of Patricks
Corporation Ltd who colluded with the Howard Government's attempt to break a union) became chairman of the ASX listed agribusiness in March
2016, soon after it had completed a major takeover. In that play, Webster bought
land and water company Tandou, assembling the nation’s top private water rights
portfolio, according to
Irrigation Australia.
Webster Ltd landholdings include 40,000 irrigable hectares as well as extensive grazing farmland.
Webster Ltd landholdings include 40,000 irrigable hectares as well as extensive grazing farmland.
Webster
holds its most of its water rights in perpetuity. As
at 30 September 2018 the company listed the value of its water rights as $161.9
million.
In 2017 the company sold the water rights at its Tandou property to the Turnbull Government for $78 million which was reportedly almost twice the recommended value of the water.
Current WBA share price is in the vicinity of $1.565. In 2018 the company listed its assets value as $760.44
million. Combined salary & fees received by Webster directors exceeded
$1.49 million in that year.
Its substantial
shareholders in 2017-2018 were: AFF
Properties No 1 Pty Ltd ATF The AFF Operations Trust (14.41%), Verolot Limited (8.92%), Mr Peter Robin Joy (8.43%), Belfort Investment Advisors Limited
(5.89%) and Mr Bevan David Cushing as
trustee of the KD Cushing Family Trust (5.60%).
CUBBIE
Cubbie
Station is an
aggregate of three properties owned by CS
Agriculture Pty Ltd, which in turn is 20% owned by RF CSAG & 80% Chinese-owned through Shandong Ruyi Technology
Group Co.5
Cubbie Station is 93,000
ha in size and sources its water from the from
the Condamine and Balonne river systems in the upper reaches of the
Murray-Darling Basin.
Cubbie has annual water entitlements of 460,000 megalitres. In addition it holds back in off-river storage up to 45,000 megalitres of surface water from the flood plain.
Its water storage area covers 12,000ha configured in a cell arrangements with an estimated capacity of 540,000 megalitres. It is reportedly the largest irrigation property in the Southern Hemisphere.
Cubbie has annual water entitlements of 460,000 megalitres. In addition it holds back in off-river storage up to 45,000 megalitres of surface water from the flood plain.
Its water storage area covers 12,000ha configured in a cell arrangements with an estimated capacity of 540,000 megalitres. It is reportedly the largest irrigation property in the Southern Hemisphere.
The company’s
water storage dams are said to stretch for more than 28 kilometres along the
Culgoa River.
Cubbie's principal crop appears to be cotton.6
Cubbie's principal crop appears to be cotton.6
In 2017 the Australian Taxation Office listed the company’s total annual income as $161,911,344.
The value of the Cubbie Station aggregate is
est. $350 million.
NORMAN FARMING
Norman
Farming Trust trading as Norman Farming has a combined land area of over 18,000 ha across two
properties in the Macintyre River delta of the Border Rivers region.
The company has an entitlement of 76,000
megalitres of annual water diversion capable of being pumped at 7,000
megalitres take-per-day, with the potential for 500 megalitres per day of
additional water harvesting from rainfall/runoff without an annual limit. An est.1,218ha are used for water
storage.
Norman Farming's principal crop is cotton.
Norman Farming's principal crop is cotton.
Estimated
value of the company is $100 million.
The owner is currently charged with defrauding
the Australian Government of $20 million in Murray-Darling Basin water funding.
Webster, Cubbie and Norman Farming between them have annual water entitlements which exceed the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.
Webster, Cubbie and Norman Farming between them have annual water entitlements which exceed the volume of water in Sydney Harbour.
Footnotes
1. MDBA, Water
markets and trade:
5. The volume of water entitlements owned by businesses with some level of foreign ownership was 1.9 million megalitres at 30 June 2016 or 12.5% of the total volume of water entitlements for agricultural purposes in Australia. Of the water entitlements with some level of foreign ownership, the majority (1.6 million megalitres or 83%) was held by businesses that were more than 50% foreign owned. [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 7127.0 - Agricultural Land and Water Ownership, 2015-16]
Water
in the Murray–Darling Basin can be bought and sold, either permanently or
temporarily.
This
water is traded on markets – within catchments, between catchments (where
possible) or along river systems. This form of trading allows water users to
buy and sell water in response to their individual needs. Water trading has
become a vital business tool for many irrigators.
The
majority of water traded in the Murray–Darling Basin is surface water, however
some groundwater also changes hands.
Irrigated
agriculture in the Basin consumes about 60% of Australia’s available water….
There
are more than 150 classes of water entitlement in the Basin….
Water
trading in the Basin is worth about $2 billion annually.
The
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australian and Victorian governments are
primarily responsible for managing water markets, and each state has its own
process and rules for allocating water.
Irrigation
infrastructure operators create and maintain trading rules within their
networks.
In November 2018 in the NSW section of the Murray-Darling
Basin est. 2,988 megalitres of water was transferred between trading parties.
2. For comparison Sydney Harbour is estimated to hold 500 gigalitres.1 giglitre of water equals 1,000 megalitre.
3. Water theft appears to be an ongoing issue. In 2018 one NSW irrigator pleading guilty to the theft potentially involving billions of litres at a Mungindi property near the NSW-Queensland border, while another at Brewarrina has been charged with taking water when the flow conditions did not permit it, and breaching licence and approval conditions.
4. Initially a scientific assessment by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority identified that 6,000-7,000 GL per year would be required to return the environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin to sustainable ecological health. This was reduced by almost half to 3,000-4,000 GL per year in the Basin Guide. Eventually, the Australian Government considered 2,800 GL, even lower than the minimum proposed, was a reasonable target. This was further reduced to 2,750 GL before the Queensland Government agreed to sign up to the Basin Plan, a reduction from the Northern Basin. Reduction of the target by another 70 GL represents a further significant reduction in environmental flows which will exacerbate environmental decline. [Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW, submission]
2. For comparison Sydney Harbour is estimated to hold 500 gigalitres.1 giglitre of water equals 1,000 megalitre.
3. Water theft appears to be an ongoing issue. In 2018 one NSW irrigator pleading guilty to the theft potentially involving billions of litres at a Mungindi property near the NSW-Queensland border, while another at Brewarrina has been charged with taking water when the flow conditions did not permit it, and breaching licence and approval conditions.
4. Initially a scientific assessment by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority identified that 6,000-7,000 GL per year would be required to return the environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin to sustainable ecological health. This was reduced by almost half to 3,000-4,000 GL per year in the Basin Guide. Eventually, the Australian Government considered 2,800 GL, even lower than the minimum proposed, was a reasonable target. This was further reduced to 2,750 GL before the Queensland Government agreed to sign up to the Basin Plan, a reduction from the Northern Basin. Reduction of the target by another 70 GL represents a further significant reduction in environmental flows which will exacerbate environmental decline. [Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW, submission]
In
2018, the Turnbull government won support from Labor to amend the amount of
environmental water allocated to the system, while the Greens and some senators
were opposed. The amendments cut 605 billion litres a year that were allocated
from the southern basin's environmental water flows, and 70 billion litres a
year from the northern basin's flows. [ABC
News, 17 January 2019]
5. The volume of water entitlements owned by businesses with some level of foreign ownership was 1.9 million megalitres at 30 June 2016 or 12.5% of the total volume of water entitlements for agricultural purposes in Australia. Of the water entitlements with some level of foreign ownership, the majority (1.6 million megalitres or 83%) was held by businesses that were more than 50% foreign owned. [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 7127.0 - Agricultural Land and Water Ownership, 2015-16]
In
2016 in New South Wales in 847,250 megalitres of water entitlements were 100%
foreign owned and in Queensland 744,957 megalitres were totally foreign owned.
6. According to the Dept of Agriculture and Water Resources ABARES, the Murray–Darling Basin accounts for around 91 per cent of Australia’s total cotton farms and cotton area. It is estimated that the total area in the Basin under cotton production is 490,000 hectares.If all of this land was planted for cotton in a given year then it is likely that the crops would require somewhere between 2.19 million to 3.82 million megalitres of water.
Labels:
Murray-Darling Basin,
water wars
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