cheering the fact that they are off the hook until 2013
Friday 13 July 2012
Friday the 13th - last one for 2012
cheering the fact that they are off the hook until 2013
Thursday 12 July 2012
Grafton punters want to know where they collect their "winnings"
A sub-editor at The Daily Examiner provided a bit more than a ripple of laughter at the table of knowledge at the local watering hole today. The feature event at the Grafton races yesterday, the Ramornie Handicap, was taken out by the favourite Howmuchdoyouloveme, so why did the Examiner print the photo, with its accompanying caption, below?
The reason Nats Chris Gulaptis MP was not at Grafton Gaol when prison transfer vans arrived - he expected manufactured confrontation!
The Clarence Valley at its best in defence of community....
Now Official: NSW O'Farrell Government has sent Grafton into permanent decline
Like many country areas around New South Wales, Grafton City and environs has seen past glories turn into a falling population, less young people of working age living in town, higher unemployment rates than both state and national averages, a slowly shrinking viable central business district and rolling job losses as large companies withdraw to bigger regional or metropolitan centres.
Despite these woes, it had remained the transport hub for the Clarence Valley, the centre for most locally delivered state and federal government services and, one of two main administrative centres for the local government area.
That changed less than two hours ago when the O'Farrell-Stoner-Gulaptis juggernaut finally sent in prison vans (protected by members of the police riot squad) to remove inmates from Grafton Gaol - turning it into a 60 bed remand centre for individuals awaiting court appearances.
Grafton has now lost 107 permanent jobs which will depress the local economy further and have a flow-on effect across the Valley.
The very craven Nationals Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis reportedly turned up outside the gaol after those vans had entered the prison.
'A Clarence Valley Protest' Asks: Is Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott building a case to dam NSW coastal rivers?
From A Clarence Valley Protest 5 July 2012:
The Coalition will invest in new and upgraded dams
The Coalition will invest in Australia's future water security. Australia has been let down by a failure to plan for Australia's long-term water needs.
State Labor governments have made poor investment decisions, deciding to pour billions of dollars into desalination plants which have contributed to the 60 per cent rise in water prices since Labor came to power in 2007.
As a result, the long-term planning to secure Australia's water future has not been done. Crucial infrastructure in water assets takes decades to plan for.
The Coalition will invest in the water supply options that Labor has ignored during its time in government.
Dams can provide reliable water supplies for cities, underpin the economic development of the agriculture, manufacturing and mining sectors, provide a low-emission source of electricity and mitigate the effects of flood.
Australia has not built a large dam for over 20 years. If we don't start planning for new investments now, then our water storage capacity will fall considerably over the next 20 years. That's why the Coalition's Dams Taskforce is looking at potential investments in Dam capacity across the country.
Compared to 20 years ago, the amount of water we can store per person has fallen considerably. In 1990 Australia could store in its dams over 4.5 ML per person. Due to a lack of investment in dams, we can now only store 3.5 ML per person. By 2050, if no more dams are built, it will fall below 2.5 ML per person.
[COALITION SPEAKER'S NOTES Current as at 1 July 2012]