Quote of the Week

This is certainly one of the nastiest election campaign I have been involved in, and I have worked in quite a few since 1973.

[Ian Saunders, Independent candidate, 2016 Clarence Valley local government elections, writing on Clarence Valley Rate Payers, Residents & Business Owners Facebook page on 6 September 2016]

Butterflies in the Clarence Valley, Overview Presentation, 5.30pm Monday 19 September 2016 Grafton Primary School, Queen St, Grafton

Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition, 11 September 2016:

EARTH MATTERS - Butterflies in the Clarence Valley

In the fourth Earth Matters session of the year Fig Forest, Landcare Project Officer, local botanic expert and butterfly enthusiast, will give an overview of the basic ecology of butterflies. He will talk about the 110 species, mainly from the Clarence Valley, that he has observed, identified, researched and photographed.

Fig’s presentation will cover what plants to use to attract butterflies to your garden, how to identify the butterflies you have and what butterflies feed on and more.

Earth Matters is a session on environmental issues which is conducted every two months by the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition in conjunction with the Clarence Environment Centre.

Time: 5.30 pm, Monday September 19.  Venue: Staffroom, Grafton Primary School, Queen St, Grafton.

Teaching history and culture

The Guardian, 3 September 2016

Yuendumu is a Warlpiri community of around 800 people located about 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs. It was established by the Native Affairs Branch of the Federal Government in 1946.

The country surrounding Yuendumu includes many places with spiritual power created by ancestral beings in the Jukurrpa (Dreaming), which is sacred to Warlpiri people.

The Yuendumu Doors project

Five Warlpiri male elders at Yuendumu initiated a 'fauve' art of bright colour. This art was first seen in the Yuendumu Doors project of 1983-84.

The elders created a set of 36 kuruwarri (ancestral designs) to teach young Warlpiri their true Jukurrpa (Dreamings). The elders worked with the speed of graffiti artists, scribbling their designs down with untidy abandon using shiny school acrylics on the primary school doors; the modern equivalent of a cave wall.

The doors became an ever-present and indelible symbol of the older men's authority, which ran counter to the messages Warlpiri youths were receiving in the classroom or on television.

[http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ngvschools/TraditionAndTransformation/communities/Warlukurlangu-Artists/]

Meet the new Clarence Valley Council

Candidates in order of election to Clarence Valley Council from 16 September 2016:

Richie WILLIAMSON (incumbent), 
Andrew BAKER (incumbent), 
Karen TOMS (incumbent), 
Peter ELLEM, 
Jason KINGSLEY (incumbent), 
Debrah NOVAK, 
Jim SIMMONS  (incumbent),
 Arthur LYSAUGHT (incumbent), 
Greg CLANCY.

Clarence Valley Council - Party or Group and Candidates Result Report

Candidates to be Elected: 9

Counts Required: 19

Quota: 2,971

The margin between the last elected candidate CLANCY Greg and the last un-elected/excluded candidate TIBBETT Brett is 68.

Candidates in Ballot Order	Elected / Excluded	Position Elected / Excluded	Elected / Excluded at Count
NOVAK Debrah	ELECTED	6	14
SAUNDERS Ian	EXCLUDED	6	9
CLANCY Greg	ELECTED	9*	19
ROGERS Peta	EXCLUDED	7	10
TIBBETT Brett		**
TOMS Karen	ELECTED	3	10
TUNKS Ursula	EXCLUDED	2	5
KINGSLEY Jason	ELECTED	5	14
HAGGER John	EXCLUDED	8	12
ELLEM Peter	ELECTED	4	14
WILLIAMSON Richie	ELECTED	1	1
WELLS Marty	EXCLUDED	3	6
ELLEM Trevor	EXCLUDED	10	14
DE ROOS Joy	EXCLUDED	5	8
BATES Keith	EXCLUDED	1	3
HUGHES Sue	EXCLUDED	9	13
SIMMONS Jim	ELECTED	7	18
RIGGALL John	EXCLUDED	4	7
LYSAUGHT Arthur	ELECTED	8*	19
McKENNA Margaret	EXCLUDED	11	18
BAKER Andrew	ELECTED	2	2

* Candidates elected at final count without reaching quota.

** The distribution of the total votes of Candidates would not change the elected candidate(s), therefore their exclusion did not proceed.

Elders quitting Australian live export trade

Read full Live Export Update and Full Year Earnings Guidance at http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20160912/pdf/43b3gbnf4xt53g.pdf.

Not a good look for Australia's Deputy-Prime Minister

 Deputy-Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is probably the National Party’s own worst enemy.

ABC News, 11 September 2016:

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has refused to reveal the cost-benefit analysis of moving a Canberra-based agricultural agency to his electorate.

Mr Joyce has pushed ahead with plans to relocate the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from the capital to Armidale, in northern NSW, despite concerns from farming groups and staff.

He has told the ABC's Insiders program a study revealed there were positives and negatives to the move.

"The cost-benefit analysis is complete and in some areas it's indeterminate some areas. It's saying yes, it's sort of a benefit here, other areas it's saying it's marginally not of benefit," Mr Joyce said.

Insiders' host Barrie Cassidy asked if the Deputy Prime Minister would release the analysis, to which he replied: "No, I don't think I will at this stage."

"Because the decision has been made, the decision's been made by the Australian people," he added.

Mr Joyce announced the decision in June, ahead of the federal election in July.

The Guardian, 11 September 2016:

During the election campaign Joyce had announced the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority would move from Canberra to Armidale, in northern New South Wales, in the middle of his New England electorate.

He made the announcement before a cost-benefit analysis of the move had been completed……

His promise was criticised by hundreds of public servants who will be forced to relocate their families, and by groups such as the National Farmers Federation, Animal Medicines Australia, CropLife Australia, the Australian Capital Territory government, and ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja.

Now he is refusing to release the analysis, saying there’s no need to because the decision has been made.

Last week Joyce had conceded the cost-benefit analysis did not support the forced relocation of the agency, telling Sky News: “If you’re going to premise it on the cost-benefit analysis, we wouldn’t do it.”

On Sunday, when asked what the point of the cost-benefit analysis was if he was not going to release it, Joyce attacked the ABC, saying an analysis of the national broadcaster would probably say to close it down.

Australia's 45th Parliament in action

https://youtu.be/Knob-rB35AI

“But before talking about what happened during the election campaign, I want to touch on something that is very close to my heart, and that is the national flag of Australia—our flag.” [Senator McGrath (Queensland) Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister]

“—particularly to you, Senator Cameron, who share my love of chocolates” [Senator Fierravanti-Wells (NSW)]

The New Daily, 12 September 2016:

The government began the second week of the new Parliament the same way it ended the first – amid high farce.

Little more than a week after being the first majority government in 50 years to lose a vote in the House of Representatives (it lost three) because Coalition MPs decided to go home early, it was the Senate’s turn to show the level of disorganisation within government ranks.

Soon after the Senate opened for business on Monday, the Coalition had no business to discuss.

And after another embarrassing session of Parliament ended, ABC’s Lateline revealed that Federal Cabinet had confidentially signed off on the mechanics of the same-sex marriage plebiscite, only for the details to leak almost immediately.

In the morning session of the Senate, a filibuster of Monty Python proportions ensued, leaving no one with any doubt the government was desperately trying to mark time until lunch.

With no legislation to debate, Coalition senators rose to talk for hours about their love of chocolates, love of the Australian flag, respect for roads, respect for a defeated candidate whose name they got wrong and other inane conversation.

It all led to Opposition Senate leader Penny Wong to chime in that the government had “no plans and no ideas”.

“They’ve got literally nothing to talk about,” Senator Wong said.

Meanwhile, manager of government business in the Senate Mitch Fifield put the word out that Labor was delaying passage of non-controversial bills in the House, therefore leaving the Senate with nothing to debate.

But the Senate scenes exposed further signs of chaos and weakness from the government, leaving Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appearing besieged from all sides…..