US torture report both an object lesson and warning for every citizen living in Abbott's Australia *graphic descriptions*

Mr Abbott said that while his government "deplores the use of torture we accept that sometimes in difficult circumstances difficult things happen" [The Australian, 16 November 2013]

Because in Abbott’s Australia the secular state is being slowly destroyed, human rights are not respected, international law is no longer honoured, ‘enemies’ can be denied natural justice and subjected to coercive physically abusive interrogation techniques, journalists can be gaoled if they report on the full range of activities of the nation's security agencies, the courts can be overruled and barefaced lying is considered a political virtue, this U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program has become both an object lesson and a timely warning for every Australian.

Excerpts from the study's 525 page Executive Summary:

The Committee makes the following findings and conclusions:

#1: The CIA's use of its enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees.

The Committee finds, based on a review of CIA interrogation records, that the use of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of obtaining accurate information or gaining detainee cooperation.

For example, according to CIA records, seven of the 39 CIA detainees known to have been subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques produced no intelligence while in CIA custody.* CIA detainees who were subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were usually subjected to the techniques immediately after being rendered to CIA custody. Other detainees provided significant accurate intelligence prior to, or without having been subjected to these techniques.

While being subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques and afterwards, multiple CIA detainees fabricated information, resulting in faulty intelligence. Detainees provided fabricated information on critical intelligence issues, including the terrorist threats which the CIA identified as its highest priorities.

At numerous times throughout the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, CIA personnel assessed that the most effective method for acquiring intelligence from detainees, including from detainees the CIA considered to be the most "high-value," was to confront the detainees with information already acquired by the Intelligence Community. CIA officers regularly called into question whether the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were effective, assessing that the use of the techniques failed to elicit detainee cooperation or produce accurate intelligence.

#2: The CIA's justification for the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques rested on inaccurate claims of their effectiveness.

The CIA represented to the White House, the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, the CIA Office of Inspector General, the Congress, and the public that the best measure of effectiveness of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques was examples of specific terrorist plots "thwarted" and specific terrorists captured as a result of the use of the techniques. The CIA used these examples to claim that its enhanced interrogation techniques were not only effective, but also necessary to acquire "otherwise unavailable" actionable intelligence that "saved lives."

The Committee reviewed 20 of the most frequent and prominent examples of purported counterterrorism successes that the CIA has attributed to the use of its enhanced interrogation techniques, and found them to be wrong in fundamental respects. In some cases, there was no relationship between the cited counterterrorism success and any information provided by detainees during or after the use of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques. In the remaining cases, the CIA inaccurately claimed that specific, otherwise unavailable information was acquired from a CIA detainee "as a result" of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques, when in fact the information was either: (1) corroborative of information already available to the CIA or other elements of the U.S. Intelligence Community from sources other than the CIA detainee, and was therefore not "otherwise unavailable"; or (2) acquired from the CIA detainee prior to the use of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques. The examples provided by the CIA included numerous factual inaccuracies.

In providing the "effectiveness" examples to policymakers, the Department of Justice, and others, the CIA consistently omitted the significant amount of relevant intelligence obtained from sources other than CIA detainees who had been subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques—leaving the false impression the CIA was acquiring unique information from the use of the techniques.

Some of the plots that the CIA claimed to have "disrupted" as a result of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques were assessed by intelligence and law enforcement officials as being infeasible or ideas that were never operationalized.

#3: The interrogations of CIA detainees were brutal and far worse than the CIA represented to policymakers and others.

Beginning with the CIA's first detainee, Abu Zubaydah, and continuing with numerous others, the CIA applied its enhanced interrogation techniques with significant repetition for days or weeks at a time. Interrogation techniques such as slaps and "wallings" (slamming detainees against a wall) were used in combination, frequently concurrent with sleep deprivation and nudity. Records do not support CIA representations that the CIA initially used an "an open, non-threatening approach," or that interrogations began with the "least coercive technique possible" and escalated to more coercive techniques only as necessary.

The waterboarding technique was physically harmful, inducing convulsions and vomiting. Abu Zubaydah, for example, became "completely unresponsive, with bubbles rising through his open, full mouth.” Internal CIA records describe the waterboarding of Khalid Shaykh Mohammad as evolving into a "series of near drownings." Sleep deprivation involved keeping detainees awake for up to 180 hours, usually standing or in stress positions, at times with their hands shackled above their heads. At least five detainees experienced disturbing hallucinations during prolonged sleep deprivation and, in at least two of those cases, the CIA nonetheless continued the sleep deprivation.

Contrary to CIA representations to the Department of Justice, the CIA instructed personnel that the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah would take "precedence" over his medical care, resulting in the deterioration of a bullet wound Abu Zubaydah incurred during his capture. In at least two other cases, the CIA used its enhanced interrogation techniques despite warnings from CIA medical personnel that the techniques could exacerbate physical injuries. CIA medical personnel treated at least one detainee for swelling in order to allow the continued use of standing sleep deprivation.

At least five CIA detainees were subjected to "rectal rehydration" or rectal feeding without documented medical necessity. The CIA placed detainees in ice water "baths." The CIA led several detainees to believe they would never be allowed to leave CIA custody alive, suggesting to one detainee that he would only leave in a coffin-shaped box. One interrogator told another detainee that he would never go to court, because "we can never let the world know what I have done to you." CIA officers also threatened at least three detainees with harm to their families—to include threats to harm the children of a detainee, threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee, and a threat to "cut [a detainee's] mother's throat."

#4: The conditions of confinement for CIA detainees were harsher than the CIA had represented to policymakers and others.

Conditions at CIA detention sites were poor, and were especially bleak early in the program. CIA detainees at the COBALT detention facility were kept in complete darkness and constantly shackled in isolated cells with loud noise or music and only a bucket to use for human waste. Lack of heat at the facility likely contributed to the death of a detainee. The chief of interrogations described COBALT as a "dungeon." Another senior CIA officer stated that COBALT was itself an enhanced interrogation technique. At times, the detainees at COBALT were walked around naked or were shackled with their hands above their heads for extended periods of time. Other times, the detainees at COBALT were subjected to what was described as a "rough takedown," in which approximately five CIA officers would scream at a detainee, drag him outside of his cell, cut his clothes off, and secure him with Mylar tape. The detainee would then be hooded and dragged up and down a long corridor while being slapped and punched.

Even after the conditions of confinement improved with the construction of new detention facilities, detainees were held in total isolation except when being interrogated or debriefed by CIA personnel.

Throughout the program, multiple CIA detainees who were subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques and extended isolation exhibited psychological and behavioral issues, including hallucinations, paranoia, insomnia, and attempts at self-harm and self-mutilation. Multiple psychologists identified the lack of human contact experienced by detainees as a cause of psychiatric problems.

#14: CIA detainees were subjected to coercive interrogation techniques that had not been approved by the Department of Justice or had not been authorized by CIA Headquarters.

Prior to mid-2004, the CIA routinely subjected detainees to nudity and dietary manipulation. The CIA also used abdominal slaps and cold water dousing on several detainees during that

period. None of these techniques had been approved by the Department of Justice.

At least 17 detainees were subjected to CIA enhanced interrogation techniques without authorization from CIA Headquarters. Additionally, multiple detainees were subjected to techniques that were applied in ways that diverged from the specific authorization, or were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques by interrogators who had not been authorized to use them. Although these incidents were recorded in CIA cables and, in at least some cases were identified at the time by supervisors at CIA Headquarters as being inappropriate, corrective action was rarely taken against the interrogators involved.

#15: The CIA did not conduct a comprehensive or accurate accounting of the number of individuals it detained, and held individuals who did not meet the legal standard for detention. The CIA's claims about the number of detainees held and subjected to its enhanced Interrogation techniques were inaccurate.

The CIA never conducted a comprehensive audit or developed a complete and accurate list of the individuals it had detained or subjected to its enhanced interrogation techniques. CIA statements to the Committee and later to the public that the CIA detained fewer than 100 individuals, and that less than a third of those 100 detainees were subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques, were inaccurate. The Committee's review of CIA records determined that the CIA detained at least 119 individuals, of whom at least 39 were subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques.

Of the 119 known detainees, at least 26 were wrongfully held and did not meet the detention standard in the September 2001 Memorandum of Notification (MON). These included an "intellectually challenged" man whose CIA detention was used solely as leverage to get a family member to provide information, two individuals who were intelligence sources for foreign liaison services and were former CIA sources, and two individuals whom the CIA assessed to be connected to al-Qa'ida based solely on information fabricated by a CIA detainee subjected to the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques. Detainees often remained in custody for months after the CIA determined that they did not meet the MON standard. CIA records provide insufficient information to justify the detention of many other detainees.

CIA Headquarters instructed that at least four CIA detainees be placed in host country detention facilities because the individuals did not meet the MON standard for CIA detention. The host country had no independent reason to hold the detainees.

A full accounting of CIA detentions and interrogations may be impossible, as records in some cases are non-existent, and, in many other cases, are sparse and insufficient. There were almost no detailed records of the detentions and interrogations at the CIA's COBALT detention facility in 2002, and almost no such records for the CIA's GRAY detention site, also in Country

At CIA detention facilities outside of Country the CIA kept increasingly less-detailed records of its interrogation activities over the course of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program.

#17: The CIA rarely reprimanded or held personnel accountable for serious and significant violations, inappropriate activities, and systemic and individual management failures.

CIA officers and CIA contractors who were found to have violated CIA policies or performed poorly were rarely held accountable or removed from positions of responsibility. Significant events, to include the death and injury of CIA detainees, the detention of individuals who did not meet the legal standard to be held, the use of unauthorized interrogation techniques against CIA detainees, and the provision of inaccurate information on the CIA program did not result in appropriate, effective, or in many cases, any corrective actions. CIA managers who were aware of failings and shortcomings in the program but did not intervene, or who failed to provide proper leadership and management, were also not held to account.

On two occasions in which the CIA inspector general identified wrongdoing, accountability recommendations were overruled by senior CIA leadership. In one instance, involving the death of a CIA detainee at COBALT, CIA Headquarters decided not to take disciplinary action against an officer involved because, at the time, CIA Headquarters had been "motivated to extract any and all operational information" from the detainee  In another instance related to a wrongful detention, no action was taken against a CIA officer because, "[t]he Director strongly believes that mistakes should be expected in a business filled with uncertainty," and "the Director believes the scale tips decisively in favor of accepting mistakes that over connect the dots against those that under connect them."  In neither case was administrative action taken against CIA management personnel.

Excerpts from Executive Summary footnotes:

On November 2002, a U.S. military legal advisor visited DETENTION SITE COBALT and described as a "CIA detention facility, noting that "while CIA is the only user of the facility they contend it is a [Country REDACTED] facility.

The U.S. military officer also noted that the junior CIA officer designated as warden of the facility "has little to no experience with interrogating or handling prisoners." With respect to al-Najjar specifically, the legal advisor indicated that the CIA's interrogation plan included "isolation in total darkness; lowering the quality of his food; keeping him at an uncomfortable temperature (cold); [playing music] 24 hours a day; and keeping him shackled and hooded." In addition, al-Najjar was described as having been left hanging—which involved handcuffing one or both wrists to an overhead bar which would not allow him to lower his arms—for 22 hours each day for two consecutive days, in order to "'break' his resistance." It was also noted al-Najjar was wearing a diaper and had no access to toilet facilities……

According to CIA records, Abu Ja'far al-Iraqi was subjected to nudity, dietary manipulation, insult slaps, abdominal slaps, attention grasps, facial holds, walling, stress positions, and water dousing with 44 degree Fahrenheit water for 18 minutes. He was shackled in the standing position for 54 hours as part of sleep deprivation, and experienced swelling in his lower legs requiring blood thinner and spiral ace bandages. He was moved to a sitting position, and his sleep deprivation was extended to 78 hours. After the swelling subsided, he was provided with more blood thinner and was returned to the standing position. The sleep deprivation was extended to 102 hours. After four hours of sleep, Abu Ja'far al-Iraqi was subjected to an additional 52 hours of sleep deprivation, after which CIA Headquarters informed interrogators that eight hours was the minimum rest period between sleep deprivation sessions exceeding 48 hours. In addition to the swelling, Abu Ja'far al-Iraqi also experienced an edema on his head due to walling, abrasions on his neck, and blisters on his ankles from shackles……

See December 1, 2005, Memorandum for the National Security Advisor, Director of National Intelligence, from Porter Goss, Central Intelligence Agency, subject, "Counter interrogation Technique

PDB Draft titled: [REDACTED] December 2005, ALT

ID: 20051217 PDB on Abu Jafar al-Iraqi. Urging the change to the draft PDB, one of the interrogators involved in Abu Ja'far al-Iraqi's interrogation wrote, "If we allow the Director to give this PDB, as it is written, to the President, I would imagine the President would say, 'You asked me to risk my presidency on your interrogations, and now you give me this that implies the interrogations are not working. Why do we bother?' We think the tone of the PDB should be tweaked. Some of the conclusions, based on our experts' observations, should be amended. The glass is half full, not half empty, and is getting more full every day." See email from: [REDACTED].....

Full transcript of Executive Summary here.

The Australian Citizenship and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 appears to allow the revocation of citizenship solely based on Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's own opinion of the citizen

On 30 October 2014 the Australian Senate referred the Australian Citizenship and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 to the Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

The current Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs members are: Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald (LP, QLD) (Chair), Senator Jacinta Collins (ALP, VIC) (Deputy Chair), Senator Catryna Bilyk (ALP, TAS), Senator Barry O'Sullivan (NATS, QLD), Senator Linda Reynolds (LP, WA), and Senator Penny Wright (AG, SA), with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (AG, SA) to replace Senator Penny Wright (AG, SA) as substitute member.

Persons making submissions to the standing committee concerning this bill apparently had only four business days to prepare as the Abbott Government insisted that the bill was urgent.

The standing committee held public hearings on 10 and 19 November 2014 and, on 1 December handed down its report on the Australian Citizenship and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014. The report can be found here.

The discretionary power allowed the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection under this bill is worrying. His personal decisions will be protected from merits review and he will have the power to override decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Additionally the bill is further flawed and in the words of the committee report; the standard of proof required for a person's citizenship to be revoked for fraud or misrepresentation without conviction has been reduced too far; that is, from 'beyond a reasonable doubt' to the satisfaction of the minister.

The committee also worries that a ministerial decision to revoke citizenship may also be used to render the child(ren) of an Australian citizen stateless and, points to the fact that what the Abbott Government's Explanatory Memorandum states the bill will do  is not what the bill itself states it does with regard to children.

There is a Dissenting Report by Australian Labor Senators which concludes; The Australian Labor Party has serious concerns about the significant increase in discretionary power this legislation would provide the Minister. It is crucial that the Australian Parliament deal with matters relating to citizenship with the highest diligence. It is the greatest gift a nation can bestow on a migrant. Labor will not support the passing of legislation that has the potential to unfairly affect a person’s citizenship.

There is also a Dissenting Report of the Australian Greens which concludes in its turn; the amendments proposed in this Bill will have serious implications for Australian citizens. The unchecked and unprecedented power that is placed in the hands of the Minister, should this Bill pass, is unwarranted and has not be sufficiently justified by the government.  As rightly noted by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, no Minister or government authority should be exempt from independent oversight. This is inconsistent with the rule of law and democratic principles.[8]Similarly, attempts to extend the 'good character' provisions to children may result in Australia contravening a number of human rights obligations. For these reasons, the Australian Greens recommend that this Bill not be passed.

The political message Abbott Government MPs were sent home with after the Australian Parliament recessed

Some of the political ‘messages’ voters can expect to see turn up as quotes in local media once Coalition MPs have settled back into their home electorates - before they leave again in early February 2015:

Abbott Government Briefing Notes For Coalition MPs, Friday 5 December 2014 by clarencegirl

1,500 Essential Energy jobs on the chopping block and reliable power supply at risk on NSW North Coast

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released a draft revenue determination for the NSW electricity distributor, Essential Energy, for the five year period through to June 2019.

The Draft Essential Energy distribution determination 2015–16 to 2018–19 affects many residential and business customers on the NSW North Coast

                                                                             

According to Essential Energy on 27 November 2014:

The AER draft determinations released today would mean, if implemented:

• Immediate job reductions of 4,600 employees (38%) across NSW (Ausgrid 2,400, Endeavour Energy

700 and Essential Energy 1,500).

• An inability to place 750 apprentices, currently in training, when they graduate to trade over the

next four years.

• A likely reduction of $460m in vegetation management programs over the next four years.

• Deterioration in the time taken for electricity networks to restore electricity supply to communities

after major storm events.

AER apparently also expects Essential Energy to increase efficiency savings by exposing customers to more frequent brownouts and blackouts during peak demand periods [AER Draft Determination Overview, p26].

The number of hot days are increasing on the NSW North Coast and, maximum daily temperatures in Grafton during the first six days of December 2014 were between 29°C and 33.5°C, Lismore’s maximum daily temperature for the same period ranged between 26.5°C and 30.8°C, Casino’s maximums reached 28.9°C and 35.3°C, while Kyogle’s  maximums fluctuating between 31.8°C to 35.3°C.

When one combines this heat in the first six days of an Australian summer with the aging population demographic of the region, it does not take a genius to see that any increase in power outages carries a risk to the health and wellbeing of older residents as well as infants and the ill.

Battling heat with no power for fan or air conditioner due to what should be an avoidable power outage may mean that nursing mothers and the frail aged will find little comfort in the fact that that AER expects residential electricity bills to decrease next financial year under its plan.

The NSW Nationals MP for Clarence response on 3 December in the Clarence Valley Review was weak to say the least:

Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis said that “every consumer would welcome a drop in electricity prices to households and small businesses”, but opposed the idea of further job cuts at EE.
“What we [the Nationals] don’t agree with is the impact on regional communities, with any job losses,” he said.
“That’s why we opposed the sale of poles and wires in the first place – and that’s why the Nationals fought to secure EE remaining in government hands.

But then, this is a politician who has conveniently forgotten that earlier this year he voted for the second phase of privatisation of the state’s electricity infrastructure:

Nationals MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has voted with his party to back the State Government's proposed sell-off of electricity infrastructure.

[The Daily Examiner, 13 June 2014]

So who really owns coal seam gas exploration tenement PEL 445 recently renewed by the NSW Baird Government in the face of regional opposition?

Dart Energy (Bruxner) Pty Ltd registered in Brisbane, Queensland, in February 2013 has successfully applied to have its coal seam gas exploration licence PEL 445 renewed for a further six years by the NSW Coalition Government.

On 4 December 2014 the Minister for Resources and Energy Anthony Roberts cited the company’s financial and technical capacity, good record of environmental management and rehabilitation as reasons underpinning this renewal.

According to the minister; Dart Energy is only permitted to undertake low impact exploration activities including data review, mapping and technical evaluation. Any other activities require further approvals and are subject to the Government’s strict new conditions and regulations.

As required by legislation the company had to relinquish 25 per cent of its original tenement (choosing sections which contained no identified commercially viable gas deposits) when applying for the licence renewal and this is the amended 5,868 sq km exploration lease:

The Dart Energy group was spun off from Arrow Energy Pty Ltd in 2010, when that company was taken over by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina. Most of Dart Energy’s current management team was originally with Arrow Energy.

Dart Energy acquired PEL 445 then covering approximately 7,100 sq km centred about 39 km WNW of Lismore (containing 15 wells) from Arrow Energy in 2013.

On 12 May 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald reported:

Dart Energy has abandoned hopes of emerging as a global player in non-conventional gas, agreeing to a scrip merger from a UK operator that will see it dump all its non-UK assets.

Dart has agreed to merge with IGas Energy, which is listed on London's secondary AIM market, via a scheme of arrangement.

Dart shareholders will receive 0.08117 IGas shares for each Dart share held, which values Dart shares at just 18.98¢ and the entire company at $211.5 million.

Dart shares last traded at 12.5¢, a far cry from their levels above $1 three and four years ago.

Agreeing to the merger will see longstanding Dart shareholders lose out following a series of changes of strategy as the group has floundered in recent years.

Its most recent raising of $20.7 million at 9¢ will see shareholders who took up that offer last September come out in front, although its 2011 raising of $100 million at 75¢ a share has left shareholders with bruising losses.

Soul Pattinson's New Hope Corp has a 16.3 per cent stake in Dart and has backed the merger proposal in the absence of a rival offer emerging, as have shareholders with a further 14 per cent of Dart's capital.

Dart has sought to undertake a series of changes over the past few years to put its operations on a viable footing, which included listing offshore assets in Singapore and, after that failed, seeking a listing in London, which now has been abandoned.

Dart was spun out from Arrow Energy in 2010, when Arrow was bought by Shell. Dart took the offshore assets of Arrow, which it bolstered by acquiring Apollo Gas, giving it a suite of domestic assets. But the company has struggled, making limited progress in developing its extensive asset portfolio despite high gas prices.

It recently booked $43.5 million of impairment charges, mostly relating to the writing down of assets in NSW and the UK. It also has sold some offshore assets, such as in India.

In October 2014 IGas Energy announced:

As part of the October 2014 acquisition of Dart Energy, the Group holds a number of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) exploration licences across Australia, Indonesia, India and Germany.

IGas will continue to progress Dart’s previously announced divestment plan. IGas will Operate non UK assets where it is contractually obliged to do so…..

In Australia we hold our licences under a care and maintenance basis.

We currently hold seven petroleum exploration licences all located in the state of New South Wales.

PEL 445 is one of those exploration licences.

IGas Energy Plc is a leading British oil and gas explorer and developer, producing approximately 3,000 barrels of oil and gas a day from over 100 sites across the U.K. IGas assets are predominantly 100% owned and operated by this corporation

The only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from the NSW Baird Government’s renewal of the exploration title PEL 445, is that the application made through IGas subsidiary Dart Energy (Bruxner) Pty Ltd sought to increase the value of this asset ahead of any sell-on of the title.

Therefore, the assurances given by the NSW Minister for Resources and Energy as to the character of the nominal owner of PEL 445 are as ephemeral as a burning sheet of paper.

Gasfield Free Northern Rivers has echoed the sentiments of many communities across the Northern Rivers, from the NSW-QLD border down to the Clarence Valley:

Gasfield Free Northern Rivers has welcomed Dart’s surrender of twenty five per cent of PEL 445, which it says ‘covers the Ballina electorate’.

But it describes the move as, ‘only a small step in protecting our area from the practice of invasive and dangerous unconventional gas extraction’.

‘This is only a part relinquishment and a very large area of PEL445 and the rest of the Northern Rivers remains open to unconventional gas exploration and fracking,’ said Gasfield Free spokesperson Dean Draper

‘It’s crucial our region’s water supplies and our agriculture and tourism industries are protected. Our community is calling for a full cancellation of the entire PEL 445 and all of the petroleum Exploration Licenses in the northern rivers.’

‘We need to have certainty in protection, until all of the licenses are cancelled the future of our regions clean and green image remains at risk.’ he said

‘It seems this announcement by minister Roberts is motivated by the fact that the Ballina electorate is considered a vulnerable seat by the NSW government in the lead-up to the NSW election.

‘However, the impacts of invasive gasfields stretch across electorate boundaries, and our community will not rest until the entire northern rivers receives the protection it deserves.’ Mr Draper said.

The media narrative concerning the Member for Warringah, Tony Abbott, finally shifts markedly towards reality - Part Two

It has only taken seven long years for mainstream media to cease evaluating Liberal Party federal politician Tony Abbott MHR solely on his own terms and start to examine him through an unclouded lens.

Now that the flood gates have opened and a rising storm surge is threatening to founder Merchant Vessel Abbott, Liberal Party insiders are spilling the beans to journalists…….

Herald Sun 7 December 2014:

But what voters would no doubt like the Abbott Government to do over Christmas is stop talking about themselves and start governing. The Government itself needs to take a big, long break over summer and turn off their mobile phones because they are tired and behaving somewhat like my toddler when she starts screaming in the back seat of the car about five minutes before she passes out fast asleep. The Abbott Government needs a nap.

The Sydney Morning Herald 7 December 2014:

A funny thing happens when governments start to panic.

All of a sudden, the language becomes clearer.

Has any government press release, any speech, any happy ministerial aphorism ever carried, for instance, the same urgent fluency as was exhibited last week in the disclosure that Treasurer Joe Hockey had "gone off his tits" about his colleagues' extravagant mangling of the GP co-payment debate?

It's a crude expression, of course. On just about every level (semiotic, rhetorical, anatomical) it's just wrong, wrong, wrong.

And yet, there was a pungency to the line (delivered by a nameless Coalition squealer) that was something of a relief, particularly when juxtaposed against the Prime Minister's cheery assertion, before a room of his stricken colleagues, that "this has been a year rich in performance".

Brisbane Times 6 December 2014:

The Coalition is "not a happy family" and there is a "shitload of room for improvement" say government MPs, who confess to being in the dark regarding the future of the government's controversial GP co-payment and a mooted cabinet re-shuffle, because those decisions are centralised to the Prime Minister's office.

"We are not all a happy family ... you're going to have to ask people outside the backbench what's happening with any of the policy decisions, because there is very little inclusion," said one disgruntled backbencher.

"We usually read about it in the papers. Is there resentment? Of course there is."……

A wide survey of Coalition MPs by Fairfax Media revealed a mixture of anger, disappointment and loyalty in response to questions about the recent outbreak of grumbling among government members, with Treasurer Joe Hockey a particular target……

As for a Cabinet re-shuffle, "it's really Tony and Peta's decision, there's no point pretending otherwise", the MP said, referring to the Prime Minister and his chief of staff Peta Credlin, who has been criticised for a perceived excess of power within the government.

The Age 6 December 2014:

The Treasurer Joe Hockey has acknowledged ministerial unrest about budget measures as he added fuel to perceptions of disarray surrounding the Abbott government's failure to receive support for its reform agenda.

Mr Hockey has become a lightning rod for internal dissatisfaction due to stalled budget measures and a deteriorating deficit, with calls internally for him to be replaced.

On the final day of Parliament for the year, Mr Hockey attempted to address party-room mutterings arising from a series of political errors and what some say is excessive control by the Prime Minister's Office.

The fractious mood follows a messy final two weeks of the parliamentary year dominated by confusion over the $7 GP co-payment - dubbed the "barnacle debacle" - controversies in the office of the Minister for Defence, David Johnston, and new tensions between Mr Abbott and his deputy leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop….

For his part, Mr Hockey has confirmed the unrest inside government ranks by publicly pointing the finger at ministerial colleagues angry about having to find savings in their portfolios.

"Look, this is part and parcel of being Treasurer. When you have conversations with your colleagues about asking them to live within their means, in their portfolios, some of them don't like it but we have got to do what is right for the Australian people," he said.

"I know it's hard for people. I know it's hard for the community. I know it's hard for colleagues but we have to do what is right."

The Treasurer said it was up to the other members of the Abbott government, not just him, to do the hard work in selling the budget to the public.

But the mood for change has gripped some inside the Coalition who are looking to Communications Minister and former Liberal leader  Malcolm Turnbull to be installed as treasurer.

"The jungle drums are beating," said one longstanding Liberal, who warned frustrations could come to a head in the early months of 2015…..

The Australian 6 December 2014:

Tony Abbott risks becoming a one-term prime minister unless he lifts the Government’s fortunes, with Labor opening up a 10-point lead — 55:45 — on a two-party preferred basis.

After a week of confusion over the $7 GP fee and Mr Abbott admitting the Government had a “ragged’’ week, support has plunged.

For the first time, Labor leader Bill Shorten has passed the Coalition on the primary vote since the election of the Abbott Government.

Support for Labor is 41 per cent on primaries.

An exclusive Galaxy poll commissioned by the Sunday Herald Sun has revealed that primary support for the Government has plunged to 38 per cent. That represents a 7.5 per cent drop since the 2013 election when Mr Abbott secured 45.5 of the primary vote.

Primary support for Labor has hit 41 per cent compared to just 33.4 per cent under Kevin Rudd at the last federal election.

“In Victoria, support for the Coalition is below the vote achieved by the Napthine government at the state election last weekend,” Galaxy pollster David Briggs said. “Given that the Coalition lost government in Victoria after just one term in office, this suggests that a similar fate could await the Abbott Government unless voters see a notable improvement in their performance.’’

The Australian 6 December 2014:

A CAMPAIGN to destabilise Joe Hockey has been undermined by revelations that Tony Abbott’s ­office made a crucial decision to delay telling voters about the full extent of the nation’s financial problems.

The government’s budget sales job was weakened from the start because Mr Abbott and his ministers argued over when to reveal the grim scenarios outlined in the National Commission of Audit, forcing a delay that wrecked their message.

The Prime Minister’s office ­insisted on shelving a sweeping budget review for 10 weeks when the Treasurer and other ministers wanted to provoke a national ­debate on the need for deep cuts to government spending.

The Weekend Australian has confirmed that Mr Abbott’s advisers were so concerned about the explosive ideas from the commission of audit that they considered suppressing the report until budget day. The issue goes to the heart of the dispute over the government’s economic message as critics blame Mr Hockey for failing to persuade the electorate to accept cuts to benefits, changes to pensions and increases in petrol excise.

The nation heard another dire warning yesterday when Martin Parkinson, in his final speech as Treasury secretary, predicted a “decade of deficits” and a hit to ­living standards if Australia did not tackle the structural problems in the budget.

Mr Abbott stood by Mr ­Hockey yesterday in the wake of claims that backbench MPs wanted Malcolm Turnbull installed as treasurer, a rumour that illustrated the blame game within the government over its stumbles…..

The Australian 6 December 2014:

POLITICIANS give the game away when they do something they don’t want to do.

Lip service and conceding on principle is stock in trade but to force yourself into a major step that deep down you don’t even want to contemplate is a sign that you’ve recognised there’s a problem.

A real problem that won’t go away by wishing and hoping.

Tony Abbott is there now.

He will have a reshuffle before Parliament resumes in the first week of February next year, probably as soon as practical after the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption hands down a report which will include at least commentary on the behaviour of stood aside assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos.

Abbott told 7.30 host Leigh Sales on Thursday he thought a reshuffle would happen between now and the election, due in late 2016.

“But this is a good front bench,” said Abbott.

“Scott Morrison has stopped the boats. Everyone thought that couldn’t be done.

“Julie Bishop has had a stellar year as Foreign Minister, remarkable performance at the Security Council.

 “Mathias Cormann has been an outstanding Finance minister, done magnificent work, unsung work negotiating with the cross bench in the Senate.

 “I could go through the list. Joe Hockey has been criticised lately, but I tell you what, I think Joe is going to be one of the great treasurers because he’s someone who bounces back and that’s what he’s doing now.”

In coded political language these are the people whose jobs are rock solid — and you can add Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss to this list (current health woes notwithstanding), Employment Minister Eric Abetz and Attorney General George Brandis.

Abbott is not going to touch his leadership group — and there is no way he will contemplate the calls to dump Treasurer Hockey.

In fact, the harder those calling for his removal — believed in Abbott’s office to be a mix of Scott Morrison supporters and News Corp executives — make their voices heard the more the PM will dig in behind his friend and colleague.

Beyond this all bets are off and the PM and his close advisers — ministerial, staff and extra-curricular — are considering not if or when but what.

 “Even if Arthur gets a rap over he knuckles for not knowing what was going on (when he was chairman of a water supply company involved in dirty deal and a senior official of the NSW Liberal Party, which took money from the water company), he can’t return as the guy who oversees corporate governance,” says one insider with close ties to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“(Defence Minister) David Johnson won’t be punted but he will with ask for a new portfolio or make the ultimate sacrifice and go to the back bench, maybe on the promise of a job.

“(Health Minister Peter) Dutton has to be high on the list of candidates for a move, as will be (social security minister) Kevin Andrews.”

Any list of newcomers has to have a women at the top and the female junior minister looking like Cabinet material is NSW Liberal Susan Ley who has done a good job handling child care and related policy areas.

This reshuffle should be the reboot Abbott talked about but never quite achieved this week.

The last week of Parliament was another bad one for the Abbott Government which has had trouble matching what has been a reasonable year of some achievement with any recognition in the polls or a lasting perception of competence.

Abbott’s “small m and small c” mea culpa news conference at the beginning of the week was soon swamped by Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s messy failure to get his higher education reforms through the Senate and the final political death sentence for Dutton’s $7 Medicare copayment.

Government MPs met in a sullen mood, with the memory of the weekend election loss for the Liberal Nationals government in Victoria fresh in their minds and new poll showing Abbott is as unpopular as ever and the federal Coalition remaining in a persistent losing position.

Abbott’s failure to communicate had been put up in lights that morning — against a backdrop of actual blinking Christmas tree baubles — when he had a chat with Channel 9 breakfast host — and some time Abbott pal — Karl Stefanovic. ”Are you worried you might be a one term wonder?” and “No one is buying what you’re saying is the point” were the two sharpest Stefanovic lines.

Abbott looked stung and weak.

By the end of the week Abbott was even contemplating his political mortality, answering head on a question from the ABC’s Sales about stepping down as PM, if the polls wee still diabolical later next year.

“Well, that’s a fair question, Leigh. But I think one of the fundamental lessons of the last catastrophic (Labor) government was that you don’t change leaders lightly,” said Abbott.

Abbott has told a few malcontents that if they weren’t happy with him the alternative was Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

This is a straw man because while Turnbull would live the circumstances to turn his way they are unlikely to do so in this term of government.

Abbott’s observation also overlooks two very willing and credible options — Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and his deputy Julie Bishop.

In their own way they are seriously selling their talents to their colleagues and if the proverbial bus hit Abbott it would be a willing and close contest…..

“Elections are harder to predict and electorates will not indulge incumbents with a second term.”

Decoded, the MP is saying the only way to be in the hunt for a second term is to earn it.

This is the other lesson Abbott needs to accept and digest. He has not shown too many signs he gets it yet. At his 45 minute, longest in years, Monday press conference, Abbott said if the government communicated better the public would be more appreciative they had been so far, prompting some people to think the PM felt his plight was in part [t]he fault of the voters.

Asked about this, Abbott says no one likes being told they are living beyond their means before using the analogy of a bank cutting a person’s credit card limit.

It appears it is more deep seated that this. A new mood of the nation report by pollster John Scales is being released this weekend and it shows the public only really buys one achievement of the Abbott Government and that’s stopping the asylum seeker boats.

Apparently the political credit for that is diminishing the longer the time without an arrival — voters have pocketed the win and are looking for something else.

Scales also reports the government has not had any credit for repealing the disliked Labor mining and carbon taxes — this was expected and there’s no prize for it — and has comprehensively lost the budgetary and economic debate.

The Daily Telegraph 5 December 2014:

EARLY last year, Joe Hockey pledged “We’ll deliver a surplus in our first year and every year after that.”

For the eighth time, he committed that an incoming Coalition government would never preside over a budget in deficit. Every Coalition budget, Mr Hockey pledged, would be a surplus budget.

Fast forward a year, and the only thing in surplus is red ink. When the Coalition came to office, the Charter of Budget Honesty laid out the state of the books. This year’s budget deficit was forecast to be $24 billion.

So much for paying down debt. By the time Mr Hockey had delivered his first budget, he’d pushed this year’s deficit up to $30 billion. Now, most informed sources have it blowing out still further when the Mini-Budget is released in a few weeks.

Why is the deficit rising? Part of the answer is that Mr Hockey can’t resist looking after his mates. A billion dollars to multinationals, a tax break for people with more than $2 million in their superannuation accounts, and soon you’re talking real money.

Mr Hockey was fond of saying in Opposition that there was “no revenue problem”, but he sure seems to have created one since coming to office.

To make up the gap, Mr Hockey proposes cutting one in every five dollars of per-student university funding, and has already slashed needs-based school funding to states and territories. The result is that Australia’s meritocracy risks being turned into a mate-ocracy.

And then there’s confidence. Before the election, Mr Hockey said that the election of a Coalition government would be an ‘adrenaline charge’. He proudly said of the economy: ‘I’m not afraid to accept responsibility and I’m not afraid to be accountable. We will own it from day one.’

Instead, over the past year the government has produced more tantrums than a day-care centre at naptime — blaming the Opposition for opposing, the media for reporting instead of cheerleading, and the business community for failing to sell his budget.

The result has been a significant hit to confidence. Whether it’s the ANZ Roy Morgan consumer sentiment survey, the NAB Business Survey or the Australian Industry Group’s September Performance of Services Index, there’s consistent evidence that consumers and businesses are feeling sluggish.

Having a Treasurer trash-talking the economy is one reason why the promised economic adrenaline charge is turning out to be more like a dose of Valium.

The other is that this government’s regressive changes are directly cutting into consumer spending. Poorer Australians spend all their incomes, while the more affluent save about a quarter. So transferring money from the poor to the rich doesn’t just offend egalitarianism; it also hurts spending. If you’re a retailer, the last thing you need is a government that’s Robin Hood in reverse, particularly in the lead up to the busy Christmas period.

The Courier Mail 5 December 2014:

IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison had a big win late on Thursday night, gaining enough crossbench support to ensure the Senate passed changes to asylum seeker laws, including measures to bolster the Government’s power to turn back boats.

He had been working flat-out for more than a week to get the numbers, at one stage even pursuing Clive Palmer to a function at the US embassy to continue the arm-twisting that eventually got Palmer United Party senators on side.

That Senate success was a rare high point for the Abbott Government in what was a shambolic end to a shambolic parliamentary year.

Yet just hours later, when yesterday’s edition of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph hit the streets with a front-page report on suggestions Joe Hockey could be dumped as Treasurer, some of his Liberal colleagues were pointing the finger at Morrison as a likely source.

“For God’s sake, Scott’s been virtually living with crossbenchers all week,” said a Morrison defender. “He had a merciless focus on getting this legislation through. When would he have had the time to dump on Joe?”

Other Liberals had different suspicions about the exclusive by journalist Simon Benson.

Benson is well connected and one of his most important connections is in the Prime Minister’s office. Because of that, according to a senior Liberal MP, “people will not assume it has been written lightly”. Another source says: “Directing attention at Joe could be an attempt to give some cover to the PM. He’s the one who’s been stuffing up lately.”

No matter who spoke to Benson or what was their motivation, the importance of the incident lies in the disunity and paranoia it exposes and the lack of trust at the highest levels of the Government…..

The Australian 5 December 2014:

THERE is a moment in the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives when a smart, successful TV producer, played by Nicole Kidman, learns the truth about how her town’s evil mastermind, played by Christopher Walken, turns women into obedient housewives. “We help you. We perfect you,” says Walken. Kidman is aghast. “By turning us into robots?”

You can see why this movie came to mind when Coalition MPs gathered to hear from Tony Abbott on Tuesday. The Prime Minister’s message was that the year had been “rich in performance” and full of achievement. Nobody spoke to break the spell.

“Nobody wants to say what they’re thinking,” says one MP. “Everybody just had to sit there and clap.” The government’s achievements are real but its failures loom so large they overshadow all else. Abbott’s great political successes, like the repeal of the carbon tax, seem long ago.

The fumbling of major policies recently has been astonishing for a government that had such control earlier this year. The change has dismayed Coalition MPs, who have the hard task of explaining away their leaders’ clumsiness.

Abbott and his ministers are slow to confront the challenge they face. The Prime Minister talks of “achievement” at every opportunity even though it has become the trigger word for Labor MPs to respond with canned laughter.

Joe Hockey offers a tentative response to a dangerous slowdown in growth and a descent into bigger budget deficits.

The budget update the week after next will be the government’s opportunity to face up to its maladies. The $48.5 billion deficit last financial year — that is the final outcome, not a tricky forecast — will be followed by a deficit of about $40bn this year…..

The Guardian 5 December 2014:

Senior sources suggest blaming Hockey is a way to deflect criticism from the performance of Abbott himself as possible alternative future contenders, such as the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, are obviously raising their public profile.
When asked whether he would ever consider standing aside Abbott says no, because “the worst thing for Australia would be to have another unstable, short-term government.”
But based on its current performance and polling, that is exactly what the Abbott government appears to be.

The Age 4 December 2014:

Tony Abbott must already rue the decision to send Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb to Lima to hold Julie Bishop's hand in international climate change talks next week.

It is poor judgment in an area of policy in which Abbott has too often shown feet of clay and policy myopia.

It may well have longer-term implications for the Abbott-Bishop relationship and therefore the stability of his government.

The deputy Liberal leader and Foreign Minister reportedly did her nut - or went bananas - in Abbott's office after Fairfax Media reported the inclusion of her unofficial chaperone. This aspect has.

But whether it was a heated confrontation or a calm exchange, the meeting apparently took place and that alone reveals Bishop's nose was out of joint over what would inevitably be seen as a reflection on her abilities and/or her trustworthiness.

It is being surmised that the PM wanted the sceptical Robb along for the ride because the flinty negotiator is less likely to be swept up in growing international momentum towards tougher emissions targets.

Abbott was initially going to let the Lima conference slide by with no ministerial representation.

But having witnessed the partial hijacking of the G20 on climate grounds, and having read Abbott's post summit comments as portending a more progressive stance into the future, Bishop counselled in favour of Australia's top-level participation. Namely, her own, as the minister charged with such international negotiating responsibilities.

Abbott agreed but with one condition: Robb too. Both ministers were advised in writing by the PM last Thursday. 

Robb's performance stitching up three complex free trade deals has been one of the government's success stories. His effectiveness in international negotiations is now a given.

But Bishop has been the undisputed stand-out minister in this government - especially if popularity means anything, as it should to this mostly unloved administration.

The idea that the Foreign Minister might not enjoy the unqualified support of the PM is a serious one. Grave even. Just weeks ago she was good enough to chair the UN Security Council. Before that, she successfully wrangled the same notoriously riven body to unanimously adopt a tough resolution on MH17.

ABC The World Today 8 December 2014:

The Prime Minister says his government has kept the faith with voters, and he won't apologise for misleading them before the last election on policies like the GP co-payment and higher education changes.

The Sydney Morning Herald 9 December 2014:

Treasurer Joe Hockey woke last week to an unwelcome invitation from the government's most ardent supporter in the media, The Australian. Hand over to Malcolm Turnbull if you are "not hungry enough" for the job, the newspaper editorialised.

How things have changed since budget day 2014, just over six months ago.

Part One here.

The NBN roll out debacle continues on the NSW North Coast

This is what NBN Co said in its May 2014 Fixed Wireless and Satellite Review: Final Report about the planned 'fast' broadband roll-out in regional areas:

The challenges of geography and population density mean that outside of city centres, NBN Co has planned a combination of interwoven fixed line, fixed wireless and satellite technologies.

Over ~600 fixed line 'islands' are located in high density areas outside major capitals, such as major country towns.

This Review focuses on areas outside those fixed line 'islands', which are to be served by either fixed wireless or satellite.

Based on the best currently available data the Review estimates there will be ~1,020,000 premises in the non-fixed line footprint by 2021, being ~8 percent of the then total of 12.7 million premises.

NBN Co's fixed wireless network uses TD-LTE technology, with current specifications designed for the 2.3GHz spectrum band.

To completely cover a geographic area, NBN Co needs more towers than a notional radius and typical mobile network operator (MNO) grid suggest because although towers have a theoretical range of ~14km, line-of-sight (LOS) is required to all premises.

On average, each tower is only able to reach about 20 percent of the area within that 14km radius.

The specific location of towers is a critical decision and moving them as little as a few hundred metres can make a large difference to the number of premises they can reach.

NBN Co's satellite program is based around both an interim satellite service and a long term satellite service.

The Interim Satellite Service (ISS) currently in place involves NBN Co leasing capacity from IPSTAR and Optus Satellite.

In the meantime, NBN Co is developing its Long-Term Satellite Service (LTSS) by building two identical satellites to provide broadband services.

Both satellites are scheduled to launch in CY15.

The two satellites will work on the Ka band, a high frequency spectrum particularly suited to telecommunications.

They will cover the entire Australian mainland and islands through 101 dedicated 'spot beams'.

Each satellite beam has a different capacity in terms of maximum bandwidth, which is split across all end-users in the beam, and cannot be changed.

The highest-capacity beam can serve ~15,000 premises, while the 20 lowest capacity beams can serve an average of ~700 premises each.

NBN Co admits that its national fixed wireless network will not have the capacity to meet expected demand in seven year’s time, with around 200,000 of the planned one million premises in the wireless and satellite footprint not able to be served with faster broadband.

 Internet users in the NSW Northern Rivers region will smile cynically when reading fixed wireless details, knowing full well that local topography in the seven local government areas would result in NBN Co having to erect between est. 1,600-1,700 high wireless towers (see example left) with each tower only serving an est. 14km line-of-sight range – and, leaving aside future capacity problems, that still would not guarantee reliable fast wireless broadband coverage to most of the people living on the coastal side of the Great Dividing Range, from the Clarence Valley up to the NSW-Qld border.

So what did NBN Co announce this month?

Why, it is beginning to roll out fixed wireless across the Northern Rivers! Including to the City of Grafton in the Clarence Valley and in the Lismore area.

See here for locations, but readers should be prepare for disappointment ahead of the mouse click.

There will probably be further disappointment if anyone bothers to read Liberal MP for Wentworth and Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull’s response to the NBN review report.

* Photograph from ABC News