Monday 12 March 2018
Employer groups put pressure on Turnbull Government to stifle union mergers
In 2017 members
of the Construction, Forestry, Mining
and Energy Union (CFMEU), The
Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) considered
a proposal to amalgamate into one union or alternatively to amalgamate only the
CFMEU and the MUA.
The ballot
was conducted by the Australian
Electoral Commission (AEC) and results declared on 28 November 2017. There appears to have been no irregularities affecting the ballot outcome.
The Fair Work Commission handed down a
decision giving effect to the CFMEU and MUA amalgamation on 27 March
2018.
Employer
groups Australian Mines and Metals
Association (AMMA) and Master
Builders Australia (MBA) are now appealing the Commission’s decision.
The Australian, 9 March 2018, p.2.
Employers have taken
legal action to try to overturn the Fair Work Commission decision approving
the merger of the construction and maritime unions.
The Australian Mines and
Metals Association and Master Builders Australia yesterday appealed the
decision to a commission full bench.
The employers are also
seeking a stay of the decision, which, if granted, would mean the merger would
not proceed from its scheduled date of March 27.
The AMMA and MBA say the
commission decision contained errors of laws and should not have approved the
amalgamation.
Maritime Union of
Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the unions would vigorously
oppose the appeal and defend the rights of workers to have freedom of
association.
“Our members have
overwhelmingly supported this amalgamation (with the CFMEU) and it should be up
to them to decide whether they merge,” he said.
Former employment
minister Eric Abetz welcomed the appeal, saying the government should
intervene in the proceedings in support of the employer application. He said
the government should move urgently to pass laws subjecting union mergers to a
public interest test.
Workplace Relations
Minister Craig Laundy said the government would resume talks with Senate
crossbenchers in a bid to win support for the bill, which has yet to be put to
a vote.
AMMA is lobbying for an
amendment to the bill designed to have the public interest test take affect
before March 27 but Mr Laundy declined to express a view on the proposed
amendment.
The
Australian, 8
March 2018:
Employers have accused
the Turnbull government of being missing in action after the Coalition failed
to pass laws subjecting union mergers to a public interest test.
Workplace Relations
Minister Craig Laundy said today the government would resume talks with Senate
crossbenchers in a bid to win support for the bill, which has yet to be put to
a Senate vote.
“The Ensuring Integrity Bill remains a priority
for the Government, but because of Labor’s opposition we need the support of
the crossbench,’’ he said.
“Despite what has been
said in recent days, the Government simply didn’t have the numbers to pass the
Bill. I am reaching out to the crossbench to see if that has changed.
Labels:
AEC,
court,
Fair Work Commission,
lobby groups,
Turnbull Government,
unions
Is there really a full moon permanently hovering over The Australian or are headlines like this just for the clickbait?
This was the
headline to the error-ridden article below, “Chilling fact is most climate
change theories are wrong”.
Once again
there is a deliberate misunderstanding about the term “climate change” actually means and what it leads to.
It was Maurice
Newmann at his
mad hatter finest.
The Australian, 8 March 2018:
Recent research suggests
a mini ice age may be a greater threat to the planet
You have to hand it to
Peter Hannam, TheSydney Morning Herald’s climate change alarmist-in-chief, for
his report last month, “ ‘Really extreme’ global weather event leaves
scientists aghast”.
Hannam is often the canary
in the coalmine (er, wind farm) when there is a sense that public belief in man-made
global warming is flagging. With Europe in the grip of a much colder winter
than predicted and with the abnormal chill spreading even to Africa, he did
his best to hold the line.
Earlier this year,
Climate Council councillor Will Steffen also climbed on board — for The Sydney
Morning Herald of course. Extreme cold in Britain, Switzerland and Japan, a
record-breaking cold snap in Canada and the US and an expansion of the East
Antarctic ice sheet coincided with a Bureau of Meteorology tweet (later retracted)
that January 7 had set a heat record for the Sydney Basin. Steffen told us
these seemingly unrelated events were in fact linked. “Climate disruption”
explained both. Whether fire or ice, we’re to blame. No ifs, no buts.
Now a warming Arctic
provides the perfect opportunity for Hannam to divert attention from the latest
deep freeze……
Sunday 11 March 2018
A brief respite in the NSW Berejiklian Government's war on the natural world
"Clearing under the Code may threaten the viability of certain threatened species at property and local landscape scale. The risk highest in overcleared landscapes where most clearing is likely to occur under the Code." [NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, "Concurrene on Land Management (Native Vegetation) Code", August 2017, p. 3]
Sometime in 2017 a document was prepared for the NSW Minister for Environment & Heritage and Liberal MP for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton to sign in order for increased clearing of native vegetation across New South Wales to occur.
This new land clearing policy came into effect in August of that year but faced a legal challenge.
The
Coffs Coast Advocate,
9 March 2018:
THE Land and Environment
Court has delivered a massive blow to the NSW Government by ruling its land
clearing laws invalid because they were made unlawfully.
The Nature Conservation
Council (NCC) launched a legal challenge to the codes last November arguing
Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair failed to obtain concurrence from
Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton before making the codes, as is required by
law.
This morning the
government conceded this was the case and NCC chief executive Kate Smolski was
was quick to pounce.
"Today's ruling is
an embarrassing admission of failure by the government and a great victory for
the rule of law and the thousands of people who have supported us in taking
this action,” she said.
"It is
deeply troubling that the government disregarded the important oversight role
of the Environment Minister when making environmental laws but we are even more
concerned about the harmful content of the laws themselves.
"By
the government's own assessment they will lead to a spike in clearing of up to
45 per cent and expose threatened wildlife habitat to destruction including 99
per cent of identified koala habitat on private land.
"Premier Berejiklian
must act now to prevent further plundering of our forests, woodlands and water
supplies by scrapping these laws and making new ones that actually protect the
environment.”…..
The NSW Government is
yet to issue a statement on the decision.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nature Conservation Council (NCC)
Media Release, 9 March 2017:
Media Release, 2 March 2018:
Media Release, 9 March 2017:
Court finds NSW
Government land-clearing laws invalid
The Land and Environment
Court today ruled the NSW Government’s land-clearing laws invalid because they
were made unlawfully.
“The government has
bungled the introduction of one of its signature pieces of legislation, and in
the process demonstrates its careless disregard for nature in NSW,” Nature
Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
“Today’s ruling is an
embarrassing admission of failure by the Berejiklian government and a great
victory for the rule of law and the thousands of people who have supported us
in taking this action.”
The Nature Conservation
Council, represented by public interest environmental lawyers EDO NSW, launched
legal challenge against the government’s land-clearing codes last November.
NCC had argued through
its barristers Jeremy Kirk SC and David Hume the codes were invalid because the
Primary Industries Minister failed to obtain concurrence of the Environment
Minister before making the codes, as is required by law. The government today
has conceded this was indeed the case.
“It is deeply troubling
that the government disregarded the important oversight role of the Environment
Minister when making environmental laws, but we are even more concerned about
the harmful content of the laws themselves,” Ms Smolski said.
“By the government’s own
assessment, they will lead to a spike in clearing of up to 45% and expose
threaten wildlife habitat to destruction, including 99% of identified koala
habitat on private land.
“These laws were made
against the advice of the scientific community and against the wishes of the
vast majority of the many thousands of people who made submissions.
“It would
be completely cynical for the government to immediately remake these laws
without first correcting their many flaws and including environmental
protections the community wants and the science says we need.
“Premier Berejiklian
must act now to prevent further plundering of our forests, woodlands and water
supplies by scrapping these laws and making new ones that actually protect the
environment.”
Ms Smolski pledged to
continue the campaign to overturn weak land-clearing laws.
“As the state’s peak
environment organization, we will do everything we can to expose the damage of
land clearing and will not stop until we have laws that protect nature,” she
said.
“These laws are a matter
of life or death for wildlife. More than 1000 plant and animal species are at
risk of extinction in this state, including the koala and 60 per cent of all
our native mammals.
“Land clearing is the
main threat to many of these animals, and the laws this government introduced
unlawfully are pushing them closer to the brink.
“It is regrettable that
we had to take the government to court to make it abide by its own laws, but it
demonstrates the critical role organisations like ours play in our democracy.”
Environment Minister
knew 99% of koala habitat would be exposed to land clearing by contentious new
laws, FIO document shows
A document obtained
under freedom of information laws shows the Berejiklian government knew its new
land clearing laws would cause extensive harm to wildlife habitat but pressed
ahead with the changes anyway.
“This is damning
evidence that the Environment Minister approved these new laws knowing they
would expose 99% of identified koala habitat on private land to clearing,” NCC
CEO Kate Smolski said.
“The document also shows
the Minister was warned the laws could cause a 45% spike in land clearing and
that they would mostly benefit very large agribusinesses that could clear land
on a massive scale, not smaller enterprises and farming communities across the
state.
“It shows what we have
suspected all along – environment policy in NSW is being dictated by the
National Party and the powerful agribusiness interests the party represents.
“Minister Upton knew
these laws were very bad for threatened species and bushland, yet she approved
them anyway. This is a disgrace.”
The document, obtained
by EDO NSW for the Nature Conservation Council, was prepared by the Office of
Environment and Heritage for the Environment Minister and outlined the
consequences of Ms Upton agreeing to land-clearing codes proposed by Primary
Industries Minister Niall Blair.
Key warnings in the
document include:
*
“The regulatory changes will further increase agricultural clearing by between
8% and 45% annually.” (Page 3)
*
Clearing under the code risks: “Removing key habitat for threatened species,
including koala habitat (less than 1% of identified koala habitat in NSW is
protected from clearing under the Code)” and “Increasing vulnerability of
threatened ecological communities”. (Page 6)
*
If unchecked “such clearing could destroy habitats, cause soil and water
quality impacts”. (Page 5)
*
“The main benefits are likely to be private benefits for large farming
operations which broadscale clear under the Code.” (Page 6)
“These are terrible laws
that put our wildlife at risk,” Ms Smolski said. “Premier Berejiklian should
act immediately to protect the thousands of hectares of koala habitat at risk
by exempting sensitive areas from code-based clearing. “In the longer term, she
should go back to the drawing board and draft new laws that protect our
precious wildlife and bushland.”
Snapshots from NSW Office of
Environment & Heritage, "Concurrence
on Land Management (Native Vegetation) Code", August 2017:
UPDATE
The respite
ended before it really began………
The
Guardian, 11
March 2018:
But the government made
no delay remaking the laws, announcing
on Saturday it had been completed.
“The remade code is
identical to the previous one and is an integral part of the new land
management framework which gives landowners the tools and certainty they need,”
said David Witherdin, the CEO of Local Land Services, which oversees clearing
under the codes.
The move was condemned
by the NCC.
Sometimes it’s hard not to despair when faced with evidence of the wilful, destructive ignorance of Liberal and Nationals politicians
Attempts by the federal
government to stop potentially unlawful clearing in Queensland were reversed
after political intervention, with a highly unusual apology letter sent to
every landholder suspected of planning unlawful clearing at the direct request
of the minister, documents obtained by the Guardian under FOI laws reveal.
In December 2015 and
January 2016, the federal department of environment took the exceptional
step of asking 51 landholders with approval from the Queensland government to
clear their land, to explain why the clearing wasn’t unlawful under federal
environmental law.
But within two months,
the department issued the unusual apology letter to every recipient of the
initial letter, Guardian Australia can reveal.
In the letter Shane
Gaddes, then assistant secretary for the environment standards division, said
the department “deeply” regretted any distress caused, backflipped on demands
for information, and indicated the letter wasn’t part of any compliance action,
but rather an attempt to help the landholders avoid legal action by activists.
Internal correspondence
obtained by Guardian Australia shows the apology letter was motivated by
lobbying from National and Liberal MPs from Queensland electorates, as well as
the pro-land clearing lobby group Property Rights Australia.
More land is cleared of
trees in Queensland than the rest of the country combined – with the latest
figures showing 395,000 hectares were cleared in a single year – amounting to
about a football stadium of clearing every three minutes.
Clearing skyrocketed in
Queensland after the former Liberal National party government under the premier
Campbell Newman broke an election promise and scrapped clearing controls, introducing
several ways for farmers to more easily clear trees.
But regardless of state
approvals, if a development is likely to impact a “matter of national
environmental significance”, then it must also be approved by the federal
government under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Matters of national
environmental significance include important populations of threatened species,
the Great Barrier Reef and some migratory species.
In the initial letter
the federal department of environment said it had examined the proposal and
concluded that it “may be necessary” for the 51 landholders to seek formal
approval under federal laws. The distribution of the letter sparked outrage
among landholders.
The Queensland Nationals
senator Barry O’Sullivan said
at the time that “activist public servants” were “looking for ways to
circumvent the intentions” of Queensland and federal governments…..
The then minister for
the environment, Greg Hunt, publicly defended the action, saying: “The
department must implement the law.”
But correspondence
obtained by Guardian Australia under FoI laws reveals the cause of Hunt’s
change of heart, leading to the apology letter.
In a letter to the
then-chairman of the pro-land clearing group Property Rights Australia, Hunt
said: “In response to concerns raised by you, Senator O’Sullivan, Senator
Canavan and the Hon Warren Entsch MP, the department of environment has written
to affected landholders clarifying their obligations and the intent of the
first letter.”......
https://www.scribd.com/document/372386311/Department-of-Environment-letter-to-HVA-Permit-Holders-2Letter from Greg Hunt to Dale Stiller by The Guardian on Scribd https://www.scribd.com/document/372762129/Letter-from-Greg-Hunt-to-Dale-Stiller
Labels:
environmental vandalism,
flora and fauna,
forests,
Queensland LNP,
trees
Saturday 10 March 2018
Quote of the Week
“You may think
spin-doctoring and economics are worlds apart, but they combine in that
relatively modern invention the "free-trade agreement" – the
granddaddy of which, the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, is presently receiving CPR from the lips of our own heroic
lifesaver, Malcolm Turnbull.” [Journalist Ross Gittens in The
Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 2018]
Labels:
Turnbull economics
Friday 9 March 2018
Senior Liberal adviser trolled during Tasmanian election campaign and then went that step too far
This was
senior advisor to Tasmania’s Liberal Premier Will Hodgman hiding behind a fake Facebook account during the recent Tasmanian state election campaign.
Images sourced from Google Images
And this is
her now.
The
Examiner, 6
March 2018:
A senior Liberal adviser
who used a fake online account to email a woman’s employer after she spoke out
about the lack of abortion services in Tasmania has been forced to resign.
Martine Haley used
the alias Alice Wood-Jones to email the woman’s employer to have
her reprimanded for her comments about abortion services in Tasmania.
In a statement late on
Tuesday, Mr Hodgman said he had accepted Ms Haley’s resignation.
“I understand Martine
deeply regrets her actions and has personally apologised to the person
responsible.”
The woman, who spoke
anonymously, said she was upset about the email to her boss.
“I'm still concerned
about what might happen in retribution,” she said.
“It was a personal view
and not linked with my role.
“I just wanted to
challenge the claims that abortion is accessible and affordable in Tasmania.
“I don't believe I was
the only one targeted and that others may be too afraid to speak up for fear of
repercussions and even losing their jobs.”
Labels:
elections 2018,
Facebook,
Liberal Party of Australia,
Tasmania
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