A teeth grind about rural assistance

Yesterday I rang the Rural Assistance Authority to see if I could get some help in repairing a flood-damaged boundary fence. The internal fences I consider to be my problem.

I explained that the neighbour's section of the boundary fence had suffered terminal injuries. It was not all that healthy before this flood.

I had been down there as the water receded - taking all the rubbish off the fence and propping it up, joining up broken wire. The repair job is very shaky; a frog phart at forty paces will knock it over.

The helpful man on the other end of the line did point out that it was my neighbour's responsibility, and I agreed wholeheartedly, but since my neighbour has been placed in receivership by the bank I did not think that he could possibly help.

We then got into what the grant was all about. If you are eligible you can spend up to $15,000 on flood related expenditure; you present the receipts and the money is refunded.
This is great if you happen to have $15,000 on hand to spend, can get a loan or an overdraft that is not maxed out.
If I had that amount of money in the bank or on hand I would not have to ask for the grant.

Then we came to the eligibility for this grant. Over 50% of your income for the last 3 years has to have come from the farm. I wonder how many of the farms in this region would qualify, since most will have one partner working off farm to provide the security a family needs.

There did not seem to be any consideration of the past seasons or farming conditions in the area. The fact that most of the farms are too small to provide an income sufficient to properly support a family is also overlooked.

This seems to be a Claytons grant, the grant that you have when you are not having a grant.
Well done governments; another grant which plays out well in the media but with a very limited cost for the government.

NSW North Coast pension, benefit and allowance snapshot

The Commonwealth Department of Human Services did a breakdown of those receiving a government pension, benefit or allowance as of 1 January 2009.

On the NSW North Coast the recipient numbers for Age, Disability, Carer, Lone Parent, Widow, Wife, Partner, Newstart, Youth, Family Tax and Rent Assistance cash transfers are as follows.

Age Pension recipients, but not including those receiving Veterans Affairs pensions:

RICHMOND 17,226 PAGE 18,707 COWPER 19,586

Disability Support Pension figures are:

RICHMOND 7,143 PAGE 8,411 COWPER 8,335

Those receiving Carer Allowance or Carer Payment:

RICHMOND 4,816 PAGE 6,277 COWPER 6,608

Those lone parents receiving a Parenting Payment:

RICHMOND 3,220 PAGE 3,454 COWPER 3,972

Both categories of Wife's Pension:

RICHMOND 223 PAGE 324 COWPER 380

Newstart figures:

RICHMOND 4,659 PAGE 4,898 COWPER 5,707

Widows Allowance:

RICHMOND 336 PAGE 299 COWPER 341

Both types of Youth Allowance:

RICHMOND 2,195 PAGE 2,577 COWPER 3,064

Partner Allowance recipients:

RICHMOND 276 PAGE 326 COWPER 451

Family Tax Benefit A & B numbers:

RICHMOND 23,139 PAGE 24,085 COWPER 25,050

Rent Assistance received:

RICHMOND 13,567 PAGE 11,955 COWPER 13,030

* Not all those receiving these benefits had been assigned an electorate by Human Services so numbers may be slightly higher than those stated. Electoral boundaries are those in place in 2007.

Can 'Truffles' Turnbull ever lie straight in bed?

Australian Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has been named in the latest BRW Rich List with a cool $178 million beside his name.
However, this is what Truffles had to say to the media:
''They have no idea. It is a speculative figure,'' he told reporters in Canberra.
''It's flattering but there are many people in the parliament that have done well in their business lives.''
''Probably few have done as well as Mr (Prime Minister Kevin) Rudd and his wife Therese Rein. I wish them well for it, I applaud them for their success.''
Now the Rudd-Rein family may be wealthy but they are nowhere near entering this Rich List - something Truffles knows full well.
Just as we lowly plebs also realise that even during a global economic recession Truffles appears to have enjoyed a considerable increase in his personal wealth.
In a recent North Coast Voices post It's nice to be recession proof at the top of the political pile looking down his 2008 income was thought to be around $39 million dollars less.

Yamba in flood: from the air and on the ground

TOP: The Daily Examiner photograph of Yamba from the air showing a section of Crystal Waters, Oyster Cove and West Yamba.
MIDDLE: Fletchers Fotographics' Dave Brandon photograph of flooding during the night.
BOTTOM: Vicki James blog had this shot of Shores Drive, Yamba.

The Member for Page rises to her feet in praise of local emergencey services and residents during May 2009 flood

From OpenAustralia this week:

Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Link to this Hansard source

I would like to give the House an update on the major flooding that has had a devastating impact on the cities, towns and rural areas across my electorate of Page this week and, indeed, in the neighbouring electorates of Richmond, Cowper and Lyne and in South-East Queensland. Our trade subcommittee, which I chair, was due to hold hearings in Melbourne last Thursday and Friday but I cancelled at the first hint of what was to come as I received briefings on and read the weather forecasts for the Northern Rivers and South-East Queensland, which showed a deterioration in the weather.

Even though we did not go on to a big flood alert I knew from experience, having lived in a flood-prone area for a long time, what was about to come. I wanted to do what I could to help the New South Wales State Emergency Services, all the local volunteers, the police, the local councils, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter service, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and the fire brigades in what has been a magnificent flood coordination effort on the ground, in the air and on the water.

Tragically, the floods were fatal, claiming two lives: a 70-year-old man died in his submerged car in floodwaters south of Coffs Harbour last Friday night and another man died earlier in Queensland. I know that everyone in this House sends their deep condolences to their families.

Today's Northern Star newspaper carries a story of how four Bexhill residents, Allen Petty, Glenn and Kerri Nelson and Ben Saunders, used a canoe to save a backpacker, Jodie, from a near drowning just north of Lismore. While the foursome underplayed their heroic actions, they deserve the highest praise.

I really want to pay tribute to another small army of heroes: the 400-odd State Emergency Services volunteers in the Northern Rivers and the mid-North Coast who worked long shifts around the clock to prepare local communities for nature's onslaught and to execute evacuation plans. In the Clarence Valley around Grafton they doorknocked over 10,000 people, warning them and having them prepare. Everybody was brought into service to ensure that we were well and truly prepared.

We also had SES people there from all over the state, and I thank them. They have received an estimated 2,700 requests for assistance since last Tuesday and have performed more than 200 flood rescue operations, such as assisted evacuations, resupplying food and medical supplies to isolated properties and helping with stock as well. Regional SES controllers Richmond-Tweed's Scott Hanckel in the north and Dave Mackey in the south have kept me briefed on the flood situations, as have local mayors and senior police. I also had firsthand experience.

I would also like to personally thank my colleague the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, for flying to Lismore on Saturday to announce that the Commonwealth government would be providing financial assistance to communities affected by heavy rainfall and flooding. I also thank the Prime Minister for his announcement in this place today of additional assistance, because that will really help those people who have been devastated by floods, both the individuals and particularly our producers: our rural sector and small businesses. Those cash grants of up to $15,000 where they have to expend money getting themselves back in order through the floods will be very welcome indeed. In fact, I have had thankyou calls from farmers tonight for that.

The New South Wales Premier, Nathan Rees, and the state Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan, also came to the region and to Lismore to declare a natural disaster zone, pledge assistance and start working closely with the Commonwealth on a recovery plan for the region. The emergency services minister was originally there to open a fire station. The weather changed and he stayed and was there for most of the flood.

The New South Wales government have appointed former New South Wales police commissioner Ken Moroney as recovery coordinator for the North Coast floods, a welcome appointment. Mr Moroney, who was stationed as a police commander in Lismore from the early seventies until the early eighties and experienced the major flood of 1974, this morning held meetings with key personnel in Lismore and this afternoon flew to Grafton to make assessments.

I would also like to thank the ABC, who did a magnificent job yet again in a time of disaster. They stayed on air 24/7 and made sure that the whole community had reports that were up to date, timely and accurate. We gave the message over and over to everybody to have their ears tuned to the ABC. (Time expired)

One last nasty shot from Sol Trujillo and one Telstra customer's reply

Sol Trujillo came in as CEO of Australia's main telecommunications company, Telstra, in the wake of an unpopular part-privatisation of this federal government business unit.
He leaves after less than four years with (by Australian standards) an obscene amount of money in his pocket, after presiding over a prolonged share worth loss which saw many ordinary mums and dads lose money and customer complaints about the telco's service rise by 240% to record levels.

Yesterday ABC News ran an audio bite which had Sol hitting out at his lucrative milch cow in a very nasty fashion by accusing us of being racist towards him.

Now there is no mistaking the public perception that Sol was arrogant and inept as Telstra's chief executive officer, however I doubt that this view had a racist basis.
If anything the dislike was initially a cultural response to his particularly aggressive US-style of business management and communication, which was perceived through Aussie eyes as common hustling.
Over the couse of his time at Telstra initial attitudes became entrenched as downright animosity when he demanded and got those fat, fat, fat salary packages - around AU $13.4 million annually in 2008 and a generous tax break on leaving the company.

In fact the principal mention of Sol Trujillo's racial ancestry can be found in his own boasting bio blurb.

So, Sol; your ancestry was never an issue with the Australian public - it was your bl**dy grasping greed!
And that's the honest opinion of a fair dinkum Telstra customer.

Pic from Granny Herald "catch the vision or catch the bus" article in July 2005.

Flooding down on the farm

I knew we were in trouble when the termites stopped eating the wood in the old house and started to build boats.

Cruise liners these were if you compare their size to the construction.

I kept an eye on how things were progressing at the dock side - the front veranda.

It is a hive of activity and when the ants arrived, bringing all sorts of goods to the dock, I was sure that the termites were selling tickets for this cruise.

My suspicions were confirmed on Saturday morning as the flood levels rose and the termite ships started to float away in the flood waters.

Yes, there were ants onboard.

I don't think they appreciated my ticker tape send off, I generously threw a toilet roll at the departing armada.

The insects left on the docks were very agitated and things were looking nasty so I hastily retreated.

The floods have abated, but the termites are still building and the ants are arriving in greater numbers.

I don't know if this means another east coast low is on its way down here in June or July or if the termites are just cashing in on the gullibility of the ants.

Only time will tell.

Memo to Minister Keneally: Yamba streets flooded again last night

Kristina Keneally, NSW Minister for Planning, are you listening?

Monday night's high tide produced the third consecutive night of flooding in many parts of Yamba.

And, it's no surprise!

If Minister Keneally cares to ask the residents of the flooded areas what they think about their recent experiences she'll be told that the flooding was exacerbated by developments that have seen low-lying wet land areas filled by developers.

If proposals for further development in West Yamba, which are currently on the Minister's table, get the nod prospects for local residents are indeed very grim.

Pic: smh.com.au

Church of Scientology on trial in France on charges of organised fraud

... and the case could lead to the nationwide dissolution of the controversial organisation.

The so-called church is accused of targeting vulnerable people for commercial gain.

France, which categorises Scientology as a sect, has previously convicted several individual Scientologists of fraud over the past decades – most notably its science fiction-writing creator, L Ron Hubbard, in 1978.

The Guardian reports that the case stems from the testimony of a French woman who filed an official complaint against the organisation in 1998.

Lawyers for Aude-Claire Malton claim Scientologists preyed upon her at a time when she was "very psychologically fragile", pressuring her into spending €21,000 (£18,000) – her life savings – on products including "purification packs" and vitamins.

The investigating magistrate in charge of bringing the case against the church, Jean-Christophe Hullin, said the church, which has been glamourised by Hollywood members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, made a profit by placing individuals in a "state of subjection". The organisation, he argued, is "first and foremost a commercial business" whose actions reveal "a real obsession for financial remuneration".

Marohasy shows her ignorance on NSW North Coast flooding

When the first inklings appeared of a coming May 2009 flood event in the Clarence Valley one local warned me that such flooding would be used to raise the issue of further damming in the Clarence River catchment area.

Sure enough, yesterday climate change denialist Jennifer Marohasy opened her mouth and displayed a level of ignorance which quite frankly surprised:

It doesn't matter what time of year you drive through this region, known as the Northern Rivers District, it is always green and the wide Clarence is always brimming with water.

Oh dear, let's ignore the fact that the Clarence River is salt from above Grafton right down to the river mouth, that it appears to brim with water because of a strong tidal influence, stay silent on the fact that there is a large dam on one of its principal freshwater tributaries and let's also conveniently forget that the Clarence Valley goes in and out of drought with the same regularity as the rest of the NSW North Coast.

I honestly don't have the patience to correct the many misconceptions on which her post is based, so I'll just refer all to the blog A Clarence Valley Protest which was created during the last big John Howard - Malcolm Turnbull push to rob the Clarence catchment of its fresh water and, which includes the political response at local, state and federal level.

NSW North Coast flood photos sent to local media

With newspapers being in short supply on the NSW North Coast at present due to the number of roads still cut by water, here is a link to a bundle of flood photographs sent to the media by local residents.

View readers' flood photos

A fun piece of trivia from Core Economics

Sometimes the trivia machine works overtime and produces grin-inducing posts such as "Was someone short of fact checkers?" with statistics like this:
Australian PM Physical Data
I always wanted to know that Kevin Rudd was 2.5cms taller than John Howard!
As the PM data spreadsheet is a work in progress, join in and give Alistair a bit more info.

Pic from Wikipedia

Maclean begins its post-flood clean up

Jane Beeby posted these great photos at Flickr.

They were taken in low-lying areas of Maclean on Sunday, close to the street leading to Mareeba Nursing Home where staff and volunteers did a magnificent job looking after seventy-one aged residents during a very difficult week.

McDonald's receives a fail in both staff and customer relations

From The Daily Examiner letters to the editor column last Friday:


Bad Experience

I AM writing to you about something I witnessed one night recently. I was at McDonald's on the highway at Grafton having some time with my family after work.
We were sitting having coffee when I heard some shouting and yelling. At first I thought a customer was abusing the staff but on looking, what I saw shocked me no end.

A manager was screaming at the girls on staff and calling them names and yelling in their faces.

The whole restaurant stopped and people were so uncomfortable. We let it slide, but after it kept going a man confronted the manager and asked him to cut it out and treat the workers with respect.

The manager told this customer to leave and there was a discussion and the customer sat back down. I was so embarrassed for the girls on the counter how this manager belittled and demeaned them in front of customers and his attitude towards the customer who spoke up in defence of these girls.

He was basically told it was none of his business and to go away. I remember when customer service was a priority at any store and this just shows why a lot of kids hate to work for companies like this.

I would hate to think that this is normal, but after seeing this manager talking down to the customer I believe that McDonald's Grafton may have a bad .' attitude towards staff and customers.
The kids give up their time to earn some money and feel better about themselves. I am writing as I believe it's about time someone spoke up for these kids and how they were treated.

KYLIE NOY,
Coutts Crossing.

ABC North Coast Radio was doing an excellent job reporting on the floods and then, along came Martin....

I was in awe of ABC North Coast Radio this week.
It covered the flood situation on the NSW North Coast extensively and professionally.
In fact, if it were not for questions asked of emergency services by its on-air staff quite a few areas wouldn't have had much information on what was happening locally as flood waters rose.
Then I heard the dulcet tones of Martin (who once hailed from ABC 2NR) and I awaited the inevitable.
Martin did not disappoint during one on-air conversation.
He casually dismissed the fact that a Yamba caller was cut off from reaching high ground at Yamba Hill by flood water across the main road as being nothing much - because she was not in 'Yamba proper'.
Of course the caller's concerns were similar to those of at least another 2,500 residents in that same section of Yamba (which as any fool would be aware had experienced steady urban growth for the last fifteen years and was very much within the town boundaries).
Fair dinkum, that bloke doesn't deserve to be anywhere near an ABC microphone.
Send him back down south.
To all the other ABC radio staffers who showed the rest of the mainstream media what excellence sounds like - well done!

Thanks to Clarencegirl for the LOL.