Senator Abetz gives dissembling apology to the Prime Minister, Senate and Australian people

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz rose to his feet in the Senate on 11 August 2009 and denied any wrongdoing in the OzCar matter.
His apology may be to his own satisfaction, however it may not be seen as a redemptive by others.

According to the Commonwealth Hansard:

Senator ABETZ (Tasmania) (12.44 pm)—Mr President, I seek leave to make a statement not exceeding three minutes.(Tasmania) (12.44 pm)—Mr President, I seek leave to make a statement not exceeding three minutes.
The PRESIDENT—Leave is granted for three minutes.—Leave is granted for three minutes.
Senator ABETZ—I thank the Senate. A lot has been said and written about my involvement in what—I thank the Senate. A lot has been said and written about my involvement in what has now become known as the OzCar affair. I have already publicly apologised, but I wanted to take this very first opportunity in the Senate to repeat that apology and in addition apologise for any perceived reflection on the Senate. I also want to briefly deal with the three assertions made against me: that I pressured a witness; that I misled a Senate hearing; and that I scripted a witness's evidence. All three assertions are
wrong. First, as the joint statement I made with the Leader of the Opposition on 4 August makes clear, the witness volunteered his information. When the witness approached us we listened because he was a person with direct knowledge of the matters in question. The second assertion is that I misled the Senate on 19 June by suggesting that a journalist had told me about the now known to be fake email and its contents. The simple fact is that a journalist did tell me this. He said he had been contacted by the witness, who had
shared his information including the contents of the email. The journalist then shared that information with me. As the joint statement made clear, the witness had previously shown me the email. Both statements are true; they are not mutually exclusive. Having received information from two separate sources it is quite appropriate to rely solely or partially on just one of those sources without exposing the other. The third claim is that I scripted the evidence, coached the witness and somehow interfered with the provision of evidence to the committee. This allegation is also wrong. Again, as spelt out in the joint statement, at no stage did I script the evidence, coach the witness or suggest what his answers might be. I would point out to the Senate that talking to witnesses before they give their evidence is common practice, so is asking questions provided by a third party. Every senator knows this is true. Indeed, ministers know beforehand many of the questions they will be asked in question time. I can even recall being given notice of questions the crossbenchers proposed to ask me. It is how the parliament works. However, improper influence of a witness is what the standing orders provide against, as they should. There was no improper influence. I repeat: I did not pressure a witness, I did not script a witness's evidence, nor did I mislead the Senate. Having said that, Mr President, I would like to take this opportunity to repeat my apology to the Australian people and to the Prime Minister over this matter and again apologise for any perceived reflection on the Senate. I thank the Senate.

Hoyden Laurelhed quiet rightly expresses disquiet over Federal Government progression of a nationl e-health data base

Laurelhed over at Hoydens About Town looks at potential problems with the Rudd Government plan to create a national e-health data base, as a precursor to the national individual Medicare health information card.

The Commonwealth Dept of Health and Aging has posted these documents on its website:
Call for submissions: Healthcare identifiers and privacy legislative proposals
Health identifiers and privacy: Discussion paper on proposals for legislative support

Never be in any doubt - under the Rudd Government plan an individual will not own or control their personal or family medical record information (or any personal identifying data) and, medical personnel, agencies and hospitals will be able to deny an individual complete unfiltered access to these records.
As to the ability to correct inaccurate or misleading information held in the e-health data base - the system will lead you a merry chase.

My opinion. Paternalistic big brotherdom.

Concerns that Australia lagging in its formation of a national disaster response plan

From the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an August 2009 special report Hardening Australia: Climate change and national disaster resilience by Athol Yates and Anthony Bergin:

Evidence now suggests that the impact of climate change is being realised in Australia more rapidly than previously estimated.

The observed changes include more extreme events such as droughts and storms.

A new report from the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change suggests that these impacts will increase over time. 1

We should therefore immediately start adapting to the new environment.

Delays will only result in more costly disasters in terms of life and property.

In order to respond to climate change in Australia, this report offers some adaptation ideas for homeland security planners as well as other key domestic stakeholders such as our emergency services.2.........

Emergency services and disaster management organisations are now recognising the importance of integrating climate change into their activities, albeit to different degrees. There are many initiatives underway to assist them to do so, such as the development of a climate change action plan commissioned by the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management in November 2008 and a National Adaptation Research Plan for Disaster Management and Emergency Services.18 (See Box 5)

There's sometimes a limited awareness, however, by broader stakeholders of this work. A reason that's often advanced to justify limited consultation is that exposure of such material will raise public anxiety.

The 2005 government report, Review of Australia's Ability to Respond to and Recover from Catastrophic Disasters, for example, only became publicly available in May this year after the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission requested it.

Not surprisingly the community wasn't spooked by the report's disclosures: the only concerns raised were why the study hadn't been released earlier.19

A former head of Emergency Management Australia recently stated that the Commonwealth had still not acted on key recommendation in the 2005 Review of Australia's Ability to Respond to and Recover from Catastrophic Disasters.

The Federal Government states that it expects to complete a National Catastrophic Disaster Plan by the end of 2009.

This plan will be of particular interest to the NSW North Coast as it is clear from other documents that our region is one of many likely to feel the brunt of increased adverse weather events.

No two ways about it - this is a political hate crime

Image from Crikey 12th August 2009

This poster is a political hate crime in the making if ever there was one and it looks suspiciously like it was incited by a member of the Victorian arm of the Liberal Party, Federal MP Bruce Billson.
I'd like to say that the man is silly as a two bob watch - except he sounds too much like many other far right acolytes left over from the rabid JW Howard era version of them and us.
What are the Victorian Libs and the Federal Leader of the Liberal Party Malcolm Turnbull going to do about it?
More to the point - what is the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions, Jeremy Rapke QC, going to do about it?
It seems that the Howard era gave Aussie politicians 'permission' to be as openly racist as some of their constituents and the Rudd Government (along with its state counterparts) is doing little to reign in this ugly xenophobia.

What is particularly offensive about the Billson-led community campaign is that the increase in crime statistics the poster talks about cannot be slated solely to African residents - it's also due to the fact that the police have been more active in making arrests across the board in those areas in 2008-09 (big thanks to clarencegirl for this 2008 media release concerning the Wyndham Police Service Area, this webpage and this 9th August 2009 news story).

Billson's so-called political views are beneath contempt.

Hello from Earth 12 August 2009: phones are now open to contact E.T.

If the Universe was unaware of our existence in the past then it won't be after today as the Australian Department of Innovation, Science and Industry invites all to send a short message to the nearest Earth-like planet that we know Gliese 581 d.

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions bags Rudd Government internet filtering plan and WA Catholic bishop boos GetUp!

A bit of an update on the Australian national mandatory ISP-level Internet filtering debate.

Never one to hold back, The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions has slammed the Federal Government's internet censorship policy, saying it will have very limited, if any, success in achieving its aims according to Asher Moses in The Sydney Morning Herald on 5 August 2009.

Three days earlier the Catholic Bishop of Bunbury sent out a letter to his sisters and brothers in Christ which accused GetUp! of undermining Government efforts and supporting the porn industry.

He also claimed that predatory Internet Service Providers (presumably industry cousins to Bigpond, iPrimus, iiNet, TPG Internet et al) are deliberately creating technology to break through home internet filters used by parents and helpfully supplies a letter template for his flock to use when writing to another brother the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, expressing support for a national censorship scheme.

Bush, Blair, Howard unlawful war legacy drags on through the courts

The degree to which the very expensive former Australian Prime Minister John Winston Howard and the Liberal Party seek to defend and frequently re-define his political record may indicate some internal unease concerning that very record.

When it comes to human rights, unlawful invasion of sovereign nations and the conduct of war, there is much to be concerned about.

According to the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs in December 2008:

"On September 16, 2007, a group of contractors working for the firm Blackwater USA engaged in a chaotic and bloody firefight in Baghdad's Nisoour Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, Blackwater's $500 million in government contracts in jeopardy and the future of the privatized security industry in question. What exactly happened in Nisoour Square remains in dispute. Blackwater alleges that its contractors came under small arms fire and lawfully engaged to stop the threat. The Iraqi government and the US military both argue that Blackwater opened fire unprovoked and used excessive force — including machine guns, grenade launchers and helicopter fire. The FBI, which is conducting a formal investigation into the shootings on behalf of the Department of Justice, argues that 14 of the 17 deaths were unjustified killings and finds no evidence, thus far, that Blackwater was justified in shooting at civilians.

The Nisoour Square incident was broadly proclaimed to be the final straw that would force the White House, Congress and the courts to come to terms with the complex and often fraught relationship between the U.S. military and the increasingly ubiquitous, increasingly interoperable private military contractors that it hires. The FBI investigation marks the first time since the end of the Cold War that the US government is attempting to hold a private security company criminally liable for extraterritorial crimes committed in the course of a government contract.

However, while the episode has subjected the privatized military industry to heightened scrutiny from the Iraqi government, the US military, Congress, and the public, the Department of State and the Department of Justice contend that despite recent efforts to the close the legal loopholes through which private military contractors have slipped in the past, there remain considerable, perhaps insurmountable, hurdles to prosecution.

Meanwhile, at the time the grand jury investigation into the Nisour Square shootings was opened, a civil lawsuit was filed by the New York based Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of the Iraqi families who lost loved ones in the incident. These families are suing Blackwater in tort, under causes of action including assault and battery, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and wrongful death. While the jurisdictional challenges faced by the Department of Justice may ensure that Blackwater never faces criminal liability, the barriers to entry for a civil suit are far lower.

In July 2009 the civil lawsuit, filed as Estate of Husain Salih Rabea et al v. Prince et al, resulted in two declarations being submitted to the court which make statements against Blackwater Worldwide and its founder Erik Prince, accusing the security company and its former CEO of murder and other serious crimes in Iraq (allegedly true copies of Declaration 1 & Declaration 2).

With the Blackwater Five still before the U.S. Federal Court on 34 counts of manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, aiding and abetting and another matter, actions taken under the auspices of the Coalition of the Willing will continue to be scrutinised.

Should either the criminal or civil court cases result in findings that these alleged killings occurred, then the names of Bush, Howard and Blair will forever be associated with known war crimes.

Even closer to home was the Howard Government's rather blasé attitude to an Australian private security firm operating in Iraq. An attitude which may come under closer scrutiny when a U.S. civil court case progresses against Unity Resources Group in a complaint concerning the death of a female Iraqi national (torts, injury, assault, libel and slander).

Blackwater Five 6 page Grand Jury indictment true bill, filed on 4 December 2008

Northern Rivers kindies give Kevin Rudd a job promotion

The Ballina Shire Advocate reports this month:

"MEMBER for Page Janelle Saffin has some great news for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when Caucus meets next Tuesday: He now looks after the world!
And what's more, he makes the money we spend in our daily lives.
Mr Rudd's rapid rise to world dominance and 'King of the Mint' came from the mouths of children during Ms Saffin's visit to the Fox Street Preschool in Ballina last week."

Ah, kids - you gotta love em!

Ten reasons why I distrust Malcolm Bligh Turnbull

Cartoon found at The Sydney Morning Herald

1. Malcolm Bligh Turnbull imagines that living in a rented flat when he was young and going to private school on a scholarship means that he understands what it feels like to be disadvantaged; however many little kids growing up in Redfern, Newtown, Millers Point etc., in that era would have given their eye teeth for the level of security and comfort he enjoyed.

2. As Water Minister in the Howard Government he thought it reasonable that water security in the Clarence River catchment should be compromised in order to meet the wasteful water wants of his energy industry, mining and irrigator mates elsewhere.

To further this aim he was prepared to treat Clarence Valley residents like unwashed serfs.

3. Malcolm Turnbull belongs to the oldest gentleman's club in Australia which has a predominately monied WASP membership. Which limits his friendship group in such a way that his ability to understand issues important to the little person is further reduced beyond the fact that he is both a barrister and a conservative politician.

4. As Water Minister in the Howard Government he thought it reasonable that water security in the Clarence River catchment should be compromised in order to meet the wasteful water wants of his energy industry, mining and irrigator mates elsewhere.

To further this aim he was prepared to treat Clarence Valley residents like unwashed serfs.

5. Malcolm Turnbull was part of the Goldman Sachs merchant banking group which helped lay the ground work for those predatory and greedy practices which inevitably led to the Global Financial Crisis. He was also involved in the genisis of the HIH collapse which saw many ordinary Australians lose their savings.

6. As Water Minister in the Howard Government he thought it reasonable that water security in the Clarence River catchment should be compromised in order to meet the wasteful water wants of his energy industry, mining and irrigator mates elsewhere.
To further this aim he was prepared to treat Clarence Valley residents like unwashed serfs.

7. Malcolm Turnbull is such a prima donna that he can take up a popular movement (eg., the republican movement), sink it and blithely walk away. Something he is obviously preparing to do to the federal division of Liberal Party of Australia.

8. As Water Minister in the Howard Government he thought it reasonable that water security in the Clarence River catchment should be compromised in order to meet the wasteful water wants of his energy industry, mining and irrigator mates elsewhere.To further this aim he was prepared to treat Clarence Valley residents like unwashed serfs.

9. Malcolm Turnbull has so much ego and so little intestinal fortitude that he is unable to apologise when discovered trying to hoodwink the Australian electorate, eg., his role in the Ozcar affair.

10. As Water Minister in the Howard Government he thought it reasonable that water security in the Clarence River catchment should be compromised in order to meet the wasteful water wants of his energy industry, mining and irrigator mates elsewhere.
To further this aim he was prepared to treat Clarence Valley residents like unwashed serfs.

The faces behind "Mr. Monsanto"

I've been told in no uncertain terms that it's my turn to do a post on Monsanto & Co., so here it is - a view of some of the faces behind Monsanto's media monitor, Mr. Monsanto.

PHOTO: Mica Veihman, head of Monsanto’s social media team (seated), with Chris Paton and Kathleen Manning, is tapping into Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. From the St. Lois Business Journal on 8th August 2009.

Regular readers will remember Kathleen for the noteworty line that no blog is too big or small for Monsanto to monitor.

* This post is part of North Coast Voices' effort to keep Monsanto's blog monitor (affectionately known as Mr. Monsanto) in long-term employment.

August 2009 is Perseid Meteor Shower Month

Gibbous Moon photograph at Google Images

The Earth is currently passing through Comet Swift-Tuttle's dust and debris tail.
From 11-13 August numerous meteors will be visible travelling across the sky from 3am onwards if you live north of Brisbane and above that latitude elsewhere in Australia.

However, we will all be able to see the 55% gibbous Moon which will be in the sky over the same period.

Frontier Economics recycles its submissions to government and turns them into Turnbull's Greener, Cheaper, Smarter ETS? rofl

In September 2008 business consultants Frontier Economics (Australia) made an 18-page formal submission to the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change on the emissions trading scheme Green Paper.
It has previously made a 36-page formal submission to the Garnaut Climate Change Review in April 2008.

Unsurprisingly in August 2008 the consultants also advised on a joint industry response by the National Generators' Forum (which represents 22 major power generators) to the Rudd Government proposed emissions trading scheme.

What all this means is that the Rudd Government had considered Frontier Economics' assessment of ETS models and conclusions before it finalised the government's own proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme(CPRS) legislation.

Now I may be a trifle thick here, but I cannot see how Malcolm Turnbull or the Coalition get any political brownie points for this basic reworking of Frontier Economics earlier positions with a bit of colourful window dressing thrown in to produce the August 2009 Greener, Cheaper, Smarter ETS aka the 102-page graph ridden report The economic impact of the CPRS and modifications to the CPRS:REPORT FOR THE COALITION AND SENATOR XENOPHON.

If Rudd's CPRS is shaping up to be a dud because it gives too much leeway to dirty industries, then Turnbull's ETS is a complete disaster because it appears to give these industries even more (with only a promise of very short-term savings for ordinary Australian households during implementation of this scheme) and without a clear, workable incentive for industry to actually reduce greenhouse gas emission levels.
It seems we are supposed to rely on other countries doing the actual carbon reduction and being ever willing to sell Australian industry what Turnbull fondly supposes will be rather cheap credits.

Conclusion: Malcolm Turnbull will continue to be an embarrassment until his party finally potty trains this political l'enfant terrible.

The underbelly of government emergency financial handouts hinted at by Commonwealth Ombudsman?

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has alerted the media to problems with Federal Government emergency financial handouts and other grants.

ABC News on 5 August 2009:

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has criticised the lack of accountability governing emergency financial handouts and other grants by federal departments.

The grants for schemes such as bushfire aid, drought relief and redundancy benefits are not controlled by legislation.

The ombudsman, Professor John McMillan, says this provides flexibility when money needs to be handed out urgently.
But it has also led to problems such as unpublished closing dates for applications, ambiguous rules for handing out the money and poor decisions by bureaucrats which cannot be corrected.
Prof MacMillan says while executive schemes can be set up quickly, the public can suffer.
He has criticised the lack of accountability governing emergency financial handouts and other grants by federal departments.
He has recommended a series of measures to improve accountability, including the publication of up to date information about the schemes and procedures for complaint handling.

While the Ombudsman cites ambiguous rules for handing out the money and poor decisions by bureaucrats, he fails to mention that this situation also appears to allow for widespread rorting of the emergency payment system in which government coffers rather than the public suffer.

On the NSW North Coast it is an open secret that a number of successful applications for the 2009 one-off $1,000 per flood victim emergency payment (administered through Centrelink) were made by residents who were not living in homes or on land affected by flooding this year.

Indeed one person supposedly made a successful claim while residing in a house which is approximately 41 metres above sea level on land that could never experience river flooding due to its height.

It is understood that government is aware of this far from novel situation and that in past years it had been informed of similar fraud.

Public Meeting on the Shooters Party’s Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009, Lismore 6pm 26 August 2009

A public meeting will be held to discuss the Shooters Party's Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009, which would allow hunting of feral and some native species in national parks and the establishment of private game reserves.

Wednesday 26 August
5.45 for 6-8 pm
Red Dove Hall
upstairs, cnr Keen & Woodlark Sts Lismore

Speakers (may change)

Carol Booth, Invasive Species Council

Sue Higginson, EDO solicitor

Richard Jones, former Democrats MLC

Catherine Cusack, Liberal MLC & Shadow Minister for the Environment

Is an overly optimistic Tony Abbot an indicator of a firming Coalition response to climate change?

An overly optimistic Tony Abbott in his speech A realist's approach to climate change at the David Davies memorial dinner, 27 July 2009:

We can't conclusively say whether man-made carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to climate change. If they are, we don't know whether they are exacerbating or counteracting what might otherwise be happening to global climate. Even if they are adding to climatic extremes, humanity may be able to cope with only modest adjustments. Our ability to live well in cities as climatically different as Ottawa and Singapore and to produce an abundance of food in countries as environmentally diverse as Australia and Canada suggests that humans can adapt even to quite significant changes in global temperatures.

Federal Parliament's return this week should make for interesting viewing as the national emissions trading scheme is once more before MPs and senators.

If Tony Abbott is any indication, there seems to be little hope that the Coalition will be anything other than antagonistic towards any climate change mitigation measures.