Clarence River Drovers - a video photo essay by Debrah Novak

Clarence River Drovers by Debrah Novak from Debrah Novak on Vimeo.

The ABC is so impressed with the result that Clarence River Drovers has been selected to screen on TV. Tune in to the ABC Open slots on ABC 24News on December 15 at 9.57am and 8.57 pm.

Television and radio still rule in 2011

There's something comfortably reassuring in this graph for greybeards like myself who start the day by switiching on the radio.

KPBC Internet Trends (2011)

Ramsey loses in the courts and kicks Grafton community in the teeth

In an ultimate act of corporate betrayal Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd and Stuart Ramsey have decided to close down the South Grafton abattoir he has controlled since 1998, after successive losses in Federal and NSW courts resulted in significant monetary penalties for his group of companies.

Not only will this business closure affect many of the 150 abattoir workers who may not be able to transfer elsewhere (rumour has it that workers may not receive full entitlements on termination), it is bound to have a flow-on effect for the Grafton Sale Yards.

While folding the Grafton business, Stuart Ramsey intends to continue in the meat industry via the 78 year-old  Northern Co-operative Meat Company in Casino - a business which earlier this year was threatening to lay off workers and one which has its own workplace issues.

Ramsey, a Hunter Valley horse breeder and racer who owns Turangga Farm Stud, will of course continue with his million dollar interests elsewhere in 2011:

Karuta Queen is another smart horse bred by Stuart Ramsey in the short time he has had the Turangga stud, Segenhoe Valley, Scone. Another is Headway (by another Arrowfield sire, Charge Forward), winner of the AJC Sweet Embrace Stakes and VRC Ascot Vale Stakes and runner up in the Golden Slipper.Turangga itself plays host to a Golden Slipper second, Ramsey’s foundation sire Zizou, one whose first 2-year-olds are predicted to do well in 2011-12. Also second in the Blue Diamond and accoladed a champion 2-year-old, Zizou is by the Mr. Prospector Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and from Natural is My Name, a half-sister to Karuta Queen’s sire Not a Single Doubt.

Seven of the yearlings they sold at the Magic Millions sale each realised $100,000 or more with the high being $500,000

Christy Moore - Ordinary Man

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While Ramsey blames the government for his woes, a brief history of the 'Ramsey Group' courtesy of Austlii indicates other reasons are at the root of his problems:

1. Fair Work Ombudsman v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd [2011] FCA 1176 (19 October 2011) (From Federal Court of Australia; 19 October 2011; 165 KB) 
2. Environment Protection Authority v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd [2010] NSWLEC 150 (10 August 2010) (From Land and Environment Court of New South Wales; 10 August 2010; 33 KB)  
3. Environment Protection Authority v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd [2010] NSWLEC 23 (24 February 2010) (From Land and Environment Court of New South Wales; 24 February 2010; 120 KB)  
4. Peter Geoffrey Wright v Ramsey Food Packaging No. 2 Pty Ltd - [2007] AIRC 606 (8 August 2007) (From Australian Industrial Relations Commission; 8 August 2007; 58 KB) 
5. McIlwain v Ramsey Food Packaging Pty Ltd (No. 4) [2006] FCA 1302 (4 October 2006) (From Federal Court of Australia; 4 October 2006; 188 KB)  
6. McIlwain v Ramsey Food Packaging Pty Ltd [2006] FCA 828 (30 June 2006) (From Federal Court of Australia; 30 June 2006; 445 KB)  
7. McIlwain v Ramsey Food Packaging Pty Ltd [2005] FCA 1233 (2 September 2005) (From Federal Court of Australia; 2 September 2005; 156 KB)  
8. Ramsey Butchering Services Pty Ltd v Blackadder [2003] FCAFC 20 (21 February 2003)
   (From Federal Court of Australia - Full Court; 21 February 2003; 138 KB)  
9. Blackadder v Ramsey Butchering Services Pty Ltd (includes corrigendum dated 10 May 2002) [2002] FCA 603 (10 May 2002) (From Federal Court of Australia; 10 May 2002; 80 KB) 

North Coast Voices 19 October 2011: Ramsey ordered to compensate sacked workers
The Daily Examiner 15 October 2011: Ramsey in contempt

UPDATE:

Ramsey to deny redundancy package to some workers.

Ramsey has only himself to blame.

2011 Clarence By-Election Scorecard. Part 1 - Opening Salvos

Opening salvo from NSW Nationals candidate Chris Gulaptis in ABC News item on 17 October 2011:

"So we've got $9 million for the Grafton Base Hospital's orthopaedic ward, $1.2 million for Maclean Hospital as well, $4 million for the Grafton Bridge,"….

"So there's money coming into this electorate right now and it's important that we continue to serve the people this way and that's what I'm trying to do as the Nationals' candidate."

Opening salvo from NSW Country Labor candidate Peter Ellem in ABC News item on 17 October 2011:

"He's the man who in 2007 described WorkChoices as a positive move," ….

"The Nationals chose a candidate yesterday who will do the bidding of the Liberal Party which has taken control of the new Coalition Government, a Government which is no friend of working people."

Opening salvo from the NSW Greens candidate Janet Cavanaugh in a media release on 18 October 2011:

“It is time to clean up NSW politics,” she said. “The Greens have a history of maintaining ethical stands across a range of issues. By acting with integrity, The Greens offer a better way of doing politics and this will result in better outcomes for the electorate.
“One of the key issues we are worried about is the threat posed by mining to our precious water supplies. There is the risk posed by antimony mining on the Dorrigo Plateau to the Coffs-Clarence regional water supply and our estuarine fisheries, and the potential for coal seam gas exploration to drain and poison groundwater reserves as well as wreck important farming land and wildlife habitat.

Opening salvo of Independent Wade Walker in a The Daily Examiner article on 19th September:

He said he wanted to run as an independent because it would allow him to best represent the Clarence electorate without having to make concessions to an overall party policy - he said areas such as health, emergency services and the Pacific Highway upgrade would be among the key areas he would campaign on.

* Recent telephone polling by ReachTel suggests that a Christian Democratic Party candidate might eventually declare an intention to stand, but to date there is no name in the public arena.

Assessment:

1. Chris Gulaptis stumbles as he leaves the gate.

a) The bulk of this alleged $9 million for Grafton Base Hospital comes not from The Nationals or the O’Farrell Government, but from the Federal Labor Government as officially set out here in September 2011:

This Implementation Plan provides for the Commonwealth’s financial contribution of $6 million toward a $10 million upgrade of the Grafton Base Hospital. The New South Wales Government will contribute the remaining $4 million to this project.

Commonwealth funding is provided to New South Wales to establish a new four bed orthopaedic surgical ward and a new medical imaging unit at Grafton Base Hospital.
With the state's $4 million contribution being previously pledged by the former NSW Labor Government.

b) As for Maclean District Hospital, in March this year the hospital itself had a slightly different perspective:

The redevelopment is largely the result of a “very generous” bequeath that was left to the hospital, according to Dan Madden, executive officer of the Maclean hospital. Commonwealth funding has also come through over the last year for emergency departments Australia-wide, and the Maclean Hospital Auxiliary had also been effective and generous with its fundraising, he said.

c) Whilst the actual state funding set aside for a second Grafton Bridge appears intended to refine the preliminary route options for a second crossing point which initial NSW Roads & Traffic Authority had previously identified - so any new bridge is still far into the future:

Through studies, surveys and consultation, the RTA has been unravelling the tangled web of 41 crossing options suggested by the community during surveys conducted since December last year. Project manager Chris Clark said the 25 sites remaining from the original 41 would now undergo further engineering and environmental investigations to assess their feasibility.
d) When publicly called on his statements concerning hospital funding Chris Gulaptis defended himself by saying he was quoting his disgraced predecessor; Mr Gulaptis defended the figures he quoted, claiming they were in a press release Mr Cansdell sent out before his resignation on September 16.

2. Peter Ellem by keeping his observations to a minimum has fared better.

On the matter of opponent’s support for WorkChoices he is merely citing the facts as these 2007 Gulaptis quotes show:

a) The Nationals MP, Ian Causley, is retiring and the party's new candidate, Chris Gulaptis, says Work Choices is positive for the electorate.

b) He says any controversy over the WorkChoices IR laws is union-driven."IR isn't the dominant issue in the electorate, and if the Labor candidate was out and about, she'd certainly know that,"

c) When defending WorkChoices Chris Gulaptis said: "Northern Rivers residents moved to the region accepting they would be paid lower wages as part of the trade-off for living in one of the most desirable parts of Australia".   

 d) New figures confirming the North Coast is enjoying the fastest employment growth in Australia underline the local benefits of the Coalition’s economic management and workplace reforms, according to Page Nationals candidate Chris Gulaptis.

3. Janet Cavanaugh went where both major party candidates have thus far been too timid to travel and, is reflecting voter concerns which cross more than one demographic. Mining on the NSW North Coast is currently a topical issue.
If this election campaign progresses along similar lines to past elections then both major parties will cravenly let The Greens do the heavy lifting on environmental issues and rarely speak out publicly, while privately assuring voters that they are really 'green' at heart themselves.

4. Wade Walker was probably the first to publicly declare that he was definitely standing in the 19 November Clarence By-election.
However, apart from the initial statement, he does not appear to have managed to get anything else into the local mainstream media.

Elsewhere Walker has been more prolific and he can be found on Pauline Hansen's website on 26 September encouraging her to stand for Clarence;

please stand in the seat of clarence nsw by election the nats are on the nose.

One has to worry about the genuineness of the candidate's desire to contest this particular election

* Three of the four self-declared candidates went on to say something about crime rates and police numbers. However, Labor's Peter Ellem was first out the gate last week with a community petition for more police in Grafton, Casino and Yamba, thereby stealing a march on the the Nationals, Greens and Independent.

Scorecard

Gulaptis  -1

   Ellem        1.5

    Cavanaugh 1
       Wade Walker 0
             Bethany Camac 0

Update:

Bethany Camac was identified today as the Christian Democratic Party candidate. Bethany stood at the March 2011 NSW state election. She is yet to make any by-election campaign statement which has been picked up by the media, so comes in with an equal zero rating with Wade Walker.