Harman expresses the concerns of many in the Northern Rivers

Illegal logging
LOCAL environmentalists are disappointed with the small fines Forests NSW received for illegally logging 15ha of endangered lowland rainforest in Grange SF near Jackadgery. Lowland rainforest is an endangered ecological environment (EEC) that is excluded from Forests NSW harvesting operations. EECs are protected by the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Under sections 118A and 118D of the Act, it is an offence to pick or harm endangered ecological communities; the maximum penalty is $220,000 and up to two years jail, with a further $11,000 for each plant illegally logged, picked, bulldozed out of the ground, trampled or squashed.
Environmentalists are concerned forest regulator, the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) may not have found the 15ha area of rainforest that was trashed because the two small fines issued were for offences in other forest compartments. OEH do not have the staff with the requisite skills to identify EECs.
The Clarence Environment Centre offered to show OEH the compartment in question but OEH declined the offer. The value of the illegally harvested trees far outweighs the fines imposed on FNSW.
OEH minister Robyn Parker and OEH CEO Lisa Corbyn owe the people of NSW an explanation. Why is Forests NSW not subject to the full force of the law? Does Chris Gulaptis, the National Party candidate for the seat of Clarence, support Robyn Parker's lazy approach to Forests NSW harvesting operations?
In the last two years Forest NSW has been found to have breached the integrated forestry operations approval at Yabbra SF, Girard SF, Doubleduke SF, Grange SF and Wedding Bells SF.
In June 2011 Justice Pepper of the NSW Land and Environment Court commented that FNSW operations suggests either a pattern of continuing disobedience in respect of environmental laws generally or, at the very least, a cavalier attitude to compliance with such laws .

SIMON HARMAN

Waterview

(The Daily Examiner letter to the editor on November 5, 2011)

Not the sort of reaction Premier O'Farrell and What's-iz-Name expected

Poor old Hapless Gulaptis can’t take a trick. The biggest political heavy he could draw into his campaign to win the Clarence election and this is fairly indicative of the media response on the day of the visit - barely concealed laughter.

Jules Faber in The Daily Examiner 4th Novemeber 2011

Premier laughs off gaffe by Rodney Stevens on 4th November 2011

“AFTER spelling his candidate's name wrong on a twitter post about visiting Grafton, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell walked the streets of the Jacaranda city yesterday showing his support for Chris "Galuptis".

Almost two hours after arriving at Mr Gulaptis' Prince St campaign office dressed in a tie, after soaking up Jacaranda Thursday celebrations, Mr O'Farrell held a press conference, sans tie at Market Square.

Mr O'Farrell laughed off the spelling gaffe, saying it was probably auto-correct that resulted in Mr Gulaptis' name being spelt wrong...”

Comments

By blind-freddie from Iluka on 4/11/2011 at 8:03AM

O'Farrell's 'slip of the lip' makes me wonder if he sees his colleague-to-be as a bit of a galloper- and on a heavy track, stuck in mud, being harshly ridden, under the whip, only worth a long shot bet, a bit spavined, running for second place, heading for the glue factory, or even a touch of Fine Cotton. Or is the race fixed, a done deal, a one horse race, with only the gallop down the home strait needed for victory.

Is Gulaptis a real friend of public education or does he sing from O'Farrell's song sheet?

In TV ads promoting Chris Gulaptis as the Nationals candidate for Clarence Mr Gulaptis is seen standing near public schools. He sent his children to public schools and is quick to remind the electorate that he was the president of the Maclean High School Parents & Citizens Association.  

Mr Gulaptis should read Dick McDermott's letter to the editor of The Coffs Coast Advocate (see below) and then come out and tell the Clarence electorate where he really stands in relation to public education in November 2011.

Schools sold out

I've been a teacher for 38 years. I retire next year. I never believed I would see the day any State Government, be it Labor or conservative, would stoop to a level so low that they would hold their teachers to ransom rather than negotiate a new award which would allow wages to keep pace with inflation.

From January 1, 2012, public school teachers' salaries will be reduced annually unless they agree to measures that would relieve the government of the responsibility to fully fund the learning conditions of pupils in public schools.

Incidentally, there are no such conditions placed on teachers in private schools

What the latest O'Farrell legislation amounts to is asking the state's teachers, those who deliver the service, to finance the very service they are providing.

What the O'Farrell Government, of which local member Andrew Fraser is a member, is clearly doing is attempting to run down public education, the only education open to those most in need.

One in two people with children in public schools must have actually voted for Mr Fraser in the last election never having been told this was his agenda.

The O'Farrell Government is masking its deceit, attempting to hide this abrogation of responsibility by cloaking it in terms of what they call local autonomy.

By kidding parents that giving local school communities the choice to run their public schools the way they want, the government is slyly absolving itself of the responsibility to run our public schools the way they should be run.

This local autonomy push is a great "con" perpetrated by politicised bureaucrats and those who would be.

Don't fall for it mums and dads; it is yet another case of a national asset being flogged off or driven into the ground in the name of privatisation, but this time it will directly affect your kids.

Please see through the spin, join with teachers and resist.

Dick McDermott

Source: Letters, Coffs Coast Advocate, 5/11/11

Is the Coalition's own polling beginning to worry O'Farrell in the lead up to the Clarence by-election?

The Federal seat of Page and the state seat of Clarence sit squarely in the middle of NSW Nationals country.

In Australian electoral history Labor has only won Page at four general elections and Clarence at three elections – one a by-election.

In 2007 the Nationals Chris Gulaptis stood in Nationals safe federal seat of Page which had been held by the Ian Causley for six years until his retirement – and lost it with a -7.83% swing against him.

In October 2011 the Nationals once again picked Gulaptis to stand in the Nationals safe state seat of Clarence held by Steve Cansdell for eight years until his resignation in September 2011. In March this year Cansdell had been re-elected with a +19.8% swing towards the Nationals.

Since Gulaptis’ most recent nomination a number of Clarence Valley residents tell me they have been phone polled twice by ReachTEL, the North Coast Nationals favoured opinion pollster.

Co-incidentally the Nationals have twice gone public with statements such as these:

· "I predict a swing against us which is why Chris will have to shake as many hands as possible and knock on as many doors as possible to secure his role as a member of government that will be in for at least two terms," Mr Stoner said.

· Describing Mr Gulaptis' chances in the by-election, Mr O'Farrell said Clarence was "an absolutely tough seat". But he said the coalition had a good candidate in Mr Gulaptis to retain Clarence. "I sat in state parliament when a Labor member of parliament represented solidly this seat. "We take nothing for granted, in politics 51% is a win, I'll settle for 51%."

Gulapatis himself has been reduced to a racing analogy:

"A [ballot] draw's a draw, everybody is in the same boat," he said. "It's a big field, it's a wet track and we will see what happens at the end of the day."

One could be forgiven for thinking that the polling results sitting on Barry O’Farrell and Andrew Stoner’s desks in Sydney are not favorable to their candidate and that the Nationals are looking at losing quite a few percentage points off their very comfortable 31.4% tpp margin in this seat - something NSW Labor would not let them forget in a hurry.

When and where to meet The Greens candidate, Janet Cavanaugh, during the 2011 Clarence by-election campaign

Photo of Janet Cavanaugh from Google Images

The Greens Janet Cavanaugh is a candidate in the 19^th November 2011 Clarence by-election.

Here are some of the places you can say hello to her:

Tuesday 8th November:  4.45 pm at the Lower Clarence Teachers’ Association meeting, Maclean RSL, River Street Maclean.

Wednesday 9th November: Clarence Greens campaign office in the Casino Centre Arcade, Walker St Casino in afternoon;  5.30pm at the Casino RSM, Canterbury Street Casino,  when the Casino Chamber of Commerce and Industry is holding a meeting to which they've invited by-election candidates.

Saturday 12th November: Maclean Monthly Markets, Centenary Drive Maclean in morning; 1.30pm at the Clarence Valley Women's Inc. AGM at the Country Women’s Association Rooms, River Street Maclean.

Monday 14th November: In Grafton with John Kaye MP.

6pm at the Meet the Candidates Forum, Yamba Bowling Club, Wooli Street Yamba.

Wednesday 16th November:  6pm at the Meet the Candidates Forum, South Grafton Ex-Servicemen's Club, Wharf Street South Grafton.