And they say that comparisons with Viet Nam are false......

Afghanistan this week.

BBC NEWS - "The US defence secretary has asked the country's commander in Afghanistan to step down, saying the battle against the Taleban needs "new thinking".
Robert Gates confirmed Gen David McKiernan would effectively be sacked less than a year after taking command.
He will be replaced by Gen Stanley McChrystal, who is seen as having a better understanding of the conflict.
The change comes as the US boosts troops numbers in Afghanistan and prepares for a change in strategy.
Gen McKiernan's time as US commander in Afghanistan has coincided with a surge in violence.
His successor currently serves as the director of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was previously a director of special operations forces."

TELEGRAPH UK - "They do come in and out of Afghanistan," Gen Petraeus told CNN. "But al Qaeda – precise al Qaeda, if you will – is not based per se in Afghanistan. Although its elements and certainly its affiliates... certainly do have enclaves and sanctuaries in certain parts of Eastern Afghanistan."

CHINA VIEW - "The joint Afghan and U.S. team who are investigating civilian causalities in eastern Afghan province of Farah, would also look into the using of chemical weapons, a spokesperson of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Monday.
"On the specific issue of chemical weapons, we are aware of that reports and certainly it would be something that referring to. Joint investigation team will look into the possible report taking place in the province," Haleem Siddique told a questioner in a weekly press briefing.
Siddique noted that the safety and welfare of Afghan civilians must come first during the planning and implementation of any military operation.
According to Afghan officials, over 147 civilians have been killed in an airstrike by international troops in eastern Farah province of Afghanistan while U.S. military said that the number is exaggerated."

THE AGE - "IF THE war in Afghanistan is to be won, the battle for Afghan hearts and minds must first be won. The surest way to lose that battle is to discount the lives of Afghan civilians killed in military operations against the Taliban, whose alliance with al-Qaeda provoked the invasion that ended their rule. Indeed, in Iraq, insurgents' disregard for civilian lives backfired as local forces that had been opposed to foreign troops turned against al-Qaeda and its allies. In Afghanistan, however, the US and its allies are losing support because of the civilian toll they have caused.
Civilian deaths are highly damaging in themselves, but when foreign forces fail to apologise properly and provide redress, the backlash is potentially disastrous. That is why a cover-up of the findings of an Australian military investigation into the killing and maiming of Afghan civilians in Oruzgan province in July 2006 is of immense concern.
On the whole, Australian forces appear to have acknowledged such deaths with full apologies and compensation. By contrast, the US military has at times seemed downright careless about the civilian toll in air strikes. Human Rights Watch estimated last year that air strikes had killed at least 1633 civilians from 2006 to 2007, and allied forces had killed another 828 civilians by the end of last year."

THE CANADIAN PRESS - The first contingents of an additional 21,000 U.S. combat troops and trainers have begun to hit the ground in Afghanistan in a surge expected to continue throughout the summer.
The overwhelming combat might of the U.S. is reshaping the way NATO conducts the bitter counter-insurgency war. Analysts and some opposition politicians have expressed fears that American military policies and doctrines, such as the use of air strikes, will be forced on allies.

The Greens apply a blow torch to Conroy's belly

Senate Notice Paper No. 66 on 12 May 2009:

*1495 Senator Ludlam: To ask the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the
Digital Economy—
(1) With reference to the hearings of the Environment, Communications and
the Arts Committee additional estimates of 23 February 2009, in which an
officer of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
stated 'As you may recall, Senator, every six months those overview
profiles of the number of investigations that we have done and the
breakdown—whether it was RC [Refused Classification], child
pornography, X and so on—are tabled in parliament. If we look at one of
those six-month reports, there is a lot of information on what we do
regarding our investigations there' (Committee Hansard, 23 February 2009,
ECA 108): was the officer referring to the Co-regulatory Scheme for
Internet Content Regulation reports; if so, have those reports been prepared
and tabled since the report for the period July to December 2005; if so,
where can copies of these reports, for the 3 years since 2005, be obtained.
(2) If the answer to (1) above is no:
(a) what are the six-monthly reports to which the officer referred to;
and
(b) where can copies of these reports be obtained.
(3) Does the ACMA charge a fee to filter suppliers for the ACMA's blacklist
and/or updates to the blacklist; if so:
(a) is the fee $15 000 (as reported by a filter supplier on 26 March 2009
at http://www.crikey.com.au); if not, how much is the fee;
(b) for what period of time does the fee cover (for example, annually,
half-yearly, monthly, etc); and
(c) when did the ACMA commence charging a fee.
(4) Does the ACMA charge a fee, or does it intend to do so in future, for the
supply of its blacklist to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who provide
server-level filtering; if so, how much.
(5) What procedures or systems does the ACMA have in place to ensure that
filter suppliers promptly add and delete Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)
on notification of updates by the ACMA, for example, does the ACMA
undertake audits of filter suppliers' copies of the ACMA's blacklist; if so,
how often.
(6) In regard to media reports in March 2009 that the ACMA stated that a page
containing photographs by Mr Bill Henson had been incorrectly added to
the ACMA's blacklist as a result of a 'caching error': (a) what is a 'caching
error'; and (b) can the ACMA prevent a 'caching error' happening in
future; if so, how.
(7) When the ACMA adds to its blacklist the URL of a hacked page on an
overseas-hosted web site, that is operated/maintained by an Australian
resident or Australian-based business, does the ACMA notify the
Australian resident/business of the existence of the prohibited content so
that it may promptly delete such content and have its page promptly
removed from the blacklist; if not, why not.
(8) How does the ACMA determine whether web page content has 'an
Australian connection', for example, does the ACMA base this
determination on the geographical location of the business/person to whom
the IP [Internet Provider] address of the web site's domain has been
allocated, the geographical location of the business/person identified as the
registrant the administrative or the technical contact of the domain in the
'whois' information.
(9) In regard to the ACMA's blacklist:
(a) how many URLs on the blacklist are main domain addresses, for
example, http://www.example.com (not the address of a sub-page
on a web site);
(b) when the ACMA notifies filter suppliers of a domain address, are
filter suppliers required to block only that particular page (that is,
the site's 'home' page), or all pages on the domain; and
(c) if filter suppliers are required to block all pages on a domain, by
what means does the ACMA determine that there is a substantial
likelihood that all pages on the domain are, if classified,
potential/prohibited content.
(10) In regard to the ACMA online content statistics for the month of December
2008, ACMAsphere No. 38, states that 237 overseas-hosted items were
actioned and 22 items were 'R18+ Language', while the ACMA's Internet
statistics web page states that 253 overseas-hosted items were actioned, no
items were 'R18+ Language' and 22 items were 'X 18+ Actual sexual
activity' and given that there are also other discrepancies between the two
sets of reported statistics:
(a) which statistics are accurate; and
(b) what caused the discrepancies.
(11) For each of the following periods: 20 January to 31 June 2008 and 1 July
2008 to date:
(a) how many items of Internet content did the ACMA submit to the
Classification Board for the purpose of complying with clause 116
of Schedule 7 (samples of content to be submitted for classification)
of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992; and
(b) how many of these items were content that did not have an
'Australian connection'.
(12) In regard to ACMA Internet content assessors:
(a) why are the names, dates of appointment and short biographies of
the assessors not made publicly available (as has long been the case
in relation to members of the Classification Board and Classification
Review Board);
(b) are content assessors, like members of the classification boards,
appointed by the Governor-General; if not, who appoints them;
(c) in selecting and appointing content assessors, are there requirement
that they have the capacity to assess, identify and represent
community standards;
(d) are content assessors initially appointed for a fixed term of service;
if so, what is that period of time;
(e) is there a statutory or other limit on the maximum term of service
for a content assessor; and if so, what is that period of time;
(f) for each content assessor, what was the date of their initial
appointment;
(g) how many content assessors are:
(i) former full-time or part-time members of the Classification
Board,
(ii) former temporary/casual members of the Classification
Board,
(iii) current temporary/casual members of the Classification
Board,
(iv) former members of the Classification Review Board, and
(v) former employees, in any role, of the former Office of Film
and Literature Classification; and
(h) for each content assessor referred to in (12)(g) above, what is each
of their total period of service in the abovementioned former roles.
(13) Do ACMA content assessors undergo regular training by the Classification
Board to help ensure consistency of decisions; if so, how often does such
training take place.
(14) How many content assessors view and assess an item of Internet content
prior to an ACMA determination that it is 'potential prohibited content'
because there is a substantial likelihood that it would be classified by the
Classification Board as:
(a) RC, 'RC-Child Depiction';
(b) RC, for any other reason;
(c) X18+;
(d) R18+; and
(e) MA15+.
68 No. 66—12 May 2009
(15) In regard to the page on an anti-abortion web site that was determined by
the ACMA to be 'RC-Violence' in January 2009 and the criteria for RC in
the national classification code:
(a) was the content determined to be prohibited/potential prohibited
content under clause 1(a) of the criteria for RC (depictions of
violence that offend against the standards of reasonable adults) or
under clause 1(c) (promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or
violence); and
(b) how many content assessors participated in making a decision that
there was a substantial likelihood that the content would be RC if
classified.
(16) In regard to the ACMA's 'Restricted Access System Declaration 2007', the
explanatory statement to the declaration and the ACMA's web page titled
'new restricted access arrangements' state that the requirements in the
declaration apply only to content that has an 'Australian connection' (is
hosted in Australia or provided from Australia):
(a) what procedures/systems are available to providers of
overseas-hosted content to enable them to ensure that content they
provide that is, or would be classified R18+ or (commercial)
MA15+, is not added to the ACMA's blacklist; and
(b) if these procedures/systems comply with the 'Restricted Access
System Declaration 2007', how can the ACMA, and Australian
Internet users, know that an overseas content provider is complying
with the Australian National Privacy Principles under the Privacy
Act 1988, as required by the Restricted Access System Declaration
2007, in relation to use/disclosure etc of proof of age
documentation/information they acquire and are required to keep for
2 years.
(a) why not;

PDF version with second series of questions re ACMA  included here.

Links to 2009-10 Australian Commonwealth Budget Papers

Graphic from Google Images

The 2009-10 Commonwealth Budget will be released at 7.30pm, Tuesday 12 May 2009
To avoid potential delays accessing the Budget on 12 May due to heavy traffic on the Budget website, please bookmark one of our Budget co-host websites.
Co-hosts for the 2009-10 Commonwealth Budget are:
http://budget.australia.gov.au
http://www.finance.gov.au/commonwealthbudget
http://www.ato.gov.au/budget
http://www.aph.gov.au/budget

From http://www.budget.gov.au

Budget documents can be purchased from CanPrint Communications or state shopfronts.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the truth for a dubious laugh

The Daily Examiner, 6 May 2009

Is it just me - or does this cartoon figure look suspiciously like Kevin 07 supposedly receiving that $900 cheque from the last economic stimulus package?

Someone needs to remind the cartoonist that Rudd's parliamentary salary alone precludes him from receiving this cheque.

Cap'n Clog to the rescue!

Nationals MP for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker is in the local media again.
This time pledging that he will fight for "the same payment for Coffs and Clarence flood victims that was given to Ingham residents".
Bravo Lukie!

Just don't tell the locals that the $1,000 for each person you are talking about was only for those caught up in a major disaster whose principal place of residence has been destroyed or significantly damaged, home was inaccessible for over 48 hours or more, as well as those who have been seriously injured and hospitalised as a direct result of the floods (according to Centrelink which distributed the funds as Disaster Recovery Payments).
Or remind locals that these Queenslanders were in 36 local government areas declared disaster zones in the one widespread flooding in 2009 and some had been inundated during similar flooding in 2008.
And keep very, very quiet about the fact that low-income earners whose homes has been damaged in the 2009 Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Nambucca and Clarence Valley flooding could apply for Personal Hardship and Distress Grants.

In early 2009 the Liberals Ian MacDonald got to his feet in the Senate and eloquently put the case for generous assistance for northern Queensland.
Even Malcolm Turnbull spoke in support of those in northern Queensland.
I can't find any record of Luke Hartsuyker rising to his feet in the House of Reps to plead for local flood victims this year.
Instead he puts out a couple of short press releases in April, writes a letter to Rudd and becomes indignant when it is fielded to the Minister for Community Services.
If he couldn't be bothered to tell Parliament, why would anyone think that he is serious now.
When are our North Coast pollies going to realise that their past inaction is on the Web for all to see at the click of a mouse?

UPDATE:
Over 15 hours after I posted this opinion, Luke Hartsuyker finally asked a question without notice about flood payments:
"My question is to the Prime Minister. Following the recent disaster recovery payments made to residents of Queensland affected by flooding, why has the Prime Minister not acted decisively to provide similar cash payments to victims of recent flooding on the New South Wales North Coast? Has the Prime Minister broken his promise to the Australian people that he will govern for all Australians?"

Is 'The Daily Examiner' the Voice of the Clarence Valley?

The less than totally frank account of Clarence Valley Council's 2009/10 rate structure by the Grafton-based news publication, The Daily Examiner, casts serious doubt on its claim that it is the voice of the Clarence Valley.

For the second year in succession Clarence Valley Council has reduced Grafton's rate levies, leaving ratepayers in the rest of the shire to make up the service cost difference.

But instead of recognising this burden, The Daily Examiner reported on a move to "ease the burden of Grafton and Junction Hill ratepayers..." claiming "Their rates remain the highest in the valley" [DE 8.5.09].

Were they?

Unfortunately this Grafton-based news publication omitted from its list Grafton's average rate, despite giving the average rates of all the other centres of population within the Clarence Valley for 2009/10:-
Farmland avg rate $1036.71
Coastal villages avg res rate $992.23
Yamba/Wooloweyah avg res rate $960.48
Iluka avg res rate $738.65
Maclean/Townsend avg res rate $681.59

Gulmarrad/Woombah etc avg res rate $671.14
Lawrence avg res rate $641.69

The truth is the average Grafton rate is $879.14 and that certainly does not "remain the highest in the valley".
In fact perusal of Clarence Valley Council's past rate structures show that they have never had the highest average rates in the valley.

A news publication with any integrity would have included the average residential rate in Grafton along with the rest of the list provided by Clarence Valley Council.

Therefore any claim by The Daily Examiner that it is the voice of the Clarence Valley must be greeted with scepticism.

The subject of Grafton's rates is not new to The Daily Examiner.

Prior to forced local government amalgamation, The Daily Examiner's 30th November 2001 headline read "COUNCIL CRISIS" reporting Grafton City Council's spending commitment blowout had reduced its working capital from $500,000 to $32,000.

On the 18th June 2003 The Daily Examiner 's headline "Hip pocket nerve" reported Grafton City Council as signing off on a rate hike of 3.25% above the pegged rate 3.60 per cent to fund its lavish abundance of services.
By that time Grafton City Council already had the second highest average rate ($662.00) of local government areas in the region and this further increase above the pegged rate propelled it to the top.
Maclean Shire Council's average rate at that time was lower at $552.00.

Grafton City Council had no-one to blame for its high level of rates but itself.
It had the opportunity to reduce its level of services in line with its income, but chose instead to increase its rates.

However despite its increase in rates, its auditors reported that Grafton City Council was still unable to meet its massive service costs and after raiding its internal reserves of some $900,000 it came into forced amalgamation $412,000 in deficit leaving the Maclean Shire Council surpluses to subsidise it.

But not a word of this situation from the supposed voice of the Clarence Valley, the Grafton-based Daily Examiner's sabres were silent.

The amalgamated Clarence Valley Council's subsequent budgets reveal a rates increase for all population centres except Grafton with no additional services included.
While Grafton received a less proportionate increase with no decrease in services.

The Daily Examiner's omission of Grafton's average rate from its article of the 8th May 2009 and its incorrect claim that Grafton rates "remain the highest in the valley" was not just a failure to be totally frank with its Clarence Valley readers, it left an obvious impression that it is parochially biased and is pushing its own agenda.

As the only daily news publication in the Clarence Valley, The Daily Examiner must surely have an obligation to act responsibly, report facts accurately, be impartial and display the utmost integrity.
Otherwise it has no right to refer to itself as The Voice of the Clarence Valley.

RAY HUNT
Yamba

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort mystery

The Blue Dolphin Caravan Park Holiday Resort mystery.

Image from HomeHound

There had been rumours drifting on the wind for some time that current and planned Mitchell family partnered developments on the Clarence Coast were not as sought after as was previously anticipated by investors.

Now comes confirmation that all is not rosy in the garden and the possibility that sell-offs are in the air:

In June 2008 we anticipated that there would be some pick up in the residential market but no further sales have been forthcoming for the Stage 1 development. After a number of reviews with the Mitchell family the decision has been made to place the development of Blue Dolphin on hold, since it is unlikely there will be significant demand for coastal resort style residential property for some time. We have therefore not taken possession of Stage 1 of the site or increased the debt facility as originally envisaged in our June 2008 Investor Update.
There have been a number of parties interested in acquiring Blue Dolphin, however the Responsible Entity (RE) has determined that current offers are not in the interests of unitholders. There are five years left on the Freespirit lease, and there is a substantial concept plan approval on the site. The concept plan approval has another 3.5 years to run before a construction certificate will be needed for a substantial commencement of the first stage, and it is expected that the residential market should pick up by mid 2010.

Selling off individual Blue Dolphin cabins does not appear to indicate confidence in the way ahead, but many Yamba residents will welcome the news that the NSW Government-approved proposed overdevelopment of this waterfront site is delayed.

As for other Mitchell interests - according to Mariner Coastal Land Fund (the unlisted property trust) Yamba Waters has unsuccessfully been offered for sale.

It is also understood that, due to the global financial crisis, Babcock and Brown is seeking a buyer for its percentage of the Angourie Rainforest Resort which it apparently accquired in 2006.

Best political image found on a blog this month

Scott from over at GrodsCorp offering someone's $900 economic stimulus cheque, because "Even ideologically confused rabbles deserve a treasury spokesperson".

The economy has gone to the dogs ...

Yes, things are pretty crook ...

but why do cats have to be so dramatic?

Click on image to enlarge

Source: Unknown

Australia may be down but it's not out

Only two more sleeps until the Federal Budget for 2009-10 is revealed.

With most people expecting the worst and mainstream media and Coalition heavies stoking this expectation, it's worthwhile looking at the nearest thing to an unbiased assessment available.

The Reserve Bank statement on 8 May 2009:

"Indicators of domestic activity, information from the Bank's liaison program and business surveys all suggest that the economy has been contracting since late 2008. A significant contraction in GDP is estimated for the first half of 2009, with the peak-to-trough contraction in GDP a little smaller than during the recession in the early 1990s. The economy is forecast to begin to grow from late 2009, although the recovery is expected to be gradual, partly reflecting the slow recovery in global demand (Table 16). In year-average terms, GDP is forecast to decline by ½ per cent in 2009/10 before growing by 2¼ per cent in 2010/11. Factors that would suggest a less severe recession here than in many other countries include the bigger decline in interest rates to end-borrowers, the healthier state of the financial sector, Australia's export mix (a relatively low share of exports of capital goods and high-value manufactures, where global trade has fallen most), the recent recovery in the Chinese economy, and the exchange rate depreciation in the second half of 2008."

Complete statement can be downloaded here.

Pensioners - be prepared for another rash of social discrimination

After the unemployed, people on a pension often get the most negative feedback from the media and community at large.
Unless pensioners are frail aged or returned servicemen, people who have more in the bank look sideways at them and mutter about where their own tax dollars are going.

When the Rudd Government 2009-10 Budget gets handed down pensioners will have to steel themselves for an increase in the passive-aggressive hostility they frequently face once their welfare recipient status becomes known.

Because even if the media reports are incorrect in matters of fact or nuance, the damage has been done and those still making superannuation contributions will feel that they have been robbed; Rich to pay for pension rises in federal Budget.

It may be human but it is certainly not fair, that ordinary people who were denied a full education by the Great Depression, had their young adulthood ruined by world war or who suffer from a long-term chronic illness are to be blamed for accessing the social and economic safety net that Australia provides for all its citizens.

Are NSW Health electronic patient records vulnerable to criminal hackers?

This was posted on Wikileaks on 3 May 2009:

On Thursday, April 30, the secure site for the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) was replaced with a $US10M ransom demand:
"I have your shit! In *my* possession, right now, are 8,257,378 patient records and a total of 35,548,087 prescriptions. Also, I made an encrypted backup and deleted the original. Unfortunately for Virginia, their backups seem to have gone missing, too. Uhoh :(For $10 million, I will gladly send along the password."
The site, https://www.pmp.dhp.virginia.gov/pmpwebcenter/login.aspx appears to have been entirely disabled and is presently unavailable.

On 8 May The Wall Street Journal confirmed this ransom demand but details of patient data vulnerability are unclear.

Reports which leave an uncomfortable feeling behind when I recall that the data centre and software which run NSW Health electronic patient records have experienced extensive systems failure recently.

Mick Keelty: a little reminder of why he won't be missed by the ordinary punter

Mick Keelty announced that he is resigning as Australia's top cop, effective September 2009.

Let's hope he now fades into obscurity. Heaven forbid that government would offer him a consultancy or two. He was dangerous enough to the national health when he was supposedly fully accountable.

In case any Aussie company was thinking of offering this man a responsible job - a little reminder of Keelty and his inability to cope with either the job or the general public.

The Sydney Morning Herald September 2007:

"Eleven members of ABC's The Chaser have been charged and granted bail following their arrest in Sydney today.
Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello, two of the stars of the satirical show, were among those detained by police today, after staging a fake motorcade through Sydney as part of an APEC week stunt.
They were charged under new APEC laws with entering a restricted area without justification.
The crew members were in a convoy of three cars and two motorbikes, which was reportedly ushered through two checkpoints in Sydney's APEC security zone."

* Police bungle sees Chaser charges binned

ABC News 30 January 2008:

"Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has called for limitations on the criticism of Federal Police and government security agencies.

He had also criticised some sections of the media over its coverage of terrorism cases.
Commissioner Keelty told the Sydney Institute last night that there should be no public comment made about terrorism investigations until each matter has been finalised in court.
Commissioner Keelty says the criminal justice system should be left to operate free from ongoing public discussion.
"I understand it can be difficult to wait for the chance to freely express ourselves but I do believe to best serve the public interest and to attain the full enjoyment of all our rights we must sometimes delay that expression," he said.
He also says criticism of the AFP and other government agencies should be limited.
"We've just got to call a halt to criticising public institutions when it's the same public institutions that we rely upon to keep good governance," he said.
Journalist Hedley Thomas from The Australian won the Gold Walkley for his coverage of the Mohamed Haneef affair.
He says Commissioner Keelty's argument is contradictory.
"On the one hand he was saying that defendants and suspects deserve a much better go in the court of public opinion and that the media should treat them more kindly," he said.
"But the facts are that in the Mohamed Haneef case and others, it's been the police and security agencies and the politicians using police information that have smeared the character of the suspects before they've even been charged."

Crikey 25 March 2009:
"Keelty is remarkable in his capacity to blame others for the AFP's mistakes. After the Haneef affair, Keelty blamed everyone else  — the media (whom he proposed to prevent reporting such cases), Haneef's lawyers, Haneef himself, Scotland Yard, the DPP  — for the debacle when his own officers were the ones responsible for leaking material against Haneef, fabricating evidence and demanding he be charged without any basis. The AFP also later tried to avoid cooperating with the commission established to investigate what happened.
Not that Haneef was the only beneficiary of the AFP's particularly inept form of persecution. The false imprisonment and illegal interrogation of Izhar ul-Haque by ASIO agents  — another breach of an individual's most basic rights that has escaped appropriate redress — occurred with the concurrence and participation of the AFP.
Now there's the weekend's events at Sydney Airport.
Thankfully they were only bikies intent on attacking one of their own. Terrorists could have killed hundreds and been heading off in a Silver Service cab before Keelty's Keystone cops arrived, the only threat being those sinister chauffeurs who try to foist rental cars on you when you walk through Departures. The CCTV system wasn't even working properly."

Dodo duds again, ACCC pounces and ISPs have started to filter the Australian Internet

On 7 May 2009 Computer World reported:

Dodo has been ordered to refund customers after charging almost double fees for plans advertised as free.
The discount telco was slapped with the penalty following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of its '"Free $29.90 Mobility Cap Plans" which promised customers a free Eee-PC, fuel or cash.
The regulator found the telco had deceived customers by advertising the gifts as free when comparable standard plans were up to $30 a month cheaper.......
Dodo has been blamed for a record spike in telecommunications complaints to the industry regulator, and was slapped with a $147,000 fine last last year for breaching the Do Not Call register.

According to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman 2008 Annual Report:

• We received 149 742 complaints, an almost 50 per cent increase on the year before.
• Each complaint raised one or more issues. This year we dealt with 268 645 issues
– a 61.0 per cent increase on the year before.
• Landline service issues increased by 77.7 per cent.
• Mobile service issues increased by 58.3 per cent.
• Internet service issues increased by 32.3 per cent.
• 91 per cent of the people who complained were consumers.
Eight per cent were small businesses.

Trying to decide on your next Internet provider?
Whirlpool hosts a number of forums and a Broadband Choice ISP Directory.

ISPs you might want to avoid just now because they are gearing up for the Rudd Governmnet live trial of its mandatory national censorship scheme:
Nelson Bay Online, OMNIConnect, Primus Communications, Highway 1, Netforce, Webshield, Optus and Tech2U (most will be starting to filter by 8-11 May 2009 and last already filtering).

An idea whose time has come?

After chocking on fumes behind an old slow ute on the road this week, my thoughts turned to new vehicles.

I was pleased to note that US Democrats are considering a cash for clunkers program.
The US House proposal doesn't go far enough but the Senate version is much better in that the replacement car must get 25% more mileage for fuel consumed than the clunker it replaces.

Australia does not appear to be giving serious thought to a buyback of old energy inefficient cars scheme.
Instead the Rudd Government plans to give billions to the big car manufacturers in the hope that they will increase the production of green cars.

For every litre of petrol used in a motor vehicle 2.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide is released from the exhaust according to an Australian Energy Web Fact Sheet.

Perhaps it is time that the Federal Government considered a true consumer-driven response to greenhouse gas reduction and ran a pilot program of 'cash for clunkers' in Australia.

Here is an NRMA list of fuel efficient car makes and models based on a 5.5 litre per 100kms threshold:

Make	Model	Variant	Body Style	Engine Displacement	Year
Audi	A3	Sportback 1.9 TDi e (8P)	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2008 - current
Citroen	Berlingo	II HDi (M59)	2 Door Panelvan	1.6TD	2008 - current
Citroen	C3	HDi Exclusive	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Citroen	C4	SX 1.6 HDi	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2006 - current
Citroen	C4	SX 1.6 HDi EGS	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Daihatsu	Charade	All	3 door hatchback	1.0L	2003 - 2005
Daihatsu	Sirion	All	5 door hatchback	1.0L	2002 - 2005
Fiat	500	Lounge	3 door hatchback	1.3TD	2008 - current
Fiat	500	Pop	3 door hatchback	1.2L	2008 - current
Fiat	500	Pop	3 door hatchback	1.3TD	2008 - current
Fiat	Punto	Dynamic	5 door hatchback	1.3TD	2006 - current
Fiat	Punto	Emotion	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2006 - current
Honda	Civic	Hybrid (7th gen)	4 door sedan	1.3L hybrid	2004 - 2006
Honda	Civic	Hybrid (8th gen)	4 door sedan	1.3L hybrid	2006 - 2007
Honda	Civic	Hybrid (8th gen MY07)	4 door sedan	1.3L hybrid	2007 - current
Honda	Insight	Hybrid	3 door hatchback	1.0L hybrid	2001 - 2004
Hyundai	i30	SX CRDI (FD)	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Hyundai	i30	SLX CRDI (FD MY09)	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Hyundai	i30	SLX CRDI (FD)	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Hyundai	i30	SLX CRDI (FD MY09)	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Hyundai	i30cw	SX CRDI (FD)	4 door wagon	1.6TD	2009 - current
Mercedes-Benz	A180 CDI	Avantgarde	5 door hatchback	2.0TD	2008 - current
Mercedes-Benz	A180 CDI	Classic	5 door hatchback	2.0TD	2008 - current
Mercedes-Benz	A180 CDI	Elegance	5 door hatchback	2.0TD	2008 - current
Peugeot	207	XT HDI	3 door hatchback	1.6TD	2007 - current
Peugeot	207	Le Mans HDi	3 door hatchback	1.6TD	2008 - current
Peugeot	207	XT Touring HDi	4 door wagon	1.6TD	2007 - current
Peugeot	307	XS HDI	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2005 - 2008
Peugeot	307	XS HDI 1.6 Touring	4 door wagon	1.6TD	2005 - 2008
Peugeot	307	XSR HDI	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2005 - 2005
Peugeot	307	XSR HDI Touring	4 door wagon	1.6TD	2005 - 2005
Peugeot	308	XS HDI	5 door hatchback	1.6TD	2008 - current
Renault	Kangoo	Integral (X76)	2 door van	1.5TD	2008 - current
Skoda	Roomster	1.9TDi (5J)	4 door hatchback	1.9TD	2007 - current
Smart	City Coupe	Pulse	2 door coupe	0.7TP	2003 - 2004
Smart	Cabriolet	Pulse	2 door cabriolet	0.7TP	2003 - 2004
Smart	Fortwo	Coupe	2 door coupe	0.7TP	2004 - 2008
Smart	Fortwo	Cabrio	2 door cabriolet	0.7TP	2004 - 2008
Smart	Fortwo	451	2 door coupe	1.0L	2008 - current
Smart	Fortwo	Turbo (451)	2 door coupe	1.0TP	2008 - current
Smart	Fortwo	Cabrio (451)	2 door convertible	1.0L	2008 - current
Smart	Fortwo	Cabrio Turbo (451)	2 door convertible	1.0TP	2008 - current
Smart	Roadster	All	2 door convertible	0.7TD	2003 - 2007
Toyota	Prius	Hybrid	5 door hatchback	1.5L hybrid	2003 - current
Toyota	Prius	I-Tech Hybrid	5 door hatchback	1.5L hybrid	2003 - current
Volkswagen	Beetle	TDI	3 door hatchback	1.9TD	2005 - current
Volkswagen	Golf	1.9TDI Comfortline	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2004 - 2008
Volkswagen	Golf	1.9TDI Trendline	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2004 - 2008
Volkswagen	Golf	1.9TDI Edition	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2008 - current
Volkswagen	Polo	TDI	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2005 - 2008
Volkswagen	Polo	Pacific TDI	5 door hatchback	1.9TD	2008 - current

Conroy's brown shirts are at it again............

Last Monday from Electronic Frontiers Australia*:
"Today EFA’s hosting provider received a Final Link Deletion Notice from ACMA, requiring us to remove a link to a page that contains images of aborted foetuses from our website. We have complied with this notice because it exposes our host to fines of up to $11,000 per day that we do not remove the link."
Advice to EFA on Twitter is to create another page with a new link to this essentially political content website, as the received Link Deletion Notice only applies to the EFA page specifically mentioned in that Australian Communications and Media Authority notice.

Whack a mole, whack a mole, whack a mole..........

* Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc (EFA) is a non-profit national organisation concerned with the protection and promotion of the civil liberties of users of computer based communications systems and of those affected by their use. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting civil liberties

Even in paradise housing is a problem

Whenever visitors to the NSW North Coast talk about their holidays here they speak of how lucky we are to live in all this scenic diversity and of course we are.

However, the beautiful settings often hide from view realities that we share with other parts of New South Wales.

Although homelessness is relatively low compared to the metropolitan centres, by December 2008 rents were between $195-$285 per week for a 2 bedroom flat and between $300-$370 for a 3 bedroom house, with Richmond-Tweed separate house rents being the highest in the state outside of Sydney and Northern Rivers vacancy rates being comparable with Sydney.

Housing stress continues to be an issue according to the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, with around 40,000 people in the Page and Richmond electorates having disposable household incomes below the NSW median point.










Northern Rivers Social Development Council Dec 08 regional housing data
Click on graph to enlarge

Housing affordability is a big issue for many North Coast pensioners and the rising number of unemployed.
One has to hope that in Tuesday's federal budget, the Treasurer has taken note of concerns that any increase in the pension base rate may be eaten up by immediate rent increases.

Turning full circle........

The Daily Examiner is developing a bit of a reputation for having an erratic approach to what letters to the editor it actually prints in its letters column.

Some regular correspondents get to bore on and on with the same inevitable punchline, while other more infrequent letter writers sometimes can't get a word in for long periods.

One such writer was contacted by the newspaper recently and asked to give a quote or two about his recent sporting successes.

I'm told he took great delight in telling the journalist that when The Daily Examiner started to publish his letters he would talk about his own sporting activities.

A politically incorrect look at Influenza A (H1N1)....

David's humour found at Care2

Waving a flag for the good economic news

A fall in unemployment, 237,300 new jobs in April and fairly decent overall retail trade figures since December last year.
Am I allowed to wave a flag in celebration? For a steady-handed Australian government and a sensible business sector which for the most part ignored the media hype about our imminent destruction in the global financial crisis and Opposition hysterics about stimulus packages.

Maudie's Ex
Yamba

Guest Speak is a North Coast Voices segment allowing serious or satirical comment from NSW Northern Rivers residents. Email ncvguestpeak at live dot com dot au to submit comment for consideration.

Does Malcolm Turnbull have any credibility left?

Image from ABC TV 7.30 Report

According to Peter Martin writing on his blog today:

WAYNE Swan and Kevin Rudd have received a ringing endorsement of their $20 billion series of "cash splashes" as new evidence points to a four month-long shopping shopping spree unmatched in the developed world.

Retail sales figures for March point to a jump of 2.2 per cent in seasonally-adjusted spending, more than offsetting a dive of 2 per cent in February.

Since the first stimulus payout in December Australian retail spending has climbed an extraordinary 4.5 per cent, a result unmatched in the United States in which spending slumped 2.5 per cent, New Zealand in which spending slumped 1.7 per cent, and Canada and Japan in which spending slumped 3.1 per cent.

Only in the United Kingdom among other developed countries did spending increase in those four months and that was by 1.6 per cent, less than half of the Australian boost...

Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull's smug and misleading contribution on ABC TV 7.30 Report last night in which he:

a) called Kerry O'Brien a liar

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Kerry, I don't think - you clearly haven't read the speech or ...

KERRY O'BRIEN: I did. And I watched most of it.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well I don't think you have.

b) went on to deny any effectiveness of the cash payments in the first Rudd Government stimulus package

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Kerry, there are no - Kerry, there is nobody - nobody has contended that anything more than 20 per cent of the December cash splash was spent. So 80 per cent was saved. The more that is saved, the less impact it has. It was only a week or so, wasn't it, that the International Monetary Fund's chief economist made the point that cash splashes are not effective because in times like this they tend to be saved? That's exactly what I said last December.

KERRY O'BRIEN: The Reserve Bank Board governor said as recently as yesterday, "The stance of monetary policy together with the substantial fiscal initiatives will provide support to domestic demand over the period ahead." By "fiscal initiatives supporting domestic demand" he's obviously referring to Mr Rudd's stimulus package?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Kerry, you can say that.

KERRY O'BRIEN: No, no, I'm not saying it. The Reserve Bank governor said it.

c) then managed the biggest porkie of the interview

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Yeah, Kerry, if I was Prime Minister today ...

KERRY O'BRIEN: Yes.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: ... more Australians would be employed, the economy would be stronger and general debt levels would be lower. And that is because we would not have spent money so recklessly and so ineffectively, so debt levels would be lower; we would not have talked up inflation and interest rates in 2008, so the economy would be stronger; and it follows, therefore, there would be more people in work and government revenues would be higher.

As ordinary workers and small business find it increasingly difficult to obtain credit, which bureaucrats still have those government credit cards?

MORE than 100,000 federal bureaucrats have been issued taxpayer-funded credit cards, posing a growing accountability nightmare for the Rudd Government ......A recent Auditor-General's report highlighted more than 268 instances of fraud or misuse of Government credit cards said Adelaide Now on 27 March 2009.

After coming to office the Rudd Government issued 240 new credit cards in the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio alone.

Heaven knows how many there are in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - all of which were audited according to the ANAO 2007-08 annual report.

As for other federal portfolios and state government departments................