Ken Henry, I luv u....

One of the few pleasures left (when faced with the mountains of negative financial news which greets unwary readers each week) is to find that Secretary to the Treasury Ken Henry has spoken out again.

This time it was his Post-Budget Address to the Australian Business Economists last Tuesday:

This is story-telling of extraordinary complexity. And while it hasn't tested Ross, it clearly has exceeded the reading age of many.
Consider, for example, the reporting of the budget in the Wall Street Journal Asia last week. According to that reporting, in all of the decisions taken by the Government in response to the global recession, the only ones that will have any stimulatory impact on the economy are the 'tiny' personal income tax cuts announced in the 2008-09 Budget. The journal also informs its unfortunate readers that revenue downgrades alone would not have driven the Australian budget into deficit. And to cap it off, readers were told, in what is surely one of the most ironic sentences ever uttered in macroeconomic analysis, that '(t)his Keynesian revival comes at a particularly bad time, given that tax revenues are falling as the economy slows, a normal feature of economic downturns'. Apparently, the right time for a 'Keynesian revival', involving the spending of large amounts of public money, is when tax revenue is strong and rising, a normal feature of economic boom times.
As you know, I don't always agree with Australian commentators. But our newspaper readers can be thankful that they don't often have to confront material that is quite that bad.

Just love to hear that Taree boy's plain speaking.

Casino Beef Week Festival, Tuesday 26 May - Tuesday 2 June 2009

Feel like getting in touch with the farmer in your family tree?
Then come on up to Casino next week, join in Country Energy Casino Beef Week and enjoy the cattle judging, milking comps, country arts & crafts, bush poets, circus workshop, fashion parade, floral art display, masquerade ball, country races, street stalls and much more.

Programme here.

Dancing cows from Google Images

Flood warnings for the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons and Brunswick Rivers 21.05.09

Radar Image loop here.

It's a trifle wet and windy here on the NSW North Coast right now and this level of wind and water may see some or all of this blog's authors somewhat preoccupied over the next couple of days.

So enjoy North Coast Voices coming scheduled posts, as we watch river levels and cross fingers over electricity supply.

NSW Severe Weather Warning 1,

Coastal Wind Warning 1,

Flood Warning - Tweed River,
Flood Warning - Richmond/Wilsons,
Flood Warning - Brunswick River,

Flood Watch 1,

Update:

Flood Warning - Bellinger River,
Flood Warning - Orara River,

Update:

Flood Warning - Hastings River,

Update:

Flood Warning - Clarence River,

Flood Warning - Nambucca River,

State Emergency Service PH: 132 500 - requests for immediate emergency assistance

The Public Information and Inquiry Centre PH: 1800 227 228 - information about displaced person, road closures, welfare assistance etc.,

Emergency NSW www.emergency.nsw.gov.au

Main stream media wants news blogs to pay for approval - now I've heard it all

It has been obvious for some time that the Mainstream Media is not only worried about revenue and profit margins, it is also worried about online competition from some of the larger blogs which carry a degree of credibility when it comes to political and social commentary as well as sometimes displaying an investigative element in presentation of news items.

The lure of money and wider readership has been used in the last couple of years to try and corral some well-known bloggers within the confines of 'old' media.

Now the MSM is casting its net wider and without the financial bait - it wants to invite certain websites to pay it for a credibility tick and an over the shouder policeman.

According to Mumbrella on 14 May 2009:

He also warns that the funding of the Press Council is "rapidly falling apart". This week, The Australian reported that its members were threatening to cut its budget by a third.
Kennedy suggests that a way to bridge the funding gap would be to invite news websites and other organisation to come under its remit.
He said: "For online publications, which don't have a high traffic flow, we could come up with a system similar to the Standards Association tick which is keenly sought by companies wanting to give their products credibility. We have 'street cred', built up over the past decade. For a fee, we could offer a Press Council tick, logo etc to online companies which subscribe to our principles and agree to be part of the complaints procedure. The selling attraction is that, as online news sites become more prevalent, they will be seeking some way to establish a point of difference between a credible site (Crikey.com.au, for example) and one drummed up in the garage of a bunch of anarchists."

If it wasn't so desperate a measure it would be funny.........

Image from The Wall Street Journal

Silly snark from Senator Helen Coonan

The rise in the pension age is interesting, but that does not even begin until 2017 and takes full effect in 2023 when Mr Rudd will be 67 and will have safely attained his pension age prior to the measure catching him! [Helen Coonan at the CPA Budget Breakfast on 13 May 2009]

I wonder who will tell the seriously silly Ms. Coonan that, leaving aside the staggered introduction of the new retirement age (which sees the age go up in six monthly increments), Kevin Rudd will only be 66 years of age in 2023, having been born in September 1957.

Pollies and top public servants feel the pain (at least for another four months)

This week the Remuneration Tribunal announced it has deferred its annual pay review for federal politicians and government agency heads.
Before everyone goes "Oh, that's a shame!" remember that the Chair of the Australian Communications and Media Authority - which is never happier than when it is censoring the Internet - is still comfortably off on an annual salary package of $408,560 ("Mr Christopher Chapman will receive a personal loading .... while he occupies the office") as well as getting Tier 1 travel.
Christopher Robin was until January 2006 a director of Babcock & Brown Investor Services Limited.
ACMA's Deputy Chair gets $296,260 and an Member gets $272,690, with the same travel allowance.
Of course they are not among the highest salaries paid from government coffers as the Chair of APRA comes in at a cool $603,130 each year, with a specified superannuation loading.

Joe Hockey's version of teh troof

Transcript of Opposition Treasury Spokesperson Joe Hockey's truly convoluted performance on the ABC TV 7.30 Report, 19 May 2009.

Puzzled from Ballina writes.....

Why is Joe Hockey crowing about delivering "budgets with less debt, less deficit and more jobs" when the bookies are still backing Labor to win at the next federal election and the latest Newspoll looks like this?
Even if all the uncommitted suddenly went to Turnbull, more voters would still think that he'd wouldn't make a good prime minister and probably wouldn't throw their vote in with the Libs. Perhaps Joe is hoping he'll replace Malcolm before too long and lead the party to glory.

PUZZLED
Ballina

* 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.

A question for the NSW Government and Planning Minister Keneally concerning West Yamba

If Clarence Valley Council accepted a report which stated that the effects of ocean storm tides (predicted to increase due to climate change) might be felt around 16kms inland from the coast as the crow flies, why would anyone seriously consider placing another 2,000 - 2,500 people within 2kms of the coast on flood storage land at West Yamba?

Flooding in the Lower Valley is subject to influence from the ocean. Ocean storm tide consists of three components: normal astronomic tide, storm surge and wave set-up.....
This will have greatest impact on the coastal communities at Yamba and Iluka, and may also have a secondary influence on flood behaviour up to about Maclean, especially for more frequent events such as the 5 year flood.
[GRAFTON AND LOWER CLARENCE FLOODPLAIN RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN, June 2007]

Mid-North Coast producer wins gold medal in 2009 Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards

News Space reported this month on the 2009 Vogue Entertaining + Travel Produce Awards:

The complete list of winners and medallists were:

• WINNER: FROM THE DAIRY - HOLY GOAT LA LUNA, VIC
• MEDALLISTS: Woodside Cheese Wrights (SA), Ballycroft Barossa Artisan Cheese (SA), Bruny Island Cheese Co (Tas), John Bignall Tasmanian Highland Cheese (Tas), Meredith Dairy (Vic).
• WINNER: FROM THE EARTH - DAYLESFORD ORGANICS HEIRLOOM VEGETABLES, VIC
• MEDALLISTS: Cuttaway Creek raspberry vinegar (NSW), Darling Mills Farm herbs and salad leaves (NSW), Bunnyconnellen olive products (Qld), Bauer's Organic Farm sweetcorn (Qld), The Australian Caper Company (SA), Joseph olive oil (SA), Ashbolt olive oil and elderberry products (Tas), Frogmore Creek garlic (Tas), Lentara Grove olive oil (Tas), Murray River Salt (Vic), Thorogoods Cider (SA).
  
• JOINT WINNERS: FROM THE SEA - PRISTINE OYSTER FARM, SA AND SPANNER CRABS NOOSA, QLD
• MEDALLISTS: Ferguson Australia lobster products (SA), Woodbridge Smokehouse Smoked Ocean Trout (Tas), Spring Bay Mussels (Tas).
  
• WINNER: FROM THE PADDOCK - WHITE ROCKS VEAL, WA
• MEDALLISTS: Papanui eggs (NSW), Redgate Farm Jurassic Quail (NSW), Macleay Valley Rabbits (NSW), Mayura Station wagyu (SA), Pure Suffolk Lamb (SA), Daylesford Organics eggs (Vic), Sher Wagyu (Vic), Blackmore Wagyu (Vic), Glenloth Free Range squab (Vic), Castricum Brothers lamb (Vic), Green Eggs (Vic).
• WINNER: PRODUCER OF THE YEAR - HOLY GOAT, VIC
• JOINT WINNERS: THE REGIONAL AWARD - DAYLESFORD MACEDON, VIC, AND ORANGE, NSW
• WINNER: FOODHERITAGE/SUSTAINABILITY AWARD - SPRING BAY MUSSELS, TAS
• WINNER: BEST NEW PRODUCT - REDGATE FARM JURASSIC QUAIL, NSW
• WINNER: CONSISTENTLY EXCELLENT PRODUCT - BLACKMORE WAGYU, VIC
• WINNER: OUTSTANDING SUPPLIER - AUSTRALIA ON A PLATE, NSW
• WINNER: OUTSTANDING USE OF REGIONAL PRODUCE BY A CHEF - DAN HUNTER, ROYAL MAIL HOTEL, VIC
• WINNER: OUTSTANDING FARMERS' MARKET - WILLUNGA, SA
• WINNER: THE MAGGIE BEER AWARD FOR AN OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN FOOD - STEPHANIE ALEXANDER

Congratulations to Macleay Valley Rabbits on the NSW Mid-North Coast for coming away with a well-deserved gold medal this year.

Severe weather expected in NSW North Coast and SE Queensland, Wednesday 20 May 2009

Top Priority for Immediate Broadcast
NSW SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
Flash Flooding, Damaging Winds
For people in Northern Rivers
Issued at 12:55 pm on Tuesday 19 May 2009
Synoptic Situation: 12:00 noon EST Tuesday

HEAVY RAIN DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTHEAST OF NSW FROM WEDNESDAY.

A strong upper low will move across southern Queensland during the next few days. As it moves eastwards, this system will generate a strong surface trough off the southern Queensland and northern NSW coast.

Heavy rain and damaging winds are expected to develop over the Northern Rivers late on Wednesday. Flash flooding is likely and wind gusts in excess of 90 km/hr may occur.

A separate Flood Watch has been issued for coastal rivers from the Queensland border to Nambucca.

Heavy rain and high winds are then expected to extend southwards into the Mid North Coast and westwards into the Northern Tablelands during Thursday.
Waves will also increase with dangerous surf conditions likely.
Maintain a close watch on forecasts and warnings for these districts.
Emergency services advise you to keep clear of fallen power lines, stay indoors away from windows and keep children indoors.

Emergency services advise do not enter flood water. Stay well clear of creeks, storm drains and causeways.

Surf Life Saving Australia recommends that you stay out of the water and stay well away from surf-exposed areas.

For emergency help in floods and storms, ring the SES [NSW and ACT] on telephone number 132 500.

The next warning is due to be issued by 7:00 pm Tuesday

This warning is also available through TV and Radio broadcasts; the Bureau's website at http://www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 218. The Bureau and State Emergency Service would appreciate this warning being broadcast regularly.

Fiji Update: blogging from behind the palm curtain

From Raw Fiji News, 17 May 2009:

The European Union has reaffirmed its total opposition to the Fiji military's refusal to allow a return to democracy for at least another five years. One of the EU's commissioners says virtually all financial assistance to Fiji has been suspended.
Presenter: Sean Dorney, Australia Network's Pacific correspondent
Speaker: Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs .

Discombobulated Bubu scriptwrites on 15 May 2009:

Good evening people of Fiji.
The rate at which The most honirable, his elexensi, his majesti Common-dor LMAO, FFS, BDOE and OFB, Voreqe's Military shoes have to be replaced with new or rebuilt shoes varies widely under diverse climatic conditions.
(Sound of birds tweeting) ..... In the tropics of the SouthPacific, however, two pairs of shoes last, on the average, only five months, especially if the Commondore needs to run very fast down tapioka laden slopes under stress inducing mortar and gunfire..... (sound of heavy tweeting)
The replacement rate is not constant. It varies with the terrain, the weather and the type of warfare, and many other factors. It must be estimated before he and his loyalist troops even land on new territory such as in the hills of Naitasiri ... (sound of weeds tweeting) or on the porches of Methodist Churches or even within the confines of the Hot Bread Kitchen stores.

Luvei Viti: Children of Fiji, 15 May 2009:

Fiji Community & Friends of Fiji in Wellington were able to witness & enjoy the beautiful harmony by these school children who sang their hearts out last night. We cried silent tears as we soaked in the sweetness of their voices knowing well that our beloved Homeland Fiji is in dire strait.

Intelligentsiya home page:

Heroes Roll Call

1) Mr Edwin Nand - Released 15/4/09, mid-morning
2) Mr Dorsami Naidu - Released 15/4/09, mid-afternoon
3) Mr Kavai Damu - Detained 5pm 15/4/09, Released 6:30pm 15/04/09
4) Mr Pita Ligaula - Detained 2pm 16/4/09, Released midday 17/04/09
5) Mr Shelvin Chand - Detained 9/5/09, Released 11/5/09
6) Dionisia Turagabeci - Detained 9/5/09, Released 11/5/09
7) Theresa Ralogaivau - Detained 14/5/09, Released 14/5/09

Fiji Silenced, 14 May 2009:

Fiji Today on May 17 2009:

I am in the IT industry in Suva and spend most of my installing or maintaining company computer systems.
Yesterday I detected an unknown program operating on a system in an Internet Cafe. I copied the OS files but as they were encoded I was unable to ascertain their purpose.
I posted this segment of code on an international industry chat room and asked "What is it?"
The reply came from the author of the program that it was a "Keystroke" program designed to record all keystrokes on the computer and when "Pinged" from the outside to pass on all sites visited, usernames, times and passwords.
He is confident that his program has not currently been detected by virus software so will still be active. He has sold over 300 copies of the program at $US 2500 per copy. The sales are mainly to large companies or Spooks in various Governments. He offered this information in exchange for how I had detected it. He intends to rewrite the code so it is better hidden in the future versions.
Warning: Everything you type into any computer in a Fiji Internet Cafe can be viewed later by the Military. Do not do anything that requires you to use a password. If you have done so change your password immediatly.
I suspect this may be the reason that several blog sites were hacked and killed in the past.

Oi Turnbull! Please explain that debt and deficit again

Everytime I turn on the teev or radio I hear Truffles Turnbull banging on about debt and deficit.
He expresses horror at a national budget deficit predicted to run at around 4.9% of Gross Domestic Product this financial year and net debt reaching 13.8% by 2014.
He talks about the Rudd Government leaving a huge debt that generations to come will be paying back.
Truffles pulls a solemn face, puts his hand over his heart and promises the Coalition will do better if elected in 2010.
It really browns me off that he obviously thinks that nobody will be bothered to take a squiz at past government debt.
A history of public debt in Australia gives a more balanced view of Australia's debt record than Truffles.
It clearly shows that Australia carried considerable public debt right through the colonial era and went into Federation in a year which saw gross national debt reach 100% of GDP.
It also shows Australia managed to pay back huge World War One, Great Depression and World War Two debts (in relation to GDP) across the same two generations.
And our ability to recover is fairly consistent if you look at all the figures.

It's nice to be recession proof at the top of the political pile and looking down

On the basis that a cat can look at a king and form its own opinion - here is a little financial data.

US President Barack Obama receives $400,000 in annual salary and non-taxable expense accounts totalling $169,000.
On retirement he will receive at least $191,300 annually as a presidential pension.
He lodged his 2008 Public Financial Disclosure on 15 May 2009.
The president declared between:
$100,001- $250,000 in a Morgan Chase Client Asset Management Checking Account with interest, plus another minor account with Morgan Chase
$1,001 - $15,000 in a Northern Trust checking account with interest
Three retirement savings plans worth up to $800,000 plus interest
$50,001 - $100,000 in U.S. Treasury bills with interest
$1 million and $5 million in a second U.S. Treasury Bills plus interest
$100,002 -$200,000 in two college funds for his children
$100,001 - $1 million in book royalties from Crown Publishing (includes a $500,000 advance for a children's version of one of his books)
$1 million - $5 million in book royalties from Random House
Less than $1,001 in Treasury Notes
Less than $1,001 in each of six separate investment/retirement accounts

While according to a 2008 media report the Australian Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is reputed to be personally worth at least $125 million and possibly as high as $140 million with his wife Lucy reported to hold $5 million in shares and, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's wife is reputed to be worth up to$60 million.



Now President Obama is trying to get a universal health insurance policy going in a country where the dollars you have currently decide health outcomes.

And Prime Minister Rudd has just raised the base pension so that the aged, disabled, widows, carers and returned service men and women have a bit more in their pockets.

In his turn, Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull has proposed a tax, which will disproportionately hit the poor in order to buttress a health insurance rebate which goes to reasonably well-off members of the community.




So who's the completely out-of-touch rich b*stard here?

*For the record, I am not a smoker and therefore would not be affected by Turnbull's proposed tax hike.

Internet censorship? Just say 'No'

Send a message to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and tell him that the global blogosphere objects to his plan to censor the Australian Internet.

American wingnuts try to drag Oz into US gun control debate

I was sent a copy of a viral pro-gun email.
Apparently it's has been doing the rounds for some time.
This is what it says about Australia:
"Gun owners in Australia were forced by new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million dollars. The first year results:
Australia-wide, homicides went up 3.2 percent
Australia-wide, assaults went up 8.6 percent
Australia-wide, armed robberies went up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)
In the state of Victoria alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. Note that while the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and criminals still possess their guns.
It will never happen here? I bet the Aussies said that too.
While figures over the previous 25 years showed a steady DECREASE in armed robbery with firearms, that changed drastically upward in the first year after gun confiscation...since criminals now are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed.
There has also been a dramatic increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased, after such monumental effort and expense was expended in successfully ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late."

FactCheck kindly pointed out that Australia has an enviable record when it comes to reduced crime rates:
"Australian crime statistics show a marked decrease in homicides since the gun law change. According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, a government agency, the number of homicides in Australia did increase slightly in 1997 and peaked in 1999, but has since declined to the lowest number on record in 2007......
Furthermore, murders using firearms have declined even more sharply than murders in general since the 1996 gun law. In the seven years prior to 1997, firearms were used in 24 percent of all Australian homicides. But most recently, firearms were used in only 11 percent of Australian homicides, according to figures for the 12 months ending July 1, 2007. That's a decline of more than half since enactment of the gun law to which this message refers.

For the record and for American visitors to North Coast Voices - Australians tend not to use firearms when committing violent acts as this table shows:

NSW Food Authority name and shame file reels in local KFC

Given the large number of food preparation and service outlets on the NSW North Coast I decided to look at the NSW Food Authority name and shame file.

I only found 10 penalty notices issued for local premises in the last 12 months, which was a pleasant surprise.

What was less pleasant was to find that KFC at Casino was the subject of one of these notices.
There is no excuse for an international franchise to end up on this file.

Battle of the Rates continues in the Clarence Valley

A lively North v South debate on rates and reporting is underway in the letters column of The Daily Examiner last week.

A Lower Clarence resident makes his feelings known on 12 May 2009:

RECENT letters and articles in this paper have expressed dissatisfaction with the inequity in property rates being charged across the Clarence Valley.
In the interests of fair debate, I wish to correct some inaccurate information which has been put forward.
Firstly, please be assured that Grafton residents have not been subsidising Angourie, Yamba or Wooloweyah residents as has been claimed. This is clear from the CVC Management Plan figures quoted below.
Secondly, in Graham Orams' article (Grafton rate burden eases evaluation, DEX, May 8, p3), he falsely claimed that Grafton and Junction Hill ratepayers' rates will 'remain the highest in the valley'.
Neither the figures for 2008/9 nor the proposed figures for 2009/10 support this statement.
The average figures for residential properties in 2008/09 were:
Residential A (Coastal Village including Angourie) $955.82, Residential D (Yamba,
Wooloweyah) $931.58, Residential E (Grafton Junction Hill) $878.35'
Under the proposed rates structure for 2009/10 the figures are: Residential A $992.23' Residential
D $960.48, Residential E $879.14.
I agree that rates equity is a very important issue and needs debate but based on accurate
information, please.
The key issue is the vast difference in land values across the Clarence Valley.
Not only do we have the inequity of similar properties in different parts of the valley paying
significantly different amounts to council for the administration of services, infrastructure,
development, planning and management, etc., but we even have similar properties in the
same street paying significantly different amounts, simply because of proximity to the beach or river.
Rates equity will never be achieved while rates are based on land values, a hangover from times when land value was an indication of its productivity and so the ability of the owner to pay.
This is no longer the case.
The whole basis upon which rates are determined needs to be re-examined if equity is to be achieved.
RON LOVERIDGE,
Angourie.

The Daily Examiner journalist replies with this salvo from the bunker on 13 May 2009:























The fight so far goes to Lower Clarence residents on points, because nowhere in his May 8 article did the journalist mention "dollar for dollar" values. Instead he couched his argument in terms of average residential rates, which of course meant that Grafton City came out with much lower average rates than many coastal towns and villages.

You know you're getting old when......

....your doctor, dentist and local pollie are all younger than you and tall tales like this tickle your fancy....

You'll know senility is closing in when Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey appear to make sense.

Image source is unknown.

Is Malcolm Turnbull chanelling the ghost from Wollstonecraft?

The Australian reported on 15 May 2009:

MALCOLM Turnbull declared today that Kevin Rudd would be a one-term prime minister, in a powerful speech to rally the Liberal faithful in Sydney.

The same day Possum Comitatus over at Pollytics ran this graph:

Somehow I think it will take more ammunition than Liberal Party and Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has in his locker to turn this scenario around by 2010-11.

Especially as all this ex-merchant banker silvertail is really offering as a counter-measure to the Rudd Government's 2009-10 Budget is a proposal to impose an additional level of taxation, on a group which is predominately composed of working class people who co-incidentally are mostly found in age bands which are not strong Liberal Party or Nationals supporters.

Turnbull's tactic is right out of the John Winston Howard manual of dirty tricks and, if he is not careful it will rebound on him the way such tactics eventually did on the former Liberal prime minister.

A smidgen of Mad Max trivia

If online polls are anything to go by, then Women's Day readers think Mel Gibson should lose half his fortune to his wife.

Shock, horror! Aussies drink less booze than the Irish, Scots, Brits and possibly even the Kiwis

Wikimedia has this World Health Organisation map from 2008 on display along with a ranked table of world alcohol consumption based on sales.

According to a The Herald report earlier this year; "Statistics show that nearly 50 million litres of pure alcohol were consumed in Scotland in 2007 - the equivalent of 11.8 litres for every person aged over 16 - putting the nation above Spain, Italy and France in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) league table of alcohol sales.
The figure is equal to every Scot over 16 drinking 570 pints of normal-strength beer, 125 bottles of wine or 42 bottles of vodka, and enough for every adult to exceed the sensible drinking guidelines for men of 21 units of alcohol per week."

Will all Nationals and Liberal MPs blindly follow the leader and block certain budget measures

The carer supplement promised in the Budget is now before the House of Representatives as Social Security and Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (2009 Budget Measures) Bill 2009.

Likewise the financial assistance to local government to be brought forward into this financial year is presented as Financial Assistance Legislation Amendment Bill 2009.

The appropriations bills which will allow government to progress the September increase in pensions and other measures are also before our parliamentarians.

There are at least 400,000 North Coast residents waiting to see funding from the 2009-10 Commonwealth Budget flow to local government and households.

Coalition MPs should take note of that fact, particularly Nationals Member for Cowper Luke Hartsuyker who has become notorious for blindly following the leader and attempting to thwart government expenditure and whose latest effort on record on 12 May 2009 could only rely on political tripe:

I certainly welcome the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance, because we have a government in this country that is hostage to the 24-hour news cycle. We have a government that is hostage to the 10-second sound bite and its media spin doctors. We will see handed down in this chamber tonight what the Australian people will know as a traditional Labor budget on steroids. It is going to be a budget that will usher in the era of big deficits. It will be a budget that will usher in the high level of unemployment that we are expecting in the months ahead. It is a budget that will burden the Australian people with massive debt and burden their children with massive debt.

It is time for all our parliamentarians to leave the rhetoric behind and remember the welfare of their own electorates, which are set to benefit from this budget.

Update:

Since placing this post on NCV's publication schedule the Leader of the Opposition's Budget Reply speech has been delivered with its classic dog whistle:

But tonight I will make one suggestion of a suitable offset for the Prime Minister’s consideration. One that would make for a healthier Australia and lessen the burden on public hospitals rather than increase it. The Government could comfortably afford to retain the current private health insurance rebate without any cost to the published Budget outcome by increasing the amount of excise collected on tobacco by 12.5 per cent (or about three cents extra per cigarette).

Members of parliament of all persuasions need to think carefully about the economics of such a move, when in the past taxation increases on tobacco have seen a decrease in consumption and sales of tobacco products (which form a significant income stream for many small businesses).

If this were to occur after a Turnbull-inspired tobacco taxation hike then a decrease in taxation revenue available to government is possible (eating into the optimistically projected $120 million increase in tobacco excise predicted for 2009-10 in last year's MYEFO) and, any immediate benefits from this increased taxation are likely to flow to the states rather than the Commonwealth through the GST and FAG relativities.

It is no accident that the Coalition has chosen tobacco as their political smokescreen for mindless resistance for the sake of resistance - it is rather a good distraction as the debate can quickly degenerate from discussing revenue raising measures to vilifying smokers. However, even non-smokers can do the maths.

Whale migration: It's the trooping of the flukes on the NSW North Coast

Photograph from The Far North Coaster

The Far North Coaster online magazine this week reminds us that now is the time to look seaward for spouts on the horizon, fluke slapping displays and whales moving close to shore :

The annual northern migration of humpback whales along the east coast of Australia is under way, with the first sightings reported off the North Coast over the last few weeks.
Wally Franklin, a researcher with Southern Cross University’s Whale Research Centre and co-director of The Oceania Project, said the northern migration usually began around the start of May.
“About this time we begin to see one or two whales and now we are into May the flow will start to pick up. The peak of the northward migration past Byron Bay occurs in June and July. There is evidence that the timing of the migration can vary between years, but generally the whales are incredibly regular,” Mr Franklin said.

Want to read one of the better Budget overviews? Go to Gans

After delving into the 2009-10 Commonwealth Budget papers and listening to some of the doom and gloom coming from sections of the mainstream media, I was beginning to doubt my first impressions of that which I was reading.

Then I clicked onto The Age and Joshua Gans' Going boldly backwards.

Joshua can also be found at Core Economics

Post-Budget thoughts on things economic from around the traps

The Howard years were basically a time of the economy falling off a skyscraper, enjoying the thrill, and yelling "I've fallen 20 floors and feeling fine".

Balneus blog on 14th May 2009

Swan's trick of not even mentioning the size of the deficit/surplus is a first, well almost.
As for the forecasts, they may well turn out to be right, or not. What will happen as the economy recovers is fairly forecastable. When that will happen is pretty unforcastable.
It could be next month, it could be next year, it could be in three years' time.
Your guess is good as Treasury's - probably better.
Peter Martin on his blog, 13th May 2009

The Panel's key finding is that the three-pillar architecture of Australia's retirement income system — consisting of the means tested Age Pension, compulsory saving through the superannuation guarantee and voluntary saving for retirement — should be retained. The retirement income system is facing increasing challenges as the 21st century unfolds which will test the sustainability, adequacy, acceptability and coherence of the system. The three‑pillar architecture is well suited for a balanced and flexible response to these challenges. and

However, there is some need for adaptive change to calibrate the three pillars so that the retirement income system serves its purposes and retains its strengths.

From the media release and cover letter to the Henry Report initial findings released on Budget night 2009.

Kevin Rudd on ABC radio this morning stated that the budget would protect Australia's AAA rating, according to Standard and Poors. Read here Standard and Poor's own admission as to why they rated Lehmann Brothers as A at the time they went bust, and make up your mind as to whether S&P AAA ratings are worth a cracker.

Mark Crosby over at Core Economics blog on 13th May 2009

LAST night the Australian Government handed down its budget for the coming financial year. The centre piece of planned spending on the environment is $4.5 billion for "clean energy". This is defined as energy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost employment.Most of the money, $2.4 billion, will be used for the development of low-emissions coal technologies. This announcement could be interpreted as an attempt to appease the coal industry and unions – it is certainly unlikely to benefit the environment.

Jennifer Marohasy at her blog of the same name on 13th May 2009

If you judged by press releases, you'd reckon this was the greenest budget ever. And it is indeed good in parts, though not nearly as good as you might think. The first thing to note is that the CPRS targets and the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target haven't changed, so emissions won't change at all (though it may mean we buy fewer permits overseas), nor will the fraction of our electricity generated from renewable sources. What the funding in this budget might do is change the technology mix available to us to achieve those targets.

Robert Merkel over at Larvatus Prodeo on 13th May 2009.

KEVIN Rudd's silent war on the NSW Government has moved to open hostility, with Treasurer Wayne Swan yesterday effectively blaming the Rees Government for Sydney's infrastructure snub. And the Prime Minister warned he was not prepared to invest "billions" of dollars in Sydney projects until the NSW Government got the planning right.

The Daily Telegraph, 14th May 2009

The Federal Government has been warned that it will need to rethink some elements of its Budget superannuation package in circumstances where long-serving politicians and senior public servants appear to have emerged unaffected by changes to the contribution caps for high-income earners.

The apparent oversight was acknowledged by Deloitte superannuation partner John Rayner, who said that in the interests of equity among higher income earners, the burden needed to be shared by everyone.

The only acknowledgement of the problem in the Budget is to grandfathering arrangements that apply "to certain members with defined benefit interests as at 12 May, 2009, whose notional taxed contributions would otherwise exceed the reduced cap".

The problem confronting the Government is that public servants and others are enjoying contributions of as much as 22 per cent to their superannuation, compared to the standard 9 per cent provided by the superannuation guarantee and then topped up by people in defined contribution schemes.

Mike Taylor at Money Management on 13th May 2009

THE ABC will produce edgier TV drama and invest in more feature films, but will have to abandon plans to establish more digital radio stations as a result of the 2009-10 budget. "We're delighted with this outcome -- in this economic climate, it's a good outcome," said ABC managing director Mark Scott.

According to The Australian on 14th May 2009

The rural health care sector has applauded Budget measures aimed at improving access to medical services in the bush.
The Government has made changes to the pharmaceutical and medical benefits schemes to allow nurse practitioners and midwives to prescribe subsidised drugs and let their patients claim back services under Medicare.
Helen Gosby from the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners says it is great news for patients in remote areas.
"Now we'll be able to give them the full range of care so they don't have to wait for the flying doctor to come back into town," she said.
The Government will also spend $134 million boosting payments to lure medical staff to the bush.

ABC News on 13th May 2009

It was a Goose Waterloo

The geese have met their Waterloo. Defeat was absolute and humiliating and it couldn't have happened at a better time.

Just when they had become totally overbearing and their confidence level had reached its peak, disaster struck in the form of Black Neck Storks or Jabiru as they are locally known.

Each year around this time the storks fly in with the newly-fledged young from their nearby nesting sites.
This year the parents arrived with two youngsters that small they still had their L plates on - the landing was not pretty.

The adults then wandered down the swamp for a bit of quality parent alone time, while the kids played in the shallows.

The geese obviously did not see the whole family arrive but they soon spotted the two youngsters, so en mass they marched down to put these intruders to flight.
The plan was going well, the geese had them surrounded.

The name calling was in full voice when one of the stork parents decided that the barnyard bullies had over stepped the mark and walked back from down the other end of the swamp.
It was no contest, the stork walked through the ranks of geese which fled in all directions.

A small group of geese tried to regather in the middle of the swamp.
This was the chance the black swans had been waiting for; two pairs of swans executed a beautiful pincer movement from the sides that sent the geese straight into the area where the storks were waiting.

This time the youngsters decided that it was their turn to chase the geese which they did with glee.

The geese ended up in the shed paddock, they have been there for two days.
Their dreams of farm domination in tatters around their webbed feet.

Previous post in the Geese Saga:
Worrying times under this feathered fascism
Goose stepping in all this rain.....

Rudd-Conroy internet censorship trial generates new error message

*

*

Click on image to enlarge

Mainstream media stung by sociology student - blogosphere tut tuts

Dilbert cartoon from Dilbert.com

Adding my penny's worth on the state of mainstream media.

Ars Technica reports on sloppy media practices:
"According to the AFP, the hoax traces back to Shane Fitzgerald, a student at Ireland's University College Dublin. Upon learning of the death of the Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre, the student modified his Wikipedia entry, adding a completely fictitious post that was nicely designed to fit perfectly into any obituary. "When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head, that only I can hear," the added material read in part.
Fitzgerald was apparently curious how far his hoax would spread, and expected it to appear on a variety of blogs and similar sites. Instead, to his surprise, a search picked it up in articles that appeared at a variety of newspapers. Fitzgerald eventually removed his own fabricated quote and notified a variety of news outlets that they had been tricked, but not all of them have apparently seen fit to publish corrections or to ensure that their original stories were accurate, even though fixing a webpage shouldn't be a challenging thing.
Of course, it shouldn't be a surprise that journalists use Wikipedia as part of their research—especially in this case, as Jarre's entry comes out on top of the heap in a Google search for his name. However, the discovery that so many of the writers apparently failed to find an additional source on that quote comes at a rather awkward time for journalists in traditional media, who are facing a struggle to stay above water as the newspaper industry is sinking and the line between traditional journalism and casual reporting gets ever blurrier.
A key part of the argument for maintaining traditional journalism is that its trained reporters can perform research and investigations that the untrained masses can't, and the content they produce is run by editors and fact-checkers. The revelation that their research is often no more sophisticated than an average Web surfer's, and that the fact checking can be nonexistent, really doesn't help that argument much."

Comments on article

More GM lobby machinations?

Times Higher Education earlier this year:

A charity has come under fire for failing to declare all industry affiliations of the experts it enlisted to compile a booklet explaining genetic modification to the public.
The pamphlet was produced by Sense About Science (SAS), a charity that claims to promote scientific reasoning in public discussions.
According to anti-genetic modification campaigners and academics, it failed to mention links between some of the experts who wrote the booklet and GM firms.
For example, the guide's biography of Vivian Moses, emeritus professor of microbiology at Queen Mary, University of London, and visiting professor of biotechnology at King's College London, does not mention that he is also chairman of CropGen, a GM lobby group that receives funding from the biotechnology industry.
It says only that he has been "a full-time researcher in biochemistry and microbiology" and is now "primarily concerned with communicating science to the public".
Critics also argued that the guide should have noted that the John Innes Centre, where eight of its 28 contributors are based, received funding from biotechnology companies.
Michael Antoniou, a geneticist at King's College London, described the omissions as "outrageous".
He said: "GM is a sensitive issue. People have been extremely suspicious because of its industrial connections. So it is imperative that they declare these in this context, as in a journal publication."
Dr Antoniou, who himself provides technical advice to anti-GM campaign group GM Watch, speculated that SAS had not disclosed Professor Moses' directorship because it was afraid of arousing public suspicion.

GM Watch tells us that there are even more 'scientists' hidden in the woodpile:

The pro-GM lobby group Sense About Science (SAS) has been caught with its pants down by Private Eye. The famous satirical magazine has obtained a confidential draft copy of SAS's recently published GM guide which shows it had a "ghost writer" that SAS failed to declare. Here's the article.
Private Eye No. 1232, 20 March - 2 April 2009, Books and Bookmen (p.26)
A spat has broken out over a Times Higher Education article highlighting the failure of a new guide to GM food, 'Making Sense of GM', to disclose its industry connections. Tracey Brown of Sense About Science, publisher of the guide, condemned the T.H.E. article as "mischievous" and "rude" and claimed it relied on "tortuously indirect links" between the authors and the GM industry.
But the Eye has a copy of an unpublished draft of the guide - and it seems it wasn't just the industry links of some of its authors that didn't appear in the final published version. One of the guide's listed authors, Andrew Cockburn, is also missing. Who he? None other than GM giant, Monsanto's former director of scientific affairs, and a figure so controversial that when former PM Tony Blair invited him to author part of the government's official GM Science Review, it led to questions being raised in the House and the resignation of one of the expert panellists. No wonder Sense About Science felt erasure was the better form of valour.

*Sense about Science issued a statement to the effect that in the end Cockburn did not review its GM guide.

In addition,this month MADGE blew the whistle on Graincorp:

AUSTRALIANS will soon be eating genetically modified food whether they like it or not.

The nation's major grain handler, Graincorp, announced this week that genetically modified canola will be mixed in with the main crop in this year's harvest.

Anti-GM groups say the decision means canola oil and a large amount of commonly bought processed food made with canola will now be genetically modified.

They say staples that will become genetically modified include baby food, potato chips, biscuits, frozen vegetables, crackers and pre-prepared meals.

They claim the move is premature because GM food has yet to be tested properly.

"All GM food has been created randomly. The DNA of these plants has been altered and no one really knows where it will go," said Madeleine Love, spokeswoman for Mothers Are Demystifying Genetic Engineering (MADGE).....

Graincorp corporate affairs manager David Ginn confirmed the two streams of canola will be mixed together this year after the October harvest.

Meanwhile, GMO bananas are being trialled in Queensland and can be now added to North Coast Voices' March 2009 GMO watch list.

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

LOLing over Q&A political definitions

Thanks to Mark Newton's tweet for this heads up about ABC TV's Q & A Political Dictionary

Some prime examples:

Abbotomised (adj) to abbotomise (verb): quasi medical procedure to stimulate the faith based areas of the brain. by Q&A

Apple zealot (noun): A person who always complains of a 'PC bias' from moderators. These people obviously do not like PC's. They prefer macs. by bjorn989

Asprin Election (adj): A double dissolution of parliament. by bjorn989

Buswell (verb): To cause a humiliating blow to yourself.
eg. "He was doing alright until he Buswelled himself." by Kevin 11

Garretted (adj): to have ones views silenced by the system. for example when a strong icon of a certain movement enters a political party and is Garretted into taking the party line. by generationwise

Heffernistic (adj): pertaining to the tendency to forcibly interrupt a rival's press conference to make a political point; also the ability to engage in furious public argument with those ostensibly on your side (see Joyce, Senator B.) by Q&A

Joyceful (colloquial): as in "I've had a joyceful…" often muttered by Bill Heffernan in times of stress. by Q&A

Kevined (verb): as in " all I asked was a simple question and suddenly I found myself kevined" - ancient chinese art of lulling political opponents into paralysis by reciting mysterious and incomprehensible jargon without drawing breath. Can be fatal. by Q&A

Neal (verb): to cause sudden and extreme injury. Eg: his career was going well until he was Nealed in the iguanas. by Q&A

Turnbully (adj): to attack people for being like yourself. by Matthew O

2009-10 Australian Commonwealth Budget Overview: key initiatives and document links

KEY INITIATIVES OF THE 2009‑10 BUDGET

• $3.4 billion for roads
• $4.6 billion for metro rail
• $389 million for ports and freight infrastructure
• $4.5 billion for the Clean Energy Initiative, which includes $1.0 billion of existing funding
• $2.6 billion in projects focused on universities and research from the Education Investment Fund
• $3.2 billion in projects focused on hospitals and health infrastructure from the Health and Hospitals Fund
• Partnering with the private sector to build the $43 billion National Broadband Network
• A pension increase of $32.49 per week for singles and $10.14 per week combined for couples on the full rate
• A crucial boost of $2.7 billion in funding for tertiary education, research and innovation
• $1.5 billion for the Jobs and Training Compact, providing education and services to support young people, retrenched workers and local communities
• A 50 per cent Small Business Tax Break for eligible assets
• Extending the First Home Owners Boost for an extra 6 months

Budget Overview 473KB

Budget Overview is an overview of key budget aggregates and the Government's budget priorities.

Appendix A ‑ Australian Government budget aggregates
Appendix B ‑ Assessment against the fiscal target
Appendix C ‑ Real gains for households
Appendix D ‑ Increased pension support
Appendix E ‑ Major initiatives in the 2009‑10 Budget
Appendix F ‑ Major savings in the 2009‑10 Budget
Appendix G ‑ Australian Government taxation and spending
Appendix H ‑ Detailed economic forecasts for 2009‑10 and 2010‑11
Appendix I ‑ Historical budget and net financial worth data

Chartpack 5.6MB (Zip)

Pensions Overview ‑ Secure and Sustainable Pensions 1.4MB

Infrastructure Overview ‑ Nation Building for the Future 5.5MB

Education Overview ‑ Universities, Innovation and Education Revolution 1.2MB