This blog is open to any who wish to comment on Australian society, the state of the environment or political shenanigans at Federal, State and Local Government level.
Cross-posted from Wild Politics where it was first published on 11 November 2010:
Will Australian Environment Minister Burke deliver on marine protected areas?
The science of protection stacks up. The international community has spoken. Will Minister Burke deliver on marine protected areas?
A few weeks ago, the great and the good convened in Nagoya, Japan to deliberate the future of our planet. Perhaps a little melodramatic, but in many ways it’s the truth. This 10th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was every bit as important as the Climate Change meetings are. After all, the CBD itself is there to protect the genetic resources, ecosystems and species that we depend on for our quality of life and who share this planet with us. We need this protection to be sorted out, because we are devastating biodiversity at an alarming rate.
The compact that came from the meeting was long, and not surprisingly whittled into irrelevance by the incredible detail of negotiation that was applied to every word. The document is so precise, so exacting and limited in what it is prepared to say, it actually says very little. However, there are a few indicators of the direction the global community at least plans to go. One such directive is the new target for marine protected areas, that:
By 2020, at least … 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascapes. (CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the Period 2011-2020: Target 11)
This is particularly pertinent for Australia because we are in the midst of deciding the level of protection to be applied to a large section of our coastline and offshore areas. The south east declarations have been completed. Next is the southwest, from the eastern tip of Kangaroo Island to the waters off Shark Bay, then the northwest, the north and finally the east from the northern tip of Cape York to the New South Wales town of Bermagu.
We do this as a nation because pollution, over fishing, species entanglement in nets the destruction of important habitats, and the ecosystem devastation of oil spills are just some of the many threats to Australia’s remarkable marine life. If these threats continue unabated we risk joining the unprecedented global collapse of marine life where two-thirds of the world’s coral reefs are dead or dying and 90 per cent of the world’s large fish have been fished-out.
Today, scientists from the University of Queensland have released a comprehensive and deep study gathering the best available scientific data and applying world leading design principles to their recommendations. ‘Systematic Conservation Planning –A Network of Marine Sanctuaries for the South West Marine Region’ identifies that 50 per cent of the south west region will need to be protected in a network of marine sanctuaries if the marine life is to remain healthy. For clarity, sanctuaries are areas where extractive uses such as commercial fishing and oil and gas are not allowed. Currently, less than 1 per cent of the south west region is protected from these threats.
At the same time 44 of Australia’s leading marine and social scientists in support of marine protection have released a consensus statement – ‘Scientific Principles for Design of Marine Protected Areas in Australia’ – as a peer-level guidance on the selection, design, and implementation of marine protected areas. They concur that significant protection is needed/
Earlier this month another study by the University of Queensland provided a damning assessment of the success of Australia’s national parks, marine parks and nature reserves that are failing to adequately protect more than 80 per cent of Australia’s threatened species. Their study detailed how the fundamental aim of securing species most at risk was not being achieved. Yet another recent study by the University of the Sunshine Coast revealed ancient, giant coral reefs found on Australia undersea mountains are being wiped out by trawling on the sea floor confirming the importance of maintaining and extending Australia’s marine protected areas.
Since moving to the Environment portfolio, Minister Tony Burke has said very little publically about the roll out of marine protected areas around the country. Perhaps this isn’t surprising given that, in their previous term, Labor dithered on everything marine related except championing whale protection internationally. They inherited a well established, Coalition developed, marine planning process but failed to deliver anything on the water, eroding confidence and credibility. Combine this with the unfortunate and poorly informed Liberal and National ‘dog-fish whistles’ to fishers in tinnies during the election and recent history probably gives little confidence to the Minister in his new role.
None-the-less, the timelines still stand, and these decisions are important ones. Indications are that the Minister will make his first and crucial decision for the south west region soon. A huge variety of fish, sharks, whales and seals live in the south west submerged mountain ranges, deep sea canyons and both cool and tropical coral reefs. These waters provide refuge for the magnificent blue, humpback, and southern right whales, as well as bottlenose, spotted and striped dolphins. All these things matter, but perhaps what matters more is that the level of protection that Minister decides to apply will define the level of protection that will be applied to the rest of Australia’s waters for the next 10 to 20 years.
Tim Nicol from the Conservation Council of Western Australia has said today that “The federal government now has the scientific evidence it needs to confidently make important decisions about the future health of the oceans and marine life in Australia’s south west”. Add to this the international consensus and the decision would appear to be a clear cut case. His confidence should be high. If the Minister chooses the side of science he invests in the future. He will also take the first steps towards the largest conservation contribution in Australian history, delivering the biggest network of marine protected areas in the world. If he doesn’t, it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity lost.
In the wake of the financial feeding frenzy as big banks raise interests rates between 10 to 20 basis points above the recent Australian Reserve Bank increase of 0.25 per cent (affecting an estimated 80 per cent of homeowners), Federal Labor Member for Page Janelle Saffin sent out this media release which would appear to accurately reflect the mood of many people living on the NSW North Coast:
Page MP Janelle Saffin has joined the attack on the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ banks for raising interest rates above and beyond moves by the Reserve Bank.
“The time is not right and mortgage holders rightly feel ripped off.
The banks have a guaranteed profit making business, with less risk than our small businesses and family operated businesses but pay their executives at the top levels as though they are running really risky businesses.
The grab these higher fees and yet they provide us with the most basic services.
It is time the big banks were held to account.
Our banks came out of the global financial crisis strong, and there is no justification for moving interest rates above Reserve Bank rates.
Local customers are tired of the arrogant way the banks treat them.
“This is yet another case of the big banks putting profits before their customers and before the community’s standards,” Ms Saffin said.
“It is because of this arrogance that so many people turn to the community-based banks and credit unions.”
The only thing that one can rely on Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to consistently do – blindly play to mob mentality.
Next he is likely to suggest the re-introduction of the death penalty for those committing serious offences, including minors and the intellectually disabled.
Now I have always believed that sentencing by an independent judiciary was all about law not anger and, that if a society wanted sterner sentencing its legislators wrote law which specifically reflected that desire.
Court imposed punishment should never be subject to political pressure or mob whim and Abbott's silly media bite reflects a mind which meanders down dangerous paths.
No prize for guessing the ‘leaker’ when, less than twelve hours before the article was published, a computer in the NSW Premier’s Department was clocked on the Internet doing a Google search using the search term “dragan vasiljkovic nsw liberals”.
Presumably this eager beaver was looking for additional material to feed the Premier and perhaps the media.
Those who have followed the Vasiljkovic story will remember that he was apprehended earlier this year at Harwood in the Clarence Valley on the NSW North Coast.
It is well-known that browsing the Internet often brings down unwelcome types of cookies onto a personal computer. However, one does not always think of this possibility when clicking onto politicians’ websites.
Now at the time of writing the stated privacy policies of Tony Abbott, Kristina Keneally and Barry O’Farrell did not spell out the extent of information gathering they were allowing on their websites.
Perhaps it’s time they did – even if a loophole in the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 apparently allows the collection and compilation of digital and tracking data on the grounds that Members of Parliament, local government councillors and their respective contractors and sub-contractors (as well as political party volunteers) are exempt from this act’s provisions when participating in the political process.
Privacy protection is obviously a one-way street in this country and internet users are playing in the path of oncoming traffic.
I can almost feel sorry for those small irrigation cockies who face the prospect of having the national water nipple plucked from their gaping mouths and really try to tolerate their irrational rants against the coming Murray Darling Basin Plan. However, if ever I needed proof that conspiracy theories aren't just the province of the American far-right then this media release from the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia provides ample proof. Read and enjoy this particular absurdity:
Media Release 9th of November 2010 Craig Isherwood‚ National Secretary PO Box 376‚ COBURG‚ VIC 3058 Phone: 03 9354 0544 Fax: 03 9354 0166 Email: cec@cecaust.com.au Website: http://www.cecaust.com.au
Isherwood: Murray-Darling is another British imperial land-clearance; i.e. genocide In an emergency address to the nation, Citizens Electoral Council leader Craig Isherwood charged that the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Basin Plan to shut down Australia’s food bowl was part of the British Empire’s drive to slash the world’s population down to only two billion or fewer people from its present almost 7 billion, using a characteristic tool of British imperialism—“land clearances”, which the British historically deployed to genocidal effect against Ireland, Scotland and more recently sub-Saharan Africa.
Click here to view Craig’s national address, delivered in Brisbane on 6th November. Craig exposed that the British Crown, through Prince Philip’s World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), established in 1961 to reduce global population under the cover of “saving Nature”, has directed every aspect of the process that has culminated in the MDBA Plan:
The John Howard-led Coalition government passed the Water Act 2007 not for any ostensible domestic reason, but in slavish fealty to the diktats of the 1971 Ramsar International Convention on Wetlands, which was written by the WWF, in particular by longtime Ramsar chief, Dr Luc Hoffmann, who has been a director of Prince Philip’s World Wildlife Fund since 1963; to this day, the WWF is the major Partner Organisation of Ramsar.
Prince Philip personally founded the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) in 1963 as an arm of his WWF, and it is the ACF, together with the WWF-founded and bankrolled Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists [sic], that have spearheaded the years of lobbying and PR to shut down the basin’s agriculture, in accordance with the Prince’s expressed creed, “You cannot keep a bigger flock of sheep than you are capable of feeding. In other words conservation may involve culling in order to keep a balance between the relative numbers in each species within any particular habitat. I realise this is a very touchy subject, but the fact remains that mankind is part of the living world. … Every new acre brought into cultivation means another acre denied to wild species.” [emphasis added]
Given the intense opposition to shutting down Australia’s food bowl, Prince Philip has sent in Ian Sinclair, a longtime member of his Privy Council—the official ruling body of the British Empire—to chair the token consultation meetings, to ram through the WWF/Ramsar policy on “wetlands”.
Craig detailed three historical examples of this British imperial policy of “land clearance” now being applied in the Murray-Darling Basin, in which entire peoples are simply forced off the land in pursuit of British imperial goals, foremost of which is “population control”:
Ireland, especially in the 17th and 19th Centuries, which the British sought to “replant” with Englishmen of “superior breed”, by confiscating 80 per cent of arable land, extracting almost all the food—except potatoes—as “rent”, and killing millions of Irish in the process.
The Scottish Highland land clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries, when hundreds of thousands of Gaelic-speaking Scots were forcibly-evicted from their homes in the Scottish Highlands by English and Scottish aristocrats—the British oligarchy—to either perish, to move to narrow strips of poor land along the coast, or to emigrate to North America, Australia and New Zealand, where to this day live far more descendents of Scottish Highlanders than in Scotland.
The post-1961 genocide of sub-Saharan Africa by Prince Philip’s WWF, which financed the sequestering of vast swathes of the African continent as “nature preserves”, for which, in British East and south-central Africa, evictions on a scale far larger than the Highland Clearances were carried out. Entire tribes were forced from their traditional homes, to the point that already by the late 1960s, 20 per cent of the land of many African states which had supposedly been given “independence” by the Crown, had in fact passed under permanent supranational control as “wildlife parks” and “nature preserves”, and the process has greatly expanded since. The WWF was involved in the mass-murder of Africans using ex-British SAS mercenaries, agent-provocateur operations which killed thousands in South Africa, and providing staging points under the cover of nature preserves for attacks on nations, including the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Craig blasted the mentality of Australian victims, who protest against the oppressive and genocidal free trade and/or green policies that destroy their livelihoods, and which are destroying their very nation, but refuse to look at, and thus fight, the British Crown source of those policies, and its imperial system, based on a genocidal hatred of nation-states, and human beings.
It's now set in concrete - NSW Labor powerbroker the Hon. Joseph Guerino Tripodi will not contest the March 2011 election in the seat of Fairfield. Having played a major part in crippling the Iemma, Rees and Keneally Governments he now retires with a decent superannuation payout after 16 years of political knife-wielding. There are now so many sitting NSW Labor MPs announcing cut and runs (15 at the last count) that there will be no-one left to turn out the lights the night before next year's poll.
It seems Yamba's Golf and Country Club is moving to have a shooting range added to the facilities available for its members and guests.
This week's Putts & Pars (golf news and results in The Daily Examiner) included a piece contributed by the regular correspondent from YG&CC, Bill Williams.
Bill went to some length to report on the extent to which the recent deluge impacted on the club. He opened with a remark that black cockatoos were sighted in the area late on Wednesday - a portent that things were not looking good in coming days and wet weather was to be expected. And of course, the warning signs were spot on - the heavens opened up on schedule - and afternoon players in Thursday's golf competition finished with wet tails/tales.
But, Bill's report contained an even more serious piece. "The club is concerned that a number of golfers have been hit with golf balls this year. Just recently there were two incidents. The first resulted in a serious injury and the other required hospital treatment."
Bill requested (quite appropriately) all members, for their own good, to reduce accidents by not putting themselves in a position which makes them vulnerable and not hitting when players are still in range. Bill then proceeded to make further requests of players to take various steps to prevent injury to fellow players.
However, Bill's piece contained a real sting in its tail. Bill concluded, "Players not abiding by these requests will be shot."
Shot? Did I read that correctly? Hey, Bill, isn't that taking things a wee bit too far?
If the club is deadly serious and intends implementing such drastic action surely it will do the proper thing and lodge a development application with Clarence Valley Council to have a new shooting range constructed on its grounds.
For those concerned about the prevalence of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in Australian crops, there is now an online global register of contamination events.
Genetically modified crops were first commercially grown on a wide scale in 1996. But, there has always been concern about their effects on both health and the environment. A specific concern has been that once released, it would not be possible to contain or control these organisms yet there is no global monitoring system.
Because of this failure of national and international agencies, GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace International launched this joint initiative in 2005 to record all incidents of contamination arising from the intentional or accidental release of genetically modified (GM) organisms (which are also known as genetically engineered (GE) organisms).
It also includes illegal plantings of GM crops and the negative agricultural side-effects that have been reported. Only those incidents which have been publically documented are recorded here. There may be others that are, as yet, undetected.
This site is intended to be a resource for individuals, public interest groups and governments. The register can be searched to see where, when and how contamination has taken place. It includes information about, and links to, sources and the GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace web sites as well as other useful sites. If you would like to know when incidents are added to the GM Contamination Register, send an email to: info at gmcontaminationregister.org (replacing 'at' with the @ sign) with 'UPDATE' in the subject line.
Here is an Australian example:
* In June 2000, Monsanto reported to the Australian authorities that in May, approximately 57.6 tonnes of Roundup Ready GM cotton seed from field trials were ginned at three gins in Queensland without segregation and identity preservation. This constituted between 4.5 and 9.1% of all cotton seed ginned on that day at the designated gins. As a result of the lack of segregation and identity preservation, the Roundup Ready cotton seed was mixed with non-Roundup Ready cotton seed. The mixing meant there was no possible means to track the exact fate (export, animal feed or crushing) of the Roundup Ready cotton seed. Sale of whole seed to the domestic market as animal feed is in contravention of Australia’s GMAC’s advice. The seed was not packaged and secured, therefore seed escape was possible.
This is the current list for Australia: Australia - 15 kgs of Monsanto's GM cotton seed was spilled during transport >> more
Australia - an unapproved variety of GM cotton was found in GM Roundup Ready cotton seed >> moreAustralia - contaminated oilseed rape seed imported from US >> moreAustralia - unapproved GM cotton (grown in a field trial) was mixed with non-GM and approved varieties of GM cotton after harvest >> moreAustralia - wheat exports bound for Columbia contaminated with GM maize >> moreAustralia – contamination of oilseed rape exports by unapproved GM variety >> moreAustralia – farmer’s conventional oilseed rape crop contaminated with GM >> moreAustralia – first field resistance to Bt toxins recorded >> more
Australia – oilseed rape trials contaminated with GM >> more The Australian Government Office of the Gene Technology Regulator can be found here.
Global plea on behalf of Australia's diverse marine life sent out 9 November 2010
Largest Conservation Decision In Australian History Hangs In The Balance.
HELP MAKE HISTORY - PLEASE ACT NOW!
Dear Friend
Within weeks the Australian government will make a key decision in creating the largest network of marine protected areas in the world, but it hangs in the balance.
We need to you to help persuade them to make the right decision.
At stake is critical habitat for more than 50% of the world’s species of whales and dolphins and Australians are calling out for international help in making sure this decision goes the right way.
Australia has one of the largest marine territories in the world. A huge variety of fish, sharks, whales and seals live in the continent’s spectacular submerged mountain ranges, deep sea canyons and reefs. These waters provide refuge for the magnificent blue, humpback, and southern right whales, as well as bottlenose, spotted and striped dolphins, to name a few.
However, right now they are unprotected, and with oil and fishing industries undermining moves to increase protection, the international community needs to take what action it can.
The Government will make its first major decision for the western region within weeks, and the decision will set the standard of protection that will then be applied to the rest of Australia’s waters for the next 10 to 20 years. This protection can't come soon enough.
Well this is bound to get interesting. Prime Minister Gillard has just announced a long overdue national referendum on including formal recognition of Aboriginal first peoples in the Australian Constitution. The trick's going to be how to keep the entire proposition from turning into a prolonged and painful train wreck. Those sticky-fingered political power brokers need to be penned far away from consultations on any proposed wording of the question being put to the vote. Because as sure as night follows day they will want to tack other questions onto the ballot paper, with the sole purpose of extending political party power over the federal parliament and the people. Such a move would almost surely sink any hope of formal recognition.
In October this year the regional group blog North Coast Voicesreached the three-year milestone in its daily publication of news and opinion.
To say thankyou to our readers and celebrate this occasion we are giving away two sets of two flora and fauna studies by well-known NSW North Coast photographer Debrah Novak.
These photographic studies are signed and mounted but unframed.
The first reader from outside of Australia who sends an email with the subject line "Birthday" to northcoastvoices@gmail.com after 9am GMT/UTC on 10 November 2010 will be sent one set, provided they supply a legitimate return email address required to arrange mailing.
The first reader from within Australia who sends an email with the subject line "Birthday" to northcoastvoices@gmail.com after 9am AEST on 10 November 2010 will be sent one set, provided they supply a legitimate return email address to arrange mailing.
Clarencegirl, Clarrie Rivers, WaterDragon, K. Roo and Petering Time
* NCV contributors listed in the blog sidebar and their families are of course ineligible in relation to this birthday offer.
With Commonwealth Bank CEO Norris (of the $16M salary package) currently defending that bank's blatant cash grab when it raised its loan rate 45 points on the back of the latest official interest rate rise of 25 points, perhaps it's time to look at what The Reserve Bank of Australiahad to say on domestic financial markets in November 2010:
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Sir Ralph Norris has conceded his bank's 0.45 per cent interest rate hike will cost some of his customers their homes, a reality he says troubles him. But in defence of his bank's Melbourne Cup Day hike, Sir Ralph said it was better to see "a few" foreclosures than have an economy hamstrung by a low-profit banking system.
FEDERAL Coalition leader Tony Abbott has told the Tasmanian branch of the Liberal Party it must woo women, plumbers, blue-collar workers and students if it is ever to regain its political strength.
Woo, Mr. Abbott? Woo?
Why not smooze, flatter, flannel or lead up the garden path? Because if Neales is quoting then you obviously aren’t seeing women, plumbers, blue-collar workers and students as responsible adult voters who have a right to be honestly presented with considered policy and promises at the next federal election.
I’m guessing that the Victorian Greens are going to be run out of Emma Bull's office in Canberra from now on. But why, when The Greens are still registered at state level in NSW, Queensland and West Australia.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was out and about last week trying to plow fertile ground in the Adelaide hills and raise up the best xenophobic crop of 2010. In the process he once again came face to face with alleged Holocaust-denier Gerald Federick Tobin. Given the rich mine of embarassing achived material from his university and journalism days, it was rather surprising to find his somewhat sympathetic 1987 Bulletin magazine article on Toben contained no over the top right-wing judgments of Australian society which might come back to haunt him. It seems a restrained and relatively balanced Tony Abbott may once have existed in an alternative universe....
Doctor Fredrick Toben has achieved what many thought impossible. He has been sacked for “incompetence” as a teacher in an Australian school.
Despite the quoted desire of NSW Education Minister Rod Cavalier to weed out “malingerers in the staffroom”, dismissal is not a threat our teachers normally face. Educators contacted by The Bulletin said that any dismissal was rare and dismissal for alleged incompetence almost unknown. The picture which emerges is of teaching authorities who take a benign, almost parental view of their employees’ failings.
Most teachers dismissals follow significant criminal convictions. Others occur only after the failure of an elaborate counselling process. In Australian schools, complaints against teachers are normally handled by principals. If not resolved, they are referred to the department of education.
The Victorian Ministry of Education, which employs 55,000 teachers, dismisses “three or four” for incompetence each year - usually when “an element of senility” is involved. An official of a Catholic education office in Victoria, employing about 1000 teachers, said that he had “never written a letter of dismissal”.
As a spokesman for the NSW Education Department - which employs nearly 48,000 teachers and has dismissed “a very few” - put it: “If someone has successfully passed teachers college, there are usually personal reasons for sub-standard performance…Quite often, with a particular group, a person may not feel comfortable…We would usually transfer such a person to another school where there was more motivation and security…”
Only when subsequent inspection shows no improvement and when a teacher declines to resign, may formal disciplinary proceedings be instituted - possibly leading to dismissal. Most teachers resign at this point. Fredrick Toben stubbornly refused because he had done nothing wrong.
Toben’s troubles began in 1983 when the Goroke Consolidated School principal, Ray McCraw, withdrew approval for his permanency application. McCraw said that Toben’s classes had deteriorated.
Toben said that McCraw felt threatened by his qualifications - Arts degrees from Melbourne and Wellington universities, a doctorate from Stuttgart University and 17 tyears’ teaching experience in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Goroke is in far western Victoria. In a small town, small school atmosphere, rumors spread that McCraw was unhappy with Toben. He became something of an outcast in the staffroom. Some pupils began to disrupt his classes. Victoria - unlike other states - has no provision for formal inspection of teachers thought to be unsatisfactory. Toben asked several times for inspection. Instead, in mid-1984, a “support group” was set up. It comprised McCraw and three other teachers as well as Toben’s nominee, fellow teacher Glenn Duncan. After four weeks’ observation the group agreed that Toben’s classes were unruly and that his teaching methods were inappropriate.
Duncan - who signed the group’s report with some reservations - recently told The Bulletin that Toben “didn’t really get a fair go” and that his problems were the result of a “personality clash” with McCraw, compounded by philosophical differences, which had gradually infected the whole school.
Next, a formal inquiry was held in October 1984. It was conducted jointly by a union official and a senior officer of the Victorian Ministry of Education who wrote to Toben beforehand saying that the inquiry was "“act-finding, rather than judgmental”. Despite this, the inquiry endorsed the support group’s assessment and expressed a “strong preference” that Toben be “dismissed from the teaching service”.
Toben’s case was finally heard by the then Director-General of Victorian Education, Dr Norman Curry. According to Toben - and this has not been denied by the ministry - Curry said: “Give me a good reason why I should not act on the inquiry’s recommendation that you be dismissed.”
Normally , these hearings are quasi-judicial - both sides call and question witnesses. In his case, Curry questioned Toben and four of his supporters but Toben did not have a chance to question McCraw. Toben was not represented. On February 4, 1985, Curry informed Toben that he had been dismissed for “incompetence”.
Since then, Toben - who now drives a school bus - has been trying to re-enter the teaching profession. The ministry has said that it will re-employ him after “evidence of successful teaching”. But no school, so far, has been prepared tot ake him on. The Ombudsman has refused to investigate without evidence of “clear injustice”. That, however, is precisely what Toben hoped an investigation would determine.
Toben’s former union, the Victorian Secondary Teachers Association, told The Bulletin that correct procedures had been observed in his case as far as it was concerned.
A senior state educator, who requested anonymity....., admitted that “…it’s not a fair world…Toben was not the worst teacher in the system and there are hundreds who are the same…Toben may have been unlucky…”.
Bad luck or injustice? Professor Lauchlan Chipman, of Wollongong University, said that “even awkward and unpopular people have rights”. He said Toben’s case “typified the fate of the one-off model in Australia.
While school authorities are making determined efforts to lift teaching performance and elaborate procedures are in place to ensure that this does not occur at the expense of teachers’ rights, it would be ironic if one of the few sacked for incompetence turned out not to have deserved it.
Federal Labor must occasionally be doing something right even if The Australian newspaper isn’t reporting it.
This week’sEssential Research opinion poll shows Labor neck-and-neck with the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis which is calculated on vote distribution at the last general election.
However, first preference voter intention is still favouring the Coalition by three percentage points and, unless the bleed across to the ideologically popular Greens slows it is possible that Labor will continue to trail in the minds of those voters polled.
Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?
Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?
sample size = 1,844
Click on image to enlarge
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived the first preference/leaning to voting questions. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results. The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election.
This is the official Qantas explanation for the spot of bother with its flight to Sydney via Singapore on 4 November 2010: "Qantas Flight 32, operated by an A380, was en route from Singapore to Sydney when a serious engine issue occurred. As is normal procedure the aircraft turned back to Singapore and landed safely. All passengers were accommodated in Singapore and an alternative aircraft is now bringing passengers to Australia."
Richard Farmer over atCrikey posted this little bewdy yesterday showing the Rolls Royce Trent 900 Series engine warning issued to commercial airlines almost three months to the day before Australia's 'own' airline apparently experienced the third and most spectacular Airbus malfunction so far. If Qantas passengers had been aware of the wording in this directive, I doubt any would have boarded.
Monsanto hired mercenary Blackwater to infiltrate anti-GMO groups
A spokesperson for Monsanto, reached by Scahill, first denied the relationship with Blackwater, but then admitted that Monsanto had paid Total Intelligence for intelligence reoprts
“… about the activities of groups or individuals that could pose a risk to company personnel or operations around the world which were developed by monitoring local media reports and other publicly available information. The subject matter ranged from information regarding terrorist incidents in Asia or kidnappings in Central America to scanning the content of activist blogs and websites.”………
The documents obtained by Scahill show that Monsanto paid Blackwater’s subsidiary, Total Intelligence a total of $232,000 for intelligence services provided in 2008 and 2009. Aside from the brief statement provided to Scahill, Monsanto is keeping quiet on the matter, as is Blackwater and the other organizations cited in Scahill’s article. Scahill said the Canadian Military paid Blackwater over $1.6 million for training, which was provided through Blackwater’s subsidiary, the Terrorism Research Center. Blackwater violated some US export control laws, reported Yahoo News this past August, violations which included the provision of training to the Canadian Military. While the list of violations the US Department of State found Blackwater guilty of is extensive, the company was only fined $42 million. The company name ‘Blackwater’ was changed to Xe (pronounced ‘zee’) in 2009, which Source Watch called a ‘rebranding effort.’ The company is now up for sale. AFP reported Blackwater operatives were accused of killing 17 Iraqis, wounding a further 22 in what was said to be an unprovoked attack in 2007. The company was later cleared of all wrongdoing. Blackwater was ordered out of Iraq earlier this year because of that violent incident said CBS News.
Written by Johanna Kijas and published by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, this publication is one to treasure. I've been on the lookout for something such as this for many years.
The publication explores the ways in which:
* Aboriginal people have retained their connections to Country
* settler Australians have created new lives and formed new attachments to the landscape
* complex historical and social forces and conflicts have shaped the creation and establishment of Yuraygir National Park.
It also records some of the wonderfully rich memories that people have of this landscape. It records the way they experience it, the way they remember it, how they continue to revisit it, and how the landscape itself provokes powerful emotions.
I must acknowledge that it was a review by blogger perkinsy that pointed me in the direction of this excellent publication. Thanks, perkinsy!
Here are some extracts from perkinsy's review:
One of the features of this publication is the incorporation of both Aboriginal and settler histories into the narrative. The custodial relationship of the local Aboriginal people to the land prior to European settlement, during the difficult period of colonisation through to today is recognised throughout. Australian history did not start with European settlement, the Aboriginal people had lived here for thousands of years. Acknowledgement of this is also reflected in the title – ‘there were always people here’.
... there is enough information for a reader who is interested in a particular issue mentioned in the publication to follow up more detailed sources through the footnotes and the extensive bibliography.
This is more than a synthesis of the work of others. Kijas has sought to address the gaps in our knowledge of the history of the area. The contribution that this publication makes to our knowledge is through the many interviews that Kijas has done with those people whose families made a significant contribution to the area, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.
"This document outlines a set of mental health service standards which can be applied to all mental health services, including government, non-government and private sectors across Australia."
Consumers have the right to comprehensive and integrated mental health care that meets their individual needs and achieves the best possible outcome in terms of their recovery. (Note: The consumer standard is not assessable, as it contains criteria that are all assessable within the other standards.)
Criteria
6.1 Consumers have the right to be treated with respect and dignity at all times.
6.2 Consumers have the right to receive service free from abuse, exploitation, discrimination, coercion, harassment and neglect.
6.3 Consumers have the right to receive a written statement, together with a verbal explanation, of their rights and responsibilities in a way that is understandable to them as soon as possible after entering the MHS.
6.4 Consumers are continually educated about their rights and responsibilities.
6.5 Consumers have the right to receive the least restrictive treatment appropriate, considering the consumer’s preference, the demands on carers, and the availability of support and safety of those involved.
6.6 A mental health professional responsible for coordinating clinical care is identified and made known to consumers.
6.7 Consumers are partners in the management of all aspects of their treatment, care and recovery planning.
6.8 Informed consent is actively sought from consumers prior to any service or intervention provided or any changes in care delivery are planned, where it is established that the consumer has capacity to give informed consent.
6.9 Consumers are provided with current and accurate information on the care being delivered.
6.10 Consumers have the right to choose from the available range of treatment and support programs appropriate to their needs.
6.11 The right of consumers to involve or not to involve carers and others is recognised and respected by the MHS.
6.12 Consumers have an individual exit plan with information on how to re-enter the service if needed.
6.13 Consumers are actively involved in follow-up arrangements to maintain continuity of care.
6.14 The right of consumers to have access to their own health records is recognised in accordance with relevant Commonwealth and state / territory legislation / guidelines.
6.15 Information about consumers can be accessed by authorised persons only.
6.16 The right of the consumer to have visitors and maintain close relationships with family and friends is recognised and respected by the MHS.
6.17 Consumers are engaged in development, planning, delivery and evaluation of the MHS.
6.18 Training and support is provided for consumers involved in a formal advocacy and / or support role within the MHS.
"A woman stabbed an MP twice in the stomach during a constituency surgery in revenge for his vote for the war in Iraq, a court heard today." {The Independent UK on 1st November 2010} More here.
North Coast Voices no longer allows the Facebook Button sited at the end of each blog post to activate when it is clicked on by a reader.
This button has been deactivated because it has become clear that Facebook Inc. is not now and has never been a corporation genuinely committed to principles of digital privacy and security of Internet users' personal information and other associated data.
Unfortunately, because Blogger installs this button as part of a set, Gmail, Blog This!, Twitter, Pin Interest and Google + have also been deactivated and, we apologise to readers who may use these features.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
[Adopted and proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948]
Hi! My name is Boy. I'm a male bi-coloured tabby cat. Ever since I discovered that Malcolm Turnbull's dogs were allowed to blog, I have been pestering Clarencegirl to allow me a small space on North Coast Voices.
A false flag musing: I have noticed one particular voice on Facebook which is Pollyanna-positive on the subject of the Port of Yamba becoming a designated cruise ship destination. What this gentleman doesn’t disclose is that, as a principal of Middle Star Pty Ltd, he could be thought to have a potential pecuniary interest due to the fact that this corporation (which has had an office in Grafton since 2012) provides consultancy services and tourismbusiness development services.
A religion & local government musing: On 11 October 2017 Clarence Valley Council has the Church of Jesus Christ Development Fund Inc in Sutherland Local Court No. 6 for a small claims hearing. It would appear that there may be a little issue in rendering unto Caesar. On 19 September 2017 an ordained minister of a religion (which was named by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in relation to 40 instances of historical child sexual abuse on the NSW North Coast) read the Opening Prayer at Council’s ordinary monthly meeting. Earlier in the year an ordained minister (from a church network alleged to have supported an overseas orphanage closed because of child abuse claims in 2013) read the Opening Prayer and an ordained minister (belonging to yet another church network accused of ignoring child sexual abuse in the US and racism in South Africa) read the Opening Prayer at yet another ordinary monthly meeting. Nice one councillors - you are covering yourselves with glory!
An investigative musing: Newcastle Herald, 12 August 2017: The state’s corruption watchdog has been asked to investigate the finances of the Awabakal Aboriginal Local Land Council, less than 12 months after the troubled organisation was placed into administration by the state government. The Newcastle Herald understands accounting firm PKF Lawler made the decision to refer the land council to the Independent Commission Against Corruption after discovering a number of irregularities during an audit of its financial statements.The results of the audit were recently presented to a meeting of Awabakal members. Administrator Terry Lawler did not respond when contacted by the Herald and a PKF Lawler spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the matter. Given the intricate web of company relationships that existed with at least one former board member it is not outside the realms of possibility that, if ICAC accepts this referral, then United Land Councils Limited (registered New Zealand) and United First Peoples Syndications Pty Ltd(registered Australia) might be interviewed. North Coast Voices readers will remember that on 15 August 2015 representatives of these two companied gave evidence before NSW Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 6 INQUIRY INTO CROWN LAND. This evidence included advocating for a Yamba mega port.
A Nationals musing: Word around the traps is that NSW Nats MP for Clarence Chris Gulaptis has been talking up the notion of cruise ships visiting the Clarence River estuary. Fair dinkum! That man can be guaranteed to run with any bad idea put to him. I'm sure one or more cruise ships moored in the main navigation channel on a regular basis for one, two or three days is something other regular river users will really welcome. *pause for appreciation of irony* The draft of the smallest of the smaller cruise vessels is 3 metres and it would only stay safely afloat in that channel. Even the Yamba-Iluka ferry has been known to get momentarily stuck in silt/sand from time to time in Yamba Bay and even a very small cruise ship wouldn't be able to safely enter and exit Iluka Bay. You can bet your bottom dollar operators of cruise lines would soon be calling for dredging at the approach to the river mouth - and you know how well that goes down with the local residents.
A local councils musing: Which Northern Rivers council is on a low-key NSW Office of Local Government watch list courtesy of feet dragging by a past general manager?
A serial pest musing: I'm sure the Clarence Valley was thrilled to find that a well-known fantasist is active once again in the wee small hours of the morning treading a well-worn path of accusations involving police, local business owners and others.
An investigative musing: Which NSW North Coast council is batting to have the longest running code of conduct complaint investigation on record?
A which bank? musing: Despite a net profit last year of $9,227 million the Commonwealth Bank still insists on paying below Centrelink deeming rates interest on money held in Pensioner Security Accounts. One local wag says he’s waiting for the first bill from the bank charging him for the privilege of keeping his pension dollars at that bank.
A Daily Examiner musing: Just when you thought this newspaper could sink no lower under News Corp management, it continues to give column space to Andrew Bolt.
A thought to ponder musing: In case of bushfire or flood - do you have an emergency evacuation plan for the family pet?
An adoption musing: Every week on the NSW North Coast a number of cats and dogs find themselves without a home. If you want to do your bit and give one bundle of joy a new family, contact Happy Paws on 0419 404 766 or your local council pound.
When making comment defamatory statements, racist remarks, hate speech, incitement to violence, gratuitous insults, obscenities, sexual innuendo, active matters before the courts and linking to commercial products/promotions should be avoided.
Trolling will not be tolerated. Spam will not be accepted.
The blog administrator reserves the right to reject comments which ignore this policy.
