Life's little lessons learnt from Cyclone Yasi

Drought-driven dust storms, tropical cyclones, east coast lows, out-of-nowhere tornadoes, storm surges, floods, bush fire - it seems Australia has seen them all over the last twelve months, so this blog post reprinted with kind permission of Island View over at Blogging Townsville contains some hints for the disaster next time......

What I learnt from Cyclone Yasi

While Yasi's winds here were equivalent to a severe Category 2 or weak Cat. 3 cyclone there are some useful things I learnt (or were reminded of) for next time:

1. The wind follows the land - the gullies and valleys - just as fires and flash floods do
   
2. Get a manual coffee grinder
   
3. Solar houses don't have to wait for the power to come on
   
4. Get an alternative mobile phone charger - car, solar, wind-up, whatever
   
5. A surprising number of people build stupid houses in stupid places
   
6. Building on or immediately behind the foreshore dune is dumb - it's a sand dune for god's sake! It has a purpose - to move, to replenish the beach!
   
7. The ONLY media that works/adds value in a crisis is local ABC radio and a battery powered receiver - it must be defended at all costs
   
8. There is no such thing as too much duct tape
   
9. Don't assume that because there's a cyclone, it's gonna rain - fill the bath all the way
   
10. Emergency alert text messages are great - if you have a mobile
    
11. Charge the camera beforehand - taking pics on the mobile chews up battery time
    
12. Tell everyone beforehand to only text you and not to ring
    
13. Get more ice beforehand, fill the fridge up with it (unless you have a solar house of course)
    
14. The Internet is invaluable until you lose power - but only because in enables you to track the cyclone closely.
    
15. News sites are hopeless and Facebook is downright dangerous in the hands of a teenager who can't discern rumour from fact or possibility from probability.
    
16. Print media is useless unless they can can get an edition out before the power comes on
    
17. The BOM site is fantastic but I suspect most people don't know how to read the forecast maps
    
18. Most people have no idea of the country on which they live or how it works
    
19. Most people (and journalists) have no appreciation of the geography of Queensland
    
20. Don't wait for the last minute to buy your beer supply and when you do don't forget to get extra for all of those chats with the neighbours after
    
21. Always be nice to the Ergon and CityWater guys - they are worth their weight in beer at the very least. They do an amazing job in appalling conditions

And finally, when everyone is locked down and until the storm passes, you are starkly reminded that ultimately in this world, you are on your own baby.


Magnetic Island, 9 February 2011

Antarctic whale hunt 'suspended'

Not victory yet - just a temporary ceasefire in the whale wars.

According to the Sea Shepherd organisation on February 11, 2011 - Japanese Whalers Escorted out of the Whaling Grounds

The Japanese whaling fleet is heading eastward at full speed and is now east of the boundary for their whaling grounds. The eastern boundary of the Japanese whaling operations is 145 degrees west. The whaling ships and the two Sea Shepherd ships are now at 72 degrees south and 133 degrees west on a course of 145 degrees. With the Bob Barker and the Gojira in pursuit, the Nisshin Maru continues to head eastward at 14 knots.

Both the whaling ships and the Sea Shepherd ships Bob Barker and the Gojira are now closer to South America than to New Zealand and Australia. This position is 3000 nautical miles southeast of Hobart, Australia and 1700 miles southwest of Patagonia, Argentina.

The Nisshin Maru is making erratic course changes. “It’s like they spin the bottle every watch to see what course to set,” said Captain of the Bob Barker Alex Cornelissen. “There is no rationality in these course changes. They go east, then south, then west, then north and then back east again. In short, they are burning quite a bit of fuel, going absolutely nowhere, and without being able to kill a single whale.”

The Steve Irwin is southeast bound, out of Wellington, en route to rendezvous in about a week with the other two Sea Shepherd ships and the Japanese whaling fleet.

From ABC News on February 16 2011:

Anti-whaling activists cautiously welcomed news that Japan was suspending its annual hunt near Antarctica as a result of their harassment campaign.

"If that's true then it demonstrates that our tactics, our strategies have been successful," Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson said by satellite phone from the ship Steve Irwin after being told of the suspension.

"I don't think they've gotten more than 30 whales from what I can think, certainly they haven't got many whales at all," he said.

Mr Watson was reluctant to claim a victory over the whalers, but said "every whale saved is a victory to us, so we've gotten a lot of victories down here this year".

Japan's fisheries agency said it had suspended operations on the Nisshin Maru factory ship and was considering an early end to the annual harpoon mission after harassment from the conservation group.

"Putting safety as a priority, the fleet has halted scientific whaling for now. We are currently considering what to do hereafter," Fisheries Agency official Tatsuya Nakaoku said.

It's not just the food you eat that contains genetically modified organisms

Record of GMO and GM Product Dealings under Section 138 of the Gene Technology Act 2000

Dealings Involving GM products - therapeutics

NB - All of these products have been approved for supply in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

Some of these approvals go back as far as 1987.

Moggy Musings [Archived material from Boy the Wonder Cat]

A died and gone to heavenz musing: The whisper is that this applies to moggies also: The Observatory Hotel offers pet-friendly rooms at an additional charge (from $50 per pet per night). Dogs will receive a pet bed and their owners can choose dinner from the Scoopy Doo room service menu.

A how not to respect your professional peers musing: Sometimes I even get emails on various subjects from hoomins. Like this snippet for example........."the reality is many of the APN's stories are beat ups - this is inevitable when their journalists are trained to use emotive and adjectival language and make judgements in what are supposed to be objective reports - (this despite the journalists' code of ethics) - However, I do acknowledge that this is becoming the 'norm' in a rapidly changing media world, where stories are dumbed down to appease the lowest common denominator on a populist basis (print/digital/broadcast). The sad thing about this lazy and inept form of journalism is that most readers don't know they are being hoodwinked - so, in many cases one lazy journalist uses another lazy journalist's 'facts' as a given, without doing their own research."

A Rex the German Shepherd in gossip mode musing: Hey Boy, Don't know about you, but Dudley, a mate of mine down the road, reckons our local daily rag, The Daily Examiner, might have introduced a Family First Employment Policy. Dudley pointed out to me that about a month or so ago he noticed a DEX photographer's son was on the payroll and yesterday he noticed a DEX higher-level journo's nephew started scribbling for the paper. Cheers, Rex

A sad goodbye musing: Goodbye, Artemis. We didn't know Artemis except through her family's online mentions of her antics and those posted pics, but all the moggies and doggies associated with Moggy Musing will, I'm sure, join me in wishing her family and many furry friends well after hearing of her sad passing.

A happy, happy musing: Scooter, a 9 month-old Labrador went missing on Christmas Eve and was handed into the Grafton pound and reunited with his family on 30 December 2010 - just in time to have a long nap or three after his big adventure and then join in New Year celebrations.

A furry friend grapevine musing: If your dog or cat appears to be grinning this week it's probably because it has heard that Clarence Valley shire councillor Margaret McKenna has begun to get examples of McDonald's (Yamba) branded rubbish in her mail - sometimes a vote for unpopular development will come back to haunt in the most unusual ways!

Yamba Rugby players go too fast

Although they lost three games at Crescent Head on the weekend, Yamba's rugby players, The Buccaneers, really do need to slow down a lot more.

The team was on the losing side of the ledger to Campbelltown (35 to 5), Sunnybank (35 to 7) and Wollongbar (25 to 7).

However, a report in The Daily Examiner states 

The team travelled three hours down the Pacific Highway to the Crescent Head Sevens.

Heck!  Three hours for the trip from Yamba to Crescent Head! That suggests the rugby boys were putting their feet a tad too heavily on their accelerator pedals.

According to three independent sources, Google Maps, Whereis and TravelMate, it's a distance of about 270kms from Yamba to Crescent Head and over 250kms of it is on the very dangerous Pacific Highway.

Fellas, have a good season in 2011 and travel safely to and from your games.

Image credit: Yamba Buccaneers

Aerial crop spraying on NSW North Coast in the news again

Excerpt from NSW Environmental Defender’s Office newsletter on February 10, 2011:

Byron Shire Echo : Spraying locals with pesticides (8 February 2010)

Helicopter spraying of potentially harmful chemicals on corporate macadamia nut farms in the area has sparked calls for greater transparency in spraying practices.

The United States based Hancock Agricultural Investment Group – which owns several macadamia farms near Dunoon – used choppers for aerial spraying on at least two occasions late last year, causing serious concerns within parts of the local community.

During the November incident the chopper sprayed difenoconazole, a substance that is described as a ‘possible carcinogen' and suspected of damaging the hormone system, according to a recent report co-written by the Northern Rivers EDO, and the National Toxics Network.

To read this article, please visit:
http://www.echo.net.au/newsitem/spraying-locals-chemicals

Everyone likes Tony!

Tony Abbott is an extreme right wing, redneck, homophobic, sexist, bible-thumping, puppet of the mining sector, climate change-denying dinosaur. He would take Australia back to the dark ages if elected - let's make sure he doesn't!!
(TAWNBPM)!!!!!

This little Facebook page has been quietly chugging along since about mid-2010 and now has over 5,000 followers.

Gillard Government increases Family Tax Benefit A and amount pensioners can earn

Welcome reforms will help local families and pensioners

Page MP Janelle Saffin has welcomed two pieces of legislation introduced into the Parliament this week will benefit thousands of local age pensioners and families with teenagers.

Ms Saffin said age pensioners in Page are set to benefit from a new, more generous Work Bonus taking effect from July 1 this year.

“This delivers on the Government’s election commitment to help age pensioners who work earn more before their pension is affected

“Under the new rules age pensioners will be able to earn up to $250 a fortnight without it being assessed as income under the income test.

“An important part of this, and something I have lobbied for, is that pensioners will be able to build up any unused amount in an ‘income bank’ to a total of $6500.

“This means pensioners will be able to earn up to $6500 per year without it affecting their pension, and this can be from regular work or from a short term of employment for example as an HSC exam supervisor or census collector.

“There are more than 29,000 pensioners in Page and I am pleased to see this fairer system coming in that will help those who want to stay connected to the workforce.

“In another welcome reform, the Government has introduced legislation to increase the family payments for families of teenagers aged 16 to 19 years.

“From 1 January 2012 the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit part A will increase by more than $160 per fortnight for 16 to 19 year olds who are in high school or equivalent vocational training.

“Under the changes the 16 to 19 rate will be the same as the rate for 13 to 15 year olds.

“This is another reform I have lobbied for on behalf of people in my electorate because currently the rate drops when a young person turns 16, even though teenagers do not become cheaper to care for as they get older.

“This sharp drop in family support can be hard for families and in some instances can lead teenagers to leave school early if their family can’t support them.

“Families with teenagers turning 16, 17, 18 or 19 in 2012 will be the first to benefit with increases of up to $4200 a year per teenager,” Ms Saffin said.

“The exact amount that each family will receive depends on family income and the age and number of their children.”

11 February 2011

Extracts from The Fitz Files

Source The Sun Herald, 13/2/11

"Sh* t happens": Did Tony Abbott just illustrate a lesson never learnt from Viet Nam?

With Tony Abbott’s relaxed and laid back “sh*t happens” reassurance to Colonel Jim Creighton (US sector commander directing military operations in which Australian troops were deployed) making the news recently, one has to wonder if the explanation he so easily accepted that fire support of Australian troops was “more than adequate” should have been explored further.

Given that the American penchant for fudging facts has apparently survived intact beyond the Viet Nam debacle (a war which blundered on from the early 1960s to 1975) and now allegedly rears its head again in Afghanistan in this decade.

The US Center for Public Integrity on 6 February 2011 stated that an investigation found that Civil Affairs reservists tasked with winning the hearts and minds of locals have died disproportionately in Afghanistan and Iraq. The statistics offer a grim picture. Though these soldiers only make up about 5 percent of the Army’s reserve forces, they account for 23 percent of the combat fatalities among reservists in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also found that generals in the field, unable to obtain sufficient Civil Affairs units, sent reservists into harm’s way without hardened vehicles, protective plates for their armored vests, and machine guns. Further, the Army inflated the number of active-duty Civil Affairs soldiers to give Congress the appearance of a fully-staffed division.

NSW pre-election campaign 2011: sometimes it's hard not to laugh

Liberal Party of Australia NSW Branch

Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, it's 2011 not 1911!

In what can only be described as flabbergasting,

the NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, backs a NSW law that allows private schools to expel gay students simply for being gay.

Hatzistergos described the 30-year-old law as necessary "to maintain a sometimes delicate balance between protecting individuals from unlawful discrimination while allowing people to practise their own beliefs".

A relic of the Wran era when homosexuality was still a crime, the law exempts private schools from any obligation to enrol or deal fairly with students who are homosexual. An expulsion requires neither disruption, harassment nor even the flaunting of sexuality. Being homosexual is enough.

Read the full report in today's Sydney Morning Herald here.

Grog notices Hartsuyker's underwhelming performance

Nice to know that other bloggers notice the often inane performance of the Nationals Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker during Question Time in the Federal House of Representatives.

Here is Greg Jericho over at Grog's Gamut on the subject last Wednesday........

Late in the session Luke Hartsuyker got up to make sure Hockey’s question wasn’t the dopiest of the day:

Mr HARTSUYKER (2.53 pm)—My question is to the Prime Minister. On 31 March 2009, thousands of residents in my electorate of Cowper were severely impacted by a major flood event. Despite the flood being declared a natural disaster, the government never provided victims with one-off Centrelink disaster payments of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child. Will the Prime Minister now ensure that people who suffered a substantial loss as a result of the floods of 31 March receive those payments and be exempted from the government’s flood tax?

Yep, Hartsuyker wants people whose houses were flooded in a previous financial year to be exempted from paying a levy in the next financial year. And these people who he wants exempted are those who did not even qualify for disaster relief in that previous financial year! Geez, if we let them get out of paying, we’ll be having to exempt people who were around for the 1956 floods in South Australia.

It’s not that such a question is so dumb that is astonishing, it’s that it got through the Liberal’s tactics committee. Unfortunately for Hartsuyker, the Primer Minister had had enough of playing nice, and she danced down the pitch and put this ball somewhere in the upper deck of the stands:

Ms GILLARD—I thank the member for his question and I am very happy to answer it and, as I answer it, to clear up what is clearly becoming a set of misapprehensions on behalf of the opposition which I do not think we should allow to run unchallenged. The guidelines under the natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements are the same guidelines operated by the Howard government.

Eww, don’t you hate it when it turns out the Howard Government did the same thing…

They are the guidelines that the Leader of the Opposition called on me just before Christmas to make sure applied to natural disasters this summer. So any question about the natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements guidelines we are operating are the very guidelines the Leader of the Opposition called on me to have for natural disasters this summer.

Oops. Nice one Luke, I’m betting Abbott just loves being used as a baseball bat with which to slap you around the head.

I know consistency of purpose is not the Leader of the Opposition’s strong suit, so if he has changed his mind—other than on the question of additional assistance for people in Cyclone Larry that he has raised in parliament today and raised in the Sunday newspapers—generally about the architecture of natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements and he now believes, as the questioning of his members would seem to imply, that they should extend to meeting all losses sustained by every business and every householder then the Leader of the Opposition should say that, we will have it costed for him and he should nominate matching savings. I think he is going to find that pretty hard to do.

Ouch. A question on people being exempted from paying the “flood tax” becomes a tool for Gillard to slap down Abbott for being one to go back on his word. This answer needs a point of order quick smart:

Mr Hartsuyker—Mr Speaker, on a point of order: I would like the Prime Minister to be directly relevant to the question, which related to the Centrelink disaster payments that existed in 2009.

Good of Hartsuyker to ram home the illogical aspect of his question. It was 2009 Luke, let it go!!!

Help the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society shut down Icelandic whaling

SHUT DOWN COMMERCIAL WHALING - HELP US KEEP UP THE PRESSURE! Dear Friend WDCS needs your help to end Icelandic whaling. WDCS has submitted a legal petition, backed by 19 organisations, calling on the United States government to impose trade sanctions on Iceland for its whaling and trade in whale products. The good news is that the US, unlike other countries, can do this if it believes Iceland is undermining international conservation agreements. But to justify trade sanctions the government needs to show that it has public support. That’s where you come in. See below for how you can help. Japanese stockpiles of whale meat are at an all-time high - 6,000 tons - yet the businessman behind fin whale hunting in Iceland still hopes to find buyers in Japan. We want to put real pressure on Iceland via US trade sanctions. Please send an email to the US Secrectaries of Commerce and Interior to urge them to take strong action against Iceland. We have prepared an email for you – it will only take a few seconds of your time. click here to send. When you've registered your protest, tell your friends. Share the link on Facebook, email your friends, help us spread the word. Iceland’s whalers will kill more whales if they can get away with it. We won't let them. Let’s SHUT DOWN commercial whaling. Sue Fisher WDCS Stop Whaling campaign manager Follow Us Urge President Obama to impose sanctions The majestic but endangered fin whale. Icelandic whalers will kill more if we don't stop them. © Cherylle Millard-Dawe SEND AN EMAIL TO THE US GOVERNMENT NOW We've set it all up for you. It will take you seconds but could shut down Icelandic whaling! Click here now.

NSW Labor wants to help you write letters to the editor

The NSW Labor Party Letter-O-Matic, where presumably assisting you with sending an email (and providing you with a list of 'approved' publications) will let the party machine know which way the wind may be blowing in letters to the editor columns across the state in the forthcoming election campaign.

Wonder why the NSW North Coast's Northern Star, Daily Examiner and Advocate don't get the tick of approval from Labor - not all APN publications seen as sympathetic perhaps or do these newspapers cover electorates not considered even remotely winnable in March 2011?

A visual critque of Australia's Federal Parliament and its denizens

From the fertile mind of First Dog on the Moon earning a crust at Crikey

A thought to carry you forwards

Brisbane City Councilor Norm Wyndham reflecting on the last two months: “We truly still are the lucky country, because if you see some of the atrocities that have occurred across the world in the past 12 to 18 months, you realise that by living in Australia there will always be someone beside you to help you through it.”

I'll buy your fallen bananas Queensland

I’ll buy your fallen bananas Queensland because that’s what mates do when times are tough.

But because these bananas will be going to my very elderly mother who suffers with health problems, I ask all growers to remember consumer safety ranks higher than their need for income.

If in doubt chuck it out!

Mike

Grafton NSW

* GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration.

What is it about Tony Abbott that drives his constant desire to cut public health infrastructure & spending?

Still playing politics with flood, bushfire and cyclone victims, Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has released proposed budget cuts, with dodgy statistics gratuitously included.
These 'cuts' are presented as an alternative to the Gillard Government's proposed twelve-month flood levy and contain a desire to rip the hope of future GP Super Clinics away from one rural/regional community somewhere in Australia by re-directing $10M away from the clinic program. Perhaps it will be Mackay in Queensland (currently in the consultation process) which would not see a super clinic if Abbott had his way?
Or does Mr. Abbott sees his budget cuts coming at the expense of Emerald, Wynnum or Caboolture whose community consultations have been put on hold because of the Dec 2010-Jan 2011 floods?

Click on image to enlarge

I'm going polled turkey in February 2011

Just in time for the start of the 2011 term of the Australian Federal Parliament, Annabel Crabb (with tongue firmly in cheek) reminded us all of what it means to be a pollaholic.

However, like much that is humorous there is a kernel of truth in how the mainstream media, blogosphere and the general public have brought into that mindless game of political opinion poll percentages which feed the inner-troll found in typical examples of Canberra pond life such as [insert name here of the politician who most annoys you] the Hon.Tony Abbott MHR.

So, not only am I not mentioning any political polling for the remainder of this month, I will also refuse to give oxygen to those companies which produce them by ignoring links to these substitutes for genuine political analysis and debate.

Yes, I am going polled turkey*.

* Hatip to @Colvinius for apparently coining this term.

How many people have to have their homes destroyed before our leaders accept that climate change is here and now

Flood and Storm Update for NSW In the past four weeks the SES has received over 10, 300 calls for assistance on its assistance line (NSW State Emergency Services February 5, 2011)

Moment of truth as 64 homes lost in fire in West Australia (The Australian February 8, 2011)

Cyclone Yasi destroyed 150 homes and left at least 650 uninhabitable in northern Queensland (ABC Online February 8, 2011)

Queensland floods 5,900 homes damaged by floods in the past month (The Age February 7, 2011)

Floods force evacuations in southern NSW (ABC Online February 7, 2011)

Dozens of Victorian homes inundated by flood waters (News.com.au February 6, 2011)

In the face of dozens of headlines such as these over the last two months and the personal accounts of friends and family, I was amazed to hear the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese attempt to deny any direct link between the multiple floods, bushfires and cyclones this country has experienced since the beginning of December 2010 and climate change.

How many homes and family businesses have to be damaged or destroyed before our politicians finally realise there is no more time left to play politics with this immense problem?

Sh#t Happens and Tony Abbott fights to keep control

UPDATE:

On Twitter 8 February 2011:
jodiespeers Jodie Speers
FYI - Abbott's GLARING at Riles actually lasted 1min 10secs. We only had room for 24 secs. It is extraordinary.

The Daily Telegraph 9 February 2011:
A DIGGER'S widow has accepted an apology from Liberal leader Tony Abbott over his comments about conditions facing troops in Afghanistan.

The Sydney Morning Herald 9 February 2011:
Ian MacKinney, the father of the dead soldier, Jared MacKinney, said the Opposition Leader's comments were ''out of line'' and made him ''feel sick''.
''My attitude would be to ignore it, to give it the least amount of credence,'' he said.
He described Mr Abbott as thoughtless, ignorant and uncaring. ''It just shows how good he is, or isn't. I'm not going to let it bother me, but it just shows he's not very thoughtful. He doesn't care too much.''

Proof positive that ethical investment and consumption has a strong influence on business practice?

Walking up and down supermarket aisles looking for food products that guarantee non-GM ingredients or have a low-carbon footprint, flicking though racks of clothes or rows of shoes in search of the now almost mythical Australian-made label and generally trying to avoid purchases from companies known to exploit their workforce or the environment, can leave one feeling that perhaps the attempt to be an ethical consumer is costing one time and money with little effect on the industries involved in producing a wide range goods on display in this country.

Then along comes a letter like this one from the beleaguered Gunns Ltd, linked to online at Tasmanian Politics and Other Stuff, which clearly shows that the combined weight of individuals attempting to act ethically does eventually bring big business closer to the desired outcome:

Looking at the gestation window for a new cyclone?

Tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones are low pressure systems that form over warm tropical waters and have well defined wind circulations of at least gale force strength (sustained winds of 63 km/h or greater with gusts in excess of 90 km/h).
Technically they are defined as a non-frontal low pressure system of synoptic scale developing over warm waters having organised convection and a maximum mean wind speed of 34 knots or greater extending more than half-way around near the centre and persisting for at least six hours....
The severity of a tropical cyclone is described in terms of categories ranging from 1 to 5 related to the zone of maximum winds.....

La Niña event

Australia continues to feel the effects of one of the strongest La Niña's on record. During La Niña events, tropical cyclone numbers are typically higher than normal during the November to April period, while summer daytime temperatures are often below average, particuarly in areas experiencing excess rainfall.....
Climate indicators of ENSO continue to indicate a strong, mature La Niña, although there are clear signs the event has passed its peak. Pacific Ocean temperatures have increased, especially below the surface, while atmospheric indicators such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), trade winds and cloud patterns have eased from their peaks reached about a month ago......
These observations are consistent with long-range forecast models surveyed by the Bureau which show the Pacific gradually warming during the southern autumn. Given that March to June is the ENSO transition period, there is a spread among the model predictions for the middle of 2011. The most likely outcome is for a return to neutral conditions, but there is a chance of La Niña persisting for the rest of the year.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology sea surface temperature mapping on February 3 2011

Exceeding mean temperature probability February-April 2011

TROPICAL CYCLONE IMPACTS ALONG THE AUSTRALIAN EAST COAST FROM NOVEMBER TO APRIL 1858 TO 2000

La Niña - Detailed Australian Analysis

What Keneally's promise to help with electricity charges means to the average worker, pensioner or independent retiree on the NSW North Coast

This is what the NSW Government Industry and Investment website had to say about the Energy Rebate on 5 February 2011:

The Energy Rebate was increased from $130 a year to $145 per year on 1 July 2010. The Rebate will be further increased to $161 from 1 July 2011. These increases reflect the average rise in regulated electricity prices. Also from 1 July 2010, eligibility for the Energy Rebate was expanded to include all customers who hold Health Care Cards.

Am I eligible for the Energy Rebate?

The Energy Rebate is now available to all electricity account holders who hold either a:

· Pensioner Concession Card issued by either Centrelink or the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)

· Gold Card issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs marked with either:
-War Widow or War Widower Pension
-Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI)
-Disability Pension

· Health care card issued by Centrelink as a result of receiving one of a number of income support payments from the Commonwealth.

If you hold an eligible card and have not yet registered for the Energy Rebate you should contact your retailer.

Any customer receiving the Energy Rebate prior to 1 July 2010 will continue to receive the Rebate and will automatically receive the increased amount, if they continue to hold a valid and eligible card.

How do I obtain the rebate?

If you think you are eligible for the rebate or would like to ask some more questions, contact your electricity supplier or your local electricity distributor. Contact phone numbers can be found on your electricity bill.

This is what the Keneally Government announced on 6 February 2011 as part of an opening salvo in its re-election campaign:

The Energy Rebate will be increased from $161 to $250 from July 1, while eligibility for the rebate will be extended to households with a combined income of under $150,000.

What this means is that if you have a Health Care Card or equivalent and your quarterly electricity charges came to a frugal $200 in any energy bill received after 1 July 2011, then the new Energy Rebate would reduce your actual payment (with GST added) to around $153 instead of the $181 or so you would pay now.

Families without the Heath Care Card but with a combined income of under $150,000 will be eligible for the Energy Rebate on 1 July 2012.

The worrying issue is the NSW Labor statement that this new scale will mean that families save $1000 in electricity bills over the life of the plan - which indicates that the annual $250 rebate may only be guaranteed for the next four financial years.

Keneally's launch of Fairness for Families can be found here.

"mendacious, ugly, disgraceful and cringeworthy" - and that's just his good points!

I must confess myself astounded that Tony Abbott could be so foolish as to shake people down for a donation to his private cause at the same time as he is attempting to further that cause by threatening to deny funding to repair the damage from the Queensland floods. That he should do so while the most ferocious cyclone in recorded history bore down on the coastline of the same state, well, it was just … words fail me. We waited for the cataclysm to rake over the north of state like the blast front from a gigantic, slow moving nuclear bomb. An eerie, suspended interlude. Until Abbott punctured the moment with his ham-fisted partisan foolishness. [John Birmingham, National Times,3 February 2011]

LaurieOakes

Lib fundraising on back of Qld flood disaster as a devastating cyclone bears down will not earn Tony Abbott any credit. Deeply embarrassing. 11:02 PM Feb 1st via web

Mr Abbott's Odious Opportunism ……Tony's attempt to distance himself from the crass e-mail appeal doesn't impress either. [Sardonic Detachment Therapy,3 February 2011]

And this is what he has to say.
Observe the precision of his judgement, and the exquisite subtlety of his timing. [Still Life With Cat,2 February 2011]

No wonder Tony Abbott's percentages continue to look like this:

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is still preferred as Prime Minister (49%, up 3% since December 8-12, 2010) over Opposition Leader Tony Abbott (36%, down 3%) according to a special telephone Morgan Poll conducted over the last three days (February 1-3, 2011).
More electors approve of the way Julia Gillard is handling her job as Prime Minister (46%, down 3% since December 8-12, 2010) than approve of the way Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is handling his job (39%, down 11%).

Cartoon found at Nicholson Cartoons

The air is clear in relation to Lionel Murphy and Malawi's take on flatulence

Today's Sun Herald reveals once more that attempts to sully the good name of Lionel Murphy were baseless.

Peter FitzSimons has a piece that demonstrates quite clearly Murphy cannot be associated in any way, shape or form with a bill in Malawi that would outlaw breaking wind in public.

Read more about flatulence in Malawi in a BBC report here.

Here's FitzSimon's piece:

Source: Sun Herald, 6/2/11

Image credits: Sun Herald, 6/2/11 and http://www.rhinocarhire.com/Car-Hire-News/February-2011/Farting-Ban-for-Malawi-6119.aspx

North Coast Voices - the feral edition

Independent MP for New England Tony Windsor calls Clarence Valley residents 'feral' and Windsor labels Valley ‘feral' ran headlines in both the mainstream media and blogosphere.

This was the swift response.....................

The Daily Examiner, 4 February 2011

Federal Labor MP for Page Janelle Saffin:“Well, too right we go feral because my view is they should just stop talking about an idea that's so stupid anyway; and it's not going to go anywhere. But we do go feral because everybody agrees that we cannot divert or dam the Clarence River.

NSW Nationals MP for Clarence Steve Cansdell: ..as far as damning and diverting the Clarence, I am happy to be classed as a 'feral'. I will always be against any such proposal.

Clarence Valley Mayor Richie Williamson: We do, and we will, go absolutely feral because a majority is clearly against the diversion or the damming of the Clarence River. We as a community are definitely against any damming of the Clarence River.

The Daily Examiner,4 February 2011
Click on image to enlarge

Boy the Wonder Cat: Tony Windsor doesn't know the meaning of 'feral' yet. If he keeps this dam nonsense up, one fine morning he will wake to find I've peed on his verandah posts, crapped on the front door mat, scared his hens eggless and bonked his dog so thoroughly that it won't come out from under the house for the next ten years.

True words tweeted in jest?

FakeeEtiquette Fake e-Etiquette

It is polite to continue acting as though internet arguments have winners or conclusions.

Chicken boots and the spectacles thief

Most of the hens on the farm are of an Indian game type and are mainly bred as table birds. They are not the best egg layers.

There are large sections of the year where they don't produce eggs and then at the start of spring and summer the eggs are in abundance.

So I decided that I would start on a breeding program that would yield chooks that would lay eggs over most of the year, yet still retain most of the qualities that make excellent eating birds.

I obtained a couple of roosters that were mainly Isa Brown types, and one pure breed Isa Brown. The two older roosters were ready to breed this season so I set two hens, this yielded 16 chickens.

The chickens are the quietest birds I have ever seen, walking around the yard has been reduced to a shuffle since the chicks are always under foot.

I have even had to retrieve them out of gumboots, which would not be much of a problem except that I was wearing these boots at the time.

During this gumboot invasion the last thing I was thinking about was the fact that I had mistakenly left my reading glasses in my shirt pocket. As I bent down to get the chicken out of the gumboot the glasses fell out and landed on one of the chickens in the maul happening around my feet. They scattered to the wind taking the glasses with them.

I was stuck, I still had a chook in my gumboot.

There I was in the middle of a muddy yard, balancing on one slipping gumboot gently trying to remove the other and retrieve the protesting chicken. I was very lucky to get the chicken out of the boot without falling in the mud.

Then the search for my glasses began along with the rain. The chickens(being helpful little mites) all followed me for the entire search. Emitting calls that sounded something like - hot, hotter, no colder, cool.

After about half an hour I found the glasses and they were intact if a bit muddy.

The chickens looked quite pleased with themselves; after all they do try their best.

In America 2011 zealous wingnuts are on the march and no woman is safe

 

In America in 2011 there were thirteen females amongst the around sixty members of the US Congress who sponsored a bill called the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act  which seeks to deny Medicare-funded abortion to girls and women who were raped without some form of physical restraint or violence.

The House of a Thousand Fools

Can anyone really believe this nonsense? Over 1,000 Australians Sign Petition Opposing Flood Levy - Stop The Levy

Over 1,000 Australians have signed an online petition imploring the Federal Government to not impose an unfair and destructive new tax on the vulnerable Australian economy. The website, http://www.stopthelevy.com/, is a project of Menzies House, an independent, grassroots online community for center-right activists, writers, and thinkers. Menzies House is unaffiliated with any political party.

All this hysteria over a twelve-month levy with a scale like this? For crying out loud you would have to have a taxable income of over $80,000 a year before it was costing you more than a skinny latte once a week and over $130,000 a year before it cost the price of a quick working day lunch for one at the local caff.

Anony-mice

Yamba

* GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration.

Backyard pool safety: At long last the penny has dropped at Clarence Valley Council

Having lived in the Clarence Valley for over 35 years and reckon I'm almost a local (but true-blue locals keep moving the goal posts and are now saying you have to be here 40+ years to qualify although they said 10 years ago it was 30+ years) I'm thrilled to bits that Clarence Valley Council is at long last going to do something about back yard pool safety.

We installed a pool 28 years ago and we're still waiting for Council to come and give it its final inspection to say all is AOK with its fence, gate and other safety features.

In a media release titled Pools and fences failing to pass safety guidelines

Clarence Valley Council says it has commenced inspection of swimming pools and fences to ensure compliance under the Swimming Pools Act and Australian Standards.

Mayor Richie Williamson said, “In the first round of inspections, Council officers have been disappointed at the extremely large failure rate, with 9 out of 11 swimming pools and fences failing to pass safety guidelines. This is of great concern, especially as statistics show half of the children under the age of five that drown, do so in private swimming pools or spas.” (www.safewaters.nsw.gov.au)

The majority of failures have involved climbing points too close to the fence and unsatisfactory latching mechanisms.

Council staff will be continuing random inspections throughout the Valley, and will be taking strict action, including on the spot fines if major defects are discovered or pools are unfenced.

It is recommended that owners of pools check their fences and gates to ensure they are working correctly.

A pool safety checklist is available from Council’s offices in Grafton and Maclean, or can be downloaded from the Dept of Local Government website www.dlg.nsw.gov.au – backyard swimming pools.

Independent MP for New England Tony Windsor calls Clarence Valley residents 'feral'

From A Clarence Valley Protest on 3 February 2011:

In which the Independent MP for New England Tony Windsor considers Clarence Valley communities to be feral.

Exchange between Ernest Kitta and Chair of the Inquiry into the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in Regional Australia Tony Windsor, at the Griffith hearing on Tuesday 25 January 2011

Mr Kitta—First of all, I have a couple of questions. What is the environment? It is a very loose term. In the dictionary it says the environment is your surroundings. I think that in Griffith here we are in the most beautiful surroundings you could have, so why take water away? You are taking water from the environment if you send it out to the lakes; you are not giving it to the environment at all. The other one—I am not an irrigation farmer—is that probably, when we get a good flood, some of the water comes in this direction, but by our dams and crops we have provided an environment for the roos and everything else that they would not have had before.This question has been raised quite a bit, and I will not go over it again, but I think it needs emphasising. It is the top end. They are working on the wrong end. They are rationing at the bottom end instead of increasing the supply at the top. The designs have been done for many years for these dams that the previous speaker mentioned. What they do is to go over to the Clarence River and tell the people there—real scare tactics—'We're going to take all your water and send it west.' No such thing has ever been proposed. They proposed to take, I think, the flood waters of 30 per cent of the catchment. I think they would be quite happy to see the flood waters go; they had a flood recently. So it is plain political scare tactics to tell those people that there is no water to come over here. It has really had the lie given to it in Queensland now with the good flood they have had up there. Surely they would not miss a bit of water if they sent it down here. That is my whole point.

CHAIR—Thank you, Ernest. That site for the Clarence dam is in my electorate, and when you go over there and mention that they go absolutely feral! I will tell them you have endorsed it!

Desperate wives in Iceland

It seems even small Iceland (population less than half a million) isn’t immune when it comes to predatory men in the community.

Paragraph in a copy of a March 2006 U.S. diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks Cablegate:

Desperate Wives

Social service providers report regular contacts with a population of foreign women who have immigrated to Iceland to marry Icelandic citizens whom they have met on-line or through friends and relatives already married to Icelanders. Some of these women live in circumstances akin to slavery. A lawyer for the capital's Intercultural Center offered an example of one Icelandic husband who quit work and insisted that his Chinese wife work three jobs to support him. Only able to sleep for four hours a night, she eventually suffered a breakdown. Some Icelanders at one of her workplaces found her pro bono legal assistance, thanks to which she obtained a divorce and permits to remain and work in Iceland. The Intercultural Center lawyer learns of several such cases a year, most often involving "extremely beautiful" Russian and Baltic women in their twenties brought to Iceland as "trophies" by men in their fifties. The women work long hours, and their husbands take their salaries; some of the men reportedly also sell sexual access to their wives.

DuckHand! Townsville does gallows humour in midst of Cyclone Yasi

clembastow Clem Bastow
Well, I think we can all agree that #duckhand was a perfect example of Australian gallows humour. Hang in there, FNQ! #tcyasi

vanbadham Van Badham
@clembastow I want #DuckHand to run against TAbbott in his seat at the next goddamn election. I will MOVE THERE to vote for DuckHand #tcyasi