Country Arts Support funding for the Northern Rivers in 2011

Country Arts Support Program 2011- Northern Rivers

· $2,550.00 to Ocean Shores Public School P & C for Ocean Shores Community Arts Project. A series of arts and craft workshops, performances by local musicians and a public art project to be held as part of the Ocean Shores Public Arts and Craft Festival in August 2011.

· $2,197.00 to Byron Bay Community Association Inc. (Byron Community Centre) for Arts Classic Artist in Residence. Mosaic artists Turiya Bruce and Pyari Cau will be engaged as artists-in-residence at the Byron Community Centre over five days during the 2011 Byron Arts Classic in January 2012. After a period of public consultation with members of the Byron community, the artists will conduct daily three-hour public participation workshops to create a mosaic artwork at the Centre.

· $1,000.00 to Coraki Rural Transaction Centre Inc (Coraki Art Prize) for Painting and Printmaking Workshops. A series of printmaking and painting workshops for young Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists in Coraki, focusing on expression of identity and personal storytelling through art.

· $1,588.00 to Clarence Valley Council for Kami Shibai. Performer Kyoko Miyauchi will conduct a series of traditional Japanese storytelling theatre performances and origami workshops for school students at outer regional primary schools in Baryulgil, Coutts Crossing and Herani during term 2, 2011.

· $1,560.00 to Platypus Gallery (Richmond Valley Council) for MINDLE. For the month of September the gallery will host an exhibition exploring the local Indigenous language of Junbung, during which time two local Indigenous artists will be in residence at the Gallery. The artists will interact with the public and demonstrate their working process and techniques, giving insights into both artistic practice and indigenous culture.

· $1,392.00 to Caringa Enterprises Ltd for Colour Theory Wall Mural. An artist in residence program with local artist Pamela Denise, during which severely disabled participants (with support workers) will create a 50m square mural at the Day Program Centre in Grafton between April and July.

· $1,480.00 to The Creative Peoples Collective Inc for Standing Now - Finding our Feet. Free workshops over July-August 2011 for young people at Coraki Youth Hall, in which the aim is to create a contemporary dance piece. Participants will then have the opportunity to perform alongside professional artists in the production 'Standing Now'.

· $2,000.00 to Tropical Fruits Inc. for Illumination 2011. An artist in residence program with local artist Martin Pedder, in which he will work with members of the local GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) community to create illuminated installations, props and backdrops for the Tropical Fruits 2011 Festival.

· $2,255.00 to On-Focus Inc for Dhinawan Dreaming at LINCS. Workshops and performance presented by local indigenous artist Mick Baker of Dhinawan Dreaming, run as part of the Casino Day Program for Indigenous people throughout 2011. The sessions will cover storytelling, dance and visual arts.

· $2,110.00 to The Unity Festival for The Unity Festival, a multicultural dance, music, food, art and craft event. Dancers representing the cultural traditions of the Phillipines, India, Torres Strait and Aboriginal Australia will be engaged for public performance. Held in Murwillumbah in October 2011, the festival aims to create opportunities for greater social interaction amongst community groups, and encouraging tolerance.

Yeah, that's the answer Uncle Joe! Put more people out of work.

Uncle Joe and The Rabbit in The Canberra Times on 11^th May 2011

Now I’ve heard everything! Joe Hockey’s answer to the Australian Government’s 2011 Budget is to say tax concessions shouldn’t be taken from those rich enough to be into income splitting, family trusts and the like and other concessions and income support shouldn’t be frozen for the next four years for those singles or families earning $150,000 or more a year – instead he insists that 12,000 people should be sacked from the public service and be directed towards the dole line.
Onya, Uncle Joe. You’re the tosser giving us all a perfect example of the very class war you’re accusing the Treasurer of conducting. At least Swanee isn’t into mass layoffs to bring the federal budget into surplus.

In his call to support those earning a comfortable living, Joe ignores the fact that in August 2010 there were 9.8 million employees in this country and a good 50% of these earned less than $46,020 a year. Even if these people lived in households where their partners worked for similar wages, they would still come nowhere near having the combined incomes of Abbott & Co's newly discovered middleclass battlers. Who, incidentally, have also for many years been growing their disposable incomes at a higher rate than the less well off.
Here on the NSW North Coast it would be a safe bet to say that half of all households would have annual incomes which fall below $46,020 and a great many of these would be old age pensioners, so Hockey's plea to save the middleclass from the wicked Gillard Government falls on deaf ears in many a local home.

Here's a profile of Abbott and Hockey's 'battlers' (who appear to make up around a mere 15% of all households according to the Herald-Sun) courtesy of The Tele on 11th May and The Australian of the same day:
Family No.1 A young couple (with one small child and a high maintenance dog) whose combined incomes are more than $150,000 per year, both have successful, high-paying professional careers, own a modern McMansion in a popular suburb, with two cars in the garage as well as flashy plasma in the lounge, and yet still they loudly complain that their family income is not enough to support their preferred lifestyle.
Family No.2 A young couple (with two young children), he's in the building industry and she's an associate director in a recruitment firm, they have a combined income of around $200,000 per year, pay 18% tax, live in a decent house in an established suburb and had considered employing a nanny if the Gillard Government froze middleclass welfare rather than raising it to meet the family's expectations.
Anyone seen where I put the smallest violin in the world? I feel a sad, sad sonata coming on....

Australian Federal Budget 2011 - now let's get a few facts straight before panicking

Ever since Wayne Swan gave his 2011 Budget Speech and released those budget papers the mainstream media has been bellowing. One cry is that this budget is hard on the 'deserving' middle class and an alternative cry is that it is unfair to all welfare recipients on parenting payment, unemployment benefit or disability support pension.

What is not pointed out (by either politicians being interviewed or journalists doing the interviewing) is that not all these reforms are universal across specific cash transfer categories, many do not commence until the 2012-13 financial year and some take the form of trial roll-outs with an identified end date.

So let us look briefly at some of the groups mentioned in those claims.

Firstly, teenage mothers. They are not all going to be made to attend Centrelink when their baby reaches six months of age, according to Part 2: Expense Measures Education, Employment and Workplace Relations:

Teenage parents accessing Parenting Payments for the first time from 1 January 2012 in 10 targeted Local Government Areas (LGAs will be required to attend six‑monthly interviews with Centrelink once their child turns six months old. Once the child is one year old, this interview will be used to develop and implement a participation plan, which will include activities to improve education outcomes for themselves and their children.

Secondly, the mature unemployed and young unemployed are not all going to have to face every new participation requirement to claim unemployment benefits:

The Government will …..introduce new participation requirements and support services for parents who have been on income support for more than two years or who are under 23 years of age in 10 targeted Local Government Areas (LGA's). Parents will be required to attend compulsory workshops and interviews with Centrelink to set personal and family goals. They will also be assisted to access services to overcome pre‑vocational barriers to employment, engage with their community and improve health and education outcomes for their children. The new requirements and support services will commence on 1 July 2012 and will be available in 10 targeted locations.

Currently a job seeker is required to undertake an approved activity for six months in each year they are in the Work Experience Phase. From 1 July 2012, very long‑term unemployed job seekers who begin a second year in the Work Experience Phase will be required to undertake work experience for 11 months of the year.

The 10 targeted LGAs are:

Playford (SA)
Rockhampton (QLD)
Hume (VIC)
Burnie (TAS)
Bankstown (NSW)
Wyong (NSW)
Logan (QLD)
Kwinana (QLD)
Greater Shepparton (VIC)
Shellharbour (NSW)

Thirdly, those with a disability. Individuals already on a Disability Support pension will not all have to meet the new requirements (some of which are voluntary agreements) and indeed they gain some additional concessions, according to Part 2: Expense Measures Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs :

The Government will introduce participation requirements for new and existing Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients under the age of 35 with some work capacity from 1 July 2012……[those] who have a work capacity of less than eight hours a week, or who are already participating in open employment, an Australian Disability Enterprise or the Supported Wage System, will be excluded from the participation requirements.

From 3 September 2011, Disability Support Pension (DSP) claimants will need to provide evidence that they have tested their future work capacity by participating in training or work related activities. This activity test will not apply to claimants who are clearly unable to work due to, for example, profound disability.

extends portability where a DSP recipient with a severe disability has a carer who is posted overseas for work and wishes to continue their supporting responsibilities. In these circumstances, the DSP recipient will be entitled to continue to receive their pension for the period of their family member's posting, from 1 July 2011.

The Government will allow all Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients to work up to 30 hours a week and remain eligible for a part‑pension for up to two years.

A $2,000 one‑off tax‑exempt payment will be also available to children of families living in outer‑regional, rural and remote areas to help meet some of the costs of accessing services.

Finally, families. The majority of families with legitimately dependent children are not being cut off welfare payments, but indexation of family payments is frozen between 1 July 2011 and 1 July 2014:

The Government will defer the implementation of Paid Paternity Leave by six months from 1 July 2012 until 1 January 2013.

The Government will, from 1 January 2012, limit the eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A to children up to the age of 21 years, recognising that young people aged 22 and over are considered independent. When a child turns 22 years of age, parents will no longer be able to receive FTB Part A for that child. However the child may be eligible to receive Youth Allowance subject to usual means testing and academic progress rules. This will bring FTB Part A in line with the Youth Allowance age of independence from 1 January 2012.

The Government will pause indexation of the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A and B supplements for three years. The FTB supplements will be fixed at the current 2010‑11 levels of $726.35 per annum per child for FTB Part A and $354.05 per annum for FTB Part B until 1 July 2014.

The Government will pause indexation of family payment higher income thresholds and limits at their current level until 1 July 2014. The following higher income thresholds and limits will remain fixed until 1 July 2014: Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part B primary earner income limit, which will remain at $150,000; the income limit for receiving the dependency tax offsets, which will remain at $150,000; the Baby Bonus eligibility limit, which will remain at $75,000 of family income in the six months following the birth or adoption of a child, equivalent to $150,000 a year; the Paid Parental Leave primary carer income limit, which will remain at $150,000 in the financial year before the birth or adoption of a child; and the higher income‑free threshold of FTB Part A, which will remain at $94,316 of family income, with an additional $3,796 provided for each child after the first.

The genuinely bad news is that income management for welfare recipients will be extended (presumably allowing government access to increased interest accrued from cash transfers held in trust in a central managed account) beyond existing declared areas into the following new areas from 1 July 2012 until 30 June 2015:

Bankstown, New South Wales
Logan, Queensland
Rockhampton, Queensland
Playford, South Australia
Shepparton, Victoria

In this single aspect, the Gillard Government (like the former Howard Government) is determined to see the once honourable welfare safety net system morph into a shameful food stamp allowance for those living in comparative poverty.

Sometimes the young make my heart sing

Snapshot from COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF filed on 4 May 2011 in U.S. Supreme Court in Washington

Snapshot from COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF filed on 4 May 2011 in U.S. District Court in California

Lawsuits and administrative actions have been filed against the U.S. federal government and all fifty States in an effort to ensure reduction of carbon emissions and prevent climate catastrophe, with the applicants being young people using the Public Trust Doctrine to advance their concerns as "the youngest living generation of beneficiaries of the Public Trust"" who have ""rights to a liveable future".

Having no right to vote because of their ages, this is the way chosen to make legislators and industry take notice.

PDF file of complaint lodged in the Northern District of California

Also online at Our Children's Trust are legal actions commenced in California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Washington

Think Australia's going to the dogs? Well think again

Had been reading too many gloomy headlines lately and was feeling that Australia was going to hell in a hand basket.
Got a tip from Clarencegirl which pulled me up by the bootstraps.
She told me to look at the Australian Bureau of Statistics Voluntary Work Survey 2006.
Sure nuff – the numbers show that 57% of the Australian population regularly provides some sort of unpaid assistance to someone else who doesn’t live under their roof.
Now that’s mateship. Well done, Oz!
It just happens to be Voluteers Week 2011 all this week.
If you don't have time to join a group, then do something nice (or a chore) for someone living alone near you and you can hold your head up high when volunteering next gets a mention.

Sydney Morning Herald readers set an impossible task

Every week the Herald ask readers who belong to its Insider Team a number of questions about items in the news and publishes the results of the surveys on the letters page on Saturday.

Usually, the questions are relatively straightforward. However, things aren't that way this week. The question below created a real headache.

Fancy being asked to choose just one name from that list! This reader reckons three of those named dead-heat for equal first. (Clue: The three I have in mind don't include Clover Moore and The City Rail announcer.)

Australia submits case to The Hague citing Japan for alleged breach of international obligations concerning whaling

According to Australia’s Attorney-General Robert McClelland, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd and Minister for Environment Tony Burke on 9 May 2011:

The Government has announced that Australia will file its written submission in the Whaling Case against Japan at the International Court of Justice later today in The Hague.

The filing of the Memorial is the next step in the case to stop Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling program for good.

The Australian Government believes Japan’s whaling activities are contrary to its international obligations, in particular, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

Despite Australia repeatedly calling on Japan to cease its illegal whaling activities, Japan has refused to do so. That is why the Australian Government has taken this case in the ICJ.

The decision to commence proceedings in May 2010 was not taken lightly. The Government disagrees with Japan’s decision to continue whaling and this is the proper way to settle legal differences between friends.

Australia will argue that Japan is in breach of the general prohibition under the Convention on commercial whaling as well as a prohibition on such whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, also established under the Convention.

Japan has sought to rely on an exception to the Convention concerning whaling ‘for purposes of scientific research’.

The Government believes the whaling carried out by Japan is commercial, not scientific, and does not fall within that narrow exception.

The decision to take legal action demonstrates the Government’s commitment to do what it takes to end whaling globally.

The Memorial will remain confidential until its public release is ordered by the Court, which is likely to be at the first oral hearing of the case. Japan must file its Counter-Memorial by 9 March 2012.

In March, the ICJ accepted the nomination of Professor Hilary Charlesworth AM as Australia’s ad hoc judge in the Case.

There has been little reaction in the Japanese media to this latest move by Australia. Which is understandable given Japan's necessarily internal focus on recovery after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

However, earlier this year, the Daily Yomiuri Online reported that the Government of Japan is considering ending Antarctic whaling:

Asked at a press conference Friday about the possibility of the country ending research whaling entirely, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano replied: "We can't say anything definite about that."
According to ministry officials, however, discussions have already begun behind the scenes about ending Japan's Antarctic whaling.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one high-ranking ministry official said five alternative scenarios have so far been studied:
-- Have the whaling fleet escorted by Japan Coast Guard vessels or others.
-- Build new whaling vessels capable of traveling at high speed.
-- Replace research whaling with commercial whaling.
-- Continue with the current whaling arrangements.
-- End whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.
The first option, whaling accompanied by escort vessels, was discussed in the government from around 2007, but was scrapped because there are no escort vessels that could travel all the way to the Antarctic.
The second alternative is "almost impossible," the official said, due to the government's severe fiscal condition.
Concerning the third option, Japan sought to bring about an IWC accord to resume commercial whaling at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in June 2010. However, the meeting broke down when the gap could not be bridged between whaling and antiwhaling nations........
The ministry official said, "With the suspension of research whaling, there is no possibility of whaling continuing from next season as it has in the past."

'Research' whaling is still being conducted in waters off Japan in 2011.

Photograph The Daily Telegraph

Bolt on 10 was a big yawn

I tried to watch the first episode of The Bolt Report on Channel 10, I truly did - but it was so painfully boring that I had switched off by the time the interview with Abbott began.
I attempted to watch the show online later and couldn't stay the course as it's always a bit embarrassing watching someone (even a contrarian like Teh Bolta) make a fool of themselves on national television.
Think Tim Dick over at Granny Herald said it best:
"Not having seen every attempt at television current affairs in Australia, it is impossible to judge The Bolt Report the worst. But surely it comes close.
Andrew Bolt’s Sunday morning shift from panellist on ABC Insiders to his own show on Network Ten has brought talk-back to TV, but it didn't bring a pulse. It is named for Bolt, hosted by Bolt, and dominated by the Boltian worldview. It featured white middle-aged men talking about Boltian fundamentals - namely, the great climate change con and those refugees taking over the country - with a surfing Afghan refugee beamed in to be scolded for high unemployment among his compatriots.
The most interesting aspect of the first instalment is whether there will be a second. In its favour is that there are so few people who watch TV on Sunday mornings, it doesn't really matter what is on the screen. Perhaps Ten could try the test signal next week for a livelier program."

The political whoppers Abbott tells.....

Every man and his dog knows that basically a federal budget is calculated to cover operations over one financial year and this year the 2011-12 budget handed down tonight will be no different.
So why on earth was Opposition Leader Tony Abbott rabbiting on like this yesterday:
“Now, obviously tomorrow night is the budget night. All the indications are that this will be a budget with a hole in its heart because it won’t include the carbon tax, even though the carbon tax is at least the biggest tax change since the GST. I say to the Government it is not too late to pulp the document and to reproduce it with the carbon tax in it, because let’s face it the Treasury has done the modelling and it could be and should be included, and without the carbon tax in it this budget will not be worth the paper that it is printed on. It will be a completely misleading and incomplete document.”
Carbon pricing is not due to commence until 1 July 2012 at the earliest and therefore falls within the 2012-13 federal budget - there is no "hole" in this year's budget. So either Tones doesn’t understand or he is deliberately telling pork pies.
Tony Abbott lie? Is the Pope a Catholic!

Spooner's cartoon of TAbbott found at ABC Artworks

Federal Budget 2011 Preview

The Federal Member for Page prepares the ground for tonight’s Australian Federal Government Budget Speech on ABC TV at 7.30pm

MEDIA RELEASE

Budget Preview

The Federal Budget will be brought down in Canberra tonight, and there is much speculation in the media about what might or might not be in it.

Page MP Janelle Saffin said the Budget will be well targeted to support those who need it most.

“This Budget has to address the dual challenges of lower revenues due to natural disasters and a patchwork economy where some sectors are still weak, and the price pressures caused by the massive mining boom which is gearing up again.

“The Budget will get us back in the black, get more Australians in jobs and spread the opportunities of the mining boom.

“Already we have had a number of pre-budget announcements of benefit to our region including almost $1 million extra for the Our House patient accommodation near Lismore Base Hospital. Health is always my top priority and I have been lobbying the Health Minister Nicola Roxon for health funding for our region and will be keen to see the health announcements in the Budget.

“In roads funding I can confirm that the Budget will include $62 million to start work on duplication a five-kilometre stretch of highway at Devils Pulpit State Forest (south of the Tabbimobile floodways) this financial year 2011-12.

“There is also $554.1 million in the Budget for duplicating 17.3 kilometres of the Pacific Highway between Tintenbar and Ewingsdale. This starts on the border of my electorate and will be of great interest to local motorists who regularly commute north on the highway,”

“The Budget will include $54.9 million to secure the Rural Financial Counselling Service over the next four years. I strongly lobbied Agriculture Minister Senator Joe Ludwig for this funding to continue, because of the invaluable service the Casino-based RFCS provides to farmers and rural communities in northern NSW.

“I am delighted to see that former Prisoners of War living in Page will receive a long-awaited special supplement of $500 a fortnight in recognition of their service and sacrifice in POW camps during the Second World War and the Korean War.”

Other Budget measures that will be of significant benefit to local people include the increase in the Family Tax Benefit Part A for families with teenagers.

“This is something I had lobbied for since I was first elected, because many local families were disadvantaged by the system where FTB payments were drastically cut when their son or daughter turned 16, while the costs of caring for their teenage child had not reduced.

“The changes in the Budget will mean an increase of up over $4000 for some families with 16 to 19 year olds attending school or vocational training. In Page there are about 5,900 families receiving FTB A who have children turning 16 in the next five years.

“There will be changes to the Low Income Tax Offset , increasing the proportion of the offset that is delivered in week to week pay packets from 50 to 70 per cent, so low income earners are taxed less during the year.

“This means a bit more money through the year to help with cost of living pressures, instead of waiting for it at end of financial year.

“And Budget measures for small business will include an instant tax write-off for the first $5000 of any motor vehicle purchased from 2012-13.

“The Government will continue to address skill shortages, with $281 million for additional tax free payments to encourage apprentices in critical trades to complete their qualifications.

“The $1700 Trades Apprentice Income Bonus is expected to support an extra 200,000 trade apprentices over four years in skills shortage occupations.

“This apprentice bonus scheme has been popular in the Page electorate and I am pleased to see this system of training bonuses continue to support our apprentices in completing their training.

Janelle Saffin MP
Member for Page
Tuesday 10 May, 2011

Calling all performers - it's Cabaret 360 auditions on 23 & 26 May 2011 at Uki

The Ukitopia Arts Collective whose aim is To nurture, support, and promote arts and culture in Uki and district is holding auditions this month for its very popular cabaret held at Uki Village on the NSW North Coast.























Click on invitation to enlarge



Coming events for the remainder of the year are:
June 4 Songwriters on the Songline
June 25 & 26 Cabaret 360
August 6 Songwriters on the Songline
October 8 Songwriters on the Songline
November 18-20 Ukitopia Festival

Q&A has a lot to answer for

Inspired by Malcolm Turnbull’s appearance on ABC TV’s Q&A, someone has begun a Turnbull for Prime Minister campaign on Facebook:

This is a page for all that want real change. For those that voted Labor, Greens or Independents because they would not or could not vote for Tony Abbott. It's for the Liberals who voted for Tony Abbott and now see him as the wrong person to lead the Liberal party. It's for those that voted for Julia Gillard or Labor but have now seen her performance and see her lack of leadership and know that's no good for our country. And its for those that find this government wanting. It's for those people that watched Malcolm Turnbull on Q&A recently and knew we had a leader of substance. Malcolm Turnbull for PM!

At the moment there are only two followers listed on Facebook. Ignore the trifling fact that Australians can't directly vote in a prime minister and give the lad a thrill by ‘liking’ him or summin – if for no other reason than it will tee off St. Tones of the Love Rug. J

Why did Cansdell get a gig as a parliamentary secretary?

After reading a piece in Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald I'm left scratching my head and asking, "Why did Cansdell get a gig?"

Sean Nicolls gave an account of why backbenchers in the NSW government were awarded consolation prizes and given appointments as parliamentary secretaries.

However, no where in the piece did Clarence MP Steve Cansdell get a mention.

So, if it wasn't a consolation prize (because from my reading Cansdell doesn't fit any of the reasons Nicolls provided), what was it?


Lists, like polls, are often dismissed by politicians as of interest only to the media. In the case of opinion polls, our political leaders assure us they never read them. As for lists, they insist nothing should be read into them.

It's garbage, of course. Politicians live and die by the polls. And the best lists can tell you what's really going on behind the scenes.

One such list was released this week. It detailed which backbenchers have been rewarded with the title of parliamentary secretary.

A kind of consolation prize for missing out on the ministry, these roles are designed to take some pressure off ministers whose workload is expected to be particularly heavy.

They are also widely regarded as both a sign an MP is being groomed for bigger things (an apprenticeship of sorts), an opportunity to share the spoils of government among the factions and in some cases a means of raising an MP's profile to shore up a seat.

Barry O'Farrell has appointed 13 such secretaries. The list makes for fascinating reading.

The most striking detail is the Premier's use of the positions to mollify the Liberal Party faction which threatens to cause him the most trouble: the ''hard'' or religious right.

Hard-right powerbrokers, the upper house MPs David Clarke and Marie Ficarra, are the two most notable inclusions. Clarke will serve as parliamentary secretary for justice, aiding his factional ally, the Attorney-General, Greg Smith. Ficarra will serve as parliamentary secretary to the Premier.

From the same faction, the upper house MP Matthew Mason-Cox has been rewarded as with the prestige Treasury and Finance portfolios.

The appointments are widely regarded as some consolation for O'Farrell resisting their push for cabinet positions.

The next biggest winners are positions specially created by the O'Farrell government.

The appointment of the Dubbo MP, Troy Grant, (natural resources) and the Bathurst MP, Paul Toole, (Deputy Premier and Asia-Pacific trade), can be seen as a nod to the Nationals and a reward for stealing back independent-held seats. The choice of the Vaucluse MP, Gabrielle Upton, (Tertiary Education and Skills), a prominent member of the moderate faction, signals recognition for her talent and passion for higher education.

A former pro-chancellor of the University of NSW, Upton is well known for her plans to modernise the university research sector.

Her fellow moderate, Rob Stokes, has been made parliamentary secretary for renewable energy. This signals Stokes, an environmental lawyer with his eyes on bigger things, is destined for a cabinet post at the next opportunity.

Among the other winners are the Nationals MLC Melinda Pavey, the new parliamentary secretary for regional health. Along with the Coalition's former environment spokeswoman, Catherine Cusack, Pavey was a surprise exclusion from the cabinet.

The other appointments are MLC John Ajaka (transport and roads), the Riverstone MP Ray Williams (Western Sydney) and the Port Stephens MP Craig Baumann (regional planning).

The most significant omissions are Cusack, the Nationals MLC Trevor Khan and two Liberal rising stars - the barrister and Cronulla MP Mark Speakman of the moderates and the Baulkham Hills MP, David Elliott, of the ''soft'' right. Their omission may illustrate one of O'Farrell's biggest problems - how to reward everyone who is deserving in such an enormous party room. [Source: smh, 7/4/11]

BTW, Upper House Member Charlie Lynn also failed to get a mention.

Latest word on Tony Abbott's off the cuff remarks

Last Friday a friend sent me this short email:

Attached is a very short video clip (30 seconds) of Tony Abbott at a country retreat. He takes a short break to speak to the nation about his views on a number of important matters. Many people say this is his best presentation to date. His comments here actually make more sense than anything else he's ever said. This is the only speech that he has made, so far, with which I agree.

What's wrong with this WSJ offer?

The Wall Street Journal wants me to fork out to read it as a print newspaper or to see online articles it's hidden behind a paywall, but expects me to giveaway newsworthy documents for free just because Dow Jones & Co has created SafeHouse? Which by the way seems to reserve its own right to blow the whistle on me if I do upload to this leaky website. BAAWAAHAHAHA!
Errr..........and has it also purloined another's brandname or does it have an agreement with this company?

Does former NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan know that his identity has been stolen?

Snapshot of the lower half of the in memoriam for a deceased NSW Police officer

On 4 May 2011 The Clarence Valley Review newspaper published an in memoriam in its classified section which was purportedly lodged by one Peter James Ryan using a post office address in Maclean on the NSW North Coast.

This is not the first time this fake Peter Ryan has been active.

On 4 April 2011 he sent a fax (copy here) to both the Local Court at Grafton and the NSW Chief Judge, as well as to various other individuals.

As his approach to the courts was reported in The Daily Examiner, one has to wonder why alarm bells did not ring at the Review when it received the in memoriam for publication.

I suspect that Dr. Ryan would not be amused by this turn of events as he appears to act as a security consultant and public speaker since his retirement.

As April turned to May

A look at trans-Atlantic priorities according to the NY Daily News

National Weed Research Grant Goes To Trenayr Institute

Joint media release on 4 May 2011 from Labor MPs Mike Kelly and Janelle Saffin announcing a grant to the NSW North Coast’s Primary Industries Institute at Trenayr, to study an invasive exotic weed group which includes the notorious Giant Parramatta Grass and Giant Rat’s Tail Grass (NSW DPI photograph on the left):

PAGE MP Janelle Saffin has welcomed $144,396 in Australian Government funding for the Grafton Primary Industries Institute to continue research into biological control of weedy sporobolus grasses that impact on agriculture and the environment.

The national weed research project, being led by Mr David Officer at Trenayr, is one of 33 new projects under a $6.1-million investment announced by Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Dr Mike Kelly.

Ms Saffin said Mr Officer’s important work would promote biological control of weedy sporobolus grasses using a naturally occurring fungus, Nigrospora oryzae.

“This research will also investigate whether the fungus will infect other weedy sporobolus grasses,” she said.

“The Grafton Primary Industries Institute has a reputation for undertaking cutting edge research. This project hopefully will bring innovative approaches to tackling some of Australia’s most invasive plant pests.”

Dr Kelly said that weeds have a major impact on the national economy, costing farmers more than $4 billion annually in lost production and control measures.

“The damage caused to Australia’s natural environment by weeds is also immense,” Dr Kelly said.

“The research investment is a key plank of the National Weeds and Productivity Research Program which is leading Australia’s search for weeds solutions.”

The newly funded projects began in March 2011 and run until May 2012.

This Program is being managed by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).

A full list of the 33 research projects is available at http://www.rirdc.gov.au/programs.

The barbarians are not longer at the gate - they are inside the castle walls

It would be hard to find worse news for one of Australia's most endangered marine species, the Grey Nurse Shark, than this press release from an underwhelming and incredibly short-sighted NSW Minister for Primary Industries and Nationals MP for the landlocked seat of Burrinjuck, Katrina Hodgkinson, who appears hell-bent on ecological destruction for its own sake:

Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, today announced a revocation of the recreational fishing closures introduced at Fish Rock and Green Island in January this year, as promised in the lead up to the NSW election. Katrina Hodgkinson said that the NSW Government would put the closures back out to public consultation for a further three months to ensure the best outcome is achieved for both the grey nurse shark population and the local community.
"The NSW Government is committed to protecting the grey nurse shark population at Fish Rock and Green Island," she said.
"However, as promised prior to the election, we want to ensure the community have a proper chance to be consulted before any final decision is made.
"The NSW Government has also committed to a scientific review of the effectiveness of management arrangements in meeting domestic and international commitments to the conservation of marine biodiversity, and to ensuring the conservation needs of grey nurse shark are met well into the future.
"The outcomes from community consultation and scientific review will be used to guide the development of new management arrangements for Fish Rock and Green Island.
"Fishing and diving at Fish Rock and Green Island provide many social and economic benefits to the local community and it is important that the community have the chance to provide input into the future of the area.
Minister Hodgkinson said the revocation of the fishing closures means that the critical habitat rules that existed prior to Friday, January 28 will be reinstated.
"Recreational anglers are reminded that fishing with bait or wire trace while anchored or moored, or attaching weights of more than 500 grams to fishing lines is prohibited within 200 metres of Fish Rock and Green Island," she said.
"Today's announcements only affect recreational fishing, the commercial fishing closures at Fish Rock and Green Island to protect grey nurse sharks will continue unchanged.
For further information visit www.dpinsw.gov.au/fisheries

* Image from ABC Coffs Coast

What a ridiculous beat up by the Murdoch media

The online blurb for a Malcolm Farr article published by News Limited on 4 May 2011:

Rudd breaks silence on his ousting: 'Character building'

By Malcolm Farr RUDD speaks of his removal as PM in address in the US, in a sign he's not in a mood to forgive or forget.

And the basis for the claim that Rudd is not in a mood to forgive or forget?

This bland comment in his speech to the Brookings Institute in Washington DC on 3 May 2011:

This week — any week — it's great to be back at Brookings.

I spoke here last, just three years ago.

If a week is a long time in politics, three years is an eternity.

The three intervening years have been something of a rollercoaster ride:

• for the world economy;
• for global politics;
• and, for some of us personally

All of which, as they say in the classics, has been character building.

The stretch between what was actually said and the wording of the blurb is so long that one can only call that link a lying lure. Presumably a crude effort to drive readers to this article and create a perception in the minds of advertisers that they are getting value for their dollar. Is it any wonder that mainstream media’s reputation is in tatters?

An audio of his speech The Rise of Asia, International Cooperation and U.S. Foreign Policy can be found here.

Maclean Agricultural Show 11-12 May 2011

Sarah at Maclean Show with Margaretta Fahey and
Grand Champion Brahman Bull, Bizzy Monty

The NSW Far North Coast has twelve local agricultural shows at Alstonville, Bangalow, Bonalbo, Casino, Grafton, Kyogle, Lismore, Maclean, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Nimbin, Woodenbong.

On the 11 and 12 May it is the Lower Clarence’s turn to strut its stuff with the Exhibition and Show at the Maclean Showground on the banks of the Clarence River.

Events include sideshows, equestrian events, sales displays, floral and fruit exhibits and food stalls. The Show also has exhibits in craft, beef cattle, vegetables, poultry, cooking, caged birds, photography, championship dog show, exhibits from local schools and from industry.

Come early and stay until late and join in the fun!

For more information:

Contact Name: Dawn Stewart

Phone: (02) 6645 1532

Eta Aquarids due to cross Australian sky around 4am on 6 May 2011

According to Meteors Online; This represents the view from mid-southern latitudes at about 4:00 a.m. local time around May 6. The graphic does not represent the view at the time of maximum, but is simply meant to help prospective observers to find the radiant location.

Eta Aquarids are fast and often trace yellow-coloured long paths across the sky. However, if the skies are clear early on Monday you will not need binoculars or a telescope to see larger objects in this meteor shower created by the tail of Halley's Comet.

So look north-east around 4am and with luck you will enjoy one of life's many wonders.

Halley's Comet in 1997 from Messiers Meteors

Within minutes of Bin Laden's death being officially announced conspiracy wingnuts were active in the Northern Rivers

I happened to be having an after lunch drink when Osama bin Laden’s assassination in Pakistan was officially announced by the U.S. Government.

Two men lunching at an adjacent table began to pantomime amazement and disbelief as the news was discussed. Then it began to get interesting as we fell into conversation.

Apparently for some nefarious and unstated reason the announcement of bin Laden’s death at the hands of the U.S. military is nothing but a sham. He either died years ago or is still alive - it was hard to discern just what this pair actually believed on that point. But wink, wink, nudge, nudge, it’s all a big fat lie and we know better than to believe anything we see or hear on the news.

So how did these two men know with such certainty that the announcement by President Obama was a sham?

Why one of two was allegedly a judge at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, who just happened to have been legally representing a person before the court that day in Lismore.

I was shown what had to have been the cheesiest business card I have ever seen and one which had obviously been printed out on cheap paper using a home computer.

De Judge then asserted something which was patently wrong; that is that an ordinary person could not find out the names of ICJ current judges as these names were not on the Court’s website and "could not be Googled".

On hearing that I settled back and began to enjoy myself. Though apparently I did not hide my glee all that well, as suddenly the good judge morphed into either an employee or associate of one David Wynn Miller (aka King of Hawaii) who appeared on the NSW North Coast earlier this year after seemingly wearing out his welcome in Canada and possibly many parts of his own homeland as well.

When I returned home I checked my lunch time acquaintance out. It goes without saying that he is not a judge.

In comments on one blog KJM aka BM admits that he is not even a lawyer, on a second he asserts he is a judge representing certain indigenous interests, on a third he states he belongs to something called the Unity States of the World or similar, on a fourth he sets himself up as an amateur linguist with hysterical results, on a fifth he associates himself with assorted wingnuts, on a sixth he is calling himself a musician/music teacher who is ex-military and, on a seventh he offers a little free 'legal' advice and insists that Hawaii is a sovereign nation. He is also a supporter of the elusive Cairns Law Club and beleives that all local government elections are probably illegal.

It seems that the North Coast is now hosting a second fantasist to rival our resident Zussino.

Oh dear…………………

These days who encourages us to hate and fear with such intensity?

There’s a lot of talk about how Australian pollies of all persuasions love to blow the dog whistle and quite rightly thoughts often quickly turn to that rabid master of fear and hysteria, our beloved St. Tones of the Boats.
But this ignores the fact that without the electronic, digital and print media his words and those of his ilk would drift away and quickly disappear – remembered only briefly by those who actually saw him verbally levitating at the time.
So it's probably worth mentioning that the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute released a peer reviewed report in April called The stigmatisation of social housing: findings from a panel investigation which points out that large mainstream media outlets play to what editors and journalists think are community prejudices and chose what becomes popular reality.

Here’s a taste of the report:

“There is considerable commercial pressure for journalists to provide entertaining stories that will appeal to large audiences. It is an inescapable fact that negative stories of social housing are more likely to appeal than those that frame it in a positive light. Perhaps this is because negative depictions convey an alternative reality that elicits an emotional response. In the area of media research, writers such as Entman (1993) and Van Dijk (1997) make use of the term ‘framing’ to explain how media construes social reality. They point out that media is not just a conduit of information but actually provides a narrative from which to interpret this information. Media reporting in practice selects aspects of reality and then makes this reality salient to advance a particular interpretation (McCullagh 2002).

The media is not neutral, but embedded in the political/social nexus, and as such reflects the dominant power relationships that exist within society. This is why groups with limited access to resources are rarely able to challenge these hegemonic narratives. Cohen (1980) has used the term ‘moral panics’ and media ‘amplification’ to interpret the way that specific social groups are imbued with negative pathologies, noting how these panics often surface in periods of insecurity and social dislocation…..

good news stories about social housing are not as interesting to the audience or as profitable to run as negative ones ”

If I hear one more word about prime ministerial hair.....

This young girl grew up and dyed her hair - get over it!
Yes, I'm talking to you Sky News, Samantha Maiden, Messrs. Williamson & Jackson and the many who have gone before you all.

Photo from Google Images

So you thought Tony Abbott was born in England of expatriate Aussie parents?

Well maybe...................






















Click on certificate to enlarge

Washington Establishment turns on Trump

Donald Trump and President Obama as Seth Myers skewers Trump

In what will surely go down as the night's worst prediction, Donald Trump said that he doubted that his name would come up during President Barack Obama's stand-up routine at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
"I wouldn't think [Obama] would address me" during his speech, Trump told ABC News upon arriving at the Washington Hilton.

The short form of the jokes.....
http://bcove.me/a7lb2fww
The long form of the jokes.......
http://bcove.me/tn2w2owx

RSPCA National Million Paws Walk, Coffs Harbour event at 11am 15 May 2011

Join me and my friends!

The 18th Annual RSPCA Million Paws Walk is being held across Australia
on Sunday 15 May 2011 and is the big day out for animal lovers!
Whether you have pets in your family or not, you're invited to join the pack and walk with tens of thousands of people and pets throughout Australia to help raise vital funds for the RSPCA and the animals in our care.

RSPCA Coffs Harbour Shelter will be a local host for the Million Paws Walk.
Their fun-filled Million Paws Walk includes:
* Sausage Sizzle.
* Vets in attendance.
* Novelty Dog Show with ribbons and prizes awarded.

Walk Location: Address: Parking: On Day Registration: Walk Commences: Length of walk: Event Concludes:

Coffs Harbour Shelter 25 Dowsett Drive Off and street parking available 9:00 am 10:00 am 2km 12:00 pm

On the day registration prices: Adult $10, Children $5 (under 5 years are free), Concession $5, Family $20 (2 adults + 2 children).

Online registration here. Early online registration receives a discount.

For further information please contact:

Sue Merrick - RSPCA NSW Coffs Harbour Shelter
P: (02) 6651-3311
F: (02) 6651-4509
E: smerrick@rspcansw.org.au